Personal Branding, it’s a marathon not a sprint

Published by Simon Jordan at February 23, 2019

'...I don’t do ‘get rich quick’ schemes.'

All the miles, all the technique training, the stretching, the strength work and on and on until the day you stand on that start line ready to go.

28th April 2019 will see me running my second London marathon and this time I know a lot more than I did 19 years ago and the same goes for business.

I say to all my clients that I don’t do ‘get rich quick’ schemes. Building a solid personal brand is not unlike training for a marathon, well apart from the sweating, all the food and the miles you run. Apart from all that, it’s all about the preparation. It’s about putting all the right pieces in place.

'...you may even think of quitting.'

The confidence
The mindset – the self belief in your skills and the ability to be the face of your brand.
The branding creation. The fonts to use, the colours to show, the tone of voice, the graphics, the imagery that all go to create your own personal brand and is a direct reflection of who you are.
The website, the social media assets, the business cards, leaflets etc.
And then there’s the networking in order to get out there. Explaining to people what you do succinctly and with passion. The blogging, the video blogging, the Facebook posts and the list does seem to go on.

Get these steps wrong and you end up attracting the wrong clients, getting knocked down on price and like not training for a marathon properly, it can be very painful and you may even think of quitting.

But similar to training, it’s always tough at the start. I always say the first 2-3 miles are the worst because the body is warming up. After I’ve hit the 4th mile my breathing has normalised (if it’s not a fast run) and everything feels good.

When I work with my clients I work with them over a minimum of 6 months. The first few months is all about getting the brand right, then creating the website and all the other assets and then working alongside them to get their passion and skills out there in a way which will start conversations and drive traffic to their website.

As a brand consultant and coach I see a lot of people coming to me who have started up and have come to a halt or even crashed and 9 times out of 10 it’s because the pieces are not in place.

Simon Jordan, Coaching, Branding, Marketing, Websites, Design

'...how much you charge. This is where confidence really comes into play...'

I’m currently being trained by a fantastic trainer Joe Allen who is a Paralympian and in the few months I’ve been working with him, my running has gone from strength to strength. I’m faster, can run further and feel so much better in my body and also my mindset because marathon running or in fact any race is all won and lost in the mind and again the same goes for business. If you’re unconfident then this will come across in meetings and worst of all when you are talking about how much you charge. This is where confidence really comes into play and something I’ve worked on with a lot of clients.

So where are you in your brand and marketing? Are you setting off with new shoes and sparkly new gear but not sure if you’re running right? Or are you plodding along and having hit a plateau?
Or maybe your flying along at breakneck speed and are struggling to keep it up?

I’ve been along all of these paths and know how you feel, and I have always found that getting the right help is essential.

So wish me luck as I carry on training and as soon as I’ve finished the London marathon I will then change my training over to Triathlon training but I know my trainer who is also a triathlete will be there to give me the best help in getting me across the line and to my goal.

And as I sign off, I'll leave you with one last piece and that is, love the journey and believe in yourself because you know what? You my friend are worth every step.

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With gratitude