Brand You Personal Branding

Transitions can be some of the most crazy, awkward, and hurtful things in life. It doesn't matter if you're the transitioner, transitionee, or the bystanders; transitions can hurt. How can we do them better? First, we have to make sure we understand what kind of people we're dealing with during transitions. In his book Necessary Endings , Henry Cloud outlines three types of people: wise, foolish,...

Social Media has the potential to foster real relationships and make a lasting impact in the world, or it has the potential to manufacture superficial relationships and do real damage in the world. But where do we start? How do we do this intentionally, and how do we show consistency in our social posts so we're "on brand"?   Sean Pritzkau is here to help. Sean provides simple, practical steps to...

When Lauren Davis isn't organizing live release shows at her record store in Rockford, IL she's obsessed with empowering her clients through social media to help them boost sales, increase exposure, and impact their communities.   Lauren is an all-around marketing pro but for this episode I've asked her to share her best practices with my favorite social media network, Instagram.   Lauren recently...

  Many people want to "reinvent" themselves career-wise but they're just not sure where to start. One of the keys to reinventing yourself successfully is already in your hands: social media. If you use any kind of social media right now, you're already engaged in what I call "personal branding". In this episode, I share two strategies to use social media intentionally to take control of the conver...

After being unemployed for 6 months, Wes Gay quickly scaled his marketing consulting practice to six figures in the first year, and today he's here to share what he did, why it worked, and how you can leverage it in your own work. Wes believes something deep in his bones: clarity always wins. Whether it's in marketing, sales, leadership, or personal relationships, being clear is the best way to co...

Behold two of the most sleep-stealing, life-sucking, worry-causing words I tell myself: "By now." Fight as I may, they always seem to find a way to seep into my thoughts. Maybe you've said a few of these to yourself: By now…I should be out of debt. By now…I should have lost 20 lbs. By now…I should be finished with school. By now…I should have kicked that habit. By now…I should be married. By now…I...

Every few episodes we'll be doing a listener Q&A episode, and this is the first one! Most of these questions have come in via my Instagram channel at instagram.com/mikekimtv . If you have a question, hit me up there and we may end up using your question on a future episode! Joining me as co-host on this episode is my friend, former assistant, and travel expert Chelsea Brinkley . Check out Chelsea...

Personality tests are powerful tools for personal growth.  Some people think personality tests "box them in" but personally, I feel they open up our understanding of ourselves. If you can think of tests like the Briggs Myers, DISC, or Enneagram as a more concrete way to observe yourself, then you're well on your way to growth. Recommended (free) Enneagram test: exploreyourtype.com Recommended Enne...

Decisions, decisions, decisions! Have you ever had to make a decision and kept delaying it? There's actually a 5-step psychological process behind why you get excited to make a change in your life -- and then fail to follow through: Satisfaction Dissatisfaction Emotional Brink Moment of Insight The Opening That's what we're going to talk about on this episode . Once we understand how we make decis...

What makes you leave a box in search of a new nirvana? That's what we're going to talk about on this episode . As we kick off the first few episodes, we're going to look at the most important relationship you have: the relationship you have with yourself. Ultimately you're the only person that can take responsibility for your own life, but if you've ever asked, "What am I going to do with my life?...

In this episode of the Brand You Podcast, I share 5 things I've learned from doing 150 episodes of this show in hopes that these insights will inspire you to keep taking action to build your personal brand business. You'll discover: Why doing this podcast has been one of the most rewarding things I've ever done in my career Why it's never too early to share your stage How I created my 7P framework...

You work hard every day to craft your ideas, frameworks, and strategies. But what can you do to legally protect them? Today I interview Steve Sponseller, a patent attorney based in Spokane, Washington about best-practices when it comes to protecting our intellectual property. In this episode you will learn: The difference between copyrights, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets What legally cons...

Stu McLaren is a master marketer and the genius behind building some of today's largest membership sites. In this interview, we recount his unique journey from being the behind-the-scenes strategist to stepping "out front" to become his own brand. It's a journey that I've walked to a small degree, and one I know that many listeners are on right now.  A sneak preview: The difference between unconsc...

Having a product for sale is the pathway to profit in a personal brand business. Yes, you can sell your own time by doing coaching, consulting, or speaking -- but why stop there? In this episode, I talk about 4 products you can create in under 4 hours each: Affliate products Documents / Swipe Files Mini-Trainings Coaching This episode focuses on the first two types of products because they are eas...

Positioning is one of the most important, yet least understood, aspects of marketing. It's clear when you see top-tier brands like Louis Vuitton (luxury) vs. everyday brands like Wal-Mart, but things get foggy when branding a person. But that's exactly what a personal brand is: a brand built around you.  In this episode I take you behind-the-scenes of one of my private workshops where I help perso...

This is a "back to the basics" episode as I lay out the 3 things you need to build a minimum viable platform for your personal brand business. I'm amazed at how many coaches, consultants, and speakers I meet who don't have all three of these in place in a way that allows them to leverage their exposure and referrals. Homepage Services Page About Page There should be 3x as many calls to action for...

In recent weeks I've made some big changes in my business. The biggest change has to do with my paid mastermind group ... and the decision to shut it down. In this episode, I talk about the reasons behind the decison, as well as the things I've been working on since (including two new launches that have generated more than the mastermind group that I decided to close down). I mentioned a number of...

If you're in the business of "you", your story will end up being one of the most important components of your marketing plan. In this episode, you'll learn the 7 elements of a Signature Story: Paradise Disaster Reluctant Hero Fleeting Victory Devastating Defeat Moment of Grace Final Victory There are also components within a story that move the narrative forward: Elephant in The Room Story Behind...

In this episode, I share my approach to clarifying my purpose, vision, mission, goals, and tasks. Tune in, and you'll also hear about some big changes to the podcast, namely why I'm going to end this show at episode 150. There's no shortage of talk on concepts like purpose, vision, and mission and those words are often used interchangeably. For me, I see them in a certain hierarchy, which helps me...

In this episode, I share the approach to goal setting that I learned at Tony Robbins' Date with Destiny seminar in West Palm Beach, FL. Date with Destiny was one of the most powerful and important events I've ever attended, and though I can't do the impact justice through a podcast, I felt one of the best things I could share would be Tony's approach to goal-setting. If you're anything like me, go...

I have committed to living everyday in my Zone of Genius. The Zone of Genius is a concept penned by one Gay Hendricks in a book titled The Big Leap . Hendricks contends that all of our problems in life stem from one BIG problem: The Upper Limit Problem (or ULP! for short). The Upper Limit Problem essentially prevents us from sustained enjoyment of our success … because we subconsciously don't feel...

On this episode, I peel back the curtain to share the opening keynote from my recent conference Influence & Impact . Part of the reason I'm doing this is because, well, I'm really sick and can barely talk right now! But I still wanted to add value to you this week and publish a fresh podcast episode. Tune in and you'll hear the heart behind why I hosted this event, and some key points that will he...

I'm a big baseball fan (go Yankees!) and been watching a lot of playoff baseball of late. That got me thinking about 5-tool players.  In baseball, a 5-tool player can hit for power, hit for average, run, throw, and play great defense. These players are invaluable to a team, but they also have clearly delineated roles, even if they can do EVERYTHING well. In the thought leadership space, I see 5-to...

You have a unique purpose to fulfill. Maybe you've discovered what you're wired for at an early age. Perhaps you've recently reached a milestone and found that you have not nearly tapped into the meaningful life you were meant to live. Maybe you know your purpose but have drifted from it. Kevin Monroe is captivated by the idea that a higher purpose exists for life, leadership, and service. He beli...

From the moment you land your first client, you're in the "business life cycle." Recently, my friend Thomas Lee walked me through the 9 stages of the business life cycle over dinner and I knew I had to share it with you on the podcast. It was like getting an MBA in one conversation. In addition to being a small business consultant and executive coach, Tom has also served as the President of Full L...