
Personal Branding Corner: Are you a closet professional? Get out your horn and toot it!
By Katy Goshtasbi • March 25, 2013 •Careers
Inherent to the personal branding process is the ability to be able to know your uniqueness, own it and let others know it. Of course, if this was easy to do everyone would be an expert at personal brand management, have more business and be happier in general.Yet, as I always say, we find that people have a hard time being outstanding and shining brightly AND letting others know it. Inherently, the problem is low self-confidence. Therefore, we become "closet professionals" as I like to call it. We go around hoping someone will somehow notice how great we are, like…
Personal Branding Corner: Tips On How To Use Your Brand Well Over the Phone
By Katy Goshtasbi • March 11, 2013 •Careers
Whether you are having a phone interview or having a call with a prospect or client, your brand comes through via the phone just as much as it does in person. Think back to the last call you had with someone who didn't "sound" happy or well-put together or competent on the phone. You noticed. So others notice you, as well.Here are a few tips for keeping your personal brand pristine over the phone. Just because I can't actually see you, doesn't mean I can't feel or deduce what's going on with you and your business.Go to www.purisimage.com to read…
Personal Branding Corner: What NOT To Do During An Interview Or Sales Pitch
By Katy Goshtasbi • February 25, 2013 •Careers
Here at Puris Image, we work with businesses and their employees on developing their personal brands and conveying that into a successful personal brand. However, it seems we are often working on interviewing skills for our clientele, too. So whether you are interviewing for a job or a new client/business, the tips are all the same.In fact, I've discovered a pattern that happens with people who are interviewing- whether they be attorneys, CEOs, entry-level people, etc. The list is so long that I'll address one issue each time I post.So here's the main thing NOT to do during an interview…
Personal Branding Corner: What’s The Actual Value of Personal/Business Development (as opposed to the billable hour)??
By Katy Goshtasbi • February 11, 2013 •Careers
I was at an American Bar Association (ABA) conference last week. One of the events I attended centered on negotiating for lawyers. Each pair of lawyers were given fact patterns and told to negotiate their side. The fact patterns involved one lawyer being the “boss”, or partner-in-charge, and the other lawyer being “junior”, or the associate. Afterwards, the pairs discussed the results of their negotiations.I found a very interesting phenomenon occurring as each pair stated their results. In 75% of the pairs, the junior employee/associates would negotiate for services related to personal and business development, such as the hiring of…
Personal Branding Corner: Lessons Learned From Brand “Republican”- How Do You Block The Success of Your Brand?
By Katy Goshtasbi • February 04, 2013 •Careers
[Author note: Look forward to meeting many of you in Dallas this week at the ABA Mid-Year meeting!]The term "brand" is usually related to food, cars and clothing. It has been our job (and an uphill one at that!) to show companies and business owners that branding applies to people as well. However, much to our pleasure these days, the term "brand" is used much more widely and commonly with respect to people and groups.Just recently, Louisiana Republican Governor Bobby Jindal delivered his party's formal response to Obama's vision for this country. In his response, Jindal said, "We had a…
Personal Branding Corner: Give to Get
By Katy Goshtasbi • January 21, 2013 •Careers
Nowhere in any of my programs will you find me saying that the point of personal branding is about you getting more business or “taking” for yourself. This seems counter-intuitive because personal branding is about selling yourself and your uniqueness.However, the entire premise of personal brand management is about understanding that you are to give to others and fulfill their needs by bringing them value. Oftentimes, I find that as professional service providers (lawyers, doctors, CPAs, etc) clients get confused here.Click HERE to read the rest.
Personal Branding Corner: How Will You Manage Your Stress in 2013?
By Katy Goshtasbi • January 14, 2013 •Balancing Private and Professional Life
In the personal branding world, identifying and managing our stress is critical. As we define personal branding, if people are buying your uniqueness then stress is not a big selling point to your target market. After all, what potential client is inspired by a stressed out service/product provider? Not me. We all want to buy from companies and hire people who seem in control and manage their stress well.Looking at various definitions of the word, “stress” we often see reference to not just one aspect of stress, but to a variety of things such as, “mental”, “physical”, “social”, “pressure”, “real…
Personal Branding Corner: Self Promotion or Bragging?
By Katy Goshtasbi • January 07, 2013 •Careers
One of the biggest obstacles I've discovered about lawyers and other business owners trying to master their personal brand is their inability to know when it is acceptable to toot their own horn, or self-promote. The result becomes a poor personal brand, filled with uncertainty.A couple of things factor in to this obstacle. First, is that people lack the self-confidence in understanding their uniqueness and owning it. People do not believe their lives are unique or that anyone would care. This poor mentality manifests in so many parts of our lives. For example, I have found that when people get a compliment, they cannot even…
Personal Branding Corner: What Mark Do You Want To Leave In 2013?
By Katy Goshtasbi • December 31, 2012 •Balancing Private and Professional Life
As we go into another new year, we have yet another twelve-month cycle to leave our mark on the world. If you've got a business to run, then it is even more important for you to start thinking now (well, arguably four to six months ago) about what it is that you want the world to know about you and your business.Most of us don't ever stop and look at ourselves from this perspective. We tend to move forward knowing what we want to get from the world. Most often we want fame and fortune.Click HERE to read the rest.