You are YOUR brand

Yay I am inspired to write and am grasping the moment to write down my thoughts. Maybe I will even proof read. :)

As many of you have seen, this gal is venturing into new territory in 2013. In 2012, I was gasping for air and running a marathon trying to make a name for myself and make some change so I could eat. Well at least I lost about 20lbs. Small victories I tell you. I also gained that attention I wanted in; which is very satisfying. What sucks is that I am still gasping for air because of these damn student loans. I HATE YOU SALLIE MAE! But in the end... I was the one who said, "Eh, I'll worry about that later". Yeah, the girl who didn't want to go to college. I was a very smart teenager. Didn't want to college cause HELLO, I already knew how to write and didn't need a piece of paper to tell me I could. Or debt for the rest of my life. Definitely should have listened to myself. Then again, who says I would have been where I am today. Things really could be worst. Above all things, I am grateful.

Branding yourself. A very confusing topic. Rules and procedures change versus if you owned a company. For example, I owned Alpak Station. It was incorporated and filed it's own taxes. SAE aka my initials does not. It's me. That's it. Therefore my books, social media management, and whatever else I do is all under my name. Therefore, to brand myself is very important. For example, Ms. Lauren Conrad is in fact a household name among teeny boppers. She was a reality tv star, fashion icon, author of several books, and who knows what else. Am I jealous? Quite honestly, I'm in awe. Where's my reality tv show to make me famous? But back to the topic. Branding yourself. Conrad has definitely accomplished this well and flawlessly in my eyes. I'm currently looking for domain names for my website (woot woot!) and went to check out hers. It's perfect on so many levels. It's not about her at all but subliminally is. It's about her target audience. Things they want to talk about. Things they want to learn. It's about girls.

As I think about my own website and stare at Conrad's some more, I realize I need to get out of my comfort zone. Secretly, I enjoy being the person in the background. I push my friends to do bigger and better things so that I can ride on their tailcoats and be the behind the scenes mastermind. Hmm...I think there is a name for that but not sure what. Possibly a coward and more importantly, a scaredy cat. I'm scared to put myself out there. I know what you're thinking, "Really?" (no pun intended). Yes, really. It sounds silly since I am constantly putting myself on the web and welcoming strangers into my inner thoughts, but I don't think I am FULLY putting myself out there.

Why am I writing this? I want us all to be our brands. Whether you work for someone else or are a freelancer/entrepreneur. Make your name worth something and known among your peers or other business professionals. Make them respect you not just because but because you definitely have something to offer. I was reading this article and it said to ask yourself, "What is it that my product or service does that makes it different?" Answer in 15 words or less and then read it outloud. Also read the rest of this article. It's long but if you're a good skimmer, you'll be inspired.

By the way, this girl is putting herself out there in 2013. Saying in the mirror, "You are capable of doing impossible things."

*Definitely didn't proof. And I'm not even sorry