The Importance of Personal Branding for Remote Workers
Those who know me know that I’m not a perfectionist. I’m impatient and more of a get-sh*t done rather than waiting until something is perfect.
There are most definitely benefits to being this way, but the downside is that I don’t always consider just how important the small details can be.
Take my initial branding, for example…the only thing I put A LOT of thought into was my company name. I had a list of almost 50 other names that didn’t fit. When Remote Rebellion was suggested, I KNEW it was the one - I knew it represented me and what I wanted to portray.
The logo was a happy accident. My Graphic Design friend was helping me to create a logo, and she came across the Roman symbol for freedom, which happened to be two Rs. Crazy coincidence!
As for the rest of my branding, the amount of thought that went into it was quite minimal. Why purple? I like the colour. Why the fonts? It looks nice, I guess?
I didn’t give it any further thought until I worked with more creatives and marketing folk who needed some direction from me on what the RR branding represents and what the tone of voice is, etc, so they could properly do their work.
I needed brand guidelines, that was for sure.
Then, on a women's fellowship programme last year, I met with the wonderful Ioana from The Fab Squad. We got to talking, and I asked what she did for work.
With the lovely ladies from The Break Fellowship
“I’m a personal brand architect”, she said.
“What’s that?”, I asked.
In her words….
“I help professionals have an authentic personal brand. ***This means that together with my team, we dive into the person in front of us and show them off in their best light. We create the visual strategies, graphics, and websites, and also take the photos for those who want to present themselves coherently and beautifully online & offline. I do this within the company I founded in 2015 - The FAB Squad.
Before The FAB Squad, I was a “real” architect, and I lived for 4 years in Shanghai, where I used to design big multi-usage buildings.
In the last 9 years, I worked with over 4000 people - for their brands or their personal brand photography - and I figured out we first need to LIKE OURSELVES or to find what we LOVE about OURSELVES. Self-love is one of our great superpowers, and it is important to find and accept our uniqueness to be authentic and really stand out in an overcrowded market.”
And that’s when I knew I needed much more than just brand guidelines - I needed to dig deep into what my personal brand was before I could start on what Remote Rebellion’s brand is.
This isn’t just something for you to consider as a business owner; personal branding is something you should delve into if you’re a freelancer, contractor, or even as a job seeker. It is also important in such a competitive job market if you want to increase your chances of landing your dream remote job.
Taken by Ioana from The Fab Squad. Does this scream Rebel? he he
Here are some tips you can use when thinking about your personal brand, in Ioana’s words:
Tip 1: A brand needs to be about SOUL
I felt Remote Rebellion needed some visual SOUL infusion. The most authentic way to the soul is through the HUMAN who founded the company. So, I knew that we had to look into Michelle’s personal brand.
Tip 2: Differentiate yourself to leave a mark
When we are founders of a company, or we are up for a new job, or we want to differentiate ourselves from others, we have to look deeper into the way we SHOW UP online and offline. It all leaves a mark. What would others say about you when you leave the meeting?
Tip 3: Get a 360 view of who you are to others
Michelle has a community, and a community will always gather around an emotion. The feeling of freedom & truth had to be felt in the brand. The next step, which we should all do from time to time, is to gather a lot of data from our clients, colleagues, mentors, and friends - this helped us get a 360 view of the way a person is perceived.
Remote Rebellion’s new branding by
The Fab Squad
All this data brought us to what we created for the new Remote Rebellion brand. Michelle and Remote Rebellion are change makers - the impact she and her team have is like a positive domino effect that inspired our design. The double L in both her name and the brand is the rebellious feel, as much as the 2 Rs in the logo are now upside down, feeling more disruptive and more powerful like lightning.
If you want to stand out amongst the sea of candidates and freelancers - consider enlisting Iona’s expertise - I’m so happy I did!
HELP ME STAND OUT & CRAFT MY PERSONAL BRAND!
Stay rebellious,
Michelle
*This week's article is credited to Ioana Dodan, the personal brand architect and founder of The FAB Squad.
P.S. Join our Remote Work Photo Contest to win a free 1-hour 1:1 session with ME!
This post is sponsored by flatio - A rental housing platform for digital nomads, offering hand-picked, mostly deposit-free, and reasonably priced accommodations in over 300 destinations, mainly in Europe.