Before starting my career as a brand and marketing specialist, I lived a very different life. As a D1 collegiate track and field athlete, an NJCAA All-American, and former National Ranking NCAA runner, my days were consumed with training, coaching, and conditioning to be my best as a student athlete.
Today, I still coach athletes as well as business leaders to achieve their highest potential, producing campaigns for entrepreneurs and executives alike. Over the past ten years, I’ve noticed considerable overlap between the boardroom and the playing field. For one thing, having a strong personal brand for professionals — CEOs and athletes alike — has become all but essential.
Building a brand that speaks to your goals, values, and intentions demonstrates your capability and helps you stand out from the competition. Fall behind, and you run the risk of letting your rivals define you. These five tips can help:
Tune Out Personal Distractions
As a student athlete, I had to balance a full course-load and busy social calendar with intensive training, all while making sure I didn’t exhaust or injure myself. The psychological pressure could be a lot.
I soon realized that silencing external distractions was the only way to succeed. Learning how to hone my time-management skills and set clear priorities allowed me to focus on what really mattered. Allowing myself vulnerable moments to seek guidance from trusted mentors was important too.
Building a brand requires this same level of inner focus. While we may have to appeal to a wide variety of stakeholders or find ourselves drawn to a diversity of different visual themes, it’s crucial to clarify core values and aesthetics that speak to you. Otherwise, your brand won’t be coherent and unique.
Identify Your Goals, Then Make a Plan
Training looks very different if you’re planning to run a 400 meter dash versus a marathon. The same is true for business leaders and creators building a brand. The message you want to put out into the world will look different depending on your end goals.
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If you’re launching a new company, for example, you’re going to need to be more focused on creating awareness, defining brand values and building an emotional connection with your audience. If you’re launching a new product, your brand campaign may need to center on driving immediate sales or educating the market on your solution. Different types of product launches, such as luxury items versus mass-market, are also likely to require distinct approaches. When you know what you want to achieve, you can tailor your campaign accordingly.
Don’t try to do everything at once. You wouldn’t train for a sprint by running twenty-six miles on your first day. You also shouldn’t launch a product without a gradual, step-by-step plan for meeting your long-term goals.
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Stay Committed, Learn From Mistakes
Sometimes, things won’t go according to plan, which is why it’s important to get comfortable with feelings of failure, and learn to adjust accordingly. When I didn’t qualify for the 200-meter finals at the NCAA Nationals, I felt dejected, but I knew giving in to this mental state would only hold me back. Instead, I asked myself what I could learn from the experience. Examining my past performances helped me realize I needed to both prioritize a more consistent performance going forward, and build stronger mental resilience. In the end, the experience gave me the tools to succeed and rekindled my passion for the sport I love.
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This ability to compartmentalize, analyze and be flexible has served me well in marketing, particularly within fast-moving industries, like the cannabis industry. One of my cannabis clients faced major challenges post-product launch, demonstrating the volatile nature of that industry. While the experience initially felt like a failure, my team was able to learn more about the volatility of the cannabis market and tailor future marketing campaigns to emphasize flexibility.
Just like an athlete endures injury to come back stronger, we created back-up plans to accommodate the unexpected. By being prepared for anything, you can build a resilient brand that outlasts any challenge.
Don’t Go It Alone
Even in individually-focused sports like track and field, teams play a major part. While fans may not see coaches and teammates cheering athletes on before the race, offering strategy, guidance or technical feedback, the team is vital for getting athletes to the next level in any competitive environment.
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz put it perfectly: “Success is empty if you arrive at the finish line alone. The best reward is to get there surrounded by winners.” As a student athlete and marketing executive, I’ve seen this ring true time and again. The victories you notch with a team aren’t just wins. Those successes cement relationships that can support you in your career for the long haul.
Never Underestimate Your Brand
I understand when people say they feel alienated by the concept of having a brand. Sometimes, actively thinking about how we want to be perceived by others can feel at odds being authentic. But, if we don’t think proactively about the version of ourselves we want to present to the world, we run the risk of letting others define us.
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After giving birth, many people doubted my ability to return to athletics while balancing the demands of being a new mom. If I hadn’t been extremely committed to my identity as a mother, marketing executive, and athlete, other people’s opinions might have gotten the better of me. Instead, I was able to move forward authentically in alignment with my personal brand, drowning out any external noise.
We can never fully control others’ perceptions of us, but personal branding can help bridge the gap between how we see ourselves and how the world sees us. Far from trying to project perfection, investing in your brand is a key way to champion your authentic self.
