Not that long ago (*coughs* a month ago *coughs*) a new Work It, Mom friend (wave hello, Kate!) pointed me towards an interesting article by Steve Pavlina.

I have been an off and on reader of Steve’s for just about a year now.  I like much of what he has to say but unfortunately, Steve is VERBOSE.  Really, really verbose.  And me?  I have the attention span of a gnat.  You could write PURE! GENIUS! CONTENT! and while I would appreciate its first paragraph or so, I’d most likely find myself skimming through the bulk of the content.

I, my friends, am a fan of the bulleted list.

That said, this article that Kate pointed me towards, well, I confess that I read it in full.

*mostly* 

The article is on the subject of self-employment.  So many people feel like that is a path that they simply could not go down.  Perhaps the discipline required would be too great or maybe it is the risk of not being financially rewarded for your work.  Whatever the reason, a great many people feel like they could absolutely positively never pursue being self-employed.

Well guess what?

“Like it or not, you are self-employed.  If you produce output and get paid for it, you’ve got a business.  You are no more or less an entrepreneur than any established business owner.”

Feel free to click that link and read the article in full.  It is pretty good and quite frankly, not a new concept to me, myself or I as I have read Brian Tracy’s work before.    I have also read the book Be Your Own Brand: A Breakthrough Formula For Standing Out From The Crowd by David McNally and Karl Speak. The concept of marketing oneself is not new to me and to varying degrees it is one I have practiced for myself over the years.

When I was self-employed I was clearly an unrelenting self-promoter.  I attended networking events and made my presence known online in forums where it made sense.  I shook hands, kissed babies and offered free, no pressure consultations.  I was selling KathyHowe as fast as I could looking for high bidders and fun projects at every turn.

There came a point in time when I found myself longing for more structure in my work life.  I missed lunches with co-workers and projects that had significant budgets.  I missed the perks of an office life like paid time off and good benefits.  When I started setting my sights on returning to the W2 lifestyle I realized that this was no time to stop marketing the KathyHowe brand  It was true, the service area was changing slightly, the business model was making a shift but the brand KathyHowe needed and deserved to be marketed beyond a typical resume with a typical cover sheet.

I hired a professional resume writer and had my resume redone from top to bottom.  I attended networking events that would align me with people in the professional field I wanted to work in.  I had a press release written for myself:

KathyHowe 2.0 is now available!  

OK…the press release didn’t say that exactly but it was a press release announcing my availability and recapping my skill set in a way that a resume just doesn’t cut it.  That press release netted me more phone calls than anything else I have ever done.

I haven’t used that press release for quite some time now but I still continue to look for ways to maintain the brand KathyHowe.  Regardless of where my paycheck comes from, I am still in charge of my career.  At the end of the day, I work for me.  Because what I do fulfills me, engages me, challenges me and pays me.

Do you do anything to build YOUR personal brand?