Freelancer Journey: Growing your personal brand.

An anonymous business coach explained branding and personal brand identity in these simple words.

“A brand is an inscription, word, structure, image, or other detail that differentiates companies and products from its competitors in the eyes of their target audience.”

“Whereas a personal brand encompasses everything from an individual’s personality, presentation, experience and it extends to your job standards"

Being a freelancer, it is imperative that you style and develop your personal brand. It is a visual representation of your individuality, your experience and your competence at what you do.

This inspires potential clients and allows them to trust you without ever conversing with you. It also backs your project rates as a freelancer.

Seems like a lot? It’s not as hard as you think.

It’s as simple as proving you’re capable of performing your skills for clients, and you can do this by sharing your social portfolio, sharing your experience in short posts, articles, or providing proof with reviews of your work.

Personal branding is your opportunity to represent your artistic tone and value before engaging with a potential client. It is how you want to be perceived and represents your skills while illustrating your professional value. It answers questions like:

• What makes me unique?
• In what way can I prove credibility about what I offer?

This also speaks to your ability to grow. If there is a job you have your heart set on, cultivate those skills. Take the training you need, learn from others, ask other freelancers for help and strengthen your potential. This all makes up your personal brand - not just what you produce, but how you produce it and help others along the way.

When you’re hired for a project, this is a moment to share all of your capabilities with your client. They only have an idea of how talented you are. Don’t hold back here, instead, show them samples of previous projects to highlight how talented you are. This is the time to shine, so don’t be shy.

Stay honest.

Be fearless.