I was 42 last Friday and on my birthday I delivered a talk in Birmingham, England. Afterwards my wife and I went out for a meal to celebrate my 42 years.

Over dinner we both commented on how surprised we were by how the financial news had bounced off my small audience of 15. It was great… they weren’t going to let the events of the past week get to them. Bravo!!

It’s true, it you listen to something often enough, you will start to believe it. Yes, it’s the worst financial crisis I can remember, much worst than the recession of the early 90’s. But most pulled through that. In my mind having that same attitude “let’s work through this” approach will be more important now than it was just over a decade ago.

I’ve been working harder these past 4 weeks to keep the momentum going, and think it’ll be the same for many other business owners around the UK. In fact around the world.

Personal Branding is going to be SO important over the next 12 to 18 months. Those businesses who can be clearly identified by their brand in 18 months time will reap a harvest so plentiful… that they’ll think Christmas has come every single day!

It’s going to be that rewarding.

Yes it will take time to achieve, no you won’t become an over night success. And yes… it will enable you to attract more, WIN more and profit more.

For instance… where we dined, was great. It was just as I remembered the last time I was there three years ago. But this time it was MUCH busier. My wife enjoyed the experience. Especially the mix of indian and R ‘n’ B playing in the background. It was a really jazzy place to be that night and I would suspect, if I was there most nights, it would be that busy most of the time. We loved it!

The owner understood, brand. He knows how important brand is and will be for his business. And it was paying off for him. There was a queue to get a table, there was a buzz in the Restaurant.

People are still spending and they’ll continue to spend if they can see the value. Of course many will be holding off the amount they will spend. But what business there is, we’ll have to work a little hard, stay up a little longer and explore a few more ways to win business. One of those should be building your brand.

There’s lots of stuff out there on branding. One is by Peter Montoya - The Brand Called You. It’s really good. It does take a while to get to the meat, but I udnerstand why he takes his time to get to the particular things you and I can do to build our personal brand. He wanted to make sure we get it!

But… I really enjoyed it and… it makes sense.

As I heard the great Jim Rohn say 9 or 10 years ago now when I saw him in Dallas. “Make sure what you finally do is a product of your own conclusion”.

So seek out more stuff on branding and once you’re clear on what needs to happen go ahead and do it. No one person has all the answers, so seek many others who can help you with your personal brand.

Leave me a comment below to share your thoughts with me.

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