Golden Job

It's all about Job and Career!

If you answered yes to most, or all of those questions then self employment might be a good fit for you. Self employment can be scary because you won’t have the security of a regular paycheck coming in week to week and a lot of people worry that they won’t make enough money being self employed to cover their expenses. But when you’re self employed you can make a lot more money than you can working for someone else because all the money you make goes directly into your pocket instead of going to a corporation.

Still, when you leave the security of your job for home business self employment it’s a very smart idea to have enough money saved to cover at least a month’s worth of expenses. Two month’s worth is best, because then you will have the financial cushion that you need to feel safe and know that your bills will be covered. In order to really be successful at being self employed you need to be disciplined and you need to have direction with your business. After all, when you work at home or work for yourself there won’t be anyone telling you what time you need to start, or what time you can stop, or what needs to be done, or what calls need to be returned. You will need to do all of that yourself so it’s important that you are disciplined to make yourself work if you’re going to try a home business.

If you don’t have enough discipline to make yourself work without someone telling you to work then self employment might not be the best career choice for you. If you are not cut out for self employment then you should stay at your current job, because if it’s not a good fit for your personality type then you could fail miserably and burn through all your savings pretty fast. Self employment can be great for certain people. If you have always wanted to try a home business and you think you have the right temperament for it you should go for it. Take charge of your career and your life and go for it. Work for yourself!

It’s one thing to say, here’s a hot company or product – and I need to devote significant company resources to forming and shepherding a brand that builds share value. It’s another thing to proclaim, I am the brand – and I need to spend the rest of my life making sure my brand reflects who I am, what I do, and how well I do it. Quite simply, meaningful personal branding is an ongoing life activity that requires degrees of introspection, regular self-examination, and plain old hard work that’s demanding for anyone.

But, your personal brand happens whether you shape it or not. If you are out in the world at all, you are known for the qualities you project and the qualities external audiences believe are true of you. Your choice is simple: Own your brand, or let external audiences own it for you.

So, treat your brand like you would any other brand. See yourself as the asset you must nourish, the true legacy you must protect. Your personal brand is your current and future value.

Like any other brand management initiative, a well-managed personal brand follows a strategy process that completes a brand framework like the following:

1. Brand Attributes: Your brand attributes are the qualities that embody your personal brand, and should always be associated with it. To get there, distill down your core professional and personal values and the values of the key audiences you interact with, and in this intersection you’ll find your most important brand attributes.

2. Brand Promise: In its most fundamental form, your personal brand promise is what you guarantee your key audiences (think employers, clients, customers, community) will experience because of their relationship with you. So, as with any other commitment, promise only what you will deliver.

3. Brand Positioning: Your personal brand positioning statement will (1) define your key audiences – the most important audiences you interact with, are influencing, or trying to influence); (2) pinpoint what they care most about; and (3) synthesize the value your brand delivers to them.

4. Brand Driver: Your brand driver is the outcome your personal brand is dedicated to seeing achieved with the audiences you interact with. It is the essential idea the captures and integrates all brand actions.

5. Brand Personality: Your brand personality is comprised of the human elements connected to your personal brand, and are the characteristics that inspire (or not) specific feelings in your key audiences.

Personal brand management always pays off, although the process and associated actions are not always the most tangible or quantifiable. However, personal branding is a critical investment in yourself and it’s an investment that will stay with you for life.