Make yourself more visible

GROW PERSONAL BRAND It is beneficial to your business to put yourself out there and market yourself a bit more.

There are many methods of marketing that entrepreneurs can make use of, but seldom do entrepreneurs develop and market their personal brands. We’re taught in marketing to brand our businesses with beautiful logos, attractive colours and websites. But what about branding and marketing the business owner?

In this extremely competitive market, entrepreneurs must learn how to brand and market themselves, because there is an argument and good reason for doing so.

If there is one common denominator among small businesses, it’s that rarely do customers know or remember the name of the company they are doing business with but they recognise and know you the entrepreneur.

That is because you – the entrepreneur – are the business and customers know, interact with, trust and want to deal with you. This is in stark contrast to big businesses, where we seldom know the chief executive or owners but instead recognise and deal with the company at large.

Therefore, it is beneficial to your business for you to put yourself out there and market yourself a bit more. How do you do that, you might be wondering? There are a few ways. Speak on radio – there is no better way to show you’re an expert in your field than to talk about your product. In that case, become a regular guest on a business talk show.

There are hundreds of local radio stations in communities and online that are constantly looking for content. And most of them are willing to bring on an expert to discuss certain topics.

Speak at conferences – as with radio, seminars and conferences are a great platform. Event organisers are constantly looking for expert speakers. You could also speak at your industry association or local chamber of commerce.

Become a writer – if putting pen to paper is your forte, then you could write for a local community publication or an online magazine. How about creating a blog, LinkedIn articles or simply posting your articles on your website?

There are many ways you can market yourself but essentially, the idea is to brand yourself as an expert and thereafter grow your influence in the market place.

Additionally, growing your personal brand can only do you good.

The more people who know you, the more opportunities you open yourself up to. Moreover, it is vital as an entrepreneur that your name be recognised in the business world.

Why? Because if you were to ever start a different venture or leave your current business, it is your name that will carry you and help you to start other ventures.

Munya Duvera is CEO at Duvera Elgroup

Event organisers are constantly looking for expert speakers