Like it or not, you've got a brand. And get this — you don't really own it, your audience does. It lives in their minds. Your brand's position in all that gray matter is largely determined by how well you've thought out and implemented your brand's strategy and assets.

The best time to work out your brand strategy is when you're just starting out. You've got a clean slate, for the most part. Since it's tough to change people's minds, getting it right from the get go is very important. So, where do you begin?

Since most of us start off as an individual practice, we're talking more about personal branding here. Although the elements are largely the same as product branding, personal branding is ... well ... personal. It requires a load of soul searching and rigorous honesty. And that's where we start — with the hardcore reality of where you are now. But, look at the bright side. In the end, you come out with a brand that truly reflects you and you'll save a ton of dough on therapy and self-help books.

It's important to recognize that your branding effort must align with the current reality. You can't just create a mask or you'll lose your integrity. That would be bad. What you can do is find ways to build on your strengths and differentiate yourself from your competition.

I'd begin this little psycho exercise with a nice, new legal pad. Start to jot down all the things that come to mind about what makes you, you. Here are a few questions to get the ball rolling.

• What's your broad scope goal?
  
  
• Where are you at now and where do you want to be in 3 and 5 years?
  
  
• What are the obstacles you must overcome to get there?
  
  
• What do you do well?
  
  
• What do you stink at doing?
  
  
• How do you think your audience perceives you?
  
  
• Are you consistent in your message?
  
  
• What the heck is your message?
  
  
• What makes you different and why?

Whew! Now that that's out of the way, the scary part begins. We need to find out if how you think you're coming across is actually what your audience believes. How do you do that? Easy. Ask them. You can accomplish that in a couple of ways. Talk with your friends, family, associates and clients and simply ask them to honestly tell you what they think.

If that notion gets your palms sweating or you don't think they'll be honest, try an anonymous survey. List out all the questions you need answers to and mail them out. Include a self-addressed, stamped return envelope and remember to tell folks they don't need to include their name. I like to put in one of those scratch-off lottery tickets in there too as a thank-you for their time.

Armed with your research — what you think, what you think your audience thinks and what your audience really thinks — you can begin to put a strategy and assets together.

What's a brand strategy? In a nutshell, it's the plan behind how you're going to build relationships and an emotional connection with your audience. The audience, by the way, is not just your clients or prospects. It includes investors, vendors, the media, political influences and organizations and more. It's every person, group or organization that comes into contact with your brand.

What are brand assets? I'm glad you asked. First, they're more than a logo and a letterhead. At the core is your brand promise. This is what you tell folks what you are going to do for them and then carry it out ... at every touch point. Another are your employees, if you happen to have some. Do you they know and understand your brand promise? Do they know your organization's mission inside out and backwards? Do they communicate these to your audience in a consistent fashion?

Beyond this, your brand is expressed and communicated through more tangible and visual assets such as your logo, a tagline, stationary, typography, color, signage, architecture and interior design, literature systems, web sites, advertising and public relations, and such. Since we're talking personal branding, you can also throw into the mix your clothes, hairstyle, your handshake, how you talk, your gestures and mannerisms, your sense of humor or lack there of, all they way down to what you eat. It's all the things that create that impression of you in their minds.

So, you say your pockets aren't as deep as Procter and Gamble or Coke®? Don't sweat it. An effective branding program doesn't always need to have a multimillion dollar budget. But, it does require strategy, savvy, consistency and creativity.

I work mostly with small business and nonprofit organizations these days. In a previous incarnation, I did a lot of work for large companies, both on staff and independently. I've learned a few things about this branding stuff along the way. Being the nice guy I am, I'll share some with you.

Differentiation
What makes your business or organization different from the pack? What do you do better than everybody else? What can you deliver that the other guys can't? Differentiation is a crucial element in branding.

Be consistent
Are you presenting your organization in a similar fashion across all audience touch points? Are you sending out the same message? Is your logo always presented the same, using the same color(s)? Is your tagline shown on all materials? Or, are you coming across as a "Sybil" with multiple personalities?

Know your audience
Do you know the primary decision-makers within your audience? What turns their crankshaft? How do they get their information? What's important to them?

Build awareness
The bottom line is that if people aren't aware of you, you're going out of business. How do you build awareness on a budget? PR comes to mind. Develop relationships with the trade journal and newspaper editors. You'll have better luck getting your releases printed if they know who you are.

Write articles for publications and web sites relevant to your industry and audience. Become an expert in a niche. If you're feeling particularly feisty, write a whole darn book. Writing produces something of a snowball effect. Whip up a couple of articles and next thing you know, the editors are calling you for your input and quotes for their articles, folks contact you for speaking engagements, prospects are contacting you for information. Your 15 minutes of fame has arrived. Congratulations! Now, keep up the momentum.

Send out an e-newsletter or periodic e-mail message. They're usually pretty inexpensive and can help with your positioning, while providing a consistent link and value to your audience. The trick with these is to provide good information, tips, links to relevant articles, etc. Just talking about yourself is boring and creates a self-serving tone that's opposite of branding. Branding should be all about your audience.

Can branding help?
Branding is creating a positive image about your company, product or service within the minds of your audience. It's not simply a logo you slap on this and that. It's about the entire experience your audience has at all your various touch points. It's not about selling something this afternoon. It's about building that image over time through a strategic plan that's consistently implemented.

Sure, but can it help? You bet. Well-thought out and implemented personal branding will:

• Differentiate you from all the other folks
  
  
• Position your core message in the hearts and minds of your target audience
  
  
• Keeps you on top in clients' and prospects minds.
  
  
• Increases your authority, making your recommendations easier to sell
  
  
• Puts you in a leadership role
  
  
• Enhances prestige
  
  
• Gets folks calling you instead of the other way around
  
  
• Attracts the right people, opportunities and generates referrals
  
  
• Adds perceived value to what you are selling
  
  
• Earns recognition
  
  
• Increases earning potential by becoming the leader in your niche