12 Reasons Personal Brand Creation Is Essential & Accessible to Any PharmD

You already have a personal brand.

Do you know what that is?

Chances are if you aren't intentionally cultivating this online, it is not as good as you're like it to be.

Like with big companies, people will perceive you in a certain way. By intentionally cultivating your brand and taking charge of it, you can determine what people think and feel when interacting with you. How cool is that!?

Personal branding is the intentional effort to create and influence public perception by:

• Positioning yourself as an authority in your industry
• Elevating your credibility
• Differentiating yourself from the competition

to ultimately advance your career, increase your circle of influence, and have a more significant impact. (Wikipedia)

Successful personal branding is about curating certain parts of your personality to present yourself to your network in the best possible light. Of course, you must be authentic. It’s not about presenting a fake identity.

12 Reasons Personal Brand Creation Is Essential & Accessible to Any PharmD:

1. You get to be a solution in the world. You probably got into pharmacy to help people...so help people in a way that is meaningful to you, for goodness sake!
2. You get to be a trusted source of information. The public is going online for all their questions. Why aren't you teaching the public as a smart, capable PharmD? Instead, all the non-qualified Joe Schmo's are already posting advice online, and people are listening.
3. You naturally attract people. When you establish yourself as an expert that loves their niche and provides much value, you draw people to you naturally who are attracted to what you are sharing. No sales/marketing is needed. People are drawn to you.
4. Get the best jobs (or create your own business) suited precisely to you. It's always been not what you know, but who. Today that is truer than ever. Your online brand sets you far above any competition and gives you an in for the best positions out there.
5. Your brand is something that can't be taken away from you. It is yours and not a part of the current position you hold now for another company. This is the best long-term investment in your career you can make because you'll compound your growth over time.
6. Your brand can grow and pivot with you. Don't worry: you aren't locking yourself into anything. Your brand and your expertise can grow with you over time. You aren't locking yourself into a niche but unlocking what is possible.
7. Your brand is your new resume. Resumes are dead. No matter how smart you are, someone with a more polished & connected online persona will beat you out every time.
8. There is no admission to enter. Your brand is created entirely by YOU. You don't have to get anyone's approval or permission to build. The sky is the limit, and nobody but you will build this for your future.
9. You don't have to be an expert to start. Just start where you are and grow in public. You don't have to (and shouldn't) be something you aren't. Don't wait until you have helped 500 of your patients before you share what you are doing online. Build in public and share honestly where you are at. People love watching and supporting growth in action.
10. With your voice, you get to more effectively advocate for change. It is so fun to advocate for change! When you are an expert that stands out from a crowd of people who like what you are doing, your advocacy carries much more weight.
11. You can turn your hard work, life and professional experience, and wisdom into frameworks that help others. Let your hard-won knowledge give someone a few steps behind you a leg up. That is the best part of creating your own brand: the help that you can more efficiently give others.
12. You get to be YOU! Nobody in the world is like you. You are unique, and creating a brand that encompasses a few angles of your interests, talents, and passions is a joy. You aren't just filling a job title, but get to show us as yourself which is very fulfilling and rewarding.

You get to make the world a better place, unique to YOU. You can choose a niche that you love and bring your whole self to your brand. Nobody will ever be able to replace you because nobody is uniquely like you. This is how you set yourself apart from the masses and make yourself irreplaceable.

How do you start to build your brand?

Building a brand is a process that takes time and involves:

•  Finding your uniqueness
• Building a reputation on the things you want to be known for
• Allowing yourself to be known for them

For me, my brand evolved from a simple habit:

Daily writing online.

When I started building in public 2 years ago, I didn't know exactly what I wanted to build. I had many interests and passions. I had a unique personality that didn't fit the mold of the average pharmacist. I wrote posts 6 days/week on LinkedIn and shared everything I was building. I attracted people with similar interests, naturally built out a company, and had many fantastic opportunities I would never have had if I tried to build offline.

You probably don't know where you want to go but have a passion for doing something meaningful to you. Lean into that!

Start speaking up.

Whether you know what niche you want to own or not, you'll learn much more by writing online and building in public.

So get out there and start building that brand. You don't know where it'll go, but from here, anywhere is up!

Jamie

PS- Whenever you're ready, there are 2 additional ways I can help you:

• [Free] One audience & professional growth tip focused on pharmacists in their weekly inbox here (just launched!)

• Pharmacists, learn more about creating your profitable consulting practice here (300+ students)