Building Your Personal Brand
Hello and happy Friday beautiful people!!! I have been so excited for this day to come, because not only can we celebrate another day of God’s grace in waking us up with a purpose, but I am also introducing a Friday blog series for the next five weeks that will focus on personal branding. That’s right, I am going to lay out the critical steps that I use in my business of working with brands—specifically those of professional athletes, celebrities, authors, doctors, and entrepreneurs who make up my clientele.
Several weeks ago, I had the opportunity to host a Branding 101 webinar with student-athletes from Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). In a perfect world, this presentation would have taken place in person with the chance for in-person discussion and community growth. But even in a perfect world, the need to pivot and optimize with what you have is critical, so that’s exactly what we did, we made it work
How Did I Start Building Professional Brands?
Before I dive into what you can expect to learn about Personal Branding 101 in this Friday series, I think some background and introductions are in order. For those who don’t know me, I am Lauren Walsh, and I empower thought-leaders and changemakers to leverage who they are and what they know, to increase their impact, and make money doing it. I first got my start right after college, where I attended and was a cheerleader at Purdue University (Boiler Up!).
Shortly after graduating, I began working as a mentor for the football team. It was during this time that I recognized a true need to help athletes understand that there is more to life than sports–and to a more important extent– there is more to them than just being identified as an athlete. I began to help the individuals that I worked with dream bigger and create sustainable plans for success that would survive whether or not they made it to the league.
“…there is more to life than sports… there is more to them than just being identified as an athlete.”
Eventually, two of the individuals that I worked with ended up making it into the NFL and continued asking me for advice. After years of providing insight and support on the side, I decided to take a leap of faith, leave corporate America, and start my own agency.
Now over five years later, I have successfully built, managed, and monetized brands for some of the most sought-after individuals and companies, including (prepare for name drops) Myles Garrett, Terrell Owens, Kirk Cousins, Sam Dekker, Matt Carpenter, Nick Ahmed, Popeyes, Destination Cleveland, and Bird. With this experience of figuring out what works, and also learning things the hard way, I am thrilled to be a resource towards your personal brand growth.
Now to Focus on Your Personal Brand
Next Friday we are going to dive into the first step that revolves around the basics of personal branding: You do not build a brand, you are your brand. Mark your calendars, share with your friends, and come ready to take notes and ask questions, because the content in the fifth and final post of my series is going to consist of your questions, and my answers. Yes, you read correctly, I will be answering anything you want to know about building a successful personal brand, so start thinking.
Again, I am so excited to focus on this topic that I am so passionate about with you in the coming weeks. Be sure to keep checking back for new blog content, and until then, have a fabulous weekend!
Love you all,
– LW
LIFE WITH LW 