On his Personal Branding Blog, Dan Schawbel has an illuminating conversation with Sarah Lacy, an award winning journalist and author of a brand new book, “Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0”, that looks like a great read.
Sarah rose to heights working for two publishing giants simultaneously, writing Valley Girl, a biweekly column for BusinessWeek, and co-hosting Tech Ticker on Yahoo! Finance.
She says that the essence of brand-building is a slow process. Over a decade she honed her brand through the valuable network of contacts she amassed along the way. People who didn’t always seem important at the time.
It takes time to build credibility, trust, and vibrant relationships so that, over time, the “real you” is solid and reliable to them. Looking back, she realized she solidified her brand, one relationship at a time, with peers in the industry, sources, and readers.
“Your brand within your small sphere is crucial to build before you can build any sort of larger brand in the world.”
It’s about measuring your perceived value against what others say about you and turn to you for, before you present your brand to the world as authentically and uniquely you.
