3 essentials for an entrepreneur to build their personal brand

There are a few key factors other companies and individuals can emulate when it comes to their brands. For people, having a personal brand can boost their presence online and make them seem more trustworthy, two important factors in attracting new customers, finding a new job or making more connections.

“Establishing a reputation, expertise, and credibility has transformed my life, income, and confidence,” writes Melody Wilding, an author and executive coach. “Today, new opportunities come to me because I’ve worked hard to create a name for myself.”

But how do you go about building a personal brand? In this Strategy by Inverse post, here are three quick essentials to get started.

1. A consistent online presence — It shouldn’t be much of a surprise to anyone, that to be found online, you need to have a presence online. That means having profiles on social media channels relevant to you and your interests, along with a personal website. Across these channels, you should have a photo of yourself that represents who you are and what you stand for, whether that’s a professional headshot or one of you on a mountaintop.

You’ll also want to project your story: how you got to where you are now (skip your life story unless it’s particularly interesting), what you do and who you hope to connect with. With everything you do online, you should think about your ideal audience, whether that’s customers, employers or connections.

2. Knowing your goals — If you don’t know what you hope to accomplish, you can’t expect others to help you along the way. The personal brand process helps you dig down to figure out who you are and what you want, and consider how others view you.

Once you’ve done that, think hard about whatever it is you hope by having a personal brand. If you want more customers, explain what your business does and what you can do for them. Looking for a new gig? Show what type of positions you’ve filled in the past and how you can help a potential employer accomplish their goals.

Your personal brand doesn’t need to reflect who you are at the moment, but who you aspire to be.

3. A strong network — It can seem like a bit of a catch-22 to need a strong network to build a personal brand, but having connections validates the two steps above. After all, you can talk about how great you are all you want, but it’ll never be as powerful as when someone else says it.

Of course, IRL networking is vital, but social media also plays a large part in personal branding, as the more people see you in their feeds, the more they’ll become familiar with you. You can do this through thoughtful comments on their content, your own posts or earnestly reaching out to others to offer your help or praise.

Think of these 3 tips as pillars, helping you build a personal brand that will last.