Your Personal Brand and Owning Who You Are

Your Personal Brand and Owning Who You Are

So when I went to school the other day to hang out and get my hair done by Max, I wasn't surprised to see all the other students I'd worked with before. Some knew me from the week I mentored in their class, some recognized me from the blog (which, shocker, I honestly still believe no one reads this), and some just knew me from that one time I came into their class and got too excited talking about hair products. (I'm that guy.)

But it was shocking to hear the questions erupting up like a volcano. Honestly, I was confused by a lot of their personal confusion and fear of "life after school".

And a lot of it was the same:

"Did you have a hard time getting a job?"

"Are you making money?"

"How much are you charging for x, y, z?"

"How did you get people in your chair?"

And then, in a more confusing volcano, came the weird complements:

"You're so popular, of course you're not having trouble."

"People just love you, that's why you make money"

"You should come back and teach, or just come talk about what you've been doing since school."

It was flattering, mind you- to hear people say stuff like this like 10 inches away from my face. 

(You have to understand, getting a complement in front of me is like something from a fantasy. It's like seeing a lunar eclipse or something.)

But it was scary, to think a lot of these people who I really liked and genuinely want to help would soon just be jumping off a cliff into the working world without really having a sound knowledge about just themselves as a person.

A lot of working problems are solved by knowing yourself.

A lot.

If there's one piece of advice I would give to someone who's still in school, it's this...

...develop your personal brand, and own it, ASAP.

I took marketing classes a long time ago when I was still in college and we covered branding (more in terms of products, but it still counts) and it occurred to me to wonder how important was it to package yourself with something nice?

And that's when I really jumped into things like color theory and personal business ethics, because I knew I wanted to run a business one way or another and it was daunting to think someone would instinctively not like me because my business cards were red. 

And when I dropped into core for my very first day at cosmetology school, Erik (one of the owners) went over the very same subject I had been obsessing over for months. His, however, was more deliberate and frightening because it wasn't dealing with my business cards- it was about me.

What did my hair and nails say about me? Was I dirty and not taken care of? Or did I look pretty and presentable? Did my Gothic look scare people off? Or was my small town charming look not enough to pull people in?

It was an eye opener, to say the least, because while it has occurred to me before that my clothes said something about me- I always thought my personality trumped it.

It never became a thought though, that maybe the way I look stopped people from even wanting to hear anything I said.

I'm pretty sure Erik could smell the fear off me while he asked up to write down who we thought we were as people.

That's scary right? That's like the nice way of saying, "Who do you think you are?" 

And you know what? I didn't even have a clue. I was 23, bright eyed and bushy tailed, straight out from a real college and I couldn't even think of a couple of words to describe myself- someone I've known forever.

Everyone was scribbling buzzwords on their papers. I saw stuff like, "put-together", "fun"... hell, I think at one point I saw "poised".

Those weren't me. Those weren't me at all. I wasn't put-together and fun. I was anxiety ridden.

But then I thought about myself at my first job ever. I was still in high school, things were going incredibly well, and I was working at a propane distributor. I worked for a bunch of people who were family or family friends and the atmostphere was fun. I would lick envelopes and laugh with my aunt about "that old so and so" and when clients came in they knew me. I would sass them, I would make them laugh, and I made them feel comfortable in a home that wasn't theirs.

I was "familiar", I was "sassy", and I had a way that "made every problem someone else had feel important".

And that's where it all started. 

I had enough anxiety to understand others' anxieties. I knew what comfort is supposed to feel like, and if I can't have it, I'll make sure you do. And you'll laugh the whole time while I say the southern colloquialisms that fall from my mouth on the regular.

Because look, sometimes branding yourself is also understanding the things you just can't be. I'm not proper and poised. I'm not a southern belle. My clothes aren't pressed and ironed, and they come from Target (lets be real).

But people like that about me. They come to me because I make them feel like my friend. When they come to me, they're living out a real life version of Steel Magnolias. (If you haven't seen that movie, shame on you. Stop reading this and go watch it. It's probably on Netflix by now.) And I know myself enough not to stray. I don't really dress flashy (except for my shoes, I love me some zebra print Michael Kors), I don't do my makeup over the top, and when I do nail art- it's pretty much all Disney and baseball.

And when it came to understanding what I want to do, I had to look at myself and imagine where my talents are useful.

Who needs someone grounded, funny, and familiar?

Small salons, and brides. Which is why I do both. (And of course this blog, I mean, duh.)

So here's the rub.

Why am I successful?

I know myself and my clientele.

Am I always rolling in $100's and buying myself more Michael Kors shoes? No. I still live month to month and paycheck to paycheck like anyone else starting off. It happens.

The first couple months you're in business, you're working for scraps. I hate to be that guy, but you are. You're just trying to get butts in your seat. You're going to offer deals, you're going to have days where you wait for a walk-in, and you'll probably cry the first time someone offers you one of their jobs.

But the struggle is the best part. You learn so much about yourself and who you are, and you'll discover a lot about what people say about you.

I live in a town where everyone knows my name, and my parents, and my grandparents. Reputation is everything. And you know what they say about me?

"Karen's granddaughter is just a hoot."

(Real statement... by a lady who wears head to toe cheetah print.)

And you know what? I am a hoot. 

But I understand a lot of you guys are 19 and out of high school and don't really know who you are outside of your friends- and that is ok! Try out stuff. Always wanted to wear loud jewelry and be eccentric? Do it. Want to have pink hair and tattoos and work exclusively with punks in London? Do it. 

Know who you are as soon as you can, and do whatever makes you happy.

Look, I'm the guy who over packs to go to the beach, I'm the one with snacks in her purse, I make peach sweet tea on the regular, I read teen novels (*cough*Pretty Little Liars*cough*), and watch Mad Men.

I'm that guy.

Now you just need to figure out what guy you are.

-SamanthaK