7 POWERFUL WAYS TO LEVEL UP YOUR PERSONAL BRAND IN 2023

WRITTEN EXCLUSIVELY FOR SHE LEADS AFRICA

It’s Yetunde Shorters here, chiming in share with you, as we plan for the New Year, 7 powerful ways to level up your personal brand in the New Year. This year flew by so quickly that we couldn’t even catch a breath, but it’s never too late. You can start now and start today, and let’s plan for manifestations in the New Year. Below are my suggestions of 7 powerful ways to level up your purposeful personal brand in the New Year

PLAN AHEAD

Planning ahead means take the time one of these days this year before the year is over and sit down and plan for the things you want for your personal brand or your business. That means on social media. Sit down and plan what your social media would look like. Sit down and plan what each quarter would look like. Sit down and plan what products that you’re going to launch per quarter, whatever steps that are involved in each stage. Write it out and plan. You have plenty of time to do that this year so that you can be prepared and schedule things for next year. That way, you save yourself some time. Sacrifice that 4 hours of social media a day time just for you. You deserve it.

You can start now and start today, and let's plan for manifestations in the New Year . Share on X

MANAGE YOUR TIME

Number 2 thing you need to do to level up your personal brand in the New Year is manage your time like a boss. Here’s what that means. We all have 24 hours in the day. Yes, sometimes, everyone says, “We have the same time that Oprah has.” Well, Oprah has a team to work with and delegate too, none of us can afford Oprah manpower yet. If you’re a solo-preneur or you have a small team, you have 24 hours in a day. You have a lot to do. What that means is be conscientious of how you spend your time. What are you doing with your mornings? The first 90 minutes set the tone. Be intentional about those 90 minutes. Do you find yourself on Facebook or Instagram immediately? WATCH IT, STOP IT.  Do you time yourself when you do that? Nothing wrong with applying social media, but make sure you’re not spending and wasting time on there without a return on your investment.

What that means is allocate and dedicate and promise yourself you’re going to spend a certain amount of time per day on whatever social media platform it is. One of the things I actually do to manage my time better is when I have social media days off where I’m just logged off of social media and I also log off of my Wi-Fi, and I do projects that do not require me to be online. There are many apps you can use to manage your time. There are apps you can use to block you from going on social media so you can focus because it can be addictive as productive as it can be, but managing your time is very important. That also means if you’re obsessed with certain TV shows, how many hours are you spending on that? You’re watching people that are making money off of you watching them. Why don’t you spend that time building your personal brand? You can watch TV, limit your time and focus on building and then enriching your own personal brand.

MAP OUT YOUR SYSTEMS

The number 3 way you can level up your personal brand in 2019 is to map out your systems. What this means is: if you are going to be doing events or if you are going to be doing a photo shoot, if you are going to be consulting with clients, write out what that looks like. For example, stage one clients inboxes you. What is the response after? Clients responds to you. What do you send after that? Write out step-by-step so that you have automated content that when anything happens you’re literally just cutting and pasting again saving you time. or use e-services to do an auto send out. Map out whatever your systems are for getting new clients, for securing a sponsorship or getting product, whatever system is. Sit down, think about it, and write it all out step-by-step so that you have everything planned out in a Word document or a notepad or Evernote. Write it all down so when the time comes you’re literally just cutting and pasting or scheduling it into your e-applications. That would save you tons of time and will allow you to be able to train someone if you’re not available on how to run your systems.

CONNECT, BETTER

Number 4 powerful ways to level up your personal brand in the New Year is to connect better and more. That means online and offline. Sometimes we get caught up in posting and we forget that we have to engage other people, so dedicate 20 to 30 minutes of your time per week and go back to the people that follow and engage you and engage on their pages. Like the comments, like their pictures, read stuff, and leave your thoughtful feedback. People want to connect with you, and also do this in live events. That means go out more, look for networking or marketing events that you can be a part of. Look for virtual events that you can be a part of, but make it an effort to connect better and more with people because, with personal powerful branding these days people connect to people so you can no longer hide behind a company name or the Internet. People want to know who you are, and the more you connect and the more authentic you are, the better for you and your business and your personal brand.

DOCUMENT IT

The number 5 powerful way to level up your personal brand in the New Year is to document your milestones. Share on X This is one of the things that was actually in the recent book I had with the Better Business book where I shared my 10 things I’ve learned from, my 10 years in business, and if I knew then what I know now, I would have at the end  of every month or maybe every two weeks, documented any good thing that happened in my business. Because guess what? When you’re going to do a review of the year or an analysis to a client, you can go back and have documentation, have a folder created on your computer and have documentation of the really good memorable milestones that happen and the really challenging ones, as well, so, at the end of the year, if you have to do a year in review, you have all your ducks in a row, you have content for your portfolio, you have content for testimonials. It’s a great way to track your progress.

TRACK AND ANALYZE

The number 6 way to level up your personal brand in the New Year is to track and analyze often. Often depends on how engaged you are on social media or on your newsletter or in person. That means see what’s working. Test it out. See what’s working and then come back and take off the things that are not working. Tracking and analyzing actually helps you see that your efforts are being put to good use. You want to make sure you maximize that and make it a habit starting now, so that when the New Year comes, when the new year comes, that you are ready and prepared to track and analyze. That way, you will get into the quality of what works for your personal brand, and so you just rinse and repeat and use the things that work over and over again, but you can’t know what works unless you track and analyze it.

AUTOMATE, AUTOMATE , AUTOMATE

Finally, the 7th way to level up your personal brand in the New Year is to automate and engage and convert. Create your automation systems. What does it look like when someone signs up for your newsletter or signs up for talking to you, what is that process? If there’s anything you can automate, which means use a mailing service where something is automatically sent to them without you, your business can function without you, you automatically automate all the stuff that you want your customers or potential clients to know.

Then, you want to engage them. When you automate, when they respond back to you, you want to engage them. As much time as it’ll take, try to be as one-on-one as possible, or maybe do a group session or a group webinar, but engage them in some way on a live stream, on the Tweet chats. Find ways to engage your community. Then, when you engage them, you can convert them. Because once they know, like, and trust you, which is the KLC factor. When people feel like they know you and then they like you and then they trust you based on the consistency and content you share, it is very easy to convert them to buy anything you are selling, because they believe you are out to support them and what they want out of life with your expertise.

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Again, you have plan ahead, manage your time like a boss, map out your systems, connect better and more, document the milestones, track and analyze often, automate, engage, and convert. These are the seven things you need to level up for your brand in the New Year. I wish you well. Let’s go manifest all the hard work we put in this New Year

Shaking It Up: Tips for Acquiring and Adapting an Existing Business

I’ve been exploring what it would be like to buy a company instead of starting from scratch. I was doing research so I could offer that as an opportunity to clients who that would be a fit for. That way, instead of starting from scratch you can start from the middle or the top. Check out Flippa.com for more and also this article for my Blog by Lucy. You don’t always have to start from scratch. Think of buying a ready made company like starting from the middle, or depending on how successful it already is, starting from the top. YOU HAVE OPTIONS. Explore them Share on X

Whether you’re an angel investor, a venture capitalist, or just a savvy entrepreneur, buying an existing business can strengthen your existing portfolio and create new opportunities to profit. Taking on someone else’s venture, however, is by no means straightforward, and you’ll need to carry out plenty of research if you want to adapt it successfully to market – here are a few pointers before you commit.

Acquisition

Requirements

Before you begin your search for a high-potential business, it’s important to first review your own skill-set and capabilities – both as an owner and, if you own other companies, as a conglomerate. An understanding of the industry in question is a must – you should also ensure that you have enough time and capital available to allocate towards the development of a new business. Take the time to work with your CFO, accountants, or consultants and review the resources available to you – understanding this is crucial not just for the researching stage but also for the negotiation stage.

Identifying a High-Potential Business

When it comes to business investment, as a rule, there are far more duds than there are boons, and so, to isolate a strong prospect, you’ll need to develop strict criteria and stick to them. Your criteria can vary depending on budget, industry, personal requirements, and more but, as a rule, you want to take on a business with a willing market (meaning there is preconceived demand amongst customers), high profit margins, and a clear selling point that can be taken advantage of in future.

Due Diligence

A cautious approach can save you time and money in the long run, and nowhere is this more true than when you’re conducting background checks on business prospects. Take the time to review critical documentation, analyze any available data and identify key risks that might cost you in the long term. It might also be necessary to meet with key players within the business itself, members of the c-suite, for example. Finally, you should ensure that your lawyers have read through any financial, legal, and regulatory company documents to ensure that everything is above water and legally sound.

Negotiating

Once both parties have agreed on a valuation provided by an independent source, you can move into the negotiation stage. Ideally, this should be straightforward, with communications taking place amongst yourselves and the company’s top decision-makers. Remember that these individuals may have sunk years into growing this venture and so it’s important to convey a clear understanding, appreciation, and plan for its future.

Adaptation

Structure

As important as the business itself is your strategy upon completing the acquisition. You should aim to review every department and look at larger components like structure – you may decide, for example, that you want to change this entirely. A formation service can help navigate any legalities and there are many options available online for you to compare reviews and prices, such as Rocket Lawyer vs Zenbusiness.

Marketing

If you’re taking the company in a new direction, this should reflect in your brand design and marketing efforts. If you’re working with limited resources, consider saving on designer costs by using online banner makers to design a custom banner for your website or social channels. These can often be customized with text, colors, fonts, and animations.

Business Process Management (BPM)

A company running on outdated processes can be enhanced using BPM strategies. BPM can automate and optimize workflows by analyzing how people, systems, and data interact – by understanding how digital process automation and BPM work, you can use the information gathered through the BPM process to streamline your operation and improve efficiency.

Acquiring an existing business is an arduous process in itself and adapting it to market is even harder. However, with a few adjustments, such as a new business structure or cost-efficient marketing strategies, you can take a struggling venture and bring it up to profitability

 

Thanks to Lucy Reed for today’s article. I appreciate the insight.

Have a purposeful day.

Stop trying to Find Your Purpose. It’s already within you. Look inside.

Hey Purpose Angel. This morning, I want to share with you answers to the following:

Why am I doing this? Why is this important? I remember the day I decided I didn’t want to become an Attorney anymore.
I was in the first month as a Junior in college at Loyola University Chicago Why? 3 reasons

1. As much as I enjoy reading, I was stressed out about how much information I would have to retain as a Lawyer

2. I knew I wanted to help women and build wealth and I didn’t see how I would do that without having to work for the bad guys (They typically have more money than the good guys. Good guys have money too)

3. I am an Empath, so I literally feel other peoples vibes and so I’m hyper-mindful of the energies I allow in my space and the energy I bring to any space. I’m also super intuitive, so I get clear directions on what I need to do for results, safety and success. These are physical and spiritual God-given abilities. We all have them. I’ve simply had a mentor who’s helped me master them and I’m still learning.

I feeeeel the energy of our world. Even as I type this now to you I have tears in my eyes just feeling it. I also feel the love and they are both overwhelming. So when I say I’m RADICALLY CLEAR on what role I need to play to support you in stepping fully into your purpose, It’s because it’s important. I already know we will have a better world when YOU do your part and you get to skip the line cuz I’ve done all the mistakes and spent a lot of money to get you the current best possible blueprint for your own next level.

So in school, I selected a few marketing and pr courses to take. In one of my classes, we were given a mock Ad campaign to work on for Verizon and in a split moment I realized how may millions of people I could reach with one simple yet effective AD. LITERALLY MILLIONS IN ONE GO. I caught the PR BUG and I was sold. I focused on my specialty in Communications.
Everything I have learned and do since then has helped me to be a student and teacher communicator with visuals, words and quality. I get the privilege of doing this for my own personal brand and the over 100+ women I have had the honor of branding overtime.

What you need to know: Your purpose has been and will always be a part of you. It's not something you're out there looking for. It's within already. Share on XWhether you discover what that purpose is or not depends on your choice to explore, acknowledge and accept what that purpose is. A good coach can guide you through the discovery.

Why you should care: If you find that you’re not joyful, excited or energized most times about your life or work or situation, It may mean you’re not in alignment with your purpose. And the fact is, you don’t have to stay in this space. It can be more than you ever imagined. I testify to this and so do many of my client.

What you need to do: DM me if you’d like to explore what it looks like to kick off your purpose journey, stress-free, no overwhelm and joyfully. Wanna see Quantum Leap, ask @evatoby She became a bestselling author beating out Lala Anthony’s book even before her book was available, secured over 7 media features in one year national and international. Became a published columnist for rolling out magazine and using my process once raised $900 in 5 hours for a youth organization in Detroit, Michigan.

Get VIP access to the Next level version of you. We kick off our Purpose POWER LAUNCH May 2nd. #radicalclarity #livethroughpurpose #purposepower

Purpose to Profit Secrets in Action

FB Friend, I have new news. But first, story time lol
 
So on 7.7.7 I launched ICY PR into the world and I did it specifically because I wanted to support small business owners who could share their knowledge and products with the world. I think in international, global terms, so I always dream then do big for my clients and my work.
 
In these 14+ years a lot has happened and I can sincerely say I forget how much we’ve done until we look back to see what we have done.
 
In December I had a coach who I was new to make a back-handed social media comment that I know specifically was around what I shared in our session about the work I do for women. Her comment was about how one shouldn’t make commitments about helping people live through their purpose, you should focus on the fact that you get them clarity.”
 
I was offended and I didn’t know why at the time, then I chatted with a friend and she said “MAM, just because she can’t and doesn’t do that, she probably can’t see how it’s possible that you can.”
 
lol I was like “yeah, you’re right”. I have conservatively secured now, over 1500 media features in my career. supported 14 entrepreneurs in becoming Best Selling Authors, Gotten my clients exposed to over 100 million people literally, from Latin America to Africa to North America. I am 41 about to be 42. I have literally been doing this consciously since I was 18. And I have incredible results to prove it.
 
From working with some of Africa’s biggest stars like DavidO, Stephanie Linus and a few others I can’t share as per lifetime NDA lol to working with some incredible Grammy Award winning artist and Dance music brands from American Ballet Theatre to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre to Pianist Lang Lang and a lot more when I was Director of Marketing and PR at CAF. To small business owners in London, Nigeria, America, Canada, Caribbean, Latin America etc.
 
We’ve donee a lottttt. So I do know how to do this and still helping incredible Entrepreneurs get results. Heck!! last week got 6 professional women get featured in Today’s Purpose Woman Magazine sharing their purpose work and expertise.
 
There is a method to the Purpose. And since I am RADICALLY CLEAR on how I am supposed to guide my clients with all I have learnt and still learning, I am going all out and I say this with no humility: MY LIGHT WILL ATTRACT so that those I am meant to serve can spot me and I can serve my God calling.
 
It took me almost 20 years to realize how simple this Purpose this is supposed to be. YUP. I cracked the code on the simplicity. It’s supposed to be simple actually. The work you’re looking to do to feel validated is in the mastery and action of the DOING your part.
 
 
And so, my new news is this:
 
As we step into year 15, (we will be 15 on 7.7.22) we have officially evolved into a coaching and consulting international company. We are now officially and legally called
 
ICY COACHING AND CONSULTING INTERNATIONAL.
 
Our mission: to support women and a few men in stepping fully into their purpose, using their personal brand, without stress & confusion, information overload, or time wasting so they can have global impact & earn substantial income consistently.
 
If you’re nudged intuitively to learn more about the PURPOSE P.O.W.E.R BOOTCAMP, feel free to DM me.

Discovering your intrinsic value is simpler than you think

 

Discovering your intrinsic value is simpler than you think.

One day, I was laying down to take a nap on my sectional sofa, I woke up about 45 minutes later and I could NOT get up…I couldn’t move my legs. I was scared. My heart was racing, I could literally taste my anxiety. and I started crying… and at some point my brain signaled for me to get my phone.

luckily it was right next to me and I called one of my Pharmaceutical Dr. friends. And she heard the panic in my voice just from saying hello. I told her I couldn’t move my legs, I started crying again and she told me to calm down, “try wiggling your toes, she said, pinch your legs”.

I did all of that still stressed and anxious and then the feelings in my legs came back.

I got off the phone cried some more, then went back to work.
You would think I would have seen that as a warning.

Months later, I ended up in the hospital from Adrenal Fatigue and my Best friend was with me and as I lay in the hospital bed at the time, I thought to myself, “if I died today, none of this shit would matter. And I thought “hmmmm, my family would cry, eat some rice, have a party and they would move on.

In that moment, after all the blood work, recommendations and everything else from the doctor, when I got home, I made a decision to change my life in 30 days. I stopped watching TV that month, I read a lot of books, I meditated more.
I was present in my life and I can tell you, the level of clarity that came to me once I decided to step FULLY into my purpose was divine.

The blessings and opportunities that came with that choice were astounding. The effectiveness that I was activating now that I had clarity.
Yes, I still had to do the work of mastery, heck, I’m still doing it, But this time, I had a blueprint of how to let my purpose lead my many passions.

Here is what I have learnt and I want to share with you:It doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, the knowing your purpose part is easier. We just expect it to be hard and we’re usually underwhelmed on how easy it seems. If you’re looking for work to do however, don’t worry, The work you feel you… Share on X

It is fully your responsibility to MASTER your purpose.

What are you doing to master the thing you’ve been called for? Are you taking specialty classes, are you feeding your soul, Do you have mentors who can help guide your light, You tap into all of these things, so that your impact is bigger, your joy is bigger, your attraction factor is bigger, your profits are bigger.

You can get to do all the things you enjoy and still live through your purpose.

What you seek is already inside you. Release it and step fully into your purpose.

It’s time to LIVE THROUGH PURPOSE®