You are a BRAND! Building Your Own Personal Brand

Strong Brands:

 Whether you are an entrepreneur, doctor, lawyer, young professional, college student, or sitting at home in your sweatpants dreaming of getting that perfect job, you are a BRAND. Woah! Shocking! Think about that for a second: You are a BRAND. Now normally when one thinks of a brand, consumer products come to mind. According to the Harris Poll, “The Top 10 Most Recognized Brand Names” last year were:

10: Honda 9: Apple 8: Microsoft 7: Pepsi Cola 6: Kraft Foods 5: Ford 4: Dell 3: Toyota 2: Sony
1: Coca-Cola

Now, I bet you have heard of every single one of these brands. You have been exposed to billboards, commercials, magazine ads, product placements, TV shows, web shows, news articles, newspapers, radio….it goes on and on and on pounding messages into your thick skull. These brands all have simple messages that are repeated over and over and guess what? YOU can do this too!

You Are A Brand

So what does this have to do with you? The answer is EVERYTHING. Whether you like it or not, you are a brand. People (unfairly or fairly) judge you and make assumptions about you based on everything from your appearance to how you treat co-workers to how you deal with extremely slow waiter on a date.
People like Tim Ferriss (4-Hour Work Week, pictured below), Kevin Rose (Digg and Revision3), Gary Vaynerchuk (Wine Library TV), Jeffrey Gitomer (Buy Gitomer, pictured above) all have strong, distinctive, and may I add FUN, brands.

Building Your Brand

Building your brand is a component of four major facets (or components or fancy little David Lists, or whatever you want to call them works!):

1. Expertise: What do you know more about than others? What is your expertise? How do you “claim” your expertise?
2. Image: How do you look, act, and treat others? How do you dress? How do you speak? How are you portrayed aesthetically?
3. Message: What message are you sending to the world? What message do you want to send to the world?
4. Integrity: Are you the same person behind closed doors as you are in front of open ones? Is your portrayed image, expertise, and message align with how you feel inside?

Throughout the next few weeks, I will be diving into these four facets and help you achieve the brand YOU want to portray to the world and more importantly, creating a brand you love and one that fits perfectly.

Building Your Brand on The Rise To The Top

In Episode #3 of The Rise To The Top, I will be sitting down with someone that has mastered the four principles, “The Nametag Guy” Scott Ginsberg who is a best-selling author, incredible world-renowned speaker and the only person in the WORLD to wear a nametag 24/7. Scott and I will be discussing throughout the show your own personal brand especially “Expertise” and how to become an expert in ANY field in less than 30-days.

Adam Kreitman (Online Marketing Expert) will also be appearing to build your brand online along with our very own Relationship Doctor Phil Dembo (1st Date STL) talking about your “dating brand.”
Make sure to tune in on ABC and on The Rise To The Top website. See you there!

Live Passionately! – David Siteman Garland – The Creative Opportunities Specialist

Happy Holidays and Like The Jefferson's We Are Moving On Up on ABC! 

Whatever your religious or non-religious affiliation, a heart-filled and genuine Happy Holidays from myself and everyone at The Rise To The Top. May your holiday season be filled with love, family, and fun. I hope your 2008 was successful and your 2009 will be filled with great business success and a double-heaping of enjoying life. 

In very exciting news, The Rise To The Top is moving to a top spot on KDNL-ABC30 beginning in January 2009. The Rise To The Top will now air EVERY SUNDAY at 11 AM following “This Week with George Stephanopoulos”. Episodes will also be available on ABC following “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Tuesday and Thursday nights at 1 AM for those up late to take in 30-minute of in-your-face business and lifestyle education and entertainment. 

TRTTT’s three airings per week will allow viewers more chances to catch the show that has already been viewed by over 150,000 people since launch in late-2008 and has shown triple-digit growth. The Sunday 11 AM spot  is one of the most coveted spots on television. 

The first new episode airs on Sunday, January 4th at 11 AM (CST) with special guest best-selling author and world-renowned speaker Scott Ginsberg who will be sitting down to discuss creating YOUR own personal brand. “The Relationship Doctor” Phil Dembo of 1st Date STL will also be appearing along with Internet Marketing Expert Adam Kreitman, and everyone’s favorite attorney Jeff Michelman of Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP.

If you need a distraction from opening presents, take a peak at my radio interview on Recognized Expert with Bob Sommers. A big thank you to Bob for having me on the show to talk a little TRTTT and a lot about sponsorships! It was a ton of fun and Recognized Expert is a great website. 

Also, a big thank you to Elizabeth Erickson who discussed The Rise To The Top this past weekend on WGN Radio 720 in Chicago which is a fantastic station and one of the most popular in the country. 

Whew, that was a lot of information! Have an AMAZING holiday.

Live Passionately! – David Siteman Garland – The Creative Opportunities Specialist 

Bank On It! The Rise To The Top Event Series presented by BancorpSouth

If you missed our last event on December 17th, here is a VERY quick glimpse at what you missed. The cast of characters was diverse including sightings of Jeff Michelman (Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP), Elizabeth Erickson (Creative Entourage), Scott Ginsberg (Hello, My Name is Scott! LLC), Beth Koritz (Green It!), John Porta (MLP Investments), Mark Toffolo (St. Louis Blues), Dr. Phil Dembo (1st Date STL), Mike Freund (Washington University in St. Louis), Terri Arscott (Fund It) along with representatives from BancorpSouth Bank mingling with the crowd.

Free sushi was flowing and so was the vodka during the exclusive vodka tastings which took part in the new downstairs private area at Sub Zero Vodka Bar. Tasters received a comprehensive and fun lesson along with vodkas to try and gifts to take home.

In January, The Rise To The Top Event Series will be back and BIGGER! New events at Sub Zero Vodka Bar to light up your social life and also increase your network. You can mark January 21st from 6-9 PM on your calendar with details coming soon.

Live Passionately! – David Siteman Garland – The Creative Opportunities Specialist

Thank you to University of Dreams for a great article. Click here to check it out.

Have you heard the phrase those businesses that don’t evolve die, and those who are ahead of the curve or at least keep up with the curve flourish? This doesn’t mean that established brands constantly come out with radical new products, it simply means staying with the times and adapting new environments. So, who are the current media game changers? Newspaper enthusiasts and traditional radio, cover your eyes and ears because this isn’t going to be pretty. 

Generation Y is going to change the entire media game.

Yes, those insolent little brats who think they are entitled to everything (Yes, I’m a Gen Y’er). Members of Gen Y ( who are currently 21-35 and also interchangeably called “Millennials”) are moving up quick in the work place and are more entrepreneurial than previous generations which is leading to more spending power and influence. It is not a coincidence that Gen Y is referred to by advertisers as the “sweet spot” because of opportunities for long-term brand loyalty and the high-purchasing power of these tech-friendly information over-loaders. 

Generation Y does not thumb through a newspaper for three hours (or three minutes). We want our information instantaneously. One day or even one hour is too long. Example, a friend sent me a Facebook message about a funny video. What did I do? I went right to Youtube. In fifteen seconds, I was watching it.  

We are a text-messaging, multi-tasking, advertising-wary, Attention Deficit Disorder-loving, trendsetting, blog-reading, information-addicted, social-media experts, tech-embracing, fast-moving, highly-ambitious, quick-talking, well-educated, IPOD-listening kind of crowd. 

If you don’t see the Generation Y train coming, get off the tracks. 

When I was first coming up with the concept of The Rise To The Top as a new media resource, it was very important to me to cater to Gen Y. Why? Well, by being a member of the generation, these are the folks I can relate to and I know what I like and other Gen Y’ers enjoy: Bite-sized, highly applicable information that can be digested in a variety of formats (Video, Audio, Articles), shared with friends (Twitter, Facebook, Digg, StumbleUpon), and the “no pleated pants” mentality of fresh, edgy, with some humor and pop culture.

Millenials want to live more passionately, be happy,  kill the the 9-5 PM job and really “want it all” from money to entertainment to charity. Of course 21-35 year olds don’t know it all (I know SHOCKING) and can use the  help from those that have already walked the walked (Yes, my little Gen Y friends, there is MUCH to learn from past generations!)

Bottom line, get ready for Gen Y revolution. Major media outlets and advertisers are going to feel it in no time. What are you doing to prepare?

Live Passionately! – David Siteman Garland – The Creative Opportunities Specialist 

We are on the juice:

Sort of like Barry Bonds, we are juicing up the website over the next couple of weeks! Make sure to check back for all of the fun changes we are working on. We want the site to be as user-friendly, collaborative, and helpful to all of you and of course your feedback is definitely wanted as we continue to improve. Soon you will find more shows, more ways to watch shows, and resources to help build your business and life on the site. We have some cool things in works, so I don’t want to reveal too much.

Thank you, thank you, thank you:

As for the show, November and December have been an absolute blast and I want to thank everyone for sharing in the rise to the top of…The Rise To The Top as we have had over 150,000 viewers on broadcast television. TRTTT started as a dream of mine because I felt like business shows on television sucked and I thought I could deliver something better for all of you. Nothing out there connected with Generation Y and many of the shows are better sleeping pills than Tylenol PM. Also, shows missed the mark by not touching on the complete life: fitness, fun, family, cool gadgets, vacations, etc. We aren’t meant to be robots aimlessly working 9-5 for forty years anymore. 

Big Plans:

There are big plans falling into place and we will have updated television schedule for the next ten episodes which will air beginning in January 2009 very soon. In the meantime, as always, this is YOUR show and we want to hear from you. You are the entrepreneur out there busting your butt everyday to make it big. You are the young professional dreaming of one day running your own company. You want more out of your television and we will deliver what you want including expert advice from those who have already walked the walked and are now running.

Enjoy Episode #2 up on the website and also the broadcast version playing throughout December in St. Louis (don’t worry the show will be in YOUR market before you know it).

Thanks again everyone and see you on the air!

Live Passionately! -David Siteman Garland- The Creative Opportunities Specialist

You always hear about the folks that are “afraid to pull the trigger” and those that are “trigger happy”. Which one are you?

If you are afraid to pull the trigger:

-You miss opportunities

-You become upset when you see someone else implementing “your idea”

-You coast through life wondering “what if?”

-You play it safe

-You don’t play at all

-You are a saver

-You don’t want to learn something new

If you are trigger happy:

-You jump on opportunities

-You not afraid to make mistakes (and have made many)

-You don’t settle for the status quo

-You pounce on new ideas

-You stake your claim in the world

-You may get overextended trying too many things

-You’ve tried and failed and hopefully tried and succeeded

-You embrace innovation

So, do you pull the trigger or do you watch others pull it while being on the sidelines?

Live Passionately! – David Siteman Garland- The Creative Opportunities Specialist

PS: Have you checked out Episode #2 of The Rise To The Top?

This isn’t your grandfather’s business show!

In one week, we will be taping Episode #3 and #4 for The Rise To The Top! Without revealing TOO much, best-selling author Scott Ginsberg (“The Nametag Guy”) and master networker Dixie Gillaspie (Pure Synchrony) will be joining me on the show along with some other cool characters.

Scott Ginsberg, aka, “The Nametag Guy,” was recognized by CNN, WSJ, FastCompany and 20/20 as “The Authority on Approachability.” As an author, speaker, trainer and coach, he teaches people how to GET noticed, GET remembered and GET business. To watch Scott in action, tune in to his Online Video Training Network, www.nametagTV.com