It May Shock You, but Not All Business Owners Want to Be a Brand

Is a personal branding required to grow your business going forward?

There are millions of businesses, some you have purchased from, that you will never know who founded or is running it. But they are still crushing it.

According to the SBA in 2023: There are 33,185,550 small businesses in the United States.

It might just be me and my algorithm, but I’ve been inundated with people telling me I need a personal brand.

I can only imagine someone just starting a business getting bombarded by this message.

If that is you, I have a different message to offer you.

I’ve read, watched, and listened to folks emphatically saying success comes from building in public to reach more people. “You are the brand” is being echoed on various channels by intelligent people.

I do believe the benefits are actual, but is it necessary? Is having a personal brand known far and wide a must for business success?

I am here to tell you, and this isn’t just an opinion, that I know a personal brand is not required to grow or sell a successful business.

Did you gasp in disbelief? No, probably not.

I have seen behind the “Oz” curtain of Business.

I am writing this from decades of experience growing my company and client companies daily. It is my contention that:

“It’s ok to remain in the shadows personally and do business your way, allowing your offers to take the leading role in the marketplace.”

Product market fit will outpace any personal brand by a long shot. Ask Apple if you don’t believe me.

I know business owners who don’t want to be known until a potential client is sitting in the consultation across either the table or screen from them, and they’re constantly busy.

You can spend your way to success, no matter what you “think” about advertising. It works.

You can spend time building partnerships with other organizations to grow.

You can spend time growing organic traffic to your offers without your identity attached.

You can spend time creating affiliate marketing programs leveraging the audiences others have created.

The list goes on and on.

To grow a business, you are going to spend resources regardless.

You might as well spend the resources you're willing to part ways with.

If privacy isn’t one of them, so be it.

The Future Challenge of Authenticity in the Age of A.I

There are rumblings of needing a personal brand to solidify your value in future marketplaces vs. A.I.

I agree that despite A.I., people will continue to have problems that need to be solved by other people.

So, it’s my current opinion that staying authentic in the future in your online presence vs. artificial will be a valuable differentiator.

But a must? I can’t go as far as to say creating a personal brand is necessary in the face of A.I. oblivion.

It is hard to tell right now if even personal branding will be able to overcome A.I., considering the potential it has to mimic anyone’s appearance or voice in the future.

Perhaps if you want to play defense, you should start working on your personal brand strategy now, depending on what side of the fence your magic crystal ball is leaning.

Or…

Let the robots lead you to greener pastures, hopefully not the Skynet kind.

I am confident of one thing: advertising isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Speaking From Personal Experience Thus Far

I am just starting this personal branding audience-building journey myself.

Up until now, I’ve been a marketer from the shadows.

I have run my profitable business without a personal brand.

I have benefited from my passive personal brand “reputation” and do public speaking and online interviews, translating into lucrative opportunities.

However, I can write this because of my experience working with countless clients, helping them create jobs and lifestyles they want through channels far removed from personal branding.

And perhaps that is how it should be looked upon, as just another channel to explore. Marketing is a constant cycle of testing and evaluation.

Addressing a Few Elephants in My First Substack Newsletter Room (Disclaimers)

If you’ve made it this far, you may have developed a few “But Charlie…” type entanglements.

Here are but a few I tried to anticipate below.

Am I an anti-personal brand person?

No, I started this charlie harper.me Substack account; please subscribe. 🙏 After reading this, you may think I may have gone contrarian against the concept. Still, I am only shining a light on the fact that the tried and true methods of growing a successful business STILL exist IF you are struggling with things like imposter syndrome, creating content, or even the time management required to build an audience. There is hope for introverts, too.

Are there solopreneur scenarios where the Personal Brand and the business are synonymous?

Yes, I am not talking about those scenarios. I am talking about my experience with six to 8 figure businesses with more complex operations.

Do you have a personal brand by default, anyway?

This is not about passive reputation. I am referring to active personal branding through audience building, etc.

Could building a Personal Brand actively help you reach your goals faster?

I think so; I hope to find out. Stay tuned. Also, I am constantly pushing my clients to be the face of their company, but they won’t budge and still make bank. One of my agency's biggest challenges is getting faces in front of cameras.

Conclusion

I wish I could tell you that actively growing your company either “from the shadows” or “personal branding” was easy, but nope. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t both directions. Choose your poison wisely.

Audience building for personal branding looks to be a hampster wheel.

Even though I am building a personal brand, it might not suit you. That’s ok.

So be careful not to be sucked too far into business information silos.

When you first start a business, it can be complex, and you cannot allow information online to block you from other paths experience may lead you on.

Happy building, in front or from the rear.

Fun Fact:

I sometimes refer to myself as the “Marketer of Death” as my agency does a lot of work for Estate Planning and Probate lawyers, and we even have a funeral home client. Spooky marketing, I know.