 we are on step six of a seven-part series on how to build a brand from scratch. A brilliant question that was asked at the very beginning. I did share the question if you want to go back and see it by Claire in Leeds. So we're on step number six. This is where we're talking about how do you illuminate? How do you put even more exposure on the product or service that you've been going through this process on? Now we have talked a lot about your product or the service all throughout this point of difference and your unique gifts that you're bringing to the world. But now we need to talk about you. Yes you. We need to put the illumination and the spotlight on you and your personal brand because people buy from people that they know, like and trust. If they don't know you or they don't feel like they trust you then they're certainly not going to buy any products from you or any services from you. So this is the step where we need to start really putting that focus on you personally. This is where you need to make sure you've got a sparkling bio otherwise known as a biography. This is where you need to create a hundred word statement about you that first of all starts by demonstrating your gifts in the world and showing off exactly any accolades or accreditations that you have, any awards that you've won, any memberships you're part of, anything that can position you as the expert in your industry. Followed by your greater mission. What is it that you're wanting to do or your vision? You could get your vision and mission in there. What are you building? Who are you building it for and why? Why are you doing it and why do you care so much about what you're doing? It's really important to get behind the person who's building the business, the person behind the product. Years and years ago when I was first building my design agency we learned the hard way that people really do go to your about us section of your website more than you might think. So we launched our new website and we spent so much time on the products and services and making sure everything was ready for those that when it came to actually the about us section of our website we didn't have anything on there and so people were coming to our website they were jumping on the homepage going straight from the homepage to about us and then when they couldn't find us because we said oh we'll sort ourselves out later when they couldn't find that they then were hemorrhaging from the site. So we weren't keeping them there which was a massive problem so you want to make sure that your biography is absolutely sparkling. Now if you're not quite sure what to talk about or how to talk about yourself I would suggest you go back to your earlier days like think about between the ages of 0 to 10 what happened to you that made the experience that happened to you then such a big part of what you're doing now. What was it that happened to you when you were between 10 and 20 years old between 20 and 30 years old 30 and 40, 40 and 50 fill in the gap I don't know how old you are but really sit down with yourself you owe it to yourself and you owe it to your business to really come up with that story and here's the thing right I was filming on a documentary a couple of years ago out in San Diego with that one I've been on a few documentaries this one was in San Diego and at the end of filming this one particular day I think it was day two or three and and we're waiting to go off to the next location for filming and as we're just standing around and chatting and they'd taken 20 change well actually they took a hundred global change makers and divided us across locations they flew us out to those locations put us under an insane amount of pressure to see what does a real leader do under pressure and then they filmed the result which was a process I wouldn't like to repeat at the time I look back on it fondly now when we were going through all these things they were doing to us it was not fun so we're at the end of filming this this day and Catherine Hathaway she was one of the amazing thought leaders on this documentary and Catherine we're just standing there chatting waiting to go to the next location and she says to me Sammy what did they call you when you were younger like what was your nickname when you were younger and there were two other people the the producer of the series Bright Loreano she stood to my left and there was somebody else here I can't remember who that was but so there was four of us stood there and she says this to me and before I even have the opportunity to think about what's about to leap out of my mouth I say fat and she does this and sprite does that and so does this other lady and I do that and I couldn't believe that that came out of my mouth and I said would you just excuse me for a moment and they said sure so I go off and I just have this little moment with myself and think where did that even come from and what came up for me was just unbelievable I couldn't believe just from that one question I mean it was just wow and the next thing I see I'm just I'm thinking oh my god how embarrassing I just said that out loud in front of really important people like that's what was going through my mind and where did it even come from and next thing I see this like this movie in my mind of my first day of school well I was an only child you see till I was 11 years old and so and my grandma used to look after me while my mum went to work and my dad was at work so I grew up with my grandma pretty much and she used to live quite close to the school that I was going to go to of course I like because I had no brothers and sisters I used to play out with the other kids who were living on the same road as my grandma and but because I was a year younger than them they were all going to school before me so there I am every morning looking over the the the wall saying hello to everybody as they go past wishing that I could be going to school with them I couldn't wait to grow up I don't know about you but I couldn't wait to grow up fast enough right so it comes to my first day of school so off we go I've got my little uniform on I'm proud as anything I'm like yes I'm grown up now five years old I'm grown up so off we go and and I'm in there and I'm just just in wonder all the magic and the noise and everything that's going on around me and and the bell goes so it's playtime yes the thing that I've even been waiting for the most has come so we go running out into the playground and playing with some of my friends which is really nice and then I spot this group of girls who are skipping and they've got the playing the skipping rope game you've probably know of it with it one two three one two three and they're skipping over it and if they catch it or if they mess up then they have to go and somebody else's turn and and so I go running over to this group of girls well by that point I haven't experienced any kind of rejection before until that moment and of course like I'm just been with my friends and everybody has been friendly enough so I'm not experienced in this and this was the very first time but I experienced blatant rejection so I go running up to this group and this one girl she puts her hand up right to my face like pretty much in my face and she says go away fat so you're too fat to play here and in that moment not only was I totally crushed hugely embarrassed I mean even at five years old I had an ego I think we all do right when something like that happens and it just totally crushed me and the thing was I just I didn't know what to do with that and so I just took it in and I processed it and you know I carried that around for the rest of my life up until this moment so I remember this moment I go back to Sprite and Catherine and the other lady that was there and I just said to them I'm really sorry I can't believe that came out of my mouth I've gone and had a word with myself and I've actually just had a really strong vision of where that comes from and I've not even thought about that moment in my entire life until now and they said God tell us about it so I told them and Catherine says to me the lady that had originally asked me the question she says Sammy what a wonderful gift I said really is that a gift and is it funny how we can't see those gifts but they can she says yeah what a wonderful gift don't you see what you do for people now I said you're gonna have to enlighten me she said you are on a mission to make sure that people aren't branded or labelled in a way that that isn't them you help people to show up in the world in their authenticity so don't don't care about what other people are saying this is you you make that decision about your label you make that commitment to who you are you own it and she said how amazing that you let that girl brand you all those years ago and ever since then you've been on a mission to brand other people so they don't get that kind of brand on them that isn't right for them like you you're on a real mission don't you realize what a gift that was and it was just like a massive like hammer on the head at that moment I hadn't realized that a that was a gift I hadn't even remembered that that was something as part of my upbringing and I hadn't even thought about it in years but yes I'd let her brand me I let her put her label on me and I carried it around and guess what I also lived up to it so the the label that you give yourself the way you illuminate your brand is to first decide who you are you've got to set that vision for who you are as a personal brand I created a video on this very topic how to build a personal brand it's in this channel go and have a look for it I created a video where I actually I don't talk about this story but I talk about you stepping into your own label you create that label because if you don't somebody else will and guess what when somebody else brands you you do step into that label you do step into it and it's very challenging to even see that you've been that you've made it your story and actually that might not be your story that might not be who you are so I want you in this step to to really think about how you're going to illuminate your real gifts and the real gift is not really the qualifications they're just good things you know in America people love to to know that you're the CEO of the organization in the UK they don't really care about that you could be a trailblazer or a visionary or you know you could be anything so depending on where you're doing your business obviously you know accolades and accreditations and awards they mean something to different people but that might not mean anything to your ideal clients so you know if you haven't got any of those things you're going to work up to getting them I didn't have them at the beginning either you know but I've got all of the those things now but the key thing is that you just start somewhere and then you can just start improving it and add into it as you start to build your brand and build your career so I want you in this step to go back and and just spend some time you owe it to yourself and your business as I already said to spend some time looking back from zero to ten ten to twenty twenty to thirty thirty to forty forty to fifty fifty to sixty whatever age you're at now I want you to go in ten year increments and think about the different experiences and the different stories and the different things that have happened to you during those periods so that you can look back on them and really recap and say that's why I do what I do now that's why I am who I am that's why I'm building what I'm building you know ultimately I'm a brilliant community builder built the brand builders club community that you know brand builders I've got a hundred and about 150 brand builders at the moment from all over the world who I'm working with personally and they're all working with each other that's amazing that's a legacy process you know a much higher end of client going in there they're all building a legacy they're all building something global if that's you if you feel that calling in your heart then drop me an email let's have a conversation it might not be right for you and I'll tell you if it's not then we've got the how to build a brand group there's nearly six thousand members in that group at the point of me making this video it's a much bigger community but I create community because I was so freaking lonely as a child I don't want anybody else to experience the loneliness that I felt so I've been on an all-out mission to do that it's all part of my story it's all part of the fabric and the the that thread that is woven through everything that I do there's a reason why you're so flipping great at what you do there's a reason that you were put on this planet there's a reason and a purpose for which you were created there was a moment that you were born for and if you don't feel like you've had that moment already then let's create it and let's create it together so if you've enjoyed today's show then please do subscribe and let others know how they can as well please share it share it as much as you can let's support as many people in the world as we can to really brand build and grow the business that they want to to be that drop they want to see in the world and to be that drop they want to model somebody like you who's being the drop so go out there and do that do your homework today just to rethink about that bio if you need any help with that go and check out the seven step brand Kickstarter system that's what I created it's the entire positioning and pitch piece around anything that you want to sell so you go through it on your business you go through it on your personal brand and you go through it for every single product or service or program whatever you want to sell you use this system to go through and create it so check out the seven step brand Kickstarter system to help you go through this process a lot easier when you're creating your own positioning story so I have a question for you as always so your question for today is what is your best business affirmation or mantra let's see if we can inspire each other I want to know what your mantras are and maybe there'll be other mantras that are put in the comments that you think oh I'll borrow that I'll have that one as well I do that quite regularly so give me some ideas about what your mantra or your affirmation is when things are really testing you what is it that you say to yourself that gets you out of that that challenging hole that lifts you right back up out of that well and gets you on fire again I'd love to know so take care put your comments below and I'll see you on the next show for step number seven see you there