 Welcome back. Welcome back. My name is Ram Aguco. It is a pleasure being with you today. This is Y in the morning right here on your number one news station Y254 TV. And of course, we are coming to you live from the broadcasting house here in Nairobi, Kenya, also streaming live through our website. And that's www.kbc.co.ke4-y254. We value your feedback, engage with us. You are just in time for the next conversation of today. And it's all about matters concerning career, your career. Let's talk about personal branding. Personal branding. What is personal branding? How can you be distinct from the rest? What can make you stand out? What is personal branding? What makes somebody look at a particular image? And the first thing that clicks is a particular idea. What is personal branding? And how can you ensure that you use it to better yourself and of course to even make you money if possible? Is it possible for you to brand yourself? Well, let's talk about this particular issue. Today I am with George Austin O'Manya. He is a youth mentor and of course a counselor. Thank you so much for having me here. How are you doing, my brother? I'm good. It's been a while since we had a show. I tell you, but I always fool you. I'm here today. Thank you. You're doing a good job, my brother. Thank you so much. How are you feeling? I feel good even if people are lamenting all over, but I think I have all the reasons to say thank you for another day. It's good to say thank you. Give thanks to the Lord for a new day. A new day. Exactly. A new dawn. Let's talk about personal branding. And of course, even as you do that, the Ashra Ghazales is why in the morning. Tag me at Ram Agucco at Stephanie Aetix. My colleague's handle and the official station handle is at Y254 channel. Head over to Facebook. Drop in your comments on our Facebook page. Like the page. Follow. Share the conversation and let us know where you're watching us from. Alright? Thank you so much. Let's talk about personal branding. And of course this is a conversation that you need to have. If you have a child or a youth that is here, bring them to the living room. Let's talk about this because it will help you. What is personal branding? Personal branding is a perception. Perception about oneself and how people know you outside there. How I perceive myself. Exactly. It's my brand. Exactly. And how I make other people perceive me. Exactly. It's my brand. How do people know you outside here? How do people know Mentor Austin? If you talk about Mentor Austin, you talk about Safaricom. You know? A brand. So how people perceive you outside here? That is what they call personal branding. Personal branding. And there's some people who say, even as you talk about it, they say, I don't care how people see me. I don't care. How you see me is your problem. Oh my God. Oh my God. That's a little attitude. Let me tell you something. The picture people have about you outside here can give you very insurmountable opportunities to do with job, to other stuff, you know? How people know you outside here is very important. In fact, I remember in our language, somebody used to say, tell us, our old grandfather used to tell us that, you know what? A good name. A good name. Will open for you big doors. In fact, a good name will bring food on your table. And I didn't know about that till I came to Nairobi. Personal branding is everything. Guys, I'm telling you, if people perceive you there as somebody who has potential, who has done this, who can do this, you can be trusted with a lot of things. And that is why you are in the same class with somebody, somebody who scored a first class on his degree, but still they are outside here, tamaking, and saying serikali to saidee. Yes. It's very important. Very important. So we should not overlook it and say, I don't care what people say. If you don't care, then you don't belong to the future. Because the future of this country is taken by people whom we perceive are able to take us to the next level. Yes. And when you talk about personal branding, there are some who may say, you know what? I'm a safaricum. Because, yes, you mentioned, and of course that is just as an example, you mentioned a safaricum and say, what is the first thing that comes into your mind when you look at a particular person? Yes. How big is personal branding? Is it for the big corporates, for the big companies? Does a mamamboga also need to have a conversation about personal branding? Yes. Wow, that is an amazing question. Personal branding doesn't have limits. It doesn't have limits. Whether you are as big as a safaricum or you are as small as mamamboga there, what we want to know is that are you able to make a difference? Are you going to add value consistently, you know? If we perceive that today, let's say you have a shop, all right? You have a shop today. And we perceive that, you know, this shop offers quality. It offers the best. People will come to your shop, you know? So how you package yourself is very, very important. By the way, that is another issue, especially when you go for interviews. Do you know why some of us have been going for so many interviews and you don't get scores there? Why? It is because surely when you step in an interview room, the first thing we will be checking is your attire. How are you dressed? How are you dressed? How do you appear? Appearance. You know, we'll make people start thinking that this could be a serious person. But you get to an interview and you know, you're shabby, you didn't even button up properly. You know, people will start like, were you really ready for this particular interview? And well, I'm even going to, is in regards to the type of classes that we have in the society. You know, we have middle class, high class, low class. And are you saying that personal branding goes beyond these dimensions of class or poverty lines of financial constraints? You know, personal branding does not require you to have a surplus in terms of cash or finances. Personal branding is the value that you can add. Personal branding is about the difference you can make in your small weight. Regardless of age. Regardless of age, regardless of economic class, regardless of age, gender. Personal branding is the small value that you can add to make a difference. Wow. Just the small thing that you do every day. That is why I tell young people that, you know what guys, add value to yourself. Yesterday I had a youth forum and I was trying to remind these guys, you know we were doing entrepreneurship and I was trying to remind them. Guys, if you, if somebody here went and did a diploma, and it is 10 years ago, and you've never thought of going back to class to pursue a degree. You are doing injustice to your personal branding. Wow. Personal branding is the small growth people can see in you. You know, today you cannot call me for a show if there is no impact I'm making outside there. Exactly. You can't call me for a show. Yeah, yeah. And that's what people talk about, mentor Omanya. Mentor Austin Omanya is a brand now. Aguko is a brand because of what people perceive that okay, you do something small, but you do it consistently. And people can see the value that you add in society. How can somebody build themselves and specifically build a brand? Wow, that was the question I was expecting, even from the start. Okay, sit there. I take you through this. Yes. Personal branding is value that is attached to you. So you could be asking me, how can I add my value also to stand at the top? Yes. Can I amaze you? Do you know somewhere here, down here is full of average people? And that is why making a difference becomes a bit difficult. If you tell somebody, a young person who has just graduated from a college, you tell them that you know what, guys? You have to start from here. They will see you like, you know, what are you seeing? Can I go volunteer? They would understand you. They don't understand. They think from college, from university with my first class on as a second class upper, I got to get a job. It doesn't work that way. So you come with that perception. You get it wrong. Actually, let me tell you something. There is something we call self-awareness. Self-awareness is the beginning of becoming a brand. Who are you? Are you able to ask yourself, who are you? So principles of personal branding, number one, understanding your purpose. You can never change the world if you don't understand the world. The reason why you are in this world, there are two days that are very important in a human life. One, the day you are born. That is why we celebrate birthdays. Number two, the day you understand who you are. Once you understand your purpose, and you know, I can do this, and let me start small. But sky is not the limit. I'm going to go up there. Many youths don't know who they are. People struggle with this particular aspect, and I call it self-identity. Yes. It is called identity crisis. Actually, right now, what I even do, the part of mentorship I do in universities is about identity crisis. How do you conquer identity crisis? Self-awareness is a big thing. Somebody is in second year, but they still don't know what they want to become. They are doing a course, B-B-I-T, yes, they are doing become, entrepreneurship become finance, but they still don't know exactly whom they want to become. Somebody is in fourth year, and they are still struggling with identity. So you're saying the first thing that you need to establish as an individual to build your brand is to first of all establish your identity. Identity. Be self-aware. Right. That is it. Next step. There is potential always. In everybody. You have. You have your strength, I have my strength. And let me tell you, I can't compare myself with you. I can't compare myself with another person. Since life is all about, you know, it is like a race. You are on your track, I'm on my track. I have my strength. You have your strength. But one thing I have to ask myself. If everyone has done a degree, what is going to make me stand out in that interview? What is going to make me stand out in that interview? And I think I shared here last time that one thing that made me to secure my current job is that I'm the only person who went for that interview. All of us had masters, okay? But they had not registered with a professional body. So I was the only person who had registered with a professional body they wanted. You see, it means what? On top, besides having that masters, okay? What else have you done? How have you packaged yourself to stand in an interview? And let those guys say, this is the right person we are looking for. What is going to make me unique? So you say, we need to be registered, of course, in respect to our different career paths. If there is a professional body that is associated with your career, register with that professional body. Exactly, exactly. Do you know right now as we speak, you can go through education and you become a teacher. But do you know, on top of securing that certificate for becoming a teacher, you can still not get a job. You have to register with TFC. Exactly. If you are doing HR course and there is a professional course called CHRP and you have not done that, it will just remove you nicely from my interview and it will go home. Let us go back to what I was trying to explain, potential. I want every young person to listen to this. No one was born by accident. Everyone is having something here. There is something you are holding. And that is why any time you want to pursue a career, what should determine that is what we call passion and potential. Am I able to do accounts? Am I interested in community service? Am I interested in counseling, changing other people's lives? Can I become a nurse? What makes you think you can be the best journalist? What makes you think? Austin, let me ask you this question. I am wondering because there is somebody who might be in a position where they are reasoning like this. And I want you to tell me if this is hazardous, is it positive or negative? To say, I love Mentor Austin O'Manya, a very good guy. I love his articulation, I love his presentation, I love his presence, I love his image. I want to be like him. Does the desire to want to be like affects my personal brand? Is it negative or positive? It could be positive, it could also be negative. One, it can be positive in this essence. It is good to admire the fruits. But again, it is good to study the roots. You know most of us want to... Repeat that again before you. It is good to admire the fruits. It is good to admire the fruits, but it is also good to study the roots. The roots. How will they start? My friend, let me tell you. I came to Nairobi in 2009. And it has taken me to build my brand. This Mentor Austin O'Manya you see today. Like around 10 years. When was the first time you called me for a TV show? If you can remember. I can't remember. When was it? The first show we had? It is either last year or last year, but what? Last year, last year. I can't remember. Yes. Now let me ask you. My first time to appear on a television was in 2019. So just look at that journey. And you see, I love youths who come and ask me. How did you make it from village to the mentor we can now see on television? How did you make it? Currently, what young people love is going through the escalator. Lift. They want to lift. To take them there. You want to get money very fast. Quick things. But have you asked your role model? The mentor that is around you. How they started? Where did they begin? What are some of the challenges they experienced on the way? And how did they overcome those challenges? It is very difficult to build a brand. Go ahead and ask Safari Company CEO. They know what it takes to build a brand. People want to know what is the secret. You have to sacrifice to become who you want to become. You have to sacrifice. They don't want to know about the roots. They want to find out. They just want to acquire and eat the fruits. But now you are saying it is 50 to 50 to want to be like somebody? Yes. If you admire Austin, mentor Austin, it is good because it is going to push you to do something. Because you also have to, you know, like vision. Putting our vision is something very nice. Why? Because vision tells you where you want to be. When I grow up, I want to become this person. I want to talk like Dr. Miles Monroe by the way that was my mentor. Especially when he came to Kenya and then the following week he died. I felt very bad. I met him and I told him, you know what? I have read your book, The Principles and Power of Vision. I read that book and that is the book that changed my mindset. Wow. So it is good also to admire the fruits. But again, you have to think about the roots. First of all, it comes by your perception. Perception can tell you where you want to go. Then you now start where do I begin from. So it is also good to admire the fruits. But again, you take care of the roots. But now, what about my personal branding? Now, as you admire this person, we mostly tend to be like those people we admire. I don't know if you've seen such cases. Where you see somebody, for example, let me give myself as an example. Because I admire somebody, I may tend to talk like them, present like them, walk like them, even dress like them sometimes. Which is okay. That's okay. Doesn't affect personal branding. That's okay. But again, if you've realized, that is why we were talking about self-awareness. That every human being, even if you are twins, you are unique in your own way. So the issue of copy-pasting, one, it can also narrow you from tapping your full potential. But again, if you want to be an eloquent speaker, like so and so, you can do that by practicing until you get there. It is okay. But again, I don't tolerate copy-cut. Don't copy and paste. Because you are unique. And that uniqueness is why you are born down here. So that you can help the world also to go to the next level. So if you want to be like mentor Austin, it is good. If you want to speak like me, it is okay. But again, what else is remaining in your nerves? How unique can you do it? Do you think you can do better than me? Yes. Do you think you can be a good presenter than Aguco? You can. Omanyala is now the fastest runner in Africa. Do you think there is someone who can run faster than Omanyan somewhere here? There are. There are so many people. But these guys have not realized exactly what they are holding. So that is why I talk about potential as my second point. I wanted to go to number three. Go to number three? Planning. Yes. So we will talk about ways of building your personal brand. Exactly. How we can build it. Number three, planning. Planning. You see, a journey of a thousand kilometers begins by one step. Just one step. You may not be where you want to be today. Yeah. And you may even think you are a failure because you may be trying this. It is not working. You are trying that. It is not working. But can I amaze you? But if you know the plan, the other day they will suffer a rally. I love suffering a rally so much. Especially the guy that reads the navigator. He tells you, speed up, speed up 200 meters, turn left. Things of the kind. I love that. That is what they do. Yes. That is what they do. You ask is to drive. I am supposed to be reading for you. Telling you that there is a portal here. There is a corner on the left. There is a sharp corner actually. So if you don't have a vision plan, a vision plan, a plan that you made, just the same way when you want to start a business, you must have a business plan. By the way, for your information, the main reason why so many businesses will start and fail is because they don't have a plan. My friend, if you want to go today to Mombasa, you have to prepare for the journey. You have to know how much it takes to go to Mombasa, how you are going to get that money and then you go for the ticket and then you be at the bus stop at the right time. I love the trains and the aircraft. They will not wait for you. Once they start, they will move. So you have to be punctual there. Then you board the train and then that is taking you to a destination. Even along the way, there are things you need to do. So when you talk about personal branding, you have to plan and know where exactly do I want to go, whom do I want to become. Wow. That is what I did. I told you I came to Nairobi with a form for certificate that today has been transformed almost to a PhD. Form for certificate. And I told myself, yes, I can do this. I can do this. Yes, no one is there to take me to college. No one knows me in Nairobi, so I can't do fundraising. But I have a vision. I have a dream. And this dream can only come to pass if I say, let me face my giants, let me face my goal. I have to start dissecting it one at a go. You have a plan. Yes, you must have a plan. Then from there, see, I went to do P1. P1 is for primary teaching. Yes. And I could not even afford the money to pay for my school fee. Imagine. Wow. And that is why I talked to the principal and he told me you could be milking the cows. Milking the cows. You are milking cows. I was milking the cows. I was camping the flowers, you know, grass, you know, and the shambas there. As I told him, as long as you can transform, you know, transfer my pay to my school fee, I'm going to do it because I knew what I really wanted. At what level were you at again? P1. P1 is primary teachers. Yes, in the teachers training college. Yes, yes. All right, all right. Yes. So at the TTC, you were milking cows to go to class. To go to class. And the pay goes to your school fee. Exactly, exactly. Wow. I knew one day, one day, if God gives me, you know, life to live another day, I knew whom I wanted to become. And even this mentor Austin that you see here is not a finished product. I still have, I'm like halfway. All right, so we have number three. Yes. I want to move to the next one. Do you have a number for something that you can add again? Number four is what we call possibility. You see, sometimes you want to become a brand and you think this is not possible. I can't be like a guko. I can't be like, you know, self-limiting believes is what has derailed our brands. Because you think you cannot be there. Why do you think you can't be the top footballer in this country? Why do you think you can't be the top politician in this country? Why do you think you can't be the top scientist in this country? You look at your background, how things are, and then you're like, ah, I don't think this is a pipe dream. This can't work. I don't have money. By the way, a young man came to me yesterday and they will tell you, yes, I wanted to go back to college, but I don't have money. Then I had to tell him my case. But even my degree, I registered, I had 6,000 and I took 1,500 to register. I didn't know where that money was going to come from. Did I finish? I finished. And I didn't have a fundraising. What do I mean? There is light at the end of the tunnel. As long as you tell your brain that it is possible. It is possible. I can do this. It will give you the passion of pushing yourself to the next level. Because sometimes you look at yourself and you get discouraged. Sometimes we even discourage ourselves. Exactly. So who am I to do it? Exactly. Especially if you hang around with people who does not know your value. Do you know there are guys who will tell you when you're in jingar? And you believe it. In fact, repeatedly, if you are told you are not good, you don't look good, you are poor, we don't want you here. And then you put it in your mind. And then you say... People from your home, no one has ever done it. Who are you to do it? Exactly. Your father dropped out of school. Your mother didn't even make it. Your brother, you know? I have a question. Some things. One thing I believe in. And that is why you see this attitude. Sometimes it appeared especially to people who knew me from Ushago. It appeared like I was obambitious. This boy could be very obambitious, yeah? But today, that the same same attitude is being recommended in the society. And they called there. Come and talk to our children. Come and tell them this. Let me tell you. Till you realize that you can do it and sky is not the limit, you will be stuck where you are for a long time. Doing the same thing over and over again. With the same method. Madness. Madness. Total madness. But we are here to encourage somebody who think they are failures. My friend, you are not a failure. You know what? It is better to try and fail than not trying at all. Because somebody who has tried. Yes? Even though you failed. Okay? But you are not as the same person who didn't even try. Now, Manta Omanya. Yes. Let me get it from you. There is something that you said here and it makes me want to find out more about it. You mentioned personal branding and you mentioned identity. Yes. Now, is personal identity and personal branding are they different? Mm-hmm. When you say personal identity. Yes. Personal branding. Yes. My personal brand and my personal identity are they different? Yes. Good. Uh-huh. Anytime you see color green you will think about safari color. Color green. Mm-hmm. Because safari color, that perception has gone into your nerves. Yes. Right? Yes. Now, how will you become a brand if you really don't understand the inward person? Mm-hmm. The inward person must come first. Actually, when I talk about personal branding I first of all emphasize on identity. Self-awareness. Mm-hmm. Because it has to start here. You see, if somebody smiles it starts from inside. Yes. That's why I always tell people that even if you're a person you come to preach to me and then you touch people and they fall down there. You know, you can chase away demons. But you don't love yourself. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. That's a true line. Love begins inside. Somebody who does not love themselves cannot love another person. Personal identity. You can't. Yeah. Yeah. So you have to be aware about yourself. Work on yourself. And I tell young people, work on yourself. Go back to school. Add value to yourself. Yes. Instead of spending three hours on YouTube listening to music that were composed by people like you some of them are even, you know, below your age. Mm-hmm. Yes. And these are the guys you listen to the whole day. Is my brand different from my identity? Your brand is different from your identity. But you have to start from identifying who you are. To get a brand. So that you can have the right mindset for whom you want to become. Because the brand is whom you want to become. Now, I want us to get even deeper now. Get deeper. I'm waiting. Because now there is somebody who has gone to an interview and as you listen, why am I not getting it? Does personal branding affect the outcomes of job interviews? Mm-hmm. Does it? It does. How does it affect job interviews? Do you know, right now, if somebody wants to hire you in their firm one thing they will want to know about you is if I want to know about you right now I'll go to your Twitter handle, I'll go to your Facebook account, I'll go to your LinkedIn account. Yes? I'll go and see what you've been posting on Facebook. If you are this one guy who is foul mouth, abusing politicians, left, right and center, actually you want to get a job. You want to get a job. The brand you left on social media, I'm now following you. Let me tell you, in the 21st century, social media is the most powerful branding tool that we have. If you go to my page, Mentor Austin Omanya, look at what I posted there. Because I also want my children and my grandchildren, one day when they will be looking at my page then they said, there lived a mentor. They should search your name and find something admirable. Exactly. Something that can add value. But you know young people, they spend a lot of time in social media and what they post is, maybe when they are eating, food they perceive is a bit expensive. They post that. We were in my Varsha, we did this. I took a Varsha, took a what? You know those things. My friend, let me tell you, getting a job, especially in Nairobi right now, it's not about personal branding and networking now. Yes. How you package yourself. That is why I'm telling young people, if you're a rapper today, rap, rap and keep posting. Keep posting. Yes. If you're a mentor today, do it. Start with one person, second person, like that. One day, one day, somebody will even, you'll get one call, just one call, that will change your life from zero to hero. Yeah. Yeah. So that is why it is very, very important to remind young people that personal branding and job opportunities are part and parcel. Now, there is something you mentioned there and you've said that keep on posting. Consistency is a big problem because somebody today has that morale and they psych to go online and that's when they'll make those TikTok videos on social media, Facebook and whatnot. How can somebody ensure that they are consistent in their branding so that they don't lose touch with the people? Yeah. Oh, that's a good question. Consistency is the key. And, guys, you don't need magic to be consistent. Okay? Why? If you post something and it's something that can add value, I know sometimes you'll not even get like, and you'll be discouraged. You say, today let me not post something. I do writings, inspirational texts like each morning. And then there was a time I was thinking like, the feedback I'm getting, people are bull ticking you. They bull tick and you're like, did I offend these guys? No, no, no. They read. And they actually share. I came across one of your, actually not one. And they were shared by people who I believe are not mutual friends. Yes, you see, because those guys don't like, tell you directs that thank you or you know. But they read and keep quiet. Exactly. Do you know, those guys could be sharing, you're writing somewhere, you're video somewhere. They came across this. Yes, the way you came across mine. You know sometimes, let me tell you, be consistent. Do one thing till people know you for that. What if you run out of ideas and that is still your brand? How can you run out of ideas? And yet there's a lot of problems in the world. There's a lot. Problems are always there. And problems are the source of ideas. We have so many problems. You can't run out of ideas. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. So this writer's block, you can do, you can do blogging and you share with people. Let me tell you something. During corona and you know, students were back at home and I was like, hey, we don't know when students are going back to school. Can I start a program? That is when I came up with a program dubbed Mind Your Mind. It was a mental health awareness. And by the way, I was even amazed during corona, I could even get good money, you know. I could get good money because you inspire people and you see only, okay, students were coming there with only one red bomb. Imagine. And then on Wednesdays, I used to do free shows. You see? The world is full of problems, so you can't run out of idea. So that is null and void. Null and void. Out of the box. Don't say that content creation is a challenge because sometimes you run out of ideas because we have content creators. Be a good reader. Yes. Let me tell you, young people don't love reading. We spend too much on our phones. And you spend too much on groups. What's up groups? Zamatanga, Arushi, you know. You even confuse the brain. Guys, I always advocate that yes, I know there are books that you can read only. Which is okay. But buy hard copies. That's right. Buy hard copies. It's better to read the hard copies. Every month, I'm going to read a book. At least one book. Give yourself a target. Let me tell you, real wisdom and knowledge lies in the books. Real wisdom and knowledge. You know, sometimes when you call me I don't even need to prepare. Call me. Austin, I want you to go talk about this. Why? Because it is something I'm used to. I read books like crazy. I read books and that is where real wisdom lies. Wow. Because from reading, you get ideas. From reading, you get ideas. And from the ideas, you can further build your brand. Exactly. Many don't read. They watch videos online and laugh the whole day and go to sleep and the cycle continues and they're losing touch with their brand. Exactly. I love that. Now still, on social media there is this aspect of things taking trends. You end up being a different person online from the person that you are in real life. Is that also possible branding? There's someone who says, you know what, the way I am online is different. That is how I want people to see me. What's your thought in regards to that? All right. It is okay. We took what ground is different. What ground is different? Let me tell you. Be the person you are. Be the person you are. I have issues with people who want even to change their colors. I have people with issues with people who want to do even tattoos for people to see them. That is not being real. Be your own story book. That even you can read and find the real meaning of who you are. Let me tell you something. I know people want to look good in social media. This is good. Even me, I want to look good. I have never seen people posting their awful memories. People will always post good cars, good houses, good children. They are doing good things there. It is okay. But again, are you real on the ground? If today you want to give me a project to run and there is something I have been posting there and you say, posting can do this, right? And then you only to come and realize that I don't even have a company. I don't have a trade tool. And yet I post this and that on social media. I tell you, be as real as possible. If you look at my page, I will never post food. I will not post myself. You will talk about food. Just let's rewind and come back. Do you ever reach with food? I will never reach with food. Look here. Was it yesterday? I told one of my fans I am really tired of you posting yourself eating pizza, chicken and drinking. I am tired of this. Why? Can you think beyond food? Why don't you think beyond food? Ladies are going to bash you. Ladies. It means, let me tell you something. If somebody normally puts food and those little things they have problems in their mind. They are not problem solvers actually. They are the abilities of the highest order. If you have a girlfriend of that sort tell them to come and see me or you just tell them to stay away because they are not taking you anywhere. You are not heading anywhere with such mentality. People are thinking big, think big and think like a problem solver. What about posting nails? Ladies don't kill me after this but they post nails or what about that? That is still poverty mindset. That is still poverty mindset. Yes I don't have any problem with posting even your good legs I don't have problem with that. But what impact will it once I see it what value will it add in myself? It is very useless unless we are posting that to attract to who customers to tell them this is my work this is what I do I am a manicurist Exactly I do pedicure, I do manicure unless you are advertising something please keep some of the things to yourself. Alright Ladies mameske maneno you stung a nail at her now let's talk about attire just code and personal branding my brother very important key aspect I believe so if you look at some gentlemen they say that it is good to put on a suit because it is part of your brand others say they cannot put on a suit because the casual wear is their brand there are those who say that even if you are putting on so much of your suit sometimes change to casual wear to the ladies you have the vitenge type ladies, we have the short skirt ladies we have the official ladies and of course the casual type kind of ladies how important is the dress code in regards to personal branding wow even as you give the perspective of the gender very good wonderful question the way you appear, first appearance will make people perceive you as idiots or as somebody who can add value to the society let me tell you something I don't have issues dress as the way you want I don't have issues with your dressing my dress is my choice my dress is my choice let that rendition go but let me ask you what kind of dressing will earn you respect will put perception in people that this guy is serious I don't say you dress on suit because every career has their dress codes you can't be an engineer you are up there and you are on a tie if somebody does not know how to dress smartly and when I talk about dressing I mean even your hair how kept is your hair your hair style the rasters rasters will always have so many barriers limitations when it comes to job recruitment and rasters can only now get jobs that could go with DJ social media things of the kind because people perceive that there was that perception especially in Kenya that rasters they could be criminals things of the kind but I don't think that that perception is going it is changing because I even know our raster who is a very good lawyer a very powerful lawyer that perception is changing the real thing is guys you just need to look simple and smart look the part look the part look the part your hair young people I have problems with young people these hairstyles I don't know where they got it from you just copy somebody's hairstyle and do you know your hairstyle can deny your job your hairstyle does the haircut also matter someone makes a road here between funny funny an expressway you lose you lose the touch yes you lose the touch I am saying this if you want to talk about your brand think about how you appear physically socially even spiritually think about how you appear even how you talk what comes out of your mouth can make people listen to you or disrespect you personal branding communication skill is part and parcel of personal branding should somebody keep on changing official casual official casual what do you do like where I work you can never go with that we are always on suits yep it depends where you work but I am not denying somebody a chance of dressing the way they want but dress code always go with events let's talk about the ladies because that's for the men no that's for all of us now I don't want to talk about ladies I may be stoned from here I don't have security unless I call security from state house right now I don't know I don't know I don't know why we are coping fashion so much do you know I look at a lady dressed in some way and of course I'll know what kind of things goes in their mind you know I'm a psychologist and I can just tell you this one has got mental issues so the dress code of somebody is connected to their mental exactly what they think guys let me tell you something do you know your self esteem the way you dress can tell me about your self esteem that you are suffering you are at low self esteem low self esteem there why should you expose your body the things we call private yes why should you expose your body and yet tomorrow you won't be at the top there how exposed is exposed I've just talked about the parts of the body we consider as private yes you know from here up somewhere here it's called private and then down there alright but now because you are coping the trends and the fashion of this world you lose the person you want to become if you want to become a DJ no problem dress like a DJ exactly the best corporate trainer what I do corporate training you have to be serious you have to dress serious you appear someone and then people say this could be the right person dress code is very very paramount dress simple and don't copy the trends of the world simply because people are coping but know who exactly you are and where you want to go with that mm-hmm I love the fact that you are saying dress the parts be the part and be yourself you know be yourself and of course I would like you to ask your questions even as you continue with this particular conversation the hashtag is why in the morning I'm from Maguko and at Y254 channel is where you can be able to find us and of course we have a Facebook page that is at Y254 like the page followers as you continue this conversation and we shall be able to sample your feedback a bit later on during this conversation and of course let's take a look at what people are saying on social media I'm seeing Stanley and Asama enjoying the show loving the show thank you so much Austin for the inspiration mm-hmm thank you alright let me go to Facebook and see there what people are saying there Brenda and Asama enjoy the show from Gong I love Brenda you know Brenda this is Ernest and Asama loving the show I love the show keep doing what you're doing this is CMB and Asama loving the show thank you so much I'm seeing Ambane and Asama tuned in from Muranga Diana and Asama enjoying the show loving it thank you so much Austin thank you so much Hype Amor Nakwona Pali Smart Born Nakwona Pali President as usual they know Jiwali and Asama to watch Pali Richard Makau good morning crew Asama tuned in Kamakawa Kamadawa Asana Asana keep talking to us this is Fidel Fidel Asama enjoying the show keep talking to us Mr. Mentor Austin you're doing a very fantastic job Asana Asana I'm very happy because it's healthy because it's healthy because it's healthy because it's healthy I tell people that you only need to do small things that make sense even so many years to come go ahead with what you wanted to say now let me ask you this question here someone was asked this I'm reading do you need a target market when building your brand once you know them how do you strategize somebody has asked that question wow that should be somebody who had been in a marketing class that's a very good question you should have a segmentation of your target audience I call them audience who is whom are you targeting out there like manually I target youths both male and female I also target children adolescents yes so it is always very very vital as you are building your brand see I told you you make a plan you remember part of your planning part of your planning what your planning should inform is whom am I targeting with my brand whom am I attracting who are your clients whom do you want to serve because you can serve every time you can't hurry in the society get to know who your target is and then work from there if you think your call is children work with children children is your market now if it is youths if it is women empowerment like that so it is very very important I am here from this is Margaret I love make up I am a make up artist but I don't know how best I can run myself online you can answer that that is very easy I don't know whether Maggie is on whatsapp Maggie is on tiktok Maggie is on FB once you do a client the client is happy just take a picture take a picture of what you do or a small clip of what you do let people know that you are the best in that area yes because how will people know if they don't see what we see is very important by the way it reads in the mind very fast so Maggie your online presence is noticed by what you post keep posting them and share with as many groups as possible you can even share with my account I help you to market how can they share with your account if somebody has content go there take a take a by the way they are friends I want to I want to delete they have not shown value addition being my friends there they request you to become their friends and then there is no value addition so I create space for people whom I think may like what I do you know bats of the same fate that float together did you reach your limit yes at 5000 you can only follow me so when I have time I delete some friends some are even dead so I I take away that space so that I can get space for others there is something that has just come across my mind there are those who do dancing they dance online is that branding also is dancing your career you have to ask yourself is your career dancing because you only showcase your brand if somebody is dancing I'm showing people yes they don't know how to sing okay they don't have singing is not part of their career those people are just they have a problem with their mind they are not using social media to empower them I want us to bring this conversation to a close I believe that we have managed to pass a message to somebody I want to give you time to have a final word just within 30 seconds about this issue about personal branding imaging and professionalism talk to somebody watching you today that's your camera wow thank you so much I want to speak especially to young people whom think you know life has pushed them to the world guys the person you are today is not the person you would want to become in 5 years to come or 10 years to come but as long as you start from where you are at the moment sky is not the limit for you work on yourself improve on yourself if you have a talent try to improve on that every day guys I tell you this that any day that God has given you make sure you be accountable for that day work on yourself improve your talent by watching a youtube channel by following people who can add value to you because you can once I know whom I look like and you look at the mirror and you say this is the person I wanted to become then go outside there and network with the right people that can also make you network with other great people outside there your degree is not enough getting a diploma is not enough having that certificate will not take you somewhere if you don't know how to brand yourself work on your CV and if you still have problems in doing a professional CV you can always meet me go to my youtube channel Mentor Austin Omania my facebook account is Mentor Austin Omania LinkedIn name is George Austin Omania you can meet me there help you also to do your CV so well fact that when you present it somewhere else where you are not present at that moment somebody can say this is the right person we are looking for so keep improving keep working on yourself and sky is not the limit for you and I want to leave you with a quote one day somebody said this that strength does not come from physical capacity but from indomitable will your will power will take you places see you next time that is Mentor Austin Omania ah brother thank you so much for coming thank you so much for inviting me I believe we have managed to influence somebody positively of course if at all you were listening I believe you have learnt something today that means that to the end of this morning conversation right here online this morning on this particular segment on career talk I also with Mentor Austin George Austin Omania and Mentor right here in studio a big thanks to you thank you so much for coming my name is Ram Aguco it has been a pleasure now Jeff Bezos said one thing that I don't know if it's Jeff Bezos I believe it it is him he said that your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room exactly think about that my name is Ram Aguco as I said the hashtag as always is why in the morning we are taking a show break we'll be back in a bit thank you