70. A student who wants a personal brand
How do you brand yourself when you want to do it all? 🤗 For this episode timed with Full Sail University’s annual Hall of Fame conference, Phil and Lauren show how anyone—including a student—can brand themselves by getting specific. Using student Andrea (a former lawyer, producer, do-it-all’er) as a working example, listeners will get a step-by-step guide of the questions to ask yourself to create a compelling brand and one-page site.
Episode transcription
Phil:
Oh, hello, welcome to Brand Therapy. I’m Phil.
Lauren:
And I'm Lauren.
Phil:
And this is the podcast where we help people from all over the place quite literally all over the world with their brand or their business challenges. We use those two terms interchangeably, branding, business, one-in-the-same. We talked through it for about, I don't know 20-25 minutes and leave every single guest from all different industries, careers, walks of life with some kind of solutions so that they're happy and can move forward with their business goals. Today is no exception. It's a fun one, kind of as an exception, it's a little special event.
Lauren:
This week is kind of interactive, because it is Full Sail University's Hall of Fame week. I am not a Full Fail graduate, but I've interacted a lot with Full Sail graduates because of Phil and your alumnus position. And what's really cool is that you fell are going to be giving a presentation this week and branding a student on stage so people can see that a brand isn't, isn't limited to your age, your experience your degree, you can brand yourself whenever you want.
Phil:
So two things that come to mind that I want to clarify. Full Sail is not a sponsor, they are not sponsoring this episode. They should, but they haven't. So this is really me creating content on my own accord. It's relevant this week, I put a lot of work into the presentations that I do for students and alumni at Full Sail. I go back every year. Hall of Fame is kind of like our version of homecoming, right? So people come back and they celebrate we do sessions for students, and it's a lot of fun. But the cool thing is, is that even if you're not connected to the Full Sail, environment, family, whatever you want to call it, like Lauren, you’re still able to interact and engage with a lot of this content we're creating.
I'm giving three presentations next week. One is called will two are called “Real Branding Experience”. That's what we're talking about today. And Andrea is our guests and she's a Full Sail student. I'm branding her live on stage using some of the discussion that we're about to have here. And I'm doing another presentation called “Nine Things I've Learned in Nine Years”. So those are the three that are coming up. It's a very busy week.
Lauren:
Well, I think let's just stop talking about what's going to happen. And then just get into it. However, you have a special announcement about a PPC offering that you’d like to talk about you.
Phil:
I said that there are two things that come to mind. The second one is that we have launched something brand new. We've mentioned it a few times on the podcast, but we're gonna mention it again. Last time I mentioned it, it was brand new, and it's been hugely successful, our Deep Dives coaching program.
So I opened this up a few months ago and we did our first deep dive with 14 amazing entrepreneurs who go through a three week coaching program with me. And I've decided to do it all again and add some new topics. So coming up March 16, I'm launching Email Mastery, Deep Dives. So for anyone who wants to improve their email marketing game, I always credit is to like, the thing that sells the most like social media is great, but email marketing is way better if you're trying to sell something, wouldn't you agree?
Lauren:
Totally. And it also, if you're truly using email marketing properly, it should be helping your overall SEO value as well.
Phil:
Absolutely. And then we have a mastery starting the week after which is called Instagram Mastery. Everyone loves Instagram. This is like the shiny object. If I ever email about Instagram, people are always like watching the videos or asking questions, which is great. It's important too and it's probably the most common social media platform that people prioritize, I would say so we have a whole program dedicated to Instagram.
So we have Email Marketing Mastery, Instagram mastery, and then in April, we will launch Content Mastery. Again, that's coming up April 13.
Lauren:
All right.
Phil:
So get to our conversation today with Andrea, which is going to set the stage for the student that we are branding on stage.
Lauren:
Let's do it.
Phil:
Let's do it. Here's our conversation with Andrea.
Andrea:
My name is Andrea. I am from Brazil, and I'm currently living in Orlando. I'm working on my entertainment business masters at Full Sail. I am a lawyer, and I'm also in the entertainment business for over 20 years now. My challenge at the moment is number one, get through this entertainment masters thing, and number two as we're heading down the road to define exactly what is going to be my project and my brand. I decided that the product that I'm going to brand is myself, not a product or a plan or anything. It's, I am the product that I want to talk about. And that's why I have Phil with me and Lauren, to help me get there because I don't really know where to go next. But I'm sure that we're going to discover this together.
Phil:
Beautiful. Andrea, welcome to Brand Therapy. I'm super happy you’re here. This episode is kind of special because unlike our other guests that have called us, we've actually hand selected you to be on the stage and be at Full Sail Hall of Fame. We are branding you this week at Hall of Fame and I selected you, you reached out to me a few months ago to say Phil, can you mentor me? Can you help me? And I said yes. How bold of you no students ever asked me to do that. I think now like maybe more are going to do that. But you were bold. You were like, Phil help me, and I said yes. And it works perfectly, because some of the challenges that you're facing right now, I think are felt by many students in your position that are graduating soon, that are even starting to think about graduation a year or two out.
So today, we are going to help you get some clarity on really what your brand is, at least what it needs to be right now, knowing that it's also going to evolve, and to then put that into words. Sound good?
Andrea:
Yeah, here we go. I'm ready to go.
Lauren:
I have a question. Why did you choose to go to Full Sail given how much experience you have and the fact that you're already a lawyer?
Andrea:
Well, I am a lawyer. I don't work 24/7 as a lawyer. I'm much more an event person today than a law person. Actually, I started with both careers like in parallel, and I ended up in law school I did the bar exam. I did everything but it came to a point that I had to choose entertainment or law, and don't ask me why crazy I decided upon the entertainment. And a lot of years after that, I came to a point I did a lot of things in the entertainment industry. I work with production. I did commercial sales part. I did new businesses, I did a lot of things. And I'm not afraid to say that I know the business front and back really well.
But today I came to a point where the part that I like to work the most is the business part is a business deal. So it's like fostering deals and getting them done. And that involves a lot of what I learned as a lawyer. So it came to a point 20 years after the decision to go into entertainment, that I found a way to get both the lawyers side of me and the entertainment part of me to work together. So at this point, I decided that it was time I'm working today I have a job in Brazil. And I'm kind of remote now so that I can be able to get this master blend actually done. So I decided that it was time. Besides the fact that I had a job, it was time to move my career to the next level and take the next step. Phil said in the beginning that I was bold, well, actually, I thought that it was time to be bold, and try to reach for new challenges.
And then I decided that Full Sail would be the best opportunity for this. Because an entertainment business masters I think is what I needed to. That's the exact word but for me to get both of these together the entertainment, knowledge and background that I have with the law and all that business knowledge that I also have for my degree, and from my years working in the entertainment industry. And I think that would give me a more solid background to be, like, ready for this next step.
Lauren:
I want to know, what's your plan for after you graduate? Is there a dream job that you're a project that you'd like?
Andrea:
Oh, god, did you ask you this?
Lauren:
Sorry, I went there.
Andrea:
Well. Actually, this is the question that everybody asks, and I am always ready for it. And the answer that I have for it is, I don't know. Isn't it simple. Actually, the plan that I have at this point is getting my masters done working on it and doing it and doing my focus, really focusing on it on my grade on learning whatever there is to be learned. On do all my reading on my home is all my assignments I'm really dedicated to. So this is my first plan, my plan number one. I know that the first term returns four months each, the first term has gone and just starting second term. And now time comes to have my project defined and my graduation business plan thing worked out. And this is going to lead me into a path that I will have to make decisions and decide what is going to be my next step. But I don't have that yet.
Phil:
Well, listen to me, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to stop you because I'm not accepting that answer. We are actually you're going to we are going to come up with an answer. I want you to dream a little bit here. I don't actually want you to tell me what job you'll be doing a year from now or what projects you'll be working on. But I want something more specific than that. I want to actually like I want brainstorm on where you could go so that we can start to visualize it. Because final project, you know, the thesis you're working on is important. But that will come and go. I want to start, I want to challenge you to start thinking now about where this could go without being certain or sure where it will go because there are so many external factors that will determine that.
So just entertain me for a second and let's just dream for a second about where, what fields of interest or maybe projects you've done previously, that excite you that bring you joy.
Andrea:
Okay, as I said before, I've been all around the entertainment world, and something that I've been working with and that I liked a lot is actually the business part of it. Entertainment is a lot of things. It's what makes people have fun and have a good time, but there is money to be made and deals to be done. And that part is the part that I want. I like to work with sponsors, I like to work with selling rights, and all those kind of things. So when you asked me where I want to go, number one, I need to find a great job that brings me new challenges. And that would be certainly somewhere around my business expectation that I have. It could be entertainment, the way that we see it.
Like I work in a sports event in Brazil, and we could go there, that would be great and work with sponsoring breaking deals, that would be great. Television is another great entertainment area that has nothing to do with events, but it's a great entertainment thing and there's a lot to be done there. And they're great TV companies here and in Brazil. That would work fine. We also have the great company, the sponsor, like Coca Cola, big brands, they have the entertainment areas, and they deal with that. And they're there to make money with whatever shows, sports, theater, whatever, just name it.
So I think there's a lot of opportunity. And my thing is the deal breaking the business and the ideas of how to make things work and how to monetize it. I think it's something like that, and make money as well, because we're not just here to entertain, entertainers are also here to make money. Right? So I think my part is that.
Phil:
Okay, I love I love that sentence that we finally arrived at. When we started this, you were giving us too general of answers. So we needed to kind of dig down and find out what is it that makes you tick. What is it that you absolutely love? Everyone loves entertainment. Everyone watches TV and movies and listens to music. That's too vanilla. But when you say, in entertainment, we're not just here to entertain. We're here to make money. We're here to run a business so that everyone can enjoy. That's getting interesting that you not only love but have experience working in the business of entertainment. I feel like we're starting to get more specific here. Where you’re talking about sponsorships deals? Lauren, do you agree with me? Do you like where this is headed? Do you have any follow up questions or thoughts?
Lauren:
Yes, I really like where this is headed. Because I know it's so tough to think about the future and years from now and you're like, I just need to get through school. But it's become very, very clear to me that you are someone who takes two pieces and makes them fit together. So you're someone who can really fill in the gaps. You are someone who thrives in uncertainty. You bring organization to chaos. And ultimately, you set up entertainment, I guess entertainment events, productions, whatever, you set them up to be profitable.
Phil:
And one of the things that we're often thinking about when we want to put all of this into words is like some kind of portfolio. So for graphic design, a portfolio is more straightforward. This is like an array of projects of visualizations that you've created, or for a photographer to, you know, grouping of photos, maybe by different styles or categories that you've done for others, to essentially say to someone you can trust me to do for you what I've done for someone else, this is my style. This is my brand.
Now for you in the entertainment arena or having, you know, the advantage of having worked prior to going to school part of why I chose you for this experiment. I think that it's an exciting exercise for us to determine where you have proof of concept? So what are those projects? What are those instances of proof that you understand the business of entertainment? You mentioned the sporting event, that's going to be one of those where we could for example, list know put the logo of the organization or little written description on what challenge they had, how you help them overcome that challenge. I want to start to think less about, here's my perfectly structured resume, which I know resumes are important, but in 2020, I think proof of concept is more important.
So let's start to explore those areas where in your past, you can lean on them by their work experience, or even projects you've done in school. They also count. What are those instances of proof of concept? Let's just see what comes to mind first.
Andrea:
Well, I've been doing a lot. I spent a lot of the last few years I don't really know if school, apply Because that was so long ago, but if we're going to go, I think make it backwards. It's kind of easy. So as I said, for the last, while this.
Phil:
Yeah, this, that's a good way to do it is to think like go back as far as you can. But at the same time, if you had only three bullet points to fill, let's say I was only going to accept your three best highlights or examples, what would those three be doesn't matter when it matters more the size and the scope, and the proof that you have that you solved a problem or a challenge related to your brand, which we're building.
Andrea:
The most interesting part of me and what I am today is my journey. I did a lot of different things. And that's the interesting of it, because it shows that I know a lot of sides of the entertainment business and how it happens. Now everything goes so if I have to say three examples, I'm trying here. I don't know if they were the most important. But I think all of them were important. I would categorize them as like three important situations that I lived that are completely different one from the other.
So number one, I would say, this event that I'm working on today, which is The Rio Open, I just delivered the seventh edition. And it's the sports live events, gigantic, something around 60,000 people a week, all kinds of challenges, and I can go on the whole day talking about them. So that is one thing.
I'd say number two, I did television. I was the producer for a TV show. And that was a few years ago, but that was also super interesting and demanding. It's also another way of the entertainment business. And it's a whole different ball game than the live event, the sports live event. And it was very interesting. Big team under me a lot people to deal with cameras. And it was almost a live thing. So we had audience we had, it was very interesting. And it was a super cool.
And even before that, I worked as chief of protocol, and Rio's mayor's office. So on that side, my job was I was as chief of protocol. But more than anything else, I would work on the international events that the mayor had to be part of. So all the international things, having international visitors, authorities official things from the campaign for the Olympics, until big international conferences with world leaders, I worked in all those.
So I think that those are three very interesting things that shows a little bit of my versatility and a few things I did.
Phil:
I love those three examples for you like those three, love them. I love that there's a different focus of each one. You've got sports, entertainment, you've got media/tv, you've got politics, you know, public figure, well, you know, whatever you want to sum up those three different lenses, if you will. That's really super cool. That was why I asked you what were the three big ones that come to mind. If you had to sum up very quickly rather than, you know, people, no one's gonna read your long bio of here's where I went to school. And then I did this and I started here. In 2020, people don't pay attention, and don’t have time so they filter through for them. Here are three notable things I've worked on here. My three portfolio examples here, my three proofs of concept. Obviously, the more you've worked, the more jobs you've had, the more experience you have, the more you have, to the more ability you have to filter those.
I always say, I've said this to Lauren before we can always tell the junior graphic designer from a senior You're a graphic designer, a junior designer, or let's say someone who's fresh out of college, puts everything they've made into their portfolio. Look, here, I've done all these things, right. And they're kind of different styles. And there's, there's still some, some learning and evolution happening right as that person develops their brand, my portfolio was exactly the same. When I started branding, my first client was a wholesale candle supply company, not even a personal brand. Yet, a senior graphic designer or a very photographer, any kind of creative, has a cohesive through line, a thesis in what they've done. And you can see that almost visually you can see that in the tone of voice. So I'm going to ask you now, since you do have the advantage of having worked in this space, and you're reflecting on that, what's that one thing you brought to the table and sum it up in just a sentence or two? What's that one thing you brought to the table for those projects that you think would be unique to you, and the way you do things?
Andrea:
Well, number one, I think independent of what I'm doing, I am essentially a problem solver. And I think that's the greatest quality I have. If I see that something wrong is happening, or if something is wrong going to happen, I just get to it. And sometimes I can solve it before it happens and sometimes I just fix it. And I think that's the major quality I have and all of those situations. So that would be number one.
Number two, I am as it said, I have a long time experience have been on the business for a lot of time. So I would definitely say that the networking I have is a differential. I have important contacts, both personal and professional. I have the luck. I don't know if I can call it luck. But anyways, to know people in Rio and in Brazil, where I live. They're very important and became today to be very important decision makers. So I have a really strong network. And I think that's the second point that would make the difference from me apart from other people.
Phil:
Okay, I have some ideas on where to go with this. But Lauren, what are your thoughts? I was thinking of taking this next to testimonials.
Lauren:
Yeah. And show instead of saying that I'm lucky to have a, have a strong network, let your network speak for itself, you know.
Phil:
So there's proof here that you're able to put into words what your strengths are, I think without even maybe even realizing it, you've got a pretty good sense of self awareness. Right? If you were putting into words, what Lauren was also thinking, right, if you guys are on the same page, and that's a very good sign. One of the keys to successful personal branding is self awareness. Where are you strong? Where are you not strong. So to be able to put into your own words, where your strong is awesome.
The other thing that's useful as we think about putting you out into the world beyond just final project, but also thinking about even summing it up on a one page website, which we will do for this exercise a Hall of Fame, it's good to have input from other people as well. So it could be a, you know, asking for a recommendation on LinkedIn from a recent colleague or supervisor or boss or maybe you know, even by email, I love LinkedIn recommendations because it's social proof that exists on your profile with their photo you can't make it up but a testimonial by email is also good or you can get them recorded saying it that's also great. Do you have people that you could reach out to that we could get a little you know, maybe even one or two people a testimonial about your work ethic or how great you are?
Andrea:
Yes, actually I have one or two testimonials on my facebook I think so you can take just take a look there and see if that's okay. But I can ask other people like something more actual, because those are like, I think the last one was something around 2012 or something, somebody that they worked with some time ago, but it's a good one. Yeah, Portuguese though, I just remembered that I can have it translated. And but I can always ask if you don't think that's good. I cannot ask one, two or three people can get something done for me.
Phil:
Yeah, I think asking for updated ones is a good idea. Especially since that's a project you've worked on more recently. Why not get an updated testimonial so it feels fresh, great, I think yet for you to be able to put into words what makes you great. I know Lauren is like jotting notes like a maniac over here, because after we chat with you, we're going to talk about you. And we're going to show you how conversations like this can turn into website copy, you know, or, you know, putting this into application. So your job employment ready, Lauren, thoughts where we go next with this.
Lauren:
I think we just get to work. I'm so clear on this direction.
Phil:
I feel like in just a few minutes, Andrea, to actually reflect on where you want to go with this has been useful. You didn't go there when we initially asked you to. But then I was like, no, we have to go there. I think it's a good reminder that you don't have to decide what you want your career to be one year from now. You don't have to decide what company you want to work for. But when we can start to use the language that your buyer, boss, hiring manager, etc, is looking for, that's where the sale becomes really powerful. In just a few minutes, of course, I feel like and I'm glad that I prompted you to answer that question.
Now, where do you see yourself a year from now I know and I can relate to that when I was in your position of like, final project and assuming you and just trying to get to that point of graduation, but I encourage people to not know where exactly you're going to go with this because external factors will ultimately affect that so you don't know where it's where you're going to end up. But it's a good thing to start to think about, specifically, where you might end up or where you're strong, what kind of language you can use so that it resonates with the person who will ultimately hire you. I'm impressed with some of these conclusions. Andrea, how are you feeling?
Andrea:
Wow. Okay, great.
Phil:
This conversation will continue live on stage at Full Sail University's Hall of Fame 11. But for now, thank you, Andrea, for joining us today and thank you for being on Brand Therapy.
Andrea:
Thank you both.
Lauren:
Thank you, Andrea.
Phil:
I think some of the challenges that she's facing represent the challenges that new grads and students are facing. Sometimes a week before graduation, sometimes the year before graduation, it all just depends. So I thought she'd be a good candidate for this exercise.
Lauren:
So smart. She's such a Brainiac. That's probably why it's been so challenging to narrow down her brands because she's good at everything.
Phil:
She's good at everything. She's had experience in a lot of different fields. So when we started to ask her those questions, right, she gave a very general answer. And I just wasn't here for it. It was kind of like let's challenge to think about some more specificity because in 2020, you need it. You need to be able to say with confidence, this is who I am. This is what I do. This is why I'm great. You're some examples of other people saying that.
Lauren:
You were like, I won't accept this answer. I thought, Oh my God!
Phil:
Such formality. Usually. Anyway, having listened to her, was there any sound bites that stood out? I ask you that because that's generally your role and responsibilities here at PPC turning soundbites into actual website copy. Are there any examples of things that you heard that you thought would live well, in text form online?
Lauren:
Yeah, there was one part. I can't remember the exact phrasing. But she said, I'm always ready for I don't know what or something like that. And so I want to bring up that example because it actually could be a really cool soundbite for her website instead of I'm always ready for I don't know what you could just make it I’m always ready for the unknown. And that takes like a very ambitious, ambiguous and unsure kind of stammering answer and turns into something of confidence and shows that by being always ready for, I don't know what, but by being always ready, it's you're actually like a very reliable, capable person.
Phil:
Interesting. So you're able to take almost part of that conversational soundbite and just kind of clean it up before it gets published.
Lauren:
Yeah, and take it from something that's stammering and being used to fill in the blanks while she's thinking about her thoughts and instead turn it into something of substance and strength.
Phil:
Did you notice that as the conversation went on, she got more comfortable. It was almost like in the beginning she was thinking this is very common. She was almost trying to plan everything that she was saying so that it sounded perfect. But then when she finally kind of ease into it, and said, I actually don't know where I'm going with this, but here are things I like, it's it's this about entertaining that gets me going. That kind of comfort and confidence and at ease usually takes a few minutes of conversation. But when someone arrives to that point, that's where we get the best sound bites wouldn’t you say?
Lauren:
Definitely, there's something I've noticed almost everyone we speak with has this in common, where they're scared to be specific, because they don't want to limit themselves from opportunities. But when you're specific, that's when you can find the common threads. You have to be specific to see what you're really really good at.
Phil:
When you try to appeal to everyone. You effectively appeal to no one.
Lauren:
It's true.
Phil:
When you're afraid of being pigeon holed. That's like being afraid of being so good at something that you become the person people call for that one thing. Yes, not something you should ever be scared of. In fact, you should embrace it.
Lauren:
Yeah, yeah. Like we have, you know, our Slack channel there where we used to take our notes for every And all of our calls. And I remember when Andrea was first speaking, she's like, Yeah, I was a lawyer. Now I'm working in the, like entertainment business, the business of entertainment. And I wrote a note it was more for myself than for you. But I was like, What does business entertainment even mean? Like what is what is it because there's, there's so much and until you're specifically telling us Rio Open event, perhaps programming, TV shows production like until I'm not getting those, the specifics and understanding what skills are required to be successful in those scenarios, I just don't know. So I think this was a perfect example of why it's so important to have those stories, those case studies, those talking points to be able to, again, help give context to a somewhat ambiguous term.
Phil:
I'm glad you thought this was a good example. This was something that occurred to me wow, she would be a perfect example at Hall of Fame because this is a fear that is shared I think by a lot of people. So, Andrea, I thank you for being open and willing to explore this. And it's I think, listeners, it's going to be interesting for you to see how simple conversation with a stranger like us, you know, you're able to actually put things into words. That sums it up perfectly without you even realizing it. So, you're going to actually see if you go tune in to what else I'm doing this week, it will include doing a live presentation with Andrea on stage where we'll use some of the sound bites from this conversation on her one page website. In the past, I've branded Hall of Famers at Full Sail University's Hall of Fame annual event.
This year I'm branding a student. I want to show people that you can do this without overthinking it. I'm very excited about that. So be sure to tune in to my Instagram and my social media, Twitter etc. I am @philpallen.
Lauren:
I'm @thelaurenmoore.
Phil:
We are going to be very active this week posting from Hall of Fame. #brandtherapy is where you will continue the conversation about this episode and other episodes of this podcast. And if you liked this episode, then do us a big huge favor. Go to iTunes leave us a review five star hopefully that helps other people discover this podcast we work very hard to make.
Lauren:
I think that just about sums it up, don't you think?
Phil:
I think it does. Remember to go continue engaging with us and see how this conversation turns into a website. That's my experiment this week at Full Sail University's Hall of Fame.
Lauren:
The fun doesn't stop here.
Phil:
It sure doesn't. We will see you back next episode and enjoy. We'll see you next time on Brand Therapy.
Lauren:
Bye bye.