Create a personal brand as a freelancer or self-employed professional

Increasingly, the world of freelancing and freelancers is booming. Starting your professional career with this profile is both a personal and risky decision, but who said that doing what you love was easy? Let's talk about personal branding.

The effort that a freelancer must make to carry out a project is sometimes much greater than that of a large company. This freelance profile operates in the professional environment in which he/she has been trained or in the one in which he/she is best suited. A freelancer or a self-employed person is most likely to carry out different tasks at the same time and possibly perform them for different companies without explicitly belonging to any of them. For this, the worker must differentiate himself from the rest and make it clear who he is and what sector he works for.

And the best way to stand out is through personal branding. This weapon is nothing more than your sign of identity that makes you unique among the crowd, as essential as your skills in the sector in which you operate. Because every freelancer would like to be recognized just by hearing their name or nickname with which they identify; every freelancer would like to feel continuously appreciated and claimed for their creative skills in their sector; every freelancer would like their work and effort as self-employed to be valued.

Although there are many definitions that explain what personal branding is, we find one of the most accurate quoted by Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon:

»Your personal brand is what they say about you when you're not around.» Jeff Bezos

Well, now we wonder how to get started in this world of personal branding and some doubts arise.

Should I use my name or a nickname?

This question is important to get started in the freelancer world. Although the decision is yours (remember that it will be your personal brand), the truth is that it is very advisable to use your own name. This is not only positive for your dealings with other companies or people. »Showing your face» with your name brings transparency, closeness and trust when it comes to establishing ties. In the world of work, it has always been preferable to deal with people and thus relate to each other.

On the other hand, using your name as a personal brand will be negative if in the future you decide to expand the team or create another business. You should also consider what your name is, as there are names so common that they could confuse you, or perhaps you have a very complicated name that is difficult to remember or pronounce. It is a matter to reflect on.

What aspects should I take into account?

Above all, start by planning. Nothing comes from nothing, if you'll pardon the redundancy. Every successful project has been previously clarified and built on a foundation of objectives, so the first step you should take is planning.

Why did I decide to use my name instead of a corporate one? What field of work defines me or in which do I feel comfortable working? How will I carry out relationships with other people? What strategy is the most suitable to carry out my profession? These are some of the questions you can ask yourself to begin defining the planning of your personal brand, the one that will define you to the world.

Do I need a lot of time to create my personal brand?

Personal branding requires a lot of work and concentration. If you are creating your freelance profile from scratch, consider that it will not build itself or in two days. It will probably take a couple of years to establish your brand in the market, identify yourself as such, find attractive projects, connect with influential people... but we already said it at the beginning of the post, nobody said it was going to be easy.

Your effort and work to create your personal brand is essential to start in this world. It will be important to establish contacts and be consistent; for this, you need to equip yourself with patience, a lot of patience. Lean on whoever you need most and don't give up, because your passion for the craft will define your path to success.