Hi, I’m Rosetta Thurman and I’m the author of From Blogger to Entrepreneur. I started blogging in April 2007 and could never have imagined the benefits I would reap as a young professional:
- 60+ speaking opportunities since 2007
- Offered an adjunct faculty position at a local university
- Popular nonprofit blog with over 1,000 subscribers
- Over 13,000 followers on Twitter
I owe all of this to personal branding. Business management guru Tom Peters coined the term in 1997 with this bold statement: “Big companies understand the importance of brands. Today, in the Age of the Individual, you have to be your own brand.” He wrote a fantastic manifesto titled “The Brand Called You” on Fast Company that you should absolutely go read. Like right now. But here’s something even simpler. Your personal brand is essentially your professional reputation. It’s what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.
Ultimately, my success in using social media to build my personal brand is what allowed me to make the decision to leave my job and branch out into full-time consulting in January 2010. Just a year later, I am truly amazed that I’m already earning the same amount of money as I did while working at my previous 9 to 5 job! And I want to show you how you can use blogging to craft a successful personal brand, too.
Free Tools
I have many free resources here to help you learn how to build your brand so you can grow your business and rock your career. Please use them and share with your colleagues if you find them useful!
