I don't want to BE a brand!

photo credit blog.cirtex.com

I don't want to BE a brand. 

Ok. So I've been doing some research - maybe too much research. About blogging & social media. Which led me naturally to 'Personal Branding.' Did you know RED is a powerful color, while GREEN makes us think of money and all things earthy? Oh yeah, and to develop a personal brand, you need to make a list of all your interests, narrow that down to the ones you are PASSIONATE about and then research which ones are marketable, don't have a lot of competition (i.e. other bloggers/ experts/ salesmen developing products and/or services about) but DO have a large enough target market - oh and that you could write content for - a LOT of content - 3-5 posts per week for the foreseeable future. 

Whew - it's a lot to consider. 

I had to ask myself, do I have a passion? Turns out I have many. The God of the Bible. The Bible. My family.  I love reading and travel and camping and the outdoors in general. 

I'm also a wannabe hippy-homesteader. I try to garden, own some chickens, belong to a local food co-op and visit farmer's markets quite often.  However, I'm also the proud daughter of a cattle rancher and the (also proud) sister of a feedlot manager!  Yikes. 

Talk about your walking conundrums. 

So. . . . here I am. I'm not a brand - I'm just me and just figuring it all out as I go. 

I'm starting my own company and I will  brand the heck out of that. In fact, you may even notice some 'nods' to the professional site and brand from here. 

But that's because I am a WHOLE person. Every part of my life touches every other part of my life. And that's the way it should be. 

I can brand something without BECOMING  a brand. 

And maybe that's the real lesson. 

How about you? Have you struggled with your private and public identity? Have you been successful at branding either yourself or your company/product? I'd love to hear all about it.