Today’s Show Recap

Thanks for listening to Makin’ It. This week we discuss personal brands – the masters, creating your own, and using it in a Twitter war. Let us know what you think of the show in the comments section at the bottom of the page!

Let’s start MAKIN’ IT!

Last week, we started down the Forbes list of the world’s highest paid celebrities. Joining this exclusive club requires not only a tremendous amount of talent in a given field, but a carefully cultivated personal brand. And all that hard marketing work is paying off. As you’ll recall, it took more than $41 million just to make the top 50. The top 25 celebs we cover this week collectively earned a staggering $2.1 billion.

Kicking us off at number 25 is Lady Gaga, with a cool $59 million. Tommy has previously expressed admiration for her monster marketing skills…which are clearly paying off. Number one is, at least according to Tommy, the perfect combination of your illustrious hosts. Tune in to find out why.

How much is too much? Does any one person really need $59 million? What would you do with that kind of paycheck? Let us know in the comments section below.

Next up, Tommy and Todd discuss the importance of creating a personal brand. Everyone has one, whether they nurture and care for it or not. Think of Donald Trump. Love him or hate him, his personal branding works – everyone knows his name and what he stands for. In fact, reports show that his controversial style has netted him more than $2 billion (so far) worth of free air time during the 2016 election cycle! That’s making your brand work for you.

“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”
-Jeff Bezos

Technology and social media make it easier (and more important) then ever to develop a personal brand. When was the last time you Googled your name? Is what’s out there what you want the world to know about you? Every Tweet, Pin and Share says something about you. About who you are and what you stand for.

Any more, our personal branding begins at birth. Recent studies show that 92 percent of American children have a social media presence, a key component to a personal brand. Consider how potential employers search out your public profiles…and ultimately those of your kids when they enter the job market.   Those embarrassing photos mom loves to haul out? They’re no longer safely confined to photo albums…they’re on Facebook and Instagram and, if you’re not careful, all over the internet.

So think before you post. Is it something that advances your brand or harms it?

Listen in this week as Tommy and Todd outline some keys for creating an effective personal brand…and it’s about more than just your charisma.

How have you developed your personal brand? What’s worked and what hasn’t? Share your tips and tricks in the comments below and we may read them on the air!

We wrap up the show with our Makin’ It or Breakin’ It segment, where we find billionaires acting badly (maybe).

Recently, venture capitalist Stewart Alsop took to the internet to publicly shame Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk for being two hours late to his own event. Mr. Musk did not take well to Mr. Alsop’s complaints and after some back and forth, Musk personally cancelled Alsop’s Model X order because he was “rude.” So much for the customer always being right.

Certainly Musk can afford to lose one sale, but will there be a long term impact on his personal brand? Or does that brand actually support his actions? Certainly the Twitterverse had a plethora of opinions when it caught wind of the controversy. Was Musk just being petty? Does it even matter? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Oh, and if you want a trip to Mars on Space X, you’d best keep your comments on Musk’s perpetual tardiness to yourself.

Thanks for tuning in to Makin’ It. Let us know what you think of the show and if you have questions about your business, send us an email at info@makinitnow.com or leave us a comment below. We love to hear from our listeners and we read comments on the air. We just might choose yours for next week’s show (so don’t forget to tune in!).

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Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs:

Order Tommy’s new book, The Way of the Rich at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, booksamillion.com and buybooksontheweb.com.

Tips and strategies for creating a personal brand are here, here and here

Lynda.com has an excellent course on personal branding (website membership required)

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Check out the Makin’ It website to listen to past shows anytime at www.makinitnow.com

Be sure to tune in every week to the Makin’ It Radio Show on your local station or listen to past shows anytime on iHeart Radio, TuneIn or the Makin’ It Now Archives section on our website at www.makinitnow.com.