3 Women on the Power of Rebranding Themselves
August 09, 2019 | Filed in: Your Career
Wherever your desire to reinvent your brand comes from—maybe you want to become a better version of yourself, create an image that’s more authentic to who you really are, or pivot in your career—doing so can feel like an impossible feat. After all, people already know you as one thing. But don’t give up! Keep reading for the stories of three women who successfully changed their personal brand and have never been happier.
The Imogen jacket, the Marilyn dress, and the D-Ring belt.
Marie Incontrera
Why I Changed: “I was a big band leader in New York, but they don’t teach you in music school that you can be really successful and still be broke. I was playing Carnegie Hall and coming home to eat ramen noodles in an apartment that only fit a bed and a piano. After I turned 30, I decided to find a better day job and became a virtual assistant (it’s like a personal assistant but done remotely). I noticed that the people I worked for kept asking me to help them do three things: get better at social media, produce podcasts, and secure TEDx talks. I soon changed my business from being an assistant to be a consultant on those three areas, and I now own my own consulting company with five employees.”
How I Changed:
- I got up on stage. “If I wanted people to think of me as someone who could get them a TEDx talk, I knew I needed to do them myself. So I did two and they helped position me as an expert in the marketplace. One was about how jazz is a model for business innovation and the other was on the link between exercise and earning potential. Those talks were real turning points for me.”
- I changed my online presence. “I completely rebranded my LinkedIn and started posting about my new job and what I was doing. It sounds simple, but talking about how much I love what I do goes a long way to attracting people who want to work with me. I’ve become really careful about how I document my life on social media. I highlight things like events I go to or clients that have a major milestone and even talk about my own personal journey.”
- I lead with the new. “People ask if I’m still composing or performing because they knew me as a musician, so I say yes, but then I go right into my elevator pitch about what I’m doing now. It’s a natural transition because I am still being creative and making an impact.”
The Didion top, the Zhou culottes, the Parker earrings, and the Ella sandal.
Whitney Hake
Why I Changed: “I’m in commercial real estate, which is still a pretty male-dominated industry. Up until 18 months ago, I was working as part of a team with two senior men. It was hard for me to get my name out in front of clients—I ended up working behind the scenes a lot and felt like I was trying to fit someone else’s mold for myself. I kept saying that I wanted to do more business development, but they weren’t extremely receptive to that. I realized who I was didn’t feel authentic at all, so I decided I wanted to build a team myself. I switched companies and now lead a team with a portfolio of almost two million square feet listed.”
How I Changed:
- I embraced what makes me different. “I used to think I needed to act older to be respected, but now I embrace my youth. I’m 32 and I’m the oldest person on my team, so we leverage that difference. We embrace technology, we are flashy and well-marketed, and we are as innovative as we can be. That all feels very authentic to who I am. I’m finally able to run with a lot of ideas I’d never have been able to implement before.”
- I got new headshots taken. “I’m way less robotic and more casual and approachable now. And you can see that change in the photos I have online. Instead of the headshot with my arms crossed, it’s me in a celebratory setting speaking to a group of clients with a microphone. It commands the idea that you’ll want to hear what I have to say.”
- I blended my personal and professional lives. “I used to have a blog that was really personal where I wrote about finding my way as a young woman in a professional setting. I was made fun of for it at my old job, so I started only writing about real estate. But now that I feel secure in where I am and lead a team, I’m more comfortable being vulnerable and personal. I’ll talk about my home remodeling job in a meeting—I’m not afraid the client will think it’s weird that I have a life outside of work.”
The Annika top, the Dorchester skirt, and the Mabel necklace.
Ayse Birsel
Why I Changed: “I’m an industrial designer—I’ve designed everything from office systems to potato peelers—but about 10 years ago when the economy crashed, many of our clients took the work in-house. I had a lot of time on my hands, so I was able to fine-tune my design process and really define it. I call it deconstruction/reconstruction, where I take an object completely apart, then put it back together better. I realized the same process could be used in life, too. A friend asked me to run a workshop about that idea, and I found myself doing more and more of them. I ultimately wrote a book called Design the Life You Love and I now travel around speaking about this concept of transforming your life and career through the design process. I’m still an industrial designer, but now I’m also a thought leader.”
How I Changed:
- I created a personal website. “I already had a website for my design company, but I made a second one that could work like a visual CV. It’s about the transformation I’ve done, what I do as a thought leader, and how my process can help you improve your life.”
- I got comfortable with being vulnerable. “As a professional, I’d only show my strong side, but that doesn’t really work for a personal brand. I worked with an amazing story coach who helped me define my story—I started talking about the challenges I’ve overcome and how that led to opportunity. I didn’t want to talk about my struggles, but he made me see that they make me human and that’s the foundation for everything else.”
- I put myself front and center. “I knew that for my personal brand, I needed to be way more visible. So I started sharing images of myself on Instagram doing things like signing books at an event. And on Twitter, I started sharing my own quotes instead of just what other people said. It took some time to get used to!”
