Women Must Leverage Power Of Authenticity To Build Personal Brands

Women entrepreneurs have been making their mark across diverse sectors in recent decades, proving themselves to be as capable, as dedicated, and as effective as their male counterparts. Entrepreneurship can be a challenging path for any individual, but women in business face additional hurdles, in the form of gender biases and double standards, along their entrepreneurial journeys. In this context, it becomes particularly crucial for female entrepreneurs to powerfully demonstrate their strengths, experiences and ambitions to the world, and this is where personal branding can play a critical role.

Beyond successfully setting up and running a business, a key goal for any entrepreneur is to earn recognition as a leader in their space. Indeed, in a saturated market and highly competitive business landscape, a powerful personal brand is essential for female entrepreneurs to stand out in a crowd. Personal branding empowers women leaders to challenge gender-based stereotypes and redefine norms, establish their credibility and authority in their chosen domains, and gain access to valuable networks and opportunities.

Authenticity – The Heart of Effective Personal Branding

We live in a world where consumers increasingly place a premium on authenticity from brands and from business leaders. It’s important to remember though that authenticity is not a marketing strategy or construct – rather it's about being true to oneself and one’s principles and values, as an individual and as an entrepreneur.

By developing a deep understanding of their strengths, limitations and aspirations through introspection and self-reflection, and channelling their authentic selves through effective communication, women entrepreneurs can build unbeatable personal brands – a potent tool to attract audiences that resonate with their values and build more meaningful professional connections.

Building an Authentic Personal Brand

Much like the brand-building process for a product or service begins with identifying a UVP (Unique Value Proposition), women entrepreneurs seeking to build an authentic personal brand should also begin by identifying their UVPs, in terms of the core skills, experiences and qualities that differentiate them from their peers. 

The next step should be to gain a thorough understanding of the target audience, in terms of their needs, their desires and the challenges that they face. Finding points of convergence between her own experiences and goals, and those of her audience, will enable the entrepreneur to craft a powerful, engaging and highly credible narrative.

Sharing narratives through personal stories

Sharing personal stories and authentic personal experiences serves to further bolster personal brands by building an emotional connection with the audience. Many women entrepreneurs have grown to become not just thought leaders, but inspirational figures, due to their powerful personal narratives about their journeys and the challenges they have faced and overcome finding resonance among their audiences.

Last, but not least, as with any brand, consistency is key to nurturing and maintaining a personal brand. Once a female entrepreneur has identified her authentic brand voice, she needs to ensure that it is consistently replicated across all touchpoints – be it social media channels, media interactions, public events etc. This consistency further reinforces the authenticity, and signals to audiences, potential customers, and other stakeholders that behind the brand lies a real person with a unique story and approach to business.

Embracing the Power of Authenticity

Personal branding can be a key driving force in the success of a female entrepreneur, enabling her to enhance her reputation and attract a wealth of opportunities that could take her career and her business to the next growth stage. An authentic personal brand also builds an entrepreneur's confidence in her abilities and helps tackle self-doubt or imposter syndrome. Furthermore, women entrepreneurs with strong brands and powerful personal narratives can also become an inspiration to thousands, if not millions – enabling them to make a significant contribution to society in addition to their business or philanthropic efforts.

Authored by Mrs Kirti Kabra, Director at RR Kabel Limited

Views expressed are the author's wn