How do you build a successful brand? And how do you know your worth?

These two questions can be difficult to answer, but knowing the answers could be the key to unlocking unlimited success in our careers. And if you’re looking for some advice on building a brand and knowing your worth, then you’ve come to the right place, as we’ve got some tips from two incredibly successful businesswomen to share.

Kubi Springer is a renowned brand expert, and she has a CV that is positively brimming with A-list names. She started her career as an intern for Sean ‘Puff Daddy’ Combs, and went on to work with Justin Timberlake and Mariah Carey, as well as world-famous brands including Nike. She has a specific focus on equipping female leaders with the tools they need to build their own personal brands, and she has just published her first book, I Am My Brand.

Alex Holder is an author and journalist on a mission to help us speak more honestly about money, from how to ask for a pay rise to how to get out of debt. Her brilliant first book, Open Up: The Power of Talking About Money, charts her own diverse history with finance, after she left a lucrative job in advertising and began campaigning to highlight the gender pay gap.

How to build a personal brand

The formula of branding is the same no matter what, says Springer. 

There are 1.6 million freelancers in the UK and freelancers have increased by 45% in the EU. So asking to be paid what you deserve is essential.

1. What is a brand?

Essentially, a brand is an emotional connection with a desired audience. Remember that people buy people. For example, when people see a bottle of Coke, the emotion they feel is happiness. So when you’re thinking of personal branding, remember that it’s not about your intellect or your skills, but the emotional connection you have with your audience.

2. What is your vision?

Ask yourself – what is your vision for your brand? What pay rise do you want? Where do you want to take your company? Where do you want your business to go?

It is your job to get the brand together and place it in the right environment to attract the customers you want.

3. Think about the decisions you’re making in your career

The decisions we make change our trajectory in our lives.

Ask yourself – what decisions are you prepared to struggle through to get what you want in life?

When life kicks you down, what will you do in that moment to get back up?

How to know your worth and earn more money

As Holder says: “money is emotional. It’s where I lay my head down at night. It’s how I dress, how I socialise, how I eat, and it affects my mental health”.

Here are some simple tips to help you earn more money:

1. Don’t say I’m bad with money

Change your mindset and empower yourself. We need to be more casual with the way we talk about money. Negotiating pay and rates is a high stake moment, but if we have that conversation casually beforehand with friends or a partner, then we take the pressure off and make the conversation easier to have.

2. If you don’t ask, you don’t get

Ask for that pay rise!

3. Money is not a shameful topic

We need to talk more about money. It’s not embarrassing to ask to be paid for a job, or to ask to be paid on time. It’s not grabby.

4. Keep a slightly strange Google Doc

Every time you hear someone’s salary or rate of pay, add it to a Google Doc. That way you will have points of data of what other people are paid, which will help with your own negotiations.

5. Seek advice

Ask your most sensible friend for money advice, or seek a financial advisor.

Some great websites to get you started are:

Unbiased.co.uk

Moneyandmentalhealth.org

Stepchange.org

 I Am My Brand by Kubi Springer is available to buy here

Open Up: The Power of Talking About Money by Alex Holder is available to buy here

Images: Getty, Brona McNeill