Making Money and Building Your Brand: You are what you say and how you carry yourself as THEY see it.

Want the secret to making money online?

How often have you heard or read how simple it is to make money online. You've seen the videos. You've seen the 'testimonials' about how product X helped them make X. Or how there's riches in niches. All of this is true. It's simple. But not easy. The key is to start. And then keep going. And then avoid quitting when you feel it isn't working. Most of us are excited to start and then get into it and realize it's a slog. This business of work is a slog. It's called work for a reason, right?

This slog makes it hard. And the competition for an audience makes it hard. Heck, I'm in this slog right now! Fits and starts. I see shiny objects and think, what if I did X? OR that thing over there? The problem with that is if you're always starting you'll never get anywhere.

And all of those programs and 'systems' that promise step by step guide to making money or finding your dream job won't help you if you don't start.

Which category are you?

Most people are actually in the 'not do it' category. They buy these products thinking it's the path. It's the thing they need. But then don't take the action required. The people who write the testimonials are those that do things. They're putting in the reps.

You either are going to do it and will figure it out. You can give people the line by line roadmap and they still won't do it.

Let's look at the top 10 reasons people don't start or keep going:

• Fear. What if I fail? What will people think of me?
• Time. Life's busy. Fitting in extracurricular work that may or may not pay off is tough. Especially in the slog.
• SOS (Shiny object syndrome). We've sso many potential 'opportunities' that we can't choose. Choosing means we have to let go of other 'opportunities.'
• Netflix. When it gets hard, one just wants to zone out to "Easy" or "Bridgerton" or maybe "Billions" where you can see how REAL people build wealth ;)
• Inertia - We wait for the right time to start without realizing there's never going to be a right time.
• Desire for certainty - We want to know in advance if this venture will fly. We don't want to waste our time or risk embarrassment if it doesn't.
• Lack of purpose - we're often adrift, flitting from thing to thing. Get purpose and action happens (much easier).
• Lack of vision - we don't begin with the end in mind. And find ourselves lacking confidence and the will to persevere.
• Negative self talk - We don't feel qualified. We don't have the answers, the skills to succeed. And we talk ourselves out of action.
• Your excuse here - all of us can find an excuse NOT to do something that will benefit us.

Embrace the uncertainty and go. Simple right? But not easy.

Adventures in Branding 101 - You are what you say. You are how you carry yourself.

I confess to be a sucker for good branding. Maybe it's my penchant for photography and design. Or maybe I just know and believe in the power of a strong brand. When you think of a brand, it's easy to think the big brands like Apple, Nike, Ford, etc.  And that it might seem out of reach for You, Inc. Tom Peters extolled the virtues of your personal brand in Fast Company back in 1997.

It's easy to get a logo for cheap from sites like 99designs. Or even buy a stock retro logo and insert your name.

Any of this is better than nothing, but there's something to having a brand that is uniquely yours. Something that represents what you stand for. Not just a pretty mark or fancy typeface. Good brands are more than just pretty type or a trendy stock retro mark with "your name here." They have a story. They stand for something, work on many different levels. And I believe are essential to standing out.

Here's one that I think illustrates this concept well. This shows the before and after. It's for Big C Charters in Sausalito, California, named after a former pro-basketball player.

Playing with focus on fishing and the founder's tall height is this logo: a tall C with a fish hook built in. There's wit and whimsy to it. And it is uniquely his. This is where you go deep into what the world needs most that you're most uniquely qualified to offer. It takes soul searching, sitting with it, letting it percolate. Expect that the simpler it is, the longer it's going to take because each element has to work extremely hard.

If you are not ready to build your own visual brand, don't fret. Just do the work you believe in and put it out there. When the time comes, this work is the substance for your brand.

While you can shape your brand with every interaction, a brand isn't what you say it is. It's what they say it is.

The question becomes, what do you want them to say?