As seen on THE HUFFINGTON POST

If you’re thinking about creating a personal brand, there are a few key factors to keep in mind. Perhaps most importantly of all is to realize that the lines between your brand and your real persona will often blur. Which means that you’ll need to be prepared to act, look and be the person people expect you to. Anything less will dilute your brand and cause you to lose customers. Alejandro Chabán, celebrity and creator of popular diet plan Yes You Can! shares his ideas on how to create a successful personal brand. Check out his tips below.

1. Brand Identity is Incredibly Important
Perhaps unsurprisingly one of the most important factors behind your personal brand is your branding. You’ll need to lend your unique personality and style, as well as have a clear idea of what you’re selling and who you’re selling it to. With Yes You Can! diet plan, Chabán really understands his customers in the Latino community and what makes them tick.

He was able to tailor a product that suits their needs and build a sense of belonging and success. The branding is consistent through the product, website, Yes You Can! coaches, social media and at every customer interaction. Chabán enthuses – “You need a clear mission and purpose and have a detailed map of who your consumer is and what they need.”

2. Identify Who Your Competition is and How to Surpass Them
Whatever industry you want to break into it’s essential to know who you’re competing against. So study the market first. Find out what hasn’t been offered yet and how you’re going to make a difference. Identify your weaknesses and strengths. Use your strengths to make up for your weaknesses and to surpass everyone’s expectations.

Make clear what you’re offering that the competition doesn’t – and why your product is the right choice for them. Yes You Can! is the first diet plan in the USA especially designed for the Latino audience. Chabán knew that the weight loss industry was a highly competitive place. But the experience he lacked in creating protein shakes, he made up for with firsthand knowledge of being overweight in a Latino community. He was offered diet plan after diet plan that were uninspiring and failed to consider Latino tastes, flavors and culture. By offering something the competition didn’t, he was able to surpass them.

3. Brand Yourself
According to Chabán this means you have to “become recognizable and impossible to ignore.” The easiest way to do this is by being really passionate about what you’re selling and to wrap yourself up in your product. Authenticity is everything. If you’re trying to brand yourself as a positive and caring person, but you’re deeply sarcastic and self-centered, the cracks will start to appear.

Once you’ve created your image, you’ll need to keep a uniform look across every platform. You can’t be everywhere, so the people working for you need to share and transmit your passion and enthusiasm. At Yes You Can!, Chabán teaches his weight loss coaches how to brand themselves and ensure that their energy and enthusiasm are consistent. Coaches must know how to encourage, motivate and help their clients celebrate their personal successes.

4. Engage With Your Public
Connecting with your audience is essential. Strive to create a personal relationship with your customers. You may not be able to meet and greet every single one of them separately, but there are other ways to make them feel valued. Use social media to interact with them. Answer their questions, respond to them and discover what they need from you. Everyone values a strong sense of community and everyone wants to feel accepted.

As an actor, Chabán learned many lessons that he applied to his business, such as how to read people and connect with their emotions. The more you interact with your audience, the more you start to learn what triggers them emotionally and who they are. “Yes You Can! is not just a brand,” Chabán reminds us, “it symbolizes hope and potential for personal success.”

5. Take Risks
Creating a successful personal brand is all about taking risks. Don’t be afraid to fail. Break the rules! Do things differently and set yourself apart by doing so. Only by taking risks will you find the new results you’ve never seen before. Fear should be on the back burner of your day to day reality. It may be impossible to forget your fear, but you can learn to control it. Once you get over the possibility of failure, your confidence will soar and your results will change.

Passion, determination, risk taking, and a personal understanding of your consumer are very important points. Have a clear mission and vision and don’t stray from that path. Discover your purpose and have it lead you to prosperity. If you bring value to everything you do, you’ll achieve success.