John, who frequently dispenses business advice on CNBC and MSNBC, was one of the “sharks” or angel investors on the hit ABC reality show “Shark Tank,” in which aspiring entrepreneurs competed for seed money to bring their dream businesses to fruition. As John detailed expertly in his second book, The Brand Within, everyone is their own walking brand. How you package yourself and carry yourself will have far-reaching ramifications over the course of your life.
“I put it together saying that you are a brand way before you go into business, before you have a company or a corporation or you’re even working … you are a brand from the day you are born. And many people perceive your brand. And if you’re not careful, they may never invest in your brand because you could market your brand in a negative way as well,” John says. He offers an example to drive home his point. “It is said that a jury convicts or acquits a defendant within five minutes of seeing them. And then they only want to hear evidence that’s going to make them believe what they already think.
“You are being branded of every second of the day. You can be branded as a good kid or a bad kid and this brand is going to follow you throughout your life.”
Interestingly enough, John says you can take one suit and wear it four different ways and impact your personal brand in very revealing ways.
“A person working in a bank is going to wear that suit tight and look very, very conservative. He’s going to have on a clean white shirt and a clean tie. If you are an entertainer, the suit is going to be loose. You’re going to have on a black shirt and black tie. If you are going to go to a casual dinner, you are going to put a sweater or turtle neck under the suit. And if you are a power negotiator on Wall Street, you are going to have the white shirt, red tie and [the suit will be] more pinstripe,” he says. “You shouldn’t give your money to a banker who is wearing a very loose suit and has a bunch of jewelry on because that’s what he’s going to do with your money.” –terry shropshire
