What Does a Personal Branding Consultant Do?
What does a personal branding consultant do? What does the day in the life of a personal branding consultant look like? Kaitlin shares the details in this candid interview.
This was originally a guest blog for Opello Media and I’m updating and reposting this here.
About Kaitlin
Kaitlin Zhang is a personal branding consultant, coach, blogger, vlogger and speaker. She is the CEO of Oval Branding. She has extensive work experience in San Francisco, Shanghai, Vancouver, Shenzhen and London. Kaitlin can help you establish and manage your online reputation. You can be more visible, have more influence and grow your business and career.
8 – 9am Morning Routine
Healthy breakfast (today is organic oatmeal with cranberry, honey, nuts and seeds)
Exercise (pilates and body-weight only strength training)
Journaling (using real pen and paper)
Read my one-page productivity, which outlines my goals in 6 months and 5 years
Review the 3 main tasks I need to complete today (yes only 3!). If you can’t fit it on a post-it, you can’t fit it in your day.
9am – 10am Uninterrupted writing
I use this time to write about branding, entrepreneurship and productivity. I type out whatever comes to my mind without any editing. To me, this is an extremely valuable time to be able to tune out everything else and solely focus on my thoughts. Today I was writing about my thoughts on how to motivate my team and help them see my business vision.
11am – 1pm Project-based work
Here are couple of projects I am working on at the moment:
Reply emails to people who are taking my free 7 days email course on the 5 Steps To Build Your Personal Brand Online.
Managing my own brand and producing content: social media, blogging, videos etc.
Client projects. Work can include market research, editing pitches, and touching up on personal websites. My clients based include entrepreneurs, executives, creatives and celebrities. I have clients based in the UK, Canada, USA and China. I schedule Skype calls throughout the day with my clients, depending on their time zone. I also meet clients in person at my office in South London.
2pm – 4pm Client Projects
In the afternoon, I continue to work on client work.
I am trying to get into the habit of taking a 5 mins break every 25 minutes. This gives my eyes a rest from staring at the computer screen. Other times when I need a quick break, I check my social media feeds and engage with my followers.
Throughout the day, I also video chat with my remote team, who are around the world. Today I’m discussing a corporate client project with my colleague Stephen Wang, Director of Operations China. We are helping the client launch their corporate brand into China.
5pm – 9pm Running Personal Branding Workshops in London
I work as a speaker and I run various workshops on personal branding, digital marketing, social media, content marketing. I have worked with brands such as O2, NatWest, Cocoon Networks and Club Workspace. In 2018, I will be delivering workshops at the City Business Library. See what is upcoming on my Events Page.
When I am not running events, you will find me hustling on the tennis court, enjoying the latest contemporary art exhibits, or meeting people at networking events.
10pm Evening Routine
I do 2 things that are quite unusual for my evening routine. The first thing is, I recorded a 3 mins audio clip for myself to listen to every night before bed. The audio consists of confirmations, positive quotes, and my vision for the future. Secondly, I try to stay away from all screens for 1 hour before bed, so I have the best quality sleep.
A few more questions for Kaitlin:
What do you do during your commute?
I love listening to podcasts and audiobooks because I am an auditory learner. A few of my favourite podcasts are Freakonomics, How I Built This and TEDTalks.
Tell us something surprising about yourself.
I dedicate at least 2 months each year travelling, reading and thinking.
Kaitlin Zhang in front of Claude Monet’s Water Lillies at Musée de l’Orangerie Paris
I use this time to learn new things and reflect on my life and business. Without this self-reflection, I would not be as successful in my business as I would like to be.
What are your top 3 favourite books every aspiring business person should read?
The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod
The Lean Start-up by Eric Reis
The Power of Others by Henry Cloud
Do you have any advice for people who want to improve their personal brands online?
The most important thing is to do the 5 Steps in order. One of the most common mistakes people make is they dive right into social media. They do this without a clear vision of who they are and where they want to go.
Everybody should start at Step 1. Pitch. Pitch is about establishing your brand positioning, researching your market and writing effective elevator pitches.
Learn more about the 5 Steps of Personal Branding on my free 7 days email course here.
