You, Inc.

Launch Day

Before We Get Started

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to

pause & reflect.

- Mark Twain

Who is this guy?

Who is This Guy?

• Currently –Director of Marketing TurnHereCo-Founder Social Media Club Orange CountyBlogs at pmorganbrown.com

• Previously –Founder and Editor, BlownMortgage.comCo-Founder of New Day Trust MortgageSr. Account Exec, Inter@ctivate, online marketingDir. of Operations, SalesMountain.com

Maybe My Best Trick

Turning my blog into a profitable business, using it to get my dream job and then successfully selling it to a new owner.

How that happened

By accident, I invented the brand

Morgan Brown

Some other nice things happened too.

• Quoted or cited in:– The Wall Street Journal– Bloomberg – The New York Times– Los Angeles Times– NPR– Village Voice– Orange County Register– Inman News– Scotsman Guide– Better Homes & Gardens

• Published articles in Scotsman Guide• Named Top 25 Most Influential Real Estate blog 2007• Invited to join the Forbes blog network

*You can Google it to double-check

But the best thing was

A dream job where I was asked to apply

Why it Matters Now

Employers plan on hiring

22% fewer college graduates this year than they did in 2008.

http://www.jedfoundation.org/press-room/press-releases/New-mtvU-Associated-Press-Poll-Shows-How-Stress-Economy-Other-Factors-Are-Affecting-College-Students-Mental-Health

It kind of speaks for itself.

Why it Matters Now

12%Unemployment rate in California – September 2009

College Degrees Don’t Guarantee Anything

The unemployment rate for college

graduates has almost doubled in the last year.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/08/07/business/economy/jobs-table.html

But there’s hope.

Why There is Hope

What’s important is that it is now common, and will soon

be expected, that every intelligent person (and quite a few unintelligent ones) will have a media platform where

they share what they care about with the world.

- Seth Godin

A Changing Reality

Who you were What you knew Who you knew Who knows you

What is a personal brand?

Personal branding is the process whereby people and their careers are marked as brands. It has been noted that while previous self-help management techniques were about self-improvement, the personal branding concept suggests instead that success comes from self-packaging. Further defined as the creation of an asset that pertains to a particular person or individual; this includes but is not limited to the body, clothing, appearance and knowledge contained within, leading to an indelible impression that is uniquely distinguishable.

- Wikipedia

How You Can Do It Too

Character

Commit

Create Connect

• Character Image slide

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/2905921539/

Character

• Commit Image slide

http://www.flickr.com/photos/akeg/460921685/

Commit

• Create Image slide

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotologic/410355440/

Create

• Connect Image slide Connect

Relationships

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cayusa/2838505123/

How to

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lifeontheedge/293346468/

Getting Started

• Find your passion– What do you love?– What are you interested in?– What do you aspire to know more about?

• Find your voice– Who are you?– What do you stand for?– What do you know?– Where can you help?

• Find your tribe

Getting Started

• Find your identity

• Find your leaders

• Find your role

• Find your tools

• Find your cadence

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stabilo-boss/93136022/

Tools

The tools will changeYou will changeYour connectionswill changeYour job will change

But who you arestays the same

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtneer_man/354585286/

Wash, Rinse, Repeat

Character

Commit

Create Connect

Final Thoughts

Bet on yourself

It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oskarn/125630791/

Don’t spread

yourself too thin.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lynac/373285375/

What’s your plan?

It’s

OKto start small.

Be a good person.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wtlphotos/444608357/

Go forth and prosper.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcdead/3503766087/

Some Books I Like

Recommended Reading:

• ClueTrain Manifesto by Searls, et al.• Naked Conversations by Israel, Scoble• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie• The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of Social Networks to Build Your

Business by Tara Hunt• Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media Is Reinventing

the Aging Business of PR by Brian Solis• Trust Agents by Chris Brogan, Smith• Rules of Thumb by Alan Webber• Made to Stick by Dan and Chip Heath

Friend Me Up

• twitter.com/morganb

• facebook.com/morganb

• linkedin.com/in/morganb

• pmorganbrown.com