Unleash your personal brand to tap success

Brenda Bence can't wait to get out of bed and head off to work every morning - so much does she enjoy her job. This passion has contributed to the fast growth of her brand consultancy, training and executive coaching business, which saw her notch up 200,000 flying miles last year.

So it came as a surprise for this successful entrepreneur to learn that most employees are miserable in their jobs.

"Research and studies say between 75 and 85 per cent of people are unhappy in their jobs…. This is a huge number which, honestly, breaks my heart," Bence said in an interview with The Nation.

The discovery was the inspiration for Bence's second book, "How You Are Like Shampoo For Job Seekers", which was published early this year. Like her first book, "How You Are Like Shampoo", which debuted a year earlier, the new book, she said, applies big-brand marketing methods as a formula for job-seekers to find jobs they will truly love.

Bence's books have garnered a lot of attention in the US. Television network NBC has produced a five-minute weekly programme, "How You Are Like Shampoo", which will air for six weeks beginning June 22. (The first segment is titled "How You Are Like Shampoo For Stay-Home Moms"). "How You Are Like Shampoo For Job Seekers" received the Grand Prize - Best Author 2009 designation at the US Beach Books Festival. The award ceremony took place in New York's famed Algonquin Hotel early this month.

Having worked for Procter & Gamble and Bristol-Myers Squibb on four different continents, where she was responsible for some of the companies' best-known brands including Pantene, Head & Shoulders, Vidal Sassoon, Ariel, Cheer and Enfamil, Bence believes corporate branding techniques can be adapted for personal use. Everyone, knowingly or unknowingly, she said, already has a "personal brand", as perceived by other people.

"The truth is, you have your 'brand' already. The key question is, 'What is it?' Are you happy with it, or do you want to make a change?"

By Bence's definition, personal branding is not about promoting oneself. Rather, she said, it means understanding who you are and what you stand for, and making sure you communicate that effectively.

"To continue climbing the ladder of success, so much is driven by how people perceive you, think of you," she said.

In "How You Are Like Shampoo For Job Seekers", Bence suggests job-seekers define their personal brands using her "Job-Seeker Personal Brand Positioning Statement" formula, which is modelled on the six core elements used by many of the most successful brands in the world. Then, the job-seeker communicates this personal brand through a "Personal Brand Marketing Plan" so that potential employers will see them as they want to be seen.

Additionally, derived from interviews she conducted with recruiters and human-resource managers, the book offers the 20 most damaging "Job-seeker Personal Brand Busters" to help job-seekers avoid the most common pitfalls people make while hunting for work.

With an MBA from Harvard Business School, Bence commenced her career as a marketer at P&G, first at the consumer product giant's world headquarters in the US, then with P&G in Europe, and later in Asia. Subsequently, Bence held the position of vice president for international marketing for Bristol-Myers Squibb's consumer division, Mead Johnson, where she was responsible for multiple brands across almost 50 countries. About seven years ago, she quit Bristol-Myers Squibb to set up her own firm, Brand Development Associates, which has offices in Bangkok and Chicago.

Bence said Bangkok has been her home for almost 10 years now, and has proven to be a geographically good location for her businesses, which require a lot of flying to reach clients in 22 countries.

She chose Bangkok, she said, because she "expected my clients to come mostly from Asia. But clients come from across Asia and from Europe and the US."

Witnessing robust growth, two and a half years ago Bence had to ask her husband to quit his job as chief financial officer with a regional corporation and join her firm as general manager.

Based on her own experience

of shifting from working with big firms to running her own small business, Bence said she planned to introduce a new book on the subject of "How to Market Effectively for Businesses with Small Budgets" next year. Continuing the "How You Are Like Shampoo" series, she plans to write three more volumes: one targeted at entrepreneurs, one on the topic of leadership and personal brands, and one for medical professionals.

pichaya@nationgroup.com