I’ve been very fortunate to be working with Guy Rigby @guyrigby in the lead up to his book launch. His book “From Vision to Exit” is the definitive entrepreneur’s guide to building and selling a business and is based on his years of experience advising entrepreneurs and their businesses. Guy now works for London city accountancy firm, Smith & Williamson and heads up the Entrepreneur team.

Guy hired me to help him to build his digital presence to ensure that he had a web presence that supported his book launch. You can see the results here: Guy Rigby’s personal website.

In my time working with Guy, I was amazed at how well connected and well respected he is and I was surprised to learn that he has built this incredible following of people who know, like and trust him in only 3 years! So, of course, I had to ask him how he did it. Guy was only too happy to share with me his secret; he has four mantras that he lives by in business and he believes it is these four cornerstones that have helped him to build his personal brand.

So, without further a do.. here they are!

Who cares, wins!

Always exceed and do more than people expect. This is about delighting your customers, whether they are true customers in the traditional sense of the word, or people for whom you are doing something. If you care about what you’re doing and who you’re doing it for, it will show and they will appreciate you for it. And, happy customers are happy to share their experiences so this can quickly become fantastic word of mouth

If you turn the same handle, you will get the same result.

If something isn’t working for you, try doing something else. If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always got. It reminds me of the definition insanity: doing the same thing and expecting a different result! So what does he mean by this? Be innovative. Approach your problem from another angle. Look at things differently.

Also, always look for new people to connect with. Don’t always hang out with the same people but find new places to go, new events to attend, new networks to tap into. You never know who you’re going to meet.

It means always looking for new opportunities and ways of doing business.

If it isn’t broken, break it!

This is about never accepting the status quo and always questioning what is before you. There’s always a better way of doing something, so look for it. If you can’t find it, you’re not being creative enough!

If you’ve got nothing to do, polish the church pews.

Don’t sit around doing nothing. If you’re constantly engaging in something, then something will happen. An interesting person may wander into the church and so begins a fruitful relationship. If nothing else, you’ll have well toned arms!

Guy’s new book “From Vision to Exit” is definitive entrepreneur’s guide to building and selling your business is now available to buy.

With a forward by Luke Johnson and fantastic reviews by countless other well-known entrepreneurs, this book is definitely one to read if you’re an entrepreneur.

You can buy your copy of “From Vision to Exit” here.

If you want to read a straight-talking overview on why you need to think seriously about your personal brand, you should grab yourself a copy of Kelly Cutrone’s book If You Have to Cry, Go Outside: And Other Things Your Mother Never Told You

Cutrone is one of fashion’s most successful publicist whose business People’s Revolution has offices in New York, LA and Paris. Known for her renegade, ballsy and honest approach in an industry full of falsity, her reputation is unparalleled. Her book reveals her journey from small-town US school girl to NY PR maven told in a reverent, funny shooting-from-the-hip kind of way.

But that’s enough of the intro. The reason I’m sharing this with you is because she has dedicated a whole chapter to personal branding “YOU are the brand: normal gets you nowhere”. Her insights and stories should be enough to persuade anyone who needs to earn money that personal branding is here to stay and should be taken seriously. What happens if you don’t take it seriously? Well… you go nowhere, fast.

But there are some of you out there who would prefer the shortcut right? And, as someone who loves giving everyone else shortcuts, here is my list of personal branding insights as shared by the wonderfully inspiring Kelly Cutrone.

1. Personal branding is about figuring out who you are and what turns you on then monetising it.

2. The people who are actually making a difference in the world are people who are not like everyone else.

3. People become successful because what they’re selling is authentic and consistent. They found jobs that aligned with their skills and passions, and they brought their true selves – idiosyncrasies and all – to work every day.

4. Everyone is selling something these days, and if you don’t have a clear point of differentiation – something that makes you special, unique, effective – you won’t get far in fashion, or any other creative industry, and you certainly won’t succeed as an entrepreneur.

5. It’s time to figure out what you are selling and how you are going to make people want to buy it…. Consider your whole self, and don’t be afraid to embrace everything that makes you unique.

6. Your point of differentiation does not need to be edgy or groundbreaking, it just needs to be different, and it just needs to be you.

7. Follow you inner voice away from what feels wrong and towards what feels right.

8. When you find something that feels right…. commit to it. Doing one thing well will open doors for you. A plant won’t grow as high if it’s reaching toward five or six suns.

9. Successful people, and brands, are usually highly specialised. They do one thing, and they do it in a better or more interesting way than anyone else.

10. Every successful brand has a message, and that message must be painstakingly driven home, in both appearance and substance.

11. Good brands are authentic, consistent and focused.

12. Be careful not to let your personal brand overwhelm your expressed desire to learn. The point is, after all, to make people want to work with you.

13. Don’t think that creating and promoting your brand is a 6-month programme. I’m forty-four years old and I continue to build my brand… and it is much more powerful than it was when I started.

Nothing there I’ve not already said, but it’s always nice to hear it from someone else, don’t you think?