Are you a service-based consultant looking to build a unique personal brand? Personal branding is an essential tool in any marketer's arsenal. By following the simple 5-step formula below, you will be able to create an authentic personal brand that will connect with your ideal audience.

Step 1: Dive Deep into Your Passions & Skill Sets

“If you don’t love what you do, you won’t do it with much conviction or passion.” —Mia Hamm

Ask yourself this question: If money was no object, what would you love to spend your day doing?

Let’s say you love spending your free time exploring new cities around the world, reading a book by a pool, or taking your dog on a hike.

Now, how could you turn these leisure activities into a money-making business idea? You could become a travel writer or photographer, a local tour guide, or a book editor, just to name a few.

The awesome thing about the Internet is that it allows infinite possibilities when it comes to brainstorming business ideas. From a laptop, you can work virtually anywhere in the world.

So, ask yourself these questions:

What are my hobbies?

Write all of your hobbies down on a piece of paper until you run out of ideas. Do you love:

• Knitting
• Weight-lifting
• Building things with your hands
• Painting
• Singing
• Being in nature

It doesn’t matter how much time you spend on each one. Just write down everything you enjoy doing in your spare time.

How do I spend most of my free time?

Looking at the list you created above, think about which of these activities you tend to consistently schedule around your work day.

• Do you always fit in a yoga session or a hike with friends on the weekend?
• Do you restore custom cars or build things out of metal?
• Do you sketch with colored pencils or paint landscapes with watercolors?

You should start to see a pattern emerge from your list of hobbies once you start looking at how much time you devote to each one on a weekly basis.

What do my friends and family think I am really good at?

Are there certain things you do that you constantly get accolades for? Do your friends love your home-brewed beer? Do they always ask for your cookie recipes for the holidays?

Think about what frequent requests you get for free services or products, as those may easily transition into a profitable business idea down the road.

What subjects are people constantly asking my advice on?

Are people constantly asking you how they should invest their money because you seem to be able to predict the stock market trends? Do you have a deep knowledge of HTML, so you’re constantly being asked to troubleshoot code?

What subjects do people always come to you for advice on?

The awesome thing about the Internet is that it allows infinite possibilities when it comes to brainstorming business ideas. From a laptop, you can work virtually anywhere in the world.

So, ask yourself these questions:

What are my hobbies?

Write all of your hobbies down on a piece of paper until you run out of ideas. Do you love:

• Knitting
• Weight-lifting
• Building things with your hands
• Painting
• Singing
• Being in nature

It doesn’t matter how much time you spend on each one. Just write down everything you enjoy doing in your spare time.

How do I spend most of my free time?

Looking at the list you created above, think about which of these activities you tend to consistently schedule around your work day.

• Do you always fit in a yoga session or a hike with friends on the weekend?
• Do you restore custom cars or build things out of metal?
• Do you sketch with colored pencils or paint landscapes with watercolors?

You should start to see a pattern emerge from your list of hobbies once you start looking at how much time you devote to each one on a weekly basis.

What do my friends and family think I am really good at?

Are there certain things you do that you constantly get accolades for? Do your friends love your home-brewed beer? Do they always ask for your cookie recipes for the holidays?

Think about what frequent requests you get for free services or products, as those may easily transition into a profitable business idea down the road.

What subjects are people constantly asking my advice on?

Are people constantly asking you how they should invest their money because you seem to be able to predict the stock market trends? Do you have a deep knowledge of HTML, so you’re constantly being asked to troubleshoot code?

What subjects do people always come to you for advice on?

Step 2: Target Customer Pain Points

“Inside of every problem lies an opportunity.” - Robert Kiyosaki

The number one goal of your business is to solve a problem for your ideal customer. That’s it, in a nutshell.

If you understand this premise, you will be well on your way to building a thriving customer base.

Ask yourself, "What problems are my customers currently facing?"

Are you a wedding florist whose customers are looking for unique arrangements to make their pictures really pop on instagram?

Are you a tax attorney whose customers need an easier way to keep track of their business write offs throughout the year so that they aren’t scrambling come tax time?

What are the frequently asked questions that come up time and time again in your business? Those should speak to your customers’ greatest pain points.

Step 3: Develop your Ideal Client Profile

“A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all.” - Michael LeBoeuf

Once you figure out your hobbies, skillset, and customer problems, you need to develop your ideal client profile. This is also known as “customer avatars.”

Why should you create a customer avatar?

You should create a customer avatar so that you are crystal clear who it is you will be marketing your products or services to.

This is the part where most people get hung up, because they want to market to everyone. Shouldn’t you want anyone with money to be your customer? Actually, no.

The hard truth is that in trying to sell to everyone, you will end up selling to no one.

So, the goal here is to find your one ideal customer. If you find that one person who desperately needs, wants, and will buy your product, you will find thousands more like him or her.

How do you create a customer avatar?

First, ask yourself who is already buying your products or services.

Are they your best customers, the people you want to continue to do business with? If yes, great! Write a detailed description of exactly who that person is, using the following outline:

• What is his/her background?
• What is his/her gender?
• What is his/her age?
• What values does he/she have?
• What is his/her family life like?
• What are his/her external influences (radio, tv, podcasts, etc.)?
• What are his/her internal influences (spouse, kids, religion, etc.)?
• What are his/her goals?
• What are his/her beliefs and values?

What if you don’t already have customers?

If you don’t currently have a customer base, research businesses who are already operating in your space. Who are their customers?

Then repeat the same questions above to form a detailed outline of their ideal customer avatar. You can use that to market to your new customers until you can develop a finely honed vision of your own ideal customer.

Step 4: Create your Unique Selling Proposition Using Your Personality

“A quiet personality sure isn't what you need to attract attention.” - Bill Budge

There are a million businesses currently vying for market share in the online space. So, how are you going to set yours apart from the competition?

What are some words that define your business and personal style?

• Are you friendly and approachable?
• Are you loud and gregarious?
• Are you serious and do things by-the-book so nothing falls through the cracks?

What are some traits that you want your business to be known for? Write them all down.

Next, what are some things you don’t want to be known for?

• Are your competitions slow to complete work?
• Are they sloppy?
• Do they charge too little, or too much?

Write down things your business will never do.

How would you define your approach?

• Are you direct and no-nonsense?
• Do you like to hold your client’s hand through the process?
• Do you offer the quickest turnaround time?
• Do you write the cleanest code?

What makes your approach to doing business different and better than your competitors? This is your unique selling proposition. It is what will attract your ideal customers to your storefront, bypassing your competition.

Step 5: Build a Winning Product or Service

Finally, you must decide on your winning product or service. The idea is that this product or service will perfectly address the major pain points of your ideal customer.

When developing your product or service offerings, focus on the people you are serving. What do they really need? 

Ask yourself:

• How do my offerings disrupt the current market?
• How do they stand out from my competition?
• Are they addressing the direct needs of my customer base?