I’m forty plus (and fabulous)! But I have 3 major regrets in my life.
Not building a solid network. Now with a venture that requires all the contacts I could possibly need for business, visibility, sales, hiring, I realize what a deep mistake this has been. Your network is everything. But a network is not build overnight. It is also not built with selective people. You can’t meet a person and think this person is of use to me, let me stay in touch with her, or this guy is not so let me not invest time on him. Networking is a life long activity. Networks are built everywhere, on a daily basis. It means staying in touch with bosses and peers from ex companies, staying in touch with people you meet at conferences and industry events, seeking out people to meet for a coffee and a chat and even discussions on social media sites such as LinkedIn.
This comes in handy when you are starting a venture, changing a job, seeking an opportunity in an emergency, need new clients…your network is everything
Not building a strong personal brand. I’ve always focused on my job and never focused on honing as well as communicating my other skills. For eg. I write well and I used to write a lot. I started a blog in 2008, but because I was so busy doing my job, that blog languished. Each of us has a special skill, a strength. But very few of us are good at communicating that to the world. We should! Especially now with social media you can all own little bits of virtual real estate where you can display and communicate you skills.
Why is this important? As you grow, having a strong personal brand brings to you lateral as well as vertical opportunities. What does that mean?
Vertical opportunities mean growing in your own field. If you are well known for marketing and work as a channel marketing manager, growing to a CMO position may be possibly easier for you than someone who is not so well known within the industry.
Lateral opportunities, on the other hand, can come from anywhere. For instance, if you have been writing about marketing for many years, it could lead to speaker opportunities, panel moderation and maybe even land yourself a book opportunity.
And this is where I happily plug my personal branding consultancy. Check out Brand.Me
Not being regular with sunscreen. I’m not joking. The damage to your skin, and vanity, is earth shattering.
For the last couple of years I have been working with a vengeance on all 3. Do you have a regret that is hampering your personal or professional growth? Leave me a comment below.
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Till next time,
Dipika, She Means Business