We usually don’t hold workshops from the middle of November all the way up to the end of the year because of the crazy Christmas rush.
But still, we wanted to end 2015 on a high note. And I believe we did.
We held one of our most successful workshops ever with the 2nd run of the Personal Branding Workshop for Freelancers and Solo Entrepreneurs last November 7 (Day 1) and November 14 (Day 2).
As I said in one Facebook post, “Students make a workshop and not the other way around.”
For this 2nd run of the workshop, I was honored and thrilled to be part this fun, passionate, soulful and “controversial” group of amazing students.
Day 1 – [November 7, 2015]
In Day 1, we tackled the basics of Personal Branding. But before we discussed the whats and the whys of Personal Branding, we worked on the students’ mindset going into their solo business — their skills, strengths and weaknesses — vital ingredients of a powerful personal brand.
Sonny del Rosario of LifeQuest, our workshop partner, taught the students how to craft their personal mission and vision statements as well as their values proposition.
Once we were able to have the students deliberate and evaluate their skills and strengths and write down their mission and vision statements, I then guided them into crafting their Brand Inspiration Board, a vision board that displays their brand inside their head. The goal is to make them translate their idea about their personal brand visually, a way of conveying their brand in the form of pictures.
After breaking for lunch, Sonny again took the stage to talk about offline branding — in the form of calling cards, fashion and physical appearance.
The culminating activity of the day is the mastermind session — when participants shared their personal brand story and personal branding canvas with the group.
For me this was the best part of the workshop because we are able to learn more about our students — their background, their struggles, their pains — and then the group (Me, Sonny, April of ManilaWorkshops and the rest of the participants) chimed in to help the participant who is presenting and gave our two cents.
Like in previous workshops, we had freelancers from different fields – interior design, photography, education, wedding stylist, handicrafts, fashion and dating (to put it mildly). In fact, I was the one who learned a lot from them, getting ideas from people who are not in my niche.
We then awarded Ms. Avon Hornilla as The Most Promising Personal Brand of the Workshop for her goal of becoming the face of plus-sized women in the country. Sonny and I told her the same thing: “You are on the right track.” Avon received a free copy of my book, Cyberpreneur Philippines. (You can also get your signed copy at www.freelanceblend.com/cyberpreneurbook).
In the end, words cannot describe the feeling that I felt after our mastermind session. I can only describe it as feeling high.
High, not from the bad stuff mind you, but for being able to help someone who is struggling with his or her business or brand.
Also to hear their very personal stories (sorry can’t share everything here), makes me feel very privileged for the trust they had bestowed upon me.
It’s true what they say, you can’t build a house in a day.
Because in a day, we were able to build a community.
Next week, I shall share my insights on Day 2 of the Personal Branding Workshop.
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How important is a Personal Brand to you? Please share in the comments section below.
Photos: DJ de Leon