Mark Schaefer - KNOWN: The Handbook for Building and Unleashing Your Personal Brand in the Digital Age

Copyright 2017 by Mark W. Schaefer

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Schaefer Marketing Solutions

www.businessesGROW.com

First Edition: February 2017

Publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

Cover by Sarah Mason www.uncommonlysocial.com

Interior Layout by Polgarus Studio www.polgarusstudio.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Schaefer, Mark W.

KNOWN: The Handbook For Building And Unleashing Your Personal Brand

Mark W. Schaefer - 1st ed.

ISBN-10: 0692816062

ISBN: 978-0692816066

I want to dedicate this book to the hundreds of people Ive met who worked so hard to become known, the thousands of people out there who will now be on the path to be known, and the one woman who made this possible, Rebecca.

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There is no passion to be found playing small in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.
Nelson Mandela

I used to be a big shot.

Before my days as a scrambling entrepreneur, I was a jet-setting executive and among the top 1 percent on the company organizational chart. Im not telling you this to brag. Im setting the stage for the drama that came next!

In my corporate career with this Fortune 100 titan, I had been awarded seven patents and two masters degrees.

I managed a highly-visible global team of all-stars.

I had earned two Chairmans Awards for outstanding achievement, a stock award that was the highest recognition in my company. As far as I know, I was the only employee who had earned this award twice.

In my position as Global Director of eBusiness, I was the companys go-to guy for anything internet.

My business life was a frenzy of activity. I received hundreds of emails each day, conference calls from every corner of the world, and a jet stream of opportunity and recognition.

But I was also dabbling in some entrepreneurial side businesses, and once I was assured that my childrens college tuition was paid for, I decided it was time to reinvent myself and venture out on my own as a consultant, writer, and college educator.

Ill never forget the eerie thing that happened the morning of my first day on my own. The frenzy was over. No emails. No calls. No meetings in Paris. No communication of any kind. I was facing the Veil of Silence!

In my company, I was well-known and respected. But now that I was starting over, nobody knew me. Nobody in this world knew or cared that I had been a big deal just 24 hours ago.

On my first day as an entrepreneur, I was the go-to guy for nothing.

My friend Cesar Paz, a leading digital innovator and entrepreneur in Brazil, has a similar story. I used to work for a huge company, Embraer, he told me. When I left to start out on my own, it was as if I had lost my last name. I used to be Cesar from Embraer. Now nobody knew who I was, or cared. I had to build my brand all over again!

Like Cesar, in one day it seemed like my hard-built reputation had been swept away. Talk about a humbling experience!

I was back at the starting line. For my brand-new consulting business, my first two customers were a college kid trying to start a catering business and a local real estate agent. My first professional speaking engagement was in front of the Lions Club in Farragut, Tennessee. (The fried chicken served at lunch was delicious, by the way.)

But in less than five years, I built up my own brand reputation that unlocked consulting assignments with some of the biggest companies in the world, including Cisco, Johnson & Johnson, and Adidas. I was in a position to give speeches at convention halls filled with thousands of people. I lectured at some of the worlds top universities, and I was a guest speaker at a European think tank that had featured some of the most famous authors and diplomats in the world, like Nelson Mandela.

My path to new power was chock-full of mistakes and bad habits that I carried over from the old corporate world. And this is what I learned the hard way: Theres a new paradigm of power or what I call the new equity of influence.

What do I mean? In a traditional office job, these are some of the symbols of personal power and influence:

• Job title
• Salary
• Achievements
• Number of direct reports
• Framed degrees and citations on the office wall
• Control of scarce resources
• Where you went to college
• Executive relationships

Studies have even shown that how tall you are, how good-looking you are, and how you dress can contribute to the personal power you achieve in the so-called real world!

But on the internet, none of this matters. Nobody knows or cares what your title is. Nobody can really tell how tall you are, how rich you are, or what family you married into. It just doesnt matter.

In fact, theres only one thing that counts today, only one source of power and influence when it comes to the online world. And it is this.

To be known.

And thats what this book is about. I want you to have a more powerful, impactful, and rewarding life by helping you to become known.

Perhaps the idea of being regarded as a leader in your field seems daunting, maybe even unachievable. Its not. Ill tell you stories of very common people from all over the world who have become uncommonly successful. All of them started at ground zero and followed precisely the same four steps to become known, everywhere, every time. Ill provide a detailed, step-by-step guide to show how you can follow these steps, too.

Im going to stop talking about me. Lets discuss how this new way of thinking relates to you and your personal goals.

Where do you want to go with your career and your life? Whats next?

Here are some of the dreams and goals Ive heard from my friends and clients. They want to

• Write a book
• Launch a speaking career
• Become a consultant
• Be named to a prestigious board
• Remain relevant in their field for many years
• Help attract donations for a charity
• Sell digital products online
• Run for political office
• Achieve recognition for their work
• Earn a university teaching position
• Become a paid influencer
• Be in a better position for a promotion
• Share their passion and ideas to make the world a better place