What would someone learn about you if they searched your name online? What does the image you build, and that others perceive, look like at a professional level?
Those questions were the starting point for the Building Your Professional Brand workshop at Endeavor's AmplifyHER event, held in March, where Frances Reyes, senior manager of Talent Relations and Event Production at EDGENCY, offered a practical framework for developing your professional image.
In another panel at the same event, entrepreneur Mónica Santos, founder of Santos by Mónica, a New York-based sustainable fashion brand that makes bags and accessories from cactus, banana and, soon, grape leather, shared lessons from her experience building a brand and business from scratch.
Your professional brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room
Reyes defined a professional brand as the combination of your reputation, your expertise, your perspective and the value people associate with you.
"Your professional brand, even though you can work on it yourself, is not necessarily something you control. That's why being consistent is very important," she said.
To ground that brand in something concrete, Reyes suggests completing this sentence: "I help (person/brand/audience) achieve (something) through (what you do)."
"It's not the platform that's going to impact people. It's your story, it's who you are," she said.
Frances Reyes, of EDGENCY, during the Workshop: Building Your Professional Brand at the AmplifyHER event, held in March, which drew about a hundred college students, executives, entrepreneurs and leaders from various sectors. (Photo: Daniel Morris)
How to build your story
According to Reyes, your story is made up of:
What led you to choose your profession, your career, your specialization? What did you start, and why?
What matters to you? (What social causes you're passionate about, or what outcomes you'd like to achieve)
What is your specialty, based on your background?
How do you treat and help others? (The way you relate to people influences how you build your reputation)
Dare to ask to be included, to be introduced. Go to everything you're invited to. Show up and introduce yourself."
Frances Reyes, senior manager of Talent Relations and Event Production at EDGENCY
How to project your story on your networks
Reyes identified four characteristics that set apart those who project a strong professional brand, whether on social media, in person or in their business.
Clarity: being clear about who you are and what you bring.
Consistency: staying visible and active in a sustained way.
Expertise: sharing what you know without fear.
Community: building relationships that push you forward. "With a community you can go much further," she noted.
Santos confirms this from her experience as an entrepreneur: "The most important thing that has built my business has been the community, and that's something that can't be replaced. I feel like I've created a family within my business."
Common mistakes (and how to avoid them)
Holding back because you don't feel ready. Santos experienced this when she founded her brand: "I felt like I wasn't an expert on the subject," she said. Her advice: "Start early even if you feel like you don't know enough, because you learn along the way." Reyes offered similar counsel: confidence is built as you go, and you can always start with a small step.
Comparing yourself to others and wanting to grow too fast. "I've seen that many brands that started at the same time as me, with a huge team or launching products all the time, didn't last in the end," Santos said. She chose to grow slowly with a team of four. "That has lasted a long time and has helped me grow in a sustainable way."
Not sharing your expertise because you think you're bragging. For Reyes, people connect with people, not with brands. That's why sharing your experience without fear matters so much.
📚 What you're learning: classes, participation in conferences and events, etc. "If you benefited, someone else could benefit," Reyes pointed out.
🧠 What you know about your professional field: details about your industry that others might find interesting.
📝 Lessons you've learned from your work: whether things you learned the hard way or what other people or mentors taught you.
🗃️ Resources and tools: ones you use or that help you improve what you do.
🔎 What goes on "behind the scenes": a lot of people like to see that "behind the scenes" look at different industries. "It's not just about seeing the result, but how you got there," Reyes explained.
Cover and in-text photos: Daniel Morris for AmplifyHER
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
