Why bootstrappers need a personal brand

Filed in archive Bootstrapper Tips on October 14, 2007

Steve Pavlina often tells the story of launching his website StevePavlina.com with just $9 needed to register the domain name.

Dane Carlson suggests not spending too much time trying to come up with a really cool business name:

As a sole proprietor, you already have a business name: your own!

Here are 5 reasons bootstrappers may want to use a personal brand when starting up their venture even if they eventually end up developing a company brand name somewhere down the road.

1. Less paperwork, less cost. In Pavlina's stories, he ads the fact that there are other business expenses he never bothered with primarily because he just used his own name:

I didn't bother to get a [Doing business as or fictitious name license] or business cards or cutesy stationary or have a cool logo made or anything like that. Just the domain name.

These are not only unnecessary extras they can be costly, especially if you decide to incorporate, something that may someday in the future be worth considering but probably not when first starting out.

2. More latitude for business operations. Because you've developed a personal brand you're not constrained by a business model dictated by an artificially created brand name. Your venture may move in several directions before you discover your nitch. Try this exercise. Wait until your business model has more fully evolved than let a brand grow organically from the service or product you provide.

3. Give your venture the personal touch. I've argued before that small ventures forge connection to their customers by cultivating a more personal image. Think about the used car sales man or other retailer who puts himself or his kids or other family members in his TV commercials. Generally it is not vanity that motivates these decisions. It's marketing pure and simple.

4. Social networks abhor faceless corporations. Usually social networks from MyBlogLog to LinkedIn and even blog search engines like Technorati use a personal profile as the basis for their references. I sometimes wonder if the MySpace portal for this site would not be more successful if it included more personal info. In the real world, I can recall an employer granting me expense reimbursements to take my wife to a variety of special events for no other reason than to establish a face for the company in a new market.

5. Build your fan base. Like a pop music or movie star, entrepreneurs can develop followings especially with the increased prevalence of the Internet. Like the music fan who might buy a record in a new and unfamiliar category because they know one of the musicians involved or the movie goer who goes to see a new movie just because of a particular actor, fans of previous projects could become customers and provide references for new ventures. I've been in the habit of mentioning new bootstrap ventures like PostRanger.com and other projects here for that very reason and it's tended to pay off in the long run.

What ideas for personal branding can you come up with for your next venture?