Friday 4 - Personal Branding Mistakes, Tips to Avoid an Audit, & More: 12/9/16

Published: Fri, 12/09/16

Sometimes I publish a blog or post a tweet and wonder to myself, is anyone even listening? Other times, I'll share a passing thought, and be blindsided by the volume of people who share the same attitude on the subject. It appears that last night I struck a chord with some in a very positive way when I tweeted:

"Your personal brand is more than a logo. It's what people say about you once you've left the room. Sometimes character outweighs creativity."

Roughly ten times as many Twitter users engaged with this tweet than any of the other 822 I've posted to date, so it isn't difficult to see that I may want to discuss personal brand development more often. This is exactly why you'll see an interesting article on this subject in today's Friday 4, and I hope to share my own thoughts on the subject in more depth in a future blog. Stay tuned for that.

Let's start this week's Friday 4 with a look at the material I've published on my own site:

  • First-Mover Advantage Isn't Everything: I recently picked up a copy of Growth Hacker Marketing, by Ryan Holiday. One segment in particular jumped out at me and inspired me to write this post about the fact that first-mover advantage is no longer a hurdle that incoming competitors can't seem to clear: "The prize and the spoils no longer go to the person who makes it to market first. They go to the person who makes it to product market fit first."

My Friday FOUR 

Four pieces of content I've consumed this past week that will influence my future blog material and challenge me to think differently about how I manage CSP - as always, I'm looking to bring you some business-specific information from outside of the world of fitness. Enjoy:

  • The Ideal Business Show With Pete Dupuis: This is obviously a shameless plug, but I'd encourage you to listen to this podcast I recently recorded with one of my fitness industry role models, Pat Rigsby. In it, we go in to depth on the backstory of CSP and also breakdown what I consider to be three distinctly different phases in the evolution of my business to date.
  • What I've Learned in 38 Years of Surrounding Myself With Confident People: I want you to stop for a second and think about the best strength coach or personal trainer you've ever met. Now open the link to this article and notice that the person you have in mind possesses at least six of the seven traits outlined by the author. This list reads like a description of each of the top ten interns we've seen come through the door in the past ten years.   
  • The 10 Biggest Mistakes in Personal Branding: I've now spent close to a decade concerning myself with CSP's brand development. It wasn't until just recently that I chose to launch a personal website, publish this weekly newsletter, and push "The Pete Dupuis Brand" on to your radar. As it turns out, tackling personal brand development is a whole different ballgame than building and managing the identity of a business, and this article can serve as a great check list in case you're considering starting the process.
  • When Does a Hobby Become a Business?: There are thousands upon thousands of fitness professionals showing up to work at a gym or sitting down to design programs for their online training clients today. Only a very small percentage of them actually started their professional lives in fitness. Our industry is among the most popular destinations for career-changers seeking to turn their hobby in to their livelihood. This is why it is extremely important to understand that your definition of a business may be dramatically different from that of the IRS. Take heed of this message before you decide to write off all kinds of expenses relating to your side hustle in fitness on that next tax return.

Make sure to let me know if you come across any material that you think I'd enjoy. More importantly, have a great weekend!

- Pete