How to build up a personal brand: a UNYP webinar with Tomáš Lukavec

On October 15, we had the great opportunity to host a webinar with Tomáš Lukavec: a writer, educator, and businessman who has achieved a successful career in Brand Management, helping his clients to increase sales by developing brand strategies. Tomáš gives workshops, lectures, and seminars to managers of companies such as Seznam.cz, KB, OVB, Marks & Spencer, RE/MAX, and T-Mobile, as well as teaching at several universities. 

Tomáš introduced his session with a question: “Who would you like to go to dinner with? Elon Musk, Michelle Obama, or your mom?” This lively and interactive webinar was full of practical exercises for participants to test their judgment and critical thinking. Students learned that a personal brand is about who you are and what you do, and what other people say about you when you leave the room. Every person on this planet will make a personal impression on the minds of other people they encounter, in a natural way. However, from a marketing point of view, the five most important ingredients for building up a personal brand are charisma, image, product/service, communication, reputation. 

Charisma: Tomáš explained that everyone has charisma. This trait is found in us all, not just a select few, and in itself is neither good nor bad. 

Image: Students learned that a personal brand is not only how you act, but also how you appear. Although Tomáš reiterated that “a personal brand is not a beauty contest,” it is true that your personal brand includes whatever catches the eye about you (even if it is something that you are not proud of!) and that you inspire others the most when you are truly yourself.

Product/Service: Tomáš dispelled the common misconception that quality on its own is enough to sell a product; therefore, he advised students to concentrate on a mass audience who each buy a small amount of a product, rather than the small number of people who each buy a lot.

Communication: Make people share your content on social media about yourself – this is your personal brand. Participants were asked to write down 10 questions that they thought their community will be willing to share. What would be your 10 questions?

Reputation: The final ingredient is reputation – based on your personal story and followers. Can you imagine what would be written about you on your gravestone? 

Tomáš Lukavec concluded the session with a final vision to motivate his audience – “Connect with your goal, your vision and persuade yourself to achieve them. Believe in yourself and your purpose – that is the main key to becoming a remarkable personal brand built upon your persuasion and persistence.”