I’m just in the middle of reading The Brand Called You by Peter Montoya where the author suggests:

“Name your company after yourself.“

This got me thinking of successful entrepreneurs who did just that and went on to build successful personal brands.

Here are just a few that come to mind:

• LJ Hooker
• Ray White
• Marty Rodriguez
• Michael Hill
• Dick Smith
• Bing lee
• Gai Waterhouse
• Carla Zampatti
• Elle Macpherson
• Max Markson
• David Koche

I’m sure I could fill the website with more names but all the people listed above have one thing in common other than their personal brand and that is they recognised the importance of registering their name as a domain name.

If you are not already aware, domain names are unique,  so if you haven’t already done so you should secure yours right now. Even if you don’t intend creating a web presence in the near future,  you should secure your domain name before anyone else does.  If not you’ll be  denied the opportunity of establishing your personal brand online with your own xname as your domain.

The Internet is always changing but one thing you can absolutely count on for the future is that having a personal brand will be way more important than just having a business card.

Personal branding is defined as building a brand around your own name.  Online it starts with a domain name so that if your name is James Burdin your personal brand domain would be jamesburdin.com.

Here are some compelling reasons for developing a personal brand.

1. As you move from place to place or company to company with your career the  things that should remain constant are your name and reputation.  If you have built a strong personal brand online and it can be found using Google Search itwill act like a global business card. The really good news is that unlike a business card which can be lost of discarded your online personal brand business card is always fresh, up-to-date and available.

2. Securing your name as a domain right now is extremely important because at the moment very few people realise the importance of personal branding.  If you don’t claim your domain now then someone with the same name will eventually own it. You can check the availability of your name here.

3. Once you have your personal brand domain name you can place your domain with a web host  and use it as a email address  for the rest of your life irrespective of your internet service provider.  Your email address could then be yourfirstname@yourname.com.

4. Having a personal brand creates uniformity across all the social networking sites.  As you post articles and material you can link to your personal brand domain.  This is particularly valuable in business sites such as LinkedIn.

5. Once you own your personal brand domain it can be featured prominently on your personal business card and be a personal link where people you meet can stay in touch irrespective of your geographical or corporate location.

6. As you regularly publish content to your personal brand website people will find you and this has the potential to open many doors of opportunity that would otherwise remain closed.  An outstanding example of this is the personal brand website of Scott Monty who currently works for Ford but may move on to many other corporations in his career.

7. A personal brand stands out and flags you as someone who has a good understanding of social networking and who takes networking seriously.

When it the best time to begin?

Right now.  Check out the availability of your name here and register it today.  The annual cost is less than the price of a single DVD.

Think of the value of the brand name Cameron Diaz.