Personal Branding for Founders — Self-Reflection Worksheet
A note before you begin: Your personal brand is not your company's brand — it is you. Your story, your expertise, your voice, your values. This worksheet helps you get clear on who you are professionally, what you want to be known for, and where you want to show up. Take your time. Be honest.
1
What You Are Known For
Start with where you are now, not where you want to be. What do people already associate with your name?
Q1. What am I currently known for professionally?
What do people say when they introduce you? What problems do people call you to solve?
Q2. What do I want to be known for?
If you could control your reputation completely, what would people say about you in three years' time?
Q3. What is the gap between Q1 and Q2 — and what needs to change?
2
Your Story in Three Sentences
A compelling personal brand story is specific, human, and honest. It does not have to be dramatic — it just has to be true.
Q4. My story in three sentences — write your first draft here.
Sentence 1: Where did I come from? Sentence 2: What happened that shaped me? Sentence 3: What am I doing now and why?
Sentence 1: My background
Sentence 2: The turning point
Sentence 3: What I do now
Q5. My three core areas of expertise
What can you speak or write about with genuine authority? These become the pillars of your content and thought leadership.
Expertise 1
Expertise 2
Expertise 3
3
Values and Causes
Personal brands built on genuine values attract people who share those values. Clarity here is powerful — and audiences can always smell inauthenticity.
Q6. What do I stand for? What causes, communities, or ideas do I care about?
These are not your company values — these are yours, personally. Think about what gets you angry, what you would speak up for, what you donate to.
Q7. My three personal values (not my business values)
What principles guide your decisions — even when it's hard?
Value 1
Value 2
Value 3
4
Where You Want to Show Up
You do not need to be everywhere. Choose the one or two platforms where your ideal audience spends time, and show up consistently.
Q8. Where do I want to build my personal brand presence?
Click every platform that genuinely makes sense for your expertise and audience.
LinkedIn
Instagram
Podcast
Newsletter
Speaking
YouTube
Blog / Writing
X / Twitter
TikTok
Events / Networking
Press / Media
Awards
My top priority platform(s):
Q9. How consistently can I realistically show up on my priority platforms?
Be honest. Consistency at a lower frequency beats brilliance once a month then silence.
Q10. What topics or content pillars will I focus on?
Limit to 3–4 consistent themes. Random content builds a random audience.
5
Personal Brand vs. Business Brand
The two can coexist and support each other — but they need to be distinct. Here is where to map the relationship.
Q11. Map the relationship between your personal brand and your business brand.
Where do they overlap? Where should they stay separate? How do they support each other?
My Personal Brand
My Business Brand
Where They Overlap
Audience
Tone
Values
Content focus
Look & feel
6
LinkedIn Profile Audit
LinkedIn is where most founder personal brands live or die. Tick off each element once you have reviewed and optimised it.
Your Personal Brand Commitment
Building a personal brand takes consistency over time. Make one clear commitment before you move on.
The one thing I will do this week to start building my personal brand is:
I will review my personal brand progress on:
Signed
Date
◆ Pro Tip
Your personal brand is built post by post, conversation by conversation. You do not need to be famous — you need to be findable, credible, and consistent in front of the right 500 people. Start small, show up regularly, and let compounding do the rest.
