How I Built a Profitable Personal Brand as a Female Leader — and How You Can, Too

As a female leader, I very quickly learned that building a personal brand for myself was a necessity. A personal brand is what allowed me to step into entrepreneurship on my own terms, gain time and financial freedom, and ultimately, live the life I wanted as both a business owner and a mom.

I wasn’t always an entrepreneur. I spent a decade working long hours as a marketing director at a local Fox affiliate and later as a consultant in the television industry. Day in and day out, I managed budgets, came up with new promotions, flew to conferences and constantly strategized how to boost ratings in a struggling industry. It was a high-stakes and high-pressure job that I loved and gave everything I had. But then, life gave me a wake-up call that I couldn’t ignore.

Related: 5 Must-Read Books to Build Your Personal Brand by Women Authors Who Know How to Get It Done

When my life changed

At the time, I had a two-year-old daughter and was pregnant with my son. I still remember one day picking my daughter up from daycare — she was the last child there and had her face pressed against the window with tears streaming down her face, waiting for me to bring her home. My heart completely broke. I was giving so much of myself to my job, but at what cost? I was missing out on what mattered most.

Shortly after, I went into labor with my son 12 weeks early. He was born weighing just two pounds, nine ounces, and spent 77 days in the NICU. The first year of his life was filled with countless doctors’ appointments and health scares. When it came time to return to work, I asked for a hybrid schedule — which was before the days of Zoom — so I could be there for my kids, especially my son, who needed extra care. But the flexibility I needed didn’t exist in corporate America. I became desperate for time freedom so I could work the hours I wanted to work while caring for my son. No job in the country would’ve allowed me to be the kind of mom I needed to be during that time. That’s when I knew I had to do something different.

Why personal branding matters for women

As women, we’re often expected to juggle everything — our careers, families, relationships — and still keep it all together. But playing by someone else’s rules doesn’t always work. I needed to create a business that aligned with my life, not the other way around. That’s the power of personal branding for female leaders: It gives you freedom. It puts you in control of your time, your value and your career.

When you build a personal brand, you’re not promoting a business. You’re sharing your story, your knowledge, your expertise and your “why.” That kind of authenticity resonates, especially in a world where women are underrepresented in boardrooms and C-suites.

I’ve coached dozens of female executives who were brilliant at what they did. They’d made millions for someone else’s company, but at the end of the day, they were burnt out, unfulfilled and felt like they missed out on their kids’ lives climbing the corporate ladder. When they realized they could package their expertise into a personal brand, monetize it and create the flexibility they craved, it opened up a whole new world of possibilities.

Related: 7 Reasons Why You Need a Personal Brand

How I built my personal brand

After deciding to leave my corporate job, I co-founded a niche website and digital community for moms in my local area. It was a resource that didn’t exist at the time, and it took off quickly. But what made it stand out is that we built it as a personal brand.

My co-founder and I were the “moms” — the faces of the brand. We showed up authentically, trading written content with local publications in exchange for exposure and even hosted a weekly local radio show we somehow talked our way into (despite having zero radio experience!). We offered real talk about motherhood, answered questions, connected with women like us and shared our lives. That connection built trust and credibility within our community fast. It all started with the power of a personal brand.

Within a year, we had over 100,000 monthly visitors to the site and were generating $70,000 a month in advertising while working part-time from home. We sold that business after only one year, and I used that momentum to launch my digital marketing agency, D2 Branding. Today, in addition to our digital marketing services, I coach female entrepreneurs on how to build profitable personal brands of their own so they can become consultants, authors, speakers and podcasters.

What I’ve learned along the way

1. Authenticity is everything: You don’t need to pretend to be someone you’re not. People are drawn to real, relatable stories. Show up as your authentic self, and the right people will connect with it.

2. You’re already an expert: Think about what your family and friends come to you for advice on. Is it recipes? Career advice? Fashion tips? That’s your niche. You can take that knowledge, package it and teach others how to do what you’ve already done.

3. Visibility creates opportunities: My co-founder and I had no experience showing up on social media or hosting a radio show, but we just showed up, which gave us credibility. It put us in front of new audiences and made us memorable — and we were able to build a massive community of local moms. Look for ways to be seen (social media, podcast appearances, speaking gigs) and don’t wait until you feel “ready.”

Related: 3 Principles for Personal Branding Success

Your next steps

If you’re a female leader ready to take control of your time, your income and your career, building a personal brand is a way for you to control your destiny and live life on your terms. Ask yourself:

• What is my unique story or expertise?

• What problem can I help people solve?

• How can I show up authentically and share it with the world?

You don’t need permission to get started. You just need to believe that your story matters, because it does, and the world needs to hear it! How many opportunities have you missed out on because you have not launched a personal brand? Opportunities don’t go to the most talented, they go to the most visible.