If you're a service-based business owner, I'm sure you've experienced that moment when you're presenting yourself or answering the question "what do you do?" in front of potential clients, and you wished you had a magic line that would make them want to book a call with you, on the spot! You know that having a clear and catchy elevator pitch is key to communicate the value you offer and grab your ideal clients' attention, whether you are at a party, conference, you're hanging

At one point or another, it happened to all of us. It’s that moment when you are at a party or company event, and the inevitable question comes up: "what do you do?”. It can easily catch you off guard, so if it happened to you too, you are not weird and you are not alone! Aside from avoiding the obvious awkwardness of that moment, here is why answering “what do you do?” with a great elevator pitch is really important: it’s your chance to make a first great impression and open

Do you have a professional bio (your story) that reflects your authentic personal brand, stands out and helps you create opportunities for your career and business? In a crowded and competitive marketplace, being able to tell your story in a way that is clear, catchy and reflects your personal brand simply sets you apart from all the other people who start their bio with the same old line "I have 10 years of experience in xxx". I believe you are much more than a sum-up of fac

Have you found yourself at the awkward moment when someone is asking you “what do you do?” or you are introducing yourself and you either mumbled something quickly to move on in the conversation, or it took you 3 minutes that felt like 3 hours to say who you are and what you do? If this is you, please know you are not alone. Nonetheless, it’s still a pity because you don’t want to miss potential opportunities. I know... How do you effectively summarize who you are and what yo

I honestly find it a pity when I see people with potential, who are good at what they do and care about what they do, but they don't progress in their career or business as they could because they are not good at selling themselves. If this is you, here are 5 ways to overcome the fear of selling yourself, which I talk about in more detail in my video below. 1. Name it What's behind your fear of selling yourself? Are you afraid of being rejected or is that you don't like to br

While in the past, personal branding was perceived as a fancy term, mostly associated to celebrities and politicians, today professionals across industries and geographical locations recognise it as a tool to stand out, connect, inspire and progress in their career and business. Every time you walk in a room, speak with someone, write an email, shoot a video or post your thoughts and updates on social media, your personal brand shows up. Not only that, it stays there once you

A very important part of my job is to continuously learn and understand my clients' challenges and goals so that I can continuously improve how I serve them as their Coach. My clients are usually new leaders or professionals who aspire to become leaders. As I talk with them a lot, I've noticed 3 challenges they face, which are not always immediately visible on the surface. This is a series of 3 videos where I talk about each of these challenges. In the first one I talked abou

A very important part of my job is to continuously learn and understand my clients' challenges and goals so that I can continuously improve how I serve them as their Coach. My clients are usually new leaders or professionals who aspire to become leaders. As I talk with them a lot, I've noticed 3 challenges they face, which are not always immediately visible on the surface. This is a series of 3 videos where I talk about each of these challenges. This first video is about chal

A big part of the work that I do with my clients is about communication, and something that often comes up in our conversations is how to be more assertive. The reason why assertiveness is not always as easy as it sounds is that there are situations that activate internal triggers in us. They let our emotions prevail and push us into an aggressive or passive approach. An aggressive approach can create tension and damage relationships. A passive approach can lead to low self-e

This is the second part of my 2 introductory videos on Personal Branding. In the first video, I explained what Personal Branding means and why it’s important. In this second video I talk about how Personal Branding works. While there are different types of Personal Branding processes, this video summarises my approach to it, based on my studies and experience, and it’s divided in 3 phases: Define, Communicate, Develop. It also takes into account the fact that each individual

In ´The Act of Personal Branding. Part 1: What It means and Why it´s Important´ I explained the meaning of Personal Branding and highlighted its benefits. It's now time to discuss how a Personal Branding process works. At Step Up with V, a Personal Branding process is composed of 3 phases: Define. Communicate. Develop. Personal Branding Process. DEFINE Let's start with phase 1, Define. Define is the foundation of a Personal Branding process. People often tend to start with co

Whether you are presenting to a large audience, your team, a prospective client or an investor, many of us experience speaking in public in our everyday lives. Public speaking is a Personal Branding channel as it allows us to communicate our Personal Brand to our audience. Our Personal Brand is who we are, what we do, why we do it and who we do it for. It’s what makes us authentic and unique. When presenting, great content is essential to success, but it’s how you deliver you

Last week I was at the presentation of the book ‘Camarero, este cafe’ esta’ frío!’ (Waiter, this coffee is cold) by Psychologist, Coach and Writer Raquel Ballesteros. The book is part of Raquel’s project ‘Viñetas para vivir’ (Sketches for living), which aim is to help people develop self-knowledge, assertiveness and improve their relationships through effective, simple and fun sketches. Recommended if you speak Spanish! The same week I had a session with a client who told me

‘What does Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde have to do with Personal Branding?’ you may wonder. Stevenson’s novel, first published in 1886, explores the duality of human nature through the story of Dr Henry Jekyll and his potion to mask the evil inside him, Mr Edward Hyde. Among other messages related to his time, the author seeks to make a link between good and bad in society. For me, translated to modern terms, this is a metaphor that makes me reflect on one of the most common mistake

As an Image & Personal Branding Coach, my work is based on communication with my clients and online followers. Communication is my instrument and as such I constantly look for ways to improve it, nourish it, and practise it. I’ve recently attended a workshop for public speakers and one of the exercises was about reflecting on our self-evaluation vs the feedback we received from our audience. The latter was based on a short presentation each one of us had to deliver in front o

When I work with my clients on their Personal Brand, I talk to them about how building a strong and authentic brand can put you a significant step forward in the journey towards a more confident and successful you, but as in all significant and meaningful journeys this also comes with challenges, and the way you respond to them will determine the solidity of your Personal Brand. One of the most common challenges is managing difficult times while staying committed to your goal

The Business Insider defines it as follows: "The elevator pitch summarises what your company, product, or service does, and why it's interesting or valuable - all in the length of an elevator ride". You can read the full article here. We often associate it to sales professionals or entrepreneurs but in fact we can all benefit from having an elevator pitch, and a few versions of it based on different audiences. A good elevator pitch can lead to the opportunity you have been lo