A month ago, I received no less than 3 separate text messages imploring me to read a CNBC article about Miss Excel, a 29-year-old Excel trainer (As in Microsoft Excel) who brings in a cool $2 million annually working about 3-4 hours a day.

Now before you roll your eyes and think, “This is just the fodder of Facebook ad fiction– nothing more than people claiming to bring in millions doing the 4-hour workweek while sitting in their parents’ basement,'' I urge you to check your pessimism at the door. Working with those who have nailed their personal brand platform, I can tell you unequivocally that this level of revenue and work-life balance isn’t some unattainable “creator” utopia, it’s actually very achievable.

Here are a few more examples:

• Caitlin Pyle an expert at teaching “word nerds” how to start proofreading businesses - $2.4 million/annually
• Lauren McManus and Alex Nerney- Create and Go founders - online courses to show people how to build profitable blogging businesses $1.2 million/annually
• Jacques Hopkins, creator of Piano In 21 Days $480k/annually
• Steve Appelbaum started a vocational school called Animal Behavior College (ABC) - $12 million/annually 

Why most people fail at monetizing their personal brand 

For over a decade, I’ve worked with over 1,000 professionals to package, position, and monetize their personal brand, and even the most brilliant minds get tripped up, stuck in an endless loop of contract-to-contract, burn-out lifestyles for the following 3 reasons:

1. You’re terrified to niche down.

“Kait, but you don’t understand; everyone can use my program on how to become better at organization! To focus on millennial women who are having a third life crisis spurred by a cluttered closet is too narrow.”

Look, I’m sure Caitlyn Pyle could have sold writing course after writing course, but her choice to niche and focus on entrepreneurial proofreaders is paying off big time. Don’t let your fear of “missing” sales have you miss the point. Specificity wins. NICHE.

2. They are trying to sell the farm to people who want the eggs.

I was telling a client who is hosting a 90-minute masterclass to focus on one idea at a time. If you try to cram too much into your product, it won’t feel valuable, it will feel overwhelming. To maximize your customers’ chances of success, and your own revenue stream, split packages into step-by-step programs. Instead of “Become a chef” maybe it’s simply “Learn knife basics.” Then so on and so on. 

3. They aren’t consistently creating content.

A brand isn’t something you have. It’s something you build every single day. Gone are the days of setting up one sales funnel and letting it run. We are in the age of the creator. You need to show up and serve to keep people coming to your personal brand’s service offering page. 

Mastering the 3 Vs of branding to drive profit for your personal brand

The good news? When you master the 3Vs of personal branding, you will be well on your way to packaging your passion in a way that cashes in big time.

The 3 Vs are:

Value: The specific expertise you have to help a specific audience solve a specific problem

Vehicle: The mechanism you enjoy/communicate well with to carry out your message

Voice: Your personality 

The 3 Vs in action

In the book Atomic Habits, author James Clear shares the story of Scott Adams, the cartoonist behind “Dilbert.” Adamam stated:

“Everyone has at least a few areas in which they could be in the top 25% with some effort. In my case, I can draw better than most people, but I’m hardly an artist. And I’m not funnier than the average standup comedian who never makes it big, but I’m funner than most people. The magic is that few people can draw well and write jokes. It’s the combination of the two that makes what I do so rare. And when you add in my business background, suddenly I had a topic that few cartoonists could hope to understand without living it.”

Adams’ mastery of his 3 Vs have led to a cartoon that’s been around for 33 years! 

Here’s how they break down:

When you understand the 3Vs, you’ll understand how their alchemy is driving personal brand success. To bring it back home, let’s take the case of Miss Excel. There are plentttyyyyy of Microsoft trainers out in the world there, but her 3Vs have helped her dominate a lane all her own:

Value: She helps independent contributors (not quite managers, but not entry-level employees) look like smarty pants with Excel (veryyy specific)

Vehicle: She exploded on TikTok, doing screen shares of “VLookUps” in a different way

Voice: She’s entertaining and assumes many roles in her video, playing out one excel trick like a scene from King Lear.

 Excel makes me want to sleep. These TikToks do not.

The Takeaways…

• Building a high-value personal brand is doable with intention and focus.
• Most people don’t do it because they don’t believe it’s possible and are afraid to: niche, package wisely, and commit time to consistent creation.
• In Scott Adams’ words, “Everyone has at least a few areas in which they could be in the top 25% with some effort.” 
• Mapping your 3V strategy is key to monetizing your personal brand.

Need Help?

Grab the 3V worksheet to get started.