Have you considered selling franchises to foreign investors? Or maybe you didn’t know that working with fYou have probably heard a lot about your personal brand and what to do about it. But, what does it mean and how does it work, especially from a simple and practical standpoint. Our guest today is Dave Behar, who is an expert in personal branding and he is also a proven business leader. In fact, he was one of the leaders who helped grow and then sell Hotmail.com.
TODAY’S WIN-WIN:
Be authentic and don’t pretend to be something you are not.
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ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Dave Behar is the Founder, CEO, and Chief Executive Athlete of ION Network and Behar Brands, where he creates innovative brands in tech, media, sports, health, and food & beverage. Committed to personal branding and collaboration, he develops digital platforms that foster positive interactions and transactions. With a successful track record of building and exiting multiple companies, co-authoring two Amazon Best Sellers, and serving on the Journalism & Media Studies Advisory Board at San Diego State University, Dave focuses on legacy and knowledge transfer to help others thrive. A “thought leader of thought leaders,” he inspires through insights rather than self-promotion and enjoys sports and culinary adventures in his free time.
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TRANSCRIPT
Dr. Tom DuFore (00:01):
Welcome to the Multiply Your Success podcast, where each week we help growth-minded entrepreneurs and franchise leaders take the next step in their expansion journey. I’m your host, Tom DuFore, CEO of Big Sky Franchise team. And as we open today, I want to talk about this idea of a personal brand. And I’m sure you’ve probably heard about that. If you’re like me, I know, I’ve wondered what am I supposed to do about it? What does it mean? How does it work? I thought I’d really like to understand it from a simple and practical standpoint.
(00:32):
Well, our guest today is Dave Behar, who’s an expert on personal branding and is a proven business leader. In fact, he’s one of the leaders who helped grow and sell Hotmail.com. Now, Dave is the founder and CEO and chief Executive athlete at ION Network and Behar Brands where he creates innovative brands and tech media, sports, health and food and beverage. He’s committed to personal branding and collaboration. He develops digital platforms that foster positive interactions and transactions. He has a track record of success of building and exiting multiple companies, co-authoring two Amazon bestsellers and serving on the Journalism and Media Studies Advisory board at San Diego State University. You’re going to love our interview, so let’s go ahead and jump right into it.
(01:19):
Thank you so much for being here. Really excited to have you dive into this idea of personal brands. You work with athletes, media. You come at this from a very interesting vantage point, and so I’d love for you just to start with what a personal brand is and why is something like that even important especially when we start thinking of maybe an entrepreneur that’s thinking about growing.
Dave Behar (01:43):
If you’re a person, you are a brand. Your brand makeup comes in so many ways, but you want to be able to keep track and keep inventory. And there’s no real textbook way other than, listen, you have the business you’re in, the place you’re from, even colors you look best in. As far as industry goes, what is the appetite for your personality? Which means it’s not just a brand personality like, “Hey, I’m in this industry as I am this person in the industry” that is either taking shape of having authority, and in that case, part of your brand is that you’re a leader and you’re well-spoken. You’re part of different organizations, you have success, whether it be monetarily or visibly or both. And at the end, how do you carry yourself? The acumen.
(02:31):
And of course, in my case, I like to go into what is how you’re presenting yourself, not just what would be let’s say on stage or in any kind of interview type of thing, but, what you look like, how you fairly well-groomed, what color you’re wearing. Even to the season. There’s summer, fall, winter, spring, and colors are a part of that. Of course, it makes you look as according to your skin and hair type, et cetera. So personal branding, and are you behaving yourself, or do you need to.
Dr. Tom DuFore (03:08):
That’s really interesting. Well, I hadn’t thought about the idea of colors and the colors you choose to wear and the time of year at which you do, but certainly that makes a lot of sense.
Dave Behar (03:18):
Well, not necessarily the time of year. There’s warm and cold temperatures, but we’re talking about related to your hair color, your skin type, and even to some extent your height and weight and stuff. So I mean, in a way, I’m a winter and that’s because of my physical makeup. But some are certainly summers. They can wear certain colors, they look better in certain colors, and certain styles of what they wear, whether it be in just a casual or a business setting.
(03:49):
So the color palette is everything. That’s why you see some great looking fashion color palettes as well as in sports and athletics, what looks great for that team nd then finally the athletes.
Dr. Tom DuFore (04:05):
How would someone start to sort through some of that and maybe figure out some ideal colors or type of dress that they might wear?
Dave Behar (04:13):
Yeah. Well, I mean, first of all, you want to be able to know yourself a little bit, what you like wearing versus feel comfortable or uncomfortable wearing. But also it really comes down to you could just look up according to your hair color, your skin color, your eye color. That’ll immediately tell you you are a certain season. Doesn’t mean that you can’t wear a color or something that you’ve been wearing for years or whatever, but there’s a good chance that you look better in something that’s more within your season makeup, like earth tones and icy tones and spring. And you think about the Easter egg tones, pastels, not everybody looks good in that stuff. Once you start looking at that a little bit and then saying, “Well, I am sort of fitting within the season,” your wardrobe will start to emulate what it is that you are and what you’re looking best at.
Dr. Tom DuFore (05:06):
Very, very interesting. Someone might be listening in and say, “Okay, well I appreciate that and I get the color thing.” That makes sense, right? I mean, it’s physical, it’s tangible, it’s kind of easy to get. But I’d love for you to share some effective strategies for developing a personal brand that reflects that entrepreneur, that leader’s unique qualities and what they bring to the table.
Dave Behar (05:31):
Well, I’ll just give you an example. And it’s not related to your business, right? If you’re an entrepreneur and you are connecting to the brand that you are selling, the business that you’re building or have built, those are certainly indicators, and then what industry of the types of things that are part of your personal brand. Like for instance, even in your case, Big Sky, you immediately you think of something big, something expansive, something that can grow. It’s a big picture, right? Versus you saying, “Hey, this is Tom’s franchise service” type of thing. It’s like, “Okay, I’m sure you’re successful, but now I’ve got to peel more back and how big of a thinker you really are.”
(06:19):
So some of those elements certainly include, are you extroverted, introverted? Are you great on camera? Are you outspoken? Have you developed something innovative? And again, this links business with personal, but often your reputation precedes you, right? So it’s like, yeah, that person has a great deal of success. They’re helping people succeed or they are innovating, they’re a disruptor, and it goes from there. I think what’s important to know is that it’s where do you see yourself and where do you want to be? And your personal brand will basically take it… Your brand personality, your personality is everything. Not that you have to then be something that you’re not, like funny or sophisticated. It’s just who you are and that as long as you’re being authentic and delivering on that, it’s super important.
Dr. Tom DuFore (07:24):
Well, Dave, I’d love for you to share maybe an example, or two, folks you’ve worked with or with yourself or others out there that just might be a reference point to talk about.
Dave Behar (07:37):
Well, I mean, I think first of all, you can look at what is a political landscape, a business landscape, and that again, that person’s delivery. Some of the examples would be somebody who is, again, even a performer, a celebrity, certainly an athlete. Are they soft-spoken and/or well-spoken and easy on the eyes? And I think that what’s important is you just take a look and do kind of your own self-inventory of where you want to be. And some of the examples that would relate are just some of your, who do you aspire to be who is an inspiration to you? And again, not necessarily to emulate, but say, “What did it take for them to be successful?” Well put together, this goes way beyond colors and things. I mean, we’re really talking about more success profile and personality that people want to surround themselves would love to be connected to.
(08:37):
And that then plays a big role in not suggesting how many followers you have over social media because some folks decide to be a little bit more quiet about what they do and help others succeed other personal brands and other brands like an agency would behind the scenes.
(08:55):
And so in my case, I have kind of put on what is having put the shingle out on this as an agency, but have done a number of brand deals, many investments that have required those things that I bring into the picture, personally not just what is business and business acumen and success, which is where part of the attraction is of having me get involved in a venture, let alone leading the companies that I do and have over the years. And then likewise, there is the aspect of in business, again, it relates to personal of course. You can say personal wealth too, but have you succeeded in business and have you exited a company or companies that typically create a different profile for you as a person?
Dr. Tom DuFore (09:47):
Excellent. One of the things in preparing for this and reviewing some of the information that was sent over talked about the role of language in shaping a brand and identity and connection and how that language can connect with or influence or impact your audience or the people it’s going after. So I think that’s a very interesting topic. And to me it all seems to start to blend together with that personal brand and such. But I’d love for you to talk about this concept of language and how that’s connected with your company.
Dave Behar (10:21):
Okay, yeah, because messaging and your… Again, it goes back to personality, but in our case, my case, it’s interesting because one of the fairly prolific brands, I’ve created ION, ION Network, great little three letter word. Everything is about passion and vision and collaboration. You could see where I’m going with that. And certainly ION integrity and that’s motivation, expansion.
(10:48):
I mean in your case, Tom, it is about multiplication, not necessarily subtraction. Language-wise, we’ve kind of created our own language. It’s definitely been emulated a little bit, and that’s fine as long as it’s positive and it’s not designed to hurt us. That’s not the goal in business other than to win and lead. But at the same time, yeah, in the language that you speak, it’s not necessarily it’s a foreign language or an accent, but do you need to be thrown out f-bombs and stuff like that to get your point across or just be able to do your best with the articulation of what you’re trying to achieve?
(11:33):
And for that matter in personal life too, just trying to set an example, whether it be with family and friends and how likable you are, I guess. It’s important because that allows you to a bigger and better toolbox. So language-wise, I mean you could talk about love languages. And that does play a role in your personal brand, when you’re talking about relationships and stuff like that.
Dr. Tom DuFore (12:03):
Totally.
Dave Behar (12:03):
That’s important to keep up on. I think it’s all of the above. Anything you could do for continuous improvement for your personal brand and certainly as a business brand, definitely. And keep track because those things are important. They’re not always real clear that you need to do them. And speak eloquently and articulate, but you want to take inventory of that for sure.
Dr. Tom DuFore (12:25):
You’ve built a brand, this personal brand, a reputation and so on, and you’re at a point where it says, “Okay, well now I need to protect this.” And so what are some ways or strategies or things you do for protecting your brand personally and for your businesses or ideas or suggestions someone might be able to take away from this conversation?
Dave Behar (12:45):
Well, I’ll tell you both personal and business is just to stay ahead. You can kind of follow a few things, but you want to have that winning approach and staying ahead of things.
(12:57):
As far as personal branding, first is you can protect your personal name, and one of them is simply through the domain process. Register your name one way or the other. And either have it exist so that somebody else isn’t using it and/or there’s confusion because you definitely want to take note of confusion type of things, whether it be a person or a brand that is using your same intellectual property. In this case, when you’re talking about personal brands, your own name. And as you don’t want to be defamed or anything like that, depending on what profile you lead or intend to be delivering on.
(13:38):
And certainly create the presence. There is better for worse, people are found in all sorts of searches, whether it be simple Googles. Obviously not necessarily by name, but in dating situations, stuff like that. But it’s making sure that you’re protecting who you are. And if you are in a position to have a reasonable social media footprint, doing in more than one place certainly create some level of profile to say, “This is me.” I mean, there you go. You want to be found. You want to be found at the top if you’re leading, especially in your name and protecting your name. Your good name, right? I think that’s super important.
(14:20):
And there’s always going to be confusion. If you have a name that is popular, a common and you’re not related one way or the other to others with the same name, last name.
Dr. Tom DuFore (14:34):
Very, very helpful. Thank you. And how can folks get connected with you, learn more about what you’re doing, and find out about that?
Dave Behar (14:43):
There’s a couple books that I’ve co-authored, of course, as in the Peak Performance Series, both in entrepreneurism and leadership. But simply, and I have no problem, “Hey, here’s my email address. You want to throw me an email? Please do. Don’t send your spam my way.” But if it’s something reasonable, whether it be conversationally or even to pitch something, I’m all ears. And you’d hear from me if I’m interested, and it’s Dave, D-A-V-E, @ions.com, two great four letter words.
(15:13):
But of course I’m out a little bit in the social media. For better, for worse, I don’t spend a lot of time at all other than our team doing the social media inputs with all the different leagues. We’re involved with organizations, events besides brands. So I mean, you could check me out a little bit in the different social platforms. And you could just put Google to work, right? You can friend me, follow me, whatever you like, and I’m sure we’ll be connected that way, just dave@ions.com.
Dr. Tom DuFore (15:46):
Perfect. Well, thank you so much, Dave. Well, this is a great time in the show when we make a transition and we ask every guest the same four questions before they go. And the first question we ask is, have you had a miss or two on your journey and something you learned from it?
Dave Behar (16:00):
There was a Mrs. that was a miss. I had chose to leave the marriage. As far as choosing wisely, I think that’s super important in people’s decision making. So there was a miss there. And as well, it’s always wanting to be a better parent and being able to provide those things because that plays a role in your wellbeing and happiness.
(16:25):
And then in business, I would say that maybe selling a company too soon. Just in terms of decision making, there’s things I wish I would’ve held onto longer versus selling them early at a lower valuation, stuff like that. I can get into specifics, but that’ll probably take another bit of time. So there’s some misses, I guess.
(16:51):
Folks talk about failures, learning from failures and things like that. And as long as you keep being that student and keep learning from the mistakes and from those, but you also want to learn from success and try to duplicate that success.
Dr. Tom DuFore (17:08):
Thanks for sharing those. And let’s talk about a make or two, some highlights that you’d like to share.
Dave Behar (17:15):
I was very excited about what we did. And this is ways ago when we had developed Hotmail, which was acquired by Microsoft at a very significant valuation. It was one of Silicon Valley’s first or largest deals at the time that more or less we revolutionize email at the timeo as a communication tool and such. But that fundamental was following what we did with the Pac-10 conference, the winningest conference in the NCAA. It’s since gone through a little transition of member institutions. And then my first two startups, which I really loved everything about because they’re based in the college business, both the team Greek business. And then I had sold that. Then I went to IDIG, which was a worldwide apparel and sporting goods brand in all 50 states and global distribution. So that was lots of fun.
Dr. Tom DuFore (18:17):
I remember when that sale happened and the big news that that was, and Hotmail is always near and dear to my heart. It was my first email address, was a Hotmail. I always remember that.
Dave Behar (18:27):
But the brand, unfortunately, now you look at it, it’s not necessarily a miss, but the brand was squashed because there was a more global based brand that bought it. And sometimes those things happen. And as long as you don’t… I don’t want to say get too attached to it, but sometimes things get bought back too because of what that acquire. You may not be good with it other than what kind of windfall you may have had at the time.
Dr. Tom DuFore (18:54):
Well, let’s talk about a multiplier. Well, the name of the show’s Multiply Your Success. Have you used a multiplier to maybe grow yourself personally, professionally, or organizations that you’ve helped build?
Dave Behar (19:09):
That very much could be its own segment, but just the two terms, multiply. And you mentioned multiplication, and then success, which is succession. We’re in this ION business and very excited about the scale in basically multiplying in 25,000 cities across North America and beyond.
(19:33):
So the multiplying of that business, it’s very unique because of a channel for every town. And then indeed, the database is the marketplace. So there’s a significant localization aspect to it as well as categorical, from ION sports to ION kids, ION family and so forth. And so there is the multiplication piece. We’ve had a number of successes along the way. We’ve even had and have had to bring people to justice, bring companies just who ripped off our intellectual property. But the multiplier, the duplication process of what we’re doing with ION is awesome. And the enablation that takes place with folks that will be and have taken license and utilizing other platforms across the network to enable that success is it’s just a great journey. I’m just happy to be leading it.
Dr. Tom DuFore (20:35):
Wonderful. Well, the final question we ask every guest is, what does success mean to you?
Dave Behar (20:41):
Big Sky. What does success mean to me? I mean, really it’s, I want to say having a happy, fulfilling life and being able to hit your goals and win as much as possible and helping people along the way, because that’s critical. We’re, again, a human race and we’re all racing together. And hopefully everyone’s winning. So how’s that for starters?
Dr. Tom DuFore (21:16):
I love it. Well, Dave, as we bring this interview to a close, is there anything you were hoping to share or get across that you haven’t had a chance to yet?
Dave Behar (21:24):
At the sort of that top level, 10,000 foot view if you will, we’ve done great. I mean, you’re awesome. And I appreciated your questions and our conversation and what we’ve shared. And I would say we’re good.
(21:38):
I think that it’s important to always keep track of where you are personally and business-wise if you’re in business and/or aspiring to start a business, if you’re working for the man, working corporately. And just exercise your capabilities. There’s no better time than now in the present, especially you if you have a great idea and/or to align with somebody or a company who can help you get there. And there’s plenty of those folks today, and I know you’re one of them. And you’ll help them multiply successfully.
Dr. Tom DuFore (22:17):
Dave, thank you so much for a fantastic interview. And let’s go ahead and jump into today’s three key takeaways.
(22:24):
So takeaway number one is if you are a person, you are a brand. And I thought that was great. It’s just super simple. It’s just, if you’re a person, you’re a brand. Takeaway number two is when Dave talked about the things that can affect your brand. And he gave a few examples such as the business you’re in, the place you’re from, the types of colors you wear, and even the language you use and how you communicate. Takeaway number three is when he talked about protecting your brand, you need to try and stay ahead. One example is registering your name as a domain online, just making sure you purchase that name. And he said it’s also important for you to make sure you’re doing Google searches of your name, see what’s coming up. And maybe you have a common name, so it’s a little bit harder to find, but if it’s a less common name, you might be able to find some different things that are going on.
(23:20):
And now it’s time for today’s win-win. So today’s win-win is when Dave talked about the importance of being authentic. And that is a term that’s used a lot today. We hear that go on. Sometimes you kind of tune that out. But I think his point is well-made. Being authentic is likely the most thing to your personal brand, meaning don’t try to be someone or something you are not. Recognize people are smart and they usually can figure out if you’re being authentic or real and they’ll get a sense of that. So as with all things, be yourself. Focus on that and people will get the real sense of who you are.
(24:08):
And that’s the episode today, folks. Please make sure you subscribe to the podcast and give us a review. And remember, if you or anyone might be ready to franchise our business or take their franchise company to the next level, please connect with us at bigskyfranchiseteam.com. Thanks for tuning in, and we look forward to having you back next week.