Aron Schoenfeld

“Money you can lose many times, but you can only lose your reputation once.” – Mukesh Ambani

Your reputation and how others perceive you will play an important role in all of your business dealings. Whether it is for partnership opportunities, investments or just networking, your reputation will precede you and others will often have an expectation. Whether it is from social media, online background checks or asking around your circles, information is very easy to come by and will play a big part in determining whether or not you succeed.

Let’s be honest, before meeting someone for the first time, whether for a date or business meeting, most people Google and Facebook search the person they are going to meet. You want to know what they look like, see some of the more recent things that they have done, see their interests, all for the sake of “knowing” who you are about to meet. While there is nothing wrong with this, it makes it even more imperative for people to make sure their reputation is kept in check.

First impressions often make or break a relationship. When someone googles you, what do they see? Is it the picture of you with your family on vacation or the party of you drinking and smoking up at some party (yes, I have actually seen pictures like this). Will they see posts from you or articles using foul language Read more…

Gary Whitehill, founder of Entrepreneur Week, once told me that one of the hardest things to understand in life is that you’re not what you are, but what you’re perceived to be. In this day and age of social media, I think this is one of the most important things for people to remember. First impressions last a lifetime and in today’s day and age, our first impression is made with the information that people see about us online. Let’s be honest, when we connect with a person at a meeting or are introduced through a mutual contact, the first thing we do is go to Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to learn more about this person. If the individual has no information available or a spotty resume on these sites, part of the excitement of the initial introduction is lost immediately. The person will now have to overcome this void in order to make a great first impression.

In today’s age of the internet, you are your own brand and how you market and sell that brand will make you a success. According to Forbes, personal brand-building in the digital era requires topic expertise, audience engagement and scalable support systems. You need to take an active role in building that brand so Read more…