What kind of “gal” am I?

I just watched a webinar that made several of its points by sharing example after example of personal stories. All of them were great, actually, and really added to the understanding and purpose of the presentation. However, they were all introduced as, “John Smith, The Word Guy” or “Jane Doe, Mrs Spreadsheet” or “Suzie Homemaker, The KitchenAid Queen!”

After the fourth or fifth example, I started getting a little squirmy. Since when does someone have to be known as a certain thing? Since when do they need a defining moniker? I’m Annie Sorensen, is that not enough?

I don’t have a “thing” like that after my name. Is that bad?

I have no idea what type of “gal” I am. What do people know me by? I’m a book geek, yes, but I’m also a big fan of the outdoors. Do the people that know me as a book geek also know me as a fan of walking out in the sunshine?

I like to write, but only those that read my blog or steal my personal notebooks would know that.

I love coffee and wine, but how many people are really around me morning AND night regularly enough to identify me that way? Surely, not many. And plus, I’m not an expert on either, I just happen to love and enjoy them. Does that matter?

And where do my skills with functional software design, customer service, business coaching, network marketing, real estate, communication, interior decorating, listening, or procrastinating the folding of the laundry come in? I would shoot myself in the head if I was known as the Software Design Girl, yet it represented years of my life and remains a strong skill.

If it were up to us, why would we choose to brand ourselves with such a limitation?

Don’t put a label on me. I’m not going to be a certain type of person, or limit how I’m known to one piece of my experiences. I’m me, that’s the brand I represent. Annie. And everything in it.

Or maybe that’s the answer. Maybe I can simply call myself That Annie Sorensen Character and call it a day.

Tagged as: business, personal branding