I’ve sent 5 questions to LinkedIn influencers who specialize in branding. Here are the responses from Jaime Cohen.
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Tell me about yourself
Strong, successful communication, especially in the form of storytelling, has been my lifelong prerogative. I started reading at age four and have kept a journal since age 5. I tell you this because being aware of my own mental development (from a very young age) informed my style of communication: intuitive and empathetic.
All of my pursuits, both personal and professional, have involved dynamic storytelling. This means, interacting with an audience to learn their language and then applying that language to the performance or story so that the message is delivered effectively.
Throughout my career I have been a:
- Medical Spanish interpreter
- Bartender
- Competitive salsa dancer
- Comedy performer
- Marketing manager and consultant
Each of these experiences has been an education and has allowed me to help entrepreneurs, business leaders, & brands to use solution based communication to create a positive impact,
What do you do?
During the past 8 years I have worked with thousands of clients to help them share provoking brand stories through promotional videos, blogs, articles, speaking engagements, and more. This was a side gig until March, when I took my company, Jaimbalaya, full time!
I work with brands, entrepreneurs, and business leaders to tell stories that resonate with their audiences and to help them become stronger communicators.
This applies to content marketing strategy, brand building, developing and/or improving LinkedIn presence, leadership development, conflict resolution, and achieving success in business and interpersonal relationships.
My diversity of experience and practice in empathy allows me to work with all types of professionals and brands. Here are a couple of the programs/trainings I do.
Engage With Empathy
I developed the Engage With Empathy methodology to demystify the intricacies of purposeful communication. #EngageWithEmpathy teaches you to use context clues, just as you’d find in a well-formed story, to help champion more effective communication using empathy and perspective.
Communicating with empathy and perspective means asking the right questions and most importantly listening to hear what your audience or communication partner wants. When you’re able to understand they want, you are able to then give them what they need. You can learn to do this EASILY with #EngageWithEmpathy
Get What You Want and Look Good Doing It (GWYW)
This program came from experience during my own job search. I worked with hundreds of recruiters many, many agencies and still got rejection after rejection. This was a very painful, but excellent education in interviewing and negotiating. GWYW teaches professionals to build rapport, ask the right questions, and negotiate with confidence. Everyone who has worked with me has landed a position in less than 4 weeks and increased their salary by at least 15% and as much as 50%! My most recent client went from a Sr. Manager to a C-suite executive!
How did you get started?
I saw so many talented people unable to reach their potential because they weren’t able to clearly communicate their purpose. To me this was unfair and furthermore disturbing. I find deep satisfaction in seeing people get what they deserve. So, I wanted to be the antidote and help them succeed.
Essentially, I started by giving quite a bit of unsolicited advice to my friends, much to their chagrin. Then suddenly, people were coming out of the woodwork asking me for my advice on how to perform better, communicate more effectively, and to solve problems.
Now, I’m making a living helping people succeed! I’ve turned unsolicited advice into an applicable program for people and industries. Now, some of the most well-known, sought-after influencers on LinkedIn talk to me when they’re developing their identities and programs.
Creating my company and developing my personal brand has been a truly amazing experience. It has been a rough road at times, but through my own mistakes and achievements I have acquired an intimate understanding of what professionals and brands need to succeed. I have had the opportunity to help so many reach their full potential and for that I am truly grateful.
What are you doing right now for your personal branding?
A strong personal brand is one that is clear but constantly evolving. I spend a lot of time refining my messaging, educating myself, learning from my peers, developing new programming, and improving my craft.
Each week, I’m connecting with people all across the globe. Through this I have built beautiful relationships and a strong community; two things that are crucial to a successful personal brand.
These relationships are presenting opportunities for collaboration. As an entrepreneur it’s impossible to be everywhere at once, but if you have to get your message seen. The remedy is collaborating with businesses and other entrepreneurs! This allows your image to be everywhere when you can’t be.
What’s your best tip for people who are interested in developing their personal brand?
Start immediately! The sooner your start the sooner you become successful. It is really as simple as that. Developing a personal brand is an evolution. It is fine to test ideas; try things out and see what you identify with most and what lands.
A strong personal brand requires a keen sense of self. Self-discovery takes time and is necessary in order to develop a strong, succinct story. And your story is your brand. Understand that there is no such thing as overnight success. When you are witness to something of this nature know that, that success was years in the making.
Developing a personal brand takes time, but working with a professional helps speed up that process. It can be hard to know which direction to go when you’re smack dab in the middle of the maze. Having a professional, objective party can help clarify that much more quickly.
Feel empowered when you reach out for help! The very best of us have sought out guidance to get where we are today.
Follow me on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/jaime-cohen for tips on developing a strong brand. If you want more help, send me a message there or reach out at www.Jaimbalaya.com
Thanks Jaime for these awesome responses. I’m sure readers of this would love to engage with you!
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