First Impressions and Personal Brand
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Sonya Choi La Rosa: [00:00:00] I'm Sonya, a personal brand and style coach. My journey began in the corporate world and through lived experiences has led me where I am today. I've walked in those uncomfortable shoes, faced the same challenges and questioned my path to professional success while simultaneously navigating my personal style journey and the challenges that each decade brings.
Sonya Choi La Rosa: I wholeheartedly believe in the Fusion personal brand and style strategy. My mission here is to provide you with practical, actionable strategies and lived experiences to help you unlock your next level of success through the power of personal brand and style. Let's get started. Welcome to another episode of the Style and Strategy Podcast.
Sonya Choi La Rosa: I'm your host, Sonya. And today I was inspired a little bit by By a Chanel quote that appeared in my Instagram feed, actually. And I thought I'd take an opportunity to use that, to have a [00:01:00] chat about first impressions and personal brand. So the actual quote from Coco Chanel was, fashion is not something that exists in dresses only.
Sonya Choi La Rosa: It exists in the sky, in the street. It has to do with the ideas. The way we live and what is happening. I really like this particular quote because it shows how intrinsic fashion or the clothes that you wear is something in who we are and a kind of day today. So I think that really sets the stage for a bit of that discussion.
Sonya Choi La Rosa: It's about the lifestyle we have. The ideas, our surroundings, all of our choices really get influenced by a number of things around that. Now, according to a most recent Princeton survey, and this has been updated of late, [00:02:00] it takes around about one tenth of a second for someone to make a first impression.
Sonya Choi La Rosa: And I think you may have heard me use that stat before. Used to be seven seconds. So I guess given the increase of social media, our attention spans potentially declining, what was seven seconds has now dropped to one tenth of a second. So in that one tenth of a second of you potentially walking into a meeting room on a stage of some sort or presenting something on a screen, that's how long you've got really to either, A, stop the scroll, B, get someone to tune in to what you're talking about before you get distracted.
Sonya Choi La Rosa: And when I think about that. It really does show that your style and the brand that you portray through your style [00:03:00] plays a significant role. So today I really want to explore that further by considering how you can amplify your personal brand through your style. Now, if I put on my editorial stylist Hat.
Sonya Choi La Rosa: You would be given some sort of a brief to say, this is, so when, if you're going on a shoot of some sort, this is the creative concept of this. And then you would put together a bit of a mood board around that and then go searching for the relevant piece to. Be able to execute on that creative vision.
Sonya Choi La Rosa: Now, when you're thinking about your own personal brand, I do align it very similar to the way I think about editorial. And the reason for that is because. You have a vision around what it is that your personal brand should look and feel like, in addition to [00:04:00] the other potential core pillars that you've got around your brand.
Sonya Choi La Rosa: And so when you've got that feel around what that should look and feel like. Then it's working through, how am I actually showing up in maybe various forms of whether it's your social media, your websites, really on an entrepreneurial side, but also thinking about that if you are an employee as well. How is that happening in your personal brand photo, your corporate brand photos, you might be on websites, when you're out presenting, I really want you to think about how consistent is your brand across those channels when it comes to your personal style.
Sonya Choi La Rosa: I have had clients where I've sat down and done an assessment around their existing website and looked at all the imagery that kind of sits underneath that. And then their socials [00:05:00] to understand, do we have a consistent brand when it comes to their style, or is it actually. a little bit disjointed. And so how do we then start to create a more consistent look and feel to further emphasize their brand?
Sonya Choi La Rosa: On a corporate front, it's really thinking a little bit more around, is there a particular signature style that perhaps you want to portray? Again, it could be You might have a particular colour or accessory type that you're known for. And when that starts to show up on a consistent basis, it really does become much more.
Sonya Choi La Rosa: Easier and recognizable for you and makes you much more recognizable through actually your style. There's also an opportunity [00:06:00] to really express some of your identity and values through that style. And. And that could be perhaps you're an advocate for sustainability. And so if I use some examples, perhaps Princess Kate or maybe Megan Markle as an opposing view to cover both sides of the scale there.
Sonya Choi La Rosa: They are very strategic. In what they select to wear, she might be just in a pencil dress or a dress from Zara or anything like that. But actually, if you look a little bit close behind the scenes there, you can see that potentially it is a label they're trying to support. It is either someone from a particular country.
Sonya Choi La Rosa: So it might be a British brand. It might be a US brand. It might be something that represents a particular cause. So, They become very strategic [00:07:00] in how they are using their style as a form of self expression. So maybe have a think about how are you leveraging your style as a form of self expression for you.
Sonya Choi La Rosa: Thank you Sonya. Thank you so much for being part of this inspiring episode. If you found value in today's discussion, please don't keep it a secret. Share it with a friend on social media, tag me at your style collective and leave a review. Your support means the world. Join me again next week for another empowering episode of style and strategy, the leadership series.
Sonya Choi La Rosa: Thanks so much for tuning in and remember, you're already taking that first step towards your transformation journey. See you next time.
