At the end of this blog post, reflect upon these concepts and answer 3 key questions:
#1. What is your Brand Equity?
#2. What is in your CBA and RBA Accounts?
#3. How strong are your Connections/Networks?
For a lot of Wealth Management Professionals, the goal is to get people to have a plan and invest for their future. Developing a financial plan is the easy part. For the most part all that is needed is a good knowledge and understanding of the clients’ investment goals, time horizon, risk tolerance and so forth.
The more challenging part is when there are not enough resources to invest. Or as a friend rightly told me: “I know I should put away a lot more in my RRSP, TFSA, Non-Registered accounts….but after the bills are paid, I just don’t have any more to put aside, I wish I could invest something other than money”! This played out again as recently as today.
Hanging around with a group of women always brings up interesting and fascinating ideas and scenarios. So here we were, a bunch of thirty and forty-something year old ladies on a lunch break and bemoaning how we all wanted to quit our day jobs and pursue causes, businesses and hobbies we were most passionate about. The list included shopping trips, vacations across the globe….you get the picture! The limitation of this was of course that in the real world bills abound, mortgages have to be paid, tuition fees and student loans were beckoning etc etc.
So, in simple words, you need a regular stream of income to survive and the conclusion is that without money, a lot would not be achieved. Unfortunately, there was not enough to go round or so we assume. What is missing in this snapshot is that most people measure their net worth only in traditional terms- cash and other tangible assets. This is a limiting outlook in more ways than one.
So, my question is this: ‘What if money was not the currency of exchange in the world’? What if instead of measuring our Net Worth in Dollars and Cents, it was measured strictly in terms of Skill Set, Networks, Character and Reputation? What if there was a way to translate your passions, power or influence into a commodity? Before you go rolling your eyes and snorting your nose at my question, consider this: Nowadays, the concept of ‘personal brand equity’ is becoming more and more relevant.
The best people to illustrate this concept are athletes and celebrities and the seemingly incredible endorsement deals they get. Most executive and lifestyle coaches would be quick to point out that for the most part, you are only as good as your networks and relationships. In today’s fast changing world of social media, the twin concepts of ‘Who you know’ versus ‘Who knows you’ are a huge part of our Net Worth (Think ‘Twitter’, ‘Blog Followers’, Alexa rankings….). My point is that traditional ways of assessing personal net worth and even business valuations are evolving.
What is your Personal Brand Equity? What are in your CBA and RBA Accounts?
Brand Equity
How do you perceive yourself? How do others perceive you? Is there a gap? Who are you? What is important to you? What do you represent? Are you authentic? What value do you bring to the table? What is the premium you’d be paid simply for being you? Are you a person of influence? Even without money, do you know you can still make things happen, you can get people to take action and thus accomplish a lot! Do you know that your Net Worth includes the monetization of your passions, skill set, character, reputation and network/connections.
Character Bank Account
This is a measure of who you are in any given situation. Are you someone of integrity, are you consistent, creative and dependable? Are you a value-drain? Or are you a value-adder (You solve problems, proffer solutions, generate ideas, create synergy,
Relationship Bank Account
This refers to a measure of your connections. How strong are your family, social and professional ties? Do you form single, breakable, transactional threads or do you build interwoven strands of solid bonds? Do you only call people when you need something from them or do you really keep in touch with your network and look out for other people’s interest? Are you practicing reciprocity in your connections? Are you a crap magnet, an energy sucker or do you have a positive magnetic personality?
The caveat in all of these, is not only to identify these non-cash assets but to consciously begin to monetize them!
Measuring your Brand Equity, CBA and RBA Accounts
To measure your Net Worth in a cashless society, just think of the above in terms of regular bank accounts and be objective in your analysis: Are you in surplus, marginally breaking even, perennially overdrawn or totally bankrupt?
Imagine that you were a stock. In the portfolio of life, what are you? Are you a blue-chip, value stock, growth stock, penny stock or just plain junk?
Unlike the real world, the alternate cashless society is somewhere that you have the power to be as wealthy as you desire. The beauty is that at some point, there is an intersection between the two and you can be paid a premium for everything you’ve developed and built up in your cashless world. It may be here or in the after life but know that it will have value someday and somewhere!!
I would like to end this post with one of my favorite slogans. It is an apt tagline by Scotia Bank and it is simply this: “You’re richer than you think”.
Yes, ladies, in more ways than you possibly know!
Live Beautifully! Live Passionately! Live Freely!
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Remember, you are not ordinary, you are divinely unique.
You are WOW (Wonderful One-of-a-kind Woman)!
w(H)olistically Yours,
© Whole Woman Network
BLOGGER BIO: The preceding blog entry is from Juliet Ume, MBA –Wealth Management Consultant & Lifestyle Coach at Whole Woman Network. Juliet is an avid Life Connoisseur and a passionate advocate of WomEntrepreneurship, Investment & Financial Literacy for women. Follow her on Twitter: @wholewomaninc
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