Personal Brand Is Not a Business Model

Let’s rip the bandage off this one right at the top:

Personal Brand is NOT a Business Model.

And if you’ve been led to believe it is, I’ve got news for you – that might just be why your brilliant business isn’t getting the traction it deserves.

Because here’s what’s happening in the online space right now:

There’s an entire cottage industry selling “Personal Brand” like it’s the holy grail of online business. As if perfect fonts, AI photoshoots, your Spotify playlist and a heartfelt Instagram carousel about your childhood trauma are what’s going to move the needle on your revenue.

Spoiler alert: they won’t.

And I’m saying this with love and deep strategic expertise:

You’ve been taught to build a brand that’s all about YOU when your business should be all about THEM.

The Cult of Personal Branding

There’s been a slow creep over the past few years where “personal brand” has been inflated from what it actually is (one layer of your Brand Strategy) into what it absolutely is not (a Business Model).

And look, I get the appeal.

Personal Branding feels good. It’s expressive. Creative. Empowering. It’s the selfies and the story-sharing and the Spotify anthems of your season. But it’s also where a lot of brilliant women get stuck.

Because when you pour all your energy into building a perfectly curated, aesthetically pleasing, deeply relatable online persona but don’t have the strategy, systems, scalable offers or search-led visibility to back it up, you don’t have a business. You have a public diary.

Why This Messaging Is Harmful

Here’s the problem with being sold Personal Brand as The Business Model:

• It encourages navel gazing over value creation
• It delays clarity around your actual offer structure and solutions
• It fosters performative vulnerability instead of real positioning
• It turns powerful experts into influencers and there’s a massive difference

So let me say this again for the ones clinging to Canva like a lifeline:

Your business isn’t about you. It’s about what you do for others.

People don’t buy coaching because your grid is cohesive. They buy coaching because they’re in pain and you have the map to relief.

Let’s Break It Down: What Is a Business Model?

A Business Model is the operational engine of your business. It’s how your business:

• Attracts clients
• Converts them into buyers
• Delivers transformation
• Generates revenue sustainably

The core components?

1. Offers – structured solutions to specific problems
2. Delivery – the method and system of fulfilling those offers
3. Client Journey – a clear path from unaware to buyer
4. Sales System – repeatable, trackable, scalable processes
5. Marketing System – lead generation and nurture
6. Sticky Assets – things that work while you’re not

That’s the actual Business Model. The Personal Brand? That’s one layer in one slice of this pie.

So Then What Is Personal Brand?

Personal Brand is the emotional resonance of your business.

It’s the energy, vibe, voice, and presence that make people feel like they know you and want to be in your world.

It’s powerful…but it’s not structural.

Personal Brand is made up of:

• Expression – your tone, style, identity
• Experience – how people feel in your world
• Essence – what you stand for, your values

It plays an important role in making your business sticky – but only once people have actually found you and decided you might be the one who can help.

In other words:

They’re not searching for your story. They’re searching for their solution.

And unless your Personal Brand is built on the back of decades of visibility (hey Jenna, hey Amy), it’s not going to be the magnet that attracts cold leads on its own.

BRAND vs. Personal Brand

In my programs I don’t teach Personal Brand in isolation – I teach BRAND as a whole.

Because “personal brand” has been wildly oversimplified and misrepresented. It’s become a catch-all buzzword for everything from fonts and filters to trauma dumping and storytelling. And while it absolutely has its place, it is not the full picture.

BRAND is the external representation of your Business Model.

At its core, your brand exists to amplify and reinforce three things:

• Your SOLUTION – what you help with and how
• Your EXPERTISE – why you’re qualified to help
• Your STORY – the resonance that makes it personal

Those are the anchors – the heart of what people are actually buying (In That Order).

But here’s the key distinction most people miss:

Your Brand is not the source of these things. It doesn’t create your solution, positioning, strategy, or frameworks. Your Business Model does that.

Your brand is the outward expression of that model – it’s how the business shows-up in the world, communicates what it does, and builds trust through consistency, resonance, and recognition.

These elements are fed into your Brand from the Business Model.

So if the Business Model is the engine, the Brand is the bodywork – designed to reflect what’s under the hood in a way that attracts attention and signals credibility.

Now let’s break down the exact components of a brilliant brand:

The 6 Ps of Brand

[Side Note for context: the original 4Ps of Brand have been around since E. Jerome McCarthy conceptualised them back in the 1960s and the additional 2 Ps (People and Presentation) were added later to address the nuances of branding]

1. Purpose – What you stand for and why it matters

2. Positioning – Who you serve, what you help with, and how you’re different

3. Personality – Your tone, energy, values, and presence

4. Promise – The transformation you deliver

5. Proof – Your track record, credibility, and results

6. Presentation – How it all looks, feels, sounds, and shows up

Inside Sticky Business® we take this even further and break brand down into The Brand Trifecta:

Identifiers – What they remember

• Signature frameworks
• Sticky phrases
• Visual assets
• Methodologies

Differentiators – What makes you stand out

• Your unique lens or approach
• The way you articulate the problem
• Your proprietary systems

Amplifiers – What builds trust and reach

• Your thought leadership
• Your Sticky Content™
• Your public presence

And yes – your Personal Brand (your face, story, tone, essence) is woven through all of this but it’s just one layer.

A powerful Brand does not replace a solid Business Model. It enhances it.

Brand is not the thing you sell. It’s how you present, position, and powerfully communicate the thing you sell.

And when done right? It supports your SES – your Solution, Expertise, and Story – without making it all about you.

Because the truth is: Your clients aren’t looking for you. They’re looking for help. And your brand is how they know you’re the one to deliver it.

Final Word: Personal Brand Isn’t the Problem – Misunderstanding It Is

This isn’t an anti-personal-brand rant.

Far from it. I love the Personal Brand element of branding as much as the next gal!

Personal Brand matters. It’s just not everything.

It doesn’t replace your Business Model. It doesn’t deliver your offer. It doesn’t scale your income.

It supports your growth but it shouldn’t be the centrepiece.

So if you’ve been stuck spinning in the world of fonts, filters and feelings, wondering why your incredible personal story isn’t converting – this is why.

Build a business that works. Then let your personal brand bring it to life.

What Now?

If you’re starting to see that your reliance on Personal Brand isn’t getting you clients, visibility, or scalable results that’s because it was never meant to.

Brand is one layer. Your Business Model is the foundation of everything. And inside my brand new 3 Month Sticky Business® Build is where it all comes together.

The first ever Sticky Business® live cohort starts this October (2025) and over 3 months we’ll be installing the whole ecosystem: offers, messaging, sales systems, automation, content, and yes – brand – built to scale.

If you’re ready to stop winging-it and create a rock solid business you can rely on, it’s time to join the waitlist and be the first to know when doors open.

The strategy is simple.

The results are scalable.

The business is Sticky AF.

JOIN THE STICKY BUSINESS WAITLIST HERE

Let’s get your business working because of your brilliance not just your bio.

Here’s the next Sticky Note you need to read: Why Personal Brand is Keeping You Broke