Netwink
I am a Co-Founder of a networking group called Referral Networking.

I am also the Vice President of Programming for a American Business
Women's Association Express Network called, Texas Vineyards Express Network.

I am a small business owner as an Independent Associate for a statewide electric company that I will not name because of advertising restrictions...but people that know me know what company I represent.

My email signature contains my electric company. I have made sure to build my brand with the company I represent but I am still missing so much more in building on my personal brand.

I seem to have developed some kind of tunnel vision that has made me feel that I can only associate my personal brand with one entity...my electric business.

I had an interesting conversation today with a pretty successful business owner and one of the things she pointed out to me was that her personal brand is everything she decides to dedicate herself.

Think about this. The doctor has a signature that effectively is a instant resume of his education and skills. In your head you are thinking doctor as in MD for medical doctor but what about a PHD. He might have a doctorate in mechanical engineering or maybe he's a dentist. Eitherway his signature provides a instant resume to anyone reading it.

What is in your signature. I think I should be adding that I am the Vice-President of a chapter in a national organization and the co-founder of a local organization. Is that not part of my brand?

How about it, are you involved in other organizations that can build on your brand? Can you help people to know you better by indentifying some of your passions?

I think this can be overdone. You might have been a eagle scout, involved on a church board, on the board of a networking group, and owner of a small business. Putting all of that in a signature may be overkill. If I was trying to make connections in a PTA I might add some of my social titles.

The point is business is now built through social networking and that social networking is spilling over into the common networking world.

Email is so widely used now that part of your personal brand should be contained in your signature. Which can contain your instant resume.

Think about your brand, "You Inc." and what your signature says.

Do you have some cute quote attached to your signature? Does your signature say anything about your passion and tell the reader a little more about "You Inc."?

Feel free to share your thoughts I look forward to hearing from you.