Rebrand to evolve
They said I should wear more suits than jeans and T-Shirts…
I laughed because they don’t understand Re-Branding…
I have successfully rebranded myself from a pulpit preacher to a Technology Entrepreneur.
I wore suits for the most part of my life. In the church I served as a pastor in Okigwe, we dressed in ties EVERY DAY, wore suits EVERY SUNDAY and that became a lifestyle.
When we started our Tech company in SA, I struggled to sell our products. I wore suits and still carried the pulpit charisma but clients saw me more as a church man than Tech guy. My late friend and client, George van der Riet who owned a classy night club in Cape Town personally told me at his club that I was too “churchy” to sell Tech. He would invite me to his club at midnight and encourage me to get used to being FREE to mingle. I just never got used to the girls doing a lap dance on me. But George helped to pull me out of my CHURCHINESS.
I knew it was time to rebrand – time to evolve my identity. So I rebranded – offline and online. I removed all religious titles from my public profiles. I signed up for multiple tech events in Cape Town and Johannesburg to network within the industry. I got immersed in the Tech culture and soon, I replaced suits with a pair of jeans👖, T-Shirt and Sneakers. People started seeing me differently – it worked like magic.
It was then it dawned on me that Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and the rest of the tech bros do not dress in jeans and T-shirts because they can’t afford to dress in suits daily – it’s a BRAND CONSCIOUSNESS THING.
You should dress according to the culture of your industry.
You can’t be a banker and wear a pair of jeans, T-shirt and sneakers everyday. You will struggle to convince your clients.
You can’t be a Tech bro or sis and dress like a banker everyday.
A lot of pastors always complain that they struggle in business each time they attempt to do business. I usually tell them that they imported pulpit charisma into the marketplace – people won’t be comfortable to do business with a “holier than thou” fellow. You need to communicate a different culture and identity.
I loved suits…
I also look good in traditional clothes…
But I’m a Tech Bro and I communicate my Tech identity daily by how I dress, where I go, who I hang out with and what causes I support. To become a captain of an industry, you need to immerse in the culture of the industry.
What aspect of your life are you going to change today to enhance your personal brand? Remember, your personal brand is the first thing the market buys before they buy your product.
My name is Charles Awuzie and this was the last time I wore a suit to speak publicly.
