Facts about Kelly Lundberg
Kelly Lundberg
Kelly Lundberg is a highly successful entrepreneur, personal brand strategist, and speaker. With nearly 15,000 event attendees and over 5,000 email subscribers, she's made a significant impact in her field. Her career highlights include a TEDx talk, a book titled Success In The City, and collaborations with top brands like Louis Vuitton and Chanel. Kelly’s podcast, The Kelly Lundberg Podcast, has over 100 episodes and 30,000 downloads across 93 countries. She’s also active on social media, with nearly 50,000 Instagram followers and 20,000 YouTube subscribers. Kelly's expertise lies in helping clients enhance their personal brands to boost income and influence, making her an ideal author for Deseed The Lemon.
Q&a
What is a personal brand, and why is it essential for everyone to have one?
I think it’s important to go back to the basics when understanding personal branding. Many people believe if they’re not in business, they don’t have a brand. But the truth is, everyone has a personal brand. To me, a personal brand is about how you make someone feel when they encounter something you say or do. This could be in person, on platforms like LinkedIn or Instagram, or even through a referral. It’s about perception—how others view you based on the combination of your online and offline presence. While social media plays a role, it’s just one piece of the puzzle. Your personal brand is shaped by every interaction and how people remember you
How can people better understand the difference between a personal brand and being an influencer, and why is it important to craft and articulate their own brand to reach their future goals?
The first step is to conduct an audit of your personal brand. What’s already out there online, and what do people think about you? When I work with clients, we check both: online presence (Google, images, articles) and ask friends, family, and colleagues for their impressions. From there, we assess how you want to be perceived versus how you currently are, and determine what changes or enhancements are needed. The strategy will vary based on your personal goals, whether it’s career advancement, launching a business, or using your brand to mentor others. Defining where you are and where you want to go is key to shaping your personal brand.
How do people discover you and decide to work with you? Is it through your personal brand?
What’s interesting is that when I ask people at my talks how they found out about the event, it’s usually not through my business but through personal connections. Whether it’s LinkedIn, Instagram, seeing me on a social platform, hearing about me from a friend, or attending an event where I spoke years ago, it all ties back to personal branding. I truly believe that your visibility is your responsibility. Whether you’re an employee or a business owner, you can’t expect people to just stumble upon you. You have to make it easy for journalists, buyers, and others to find you.
Let’s focus on the audit process for a moment, where you review your online presence—looking at articles, social media, and other content about you. But what if there’s nothing? What if someone is starting from scratch, whether they’re early in their career or have gotten by without any online presence? In that case, you’re essentially working with a blank canvas. How do you balance crafting their image while staying authentic?
It’s surprising how often people in their 30s, 40s, or even 50s have little to no online presence, which gives me a blank canvas to work with. The first step is helping them understand and articulate who they are, as many struggle to align their message with how they present themselves online. Consistency is key for authenticity—your online presence must match who you are in real life.
Even marketing professionals often have trouble defining their own brand, so we start by identifying their target audience and building a brand that resonates with them. Then, we create a digital blueprint, not just a social media footprint, because your brand is what Google says you are. I’ve even reconsidered working with someone because their online presence didn’t reflect their expertise, showing how vital perception is.
What’s the key difference between a digital footprint and a social footprint? Specifically, do features in magazines like Arabian Business or Entrepreneur actually drive traffic and business, or are they more about boosting overall digital presence?
It depends on the publication, but media appearances, like speaking engagements in Dubai, can lead to new opportunities even if they aren’t in magazines. It’s less about the article itself and more about the opportunities it generates. Your personal branding goals should guide this process. One key piece of advice is to secure your own domain name. Use it to showcase all your personal brand assets—articles, speaking engagements, photos—on a branded website. This helps build credibility and trust, making people more willing to invest in working with you.
Where did your journey begin? You’ve been building your personal brand for a long time, even before the term became popular. Did you consciously understand the concept of personal branding, or were you just intuitively applying marketing principles, like dressing a certain way and presenting yourself strategically, to create opportunities?
Looking back, I’ve realised that connecting the dots from past experiences has been crucial. My journey with personal branding began as early as 1998 when I created my first website. At that time, I wanted to be a TV presenter and was working overseas. A friend suggested putting my work online to promote it to production studios, which opened my eyes to the possibilities of branding and remote work.
That early experience with my website highlighted the importance of having an online presence. Fast forward to 2009, a pivotal moment came when I was asked by a luxury brand to host an event. They requested my logo, biography, and photos, but the marketing team couldn’t use them because they were for my business, not just for me as an individual. This was a major revelation: promoting oneself is different from promoting a business. It became clear why personal branding is so powerful—it builds trust and credibility that extends beyond just business promotion.
When transitioning between very different businesses or evolving as a person—like moving from a fitness focus to something entirely new—how should one handle their personal brand? Do you recommend completely shifting away from the old brand and starting fresh, or is it better to be transparent about the journey and evolution from the old to the new?
It all comes down to authenticity. People appreciate following your journey, and it’s okay to evolve. For instance, I still get messages from followers who have been with me since my styling days, and that’s meaningful. Transitioning from one focus to another can be organic, as long as you maintain transparency about why you’re making the change. It’s important to share your reasons and connect the dots for your audience. Humanising your personal brand by explaining your journey and evolution can make a big difference.
How should a CEO balance resources between personal branding and business branding? Is it more effective to focus on personal branding and let it benefit the business brand, or should they invest in both equally?
When you’re at that level with a team around you, your personal brand and business brand are both crucial. It’s not about a fixed percentage split like 30% personal and 70% business. Instead, focus on what you can manage effectively with the support of your team.
As a CEO, should you focus more on building your personal brand or on the business brand itself? Or would you recommend concentrating on the personal brand, with the expectation that the business brand will benefit naturally from it?
Absolutely. I think there’s no doubt that a strong personal brand naturally spills over into the business. When I’m on sales calls with people who are just starting out, I often see them struggle to grasp this concept. They want to grow their business, but haven’t fully developed their personal brand. However, if they focus on building their personal brand and increasing their visibility, more people will recognize them, and as a result, their business will grow. It’s about helping them understand that their business growth is directly linked to the strength of their personal brand.
How can sharing your daily experiences and challenges make content creation for personal branding easier and more authentic?
Effective communication, whether in sales or helping others, is crucial. If I had the chance, I would have pursued paid opportunities in public speaking during school. Nowadays, I still invest in courses to improve my skills. I focus on learning how others present themselves, especially in short, impactful ways. My goal is to inspire, entertain, or educate people in just a few minutes. Ultimately, my purpose is to inspire five people a day to take action, and speaking helps me achieve that.