How to Build your Personal Brand in this Digital age - Sahil Sachdeva #32

Join us in this episode of the Indian Community Podcast as we dive deep into the world of personal branding with Sahil Sachdeva, the dynamic entrepreneur behind LevelUp PR. 

Sahil discusses the importance and strategies of personal branding, shares his inspiring journey from various career attempts to establishing a successful PR firm, and offers valuable insights for anyone looking to build a strong personal brand in today's digital age. 

Learn about common mistakes in personal branding, the significance of social media, and the potential impacts of AI on the industry. Whether you're an entrepreneur, professional, or a budding personal brand, this episode is packed with actionable advice and motivation. Don't miss out!

Transcript

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 0:00

what is your definition of a personal brand

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 0:02

the way you walk, the type of clothes that you wear, how you present yourself, everything is your personal brand.

rahul-mehra_1_07-10-2024_101147: 0:08

some common mistakes that people make

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 0:10

trying to copy the other person.

rahul-mehra_1_07-10-2024_101147: 0:11

how important is social media and building a personal brand and which platforms do you recommend, focusing on

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 0:19

Hello and welcome to another episode of the Indian Community Podcast. Today we have an exciting guest with us, Sahil Sachdeva, the dynamic entrepreneur behind LevelUp PR. is an expert in personal branding, a crucial skill in today's digital age. He has also helped numerous individuals and businesses elevate their brands. and achieve their goals. In this episode, we'll deep dive into the world of personal branding, uncovering the strategies and insights that have made Sahil a sought after name in the industry. Whether you're an entrepreneur, a professional, or someone looking to build a strong personal brand, this episode is packed with valuable takeaways. So welcome to the Indian Community Podcast,

rahul-mehra_1_07-10-2024_101147: 1:13

Welcome, Sahil. Cool.

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 1:23

Excellent, Sahil. So Sahil, let's start off with your journey. And I believe, uh, I've seen a lot of interesting stuff about your journey, but it would be great to hear it from you yourself. And what inspired you to specialize in personal branding, uh, and, and set up level up PR. So can you take us through your history?

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 1:48

Definitely. So I think personal branding is something, you know, that I eventually came into. It was very organic for me. So like when I was child, you know, I used to dream that I want to become a pilot, you know, I want to do different things. So I explored a lot of different things in my life. Okay. So as a child, I was a go getter, you know, I was very stubborn that I used to just go behind things and get it. example, I remember a incident from my 10th class. early, you know, like I used to just cry and get things from my father. So in 10th class, me and my father, we had a bet that if I score more than 85%. He is going to get me my dream bike, which was R15. So I scored like 80, 87 percent in my, uh, board exams and I was able to get the bike. So at that point I realized if there's anything that you need in life, there's a price that you need to pay for it. Okay. And then I went to college after that. I, you know, did mechanical engineering as a, in my graduation. So that was something at that point. I was not even sure, you know, like what I want to do in my life. A lot of, you know, individuals like don't have, you know, that clarity, you know, even I did not have that clarity, like four years back from now, what I do want to do with my life. So I just keep kept trying, you know, different, different things. So in my college, I built a satellite with NASA sponsored competition. I was part of multiple societies. You know, I was leading some clubs, which were related to, you know, cars. I was leading a club, which was related to chemical society. So I used to, you know, be a leader everywhere. I used to organize events at my college as well. So all of that really helped me, you know, grow my leadership skills. So during my college, you know, I started my first startup was called Takens. So Takens was all about, you know, renting books. So initially we started with the idea of books that if someone wants to, you know, need need a thing for short period, you know, we started with the book, let's say you want to read a book, you don't want to buy it. And also for sustainability practices, like just rent a book from our platform, read it and return it. Okay. And my goal was to, you know, add everything on this platform, whether it's jewelry, whether it's laptops, you know, furniture, all those things. So we started building that platform and we initially started with books and I pitched to a lot of different investors. So I pitched it, you know, I was, although I was not able to grab any funding at that moment, I, I tried for over a year, like I had, you know, a team also. So we had a team from our college. So we tried for over a year and I thought this was going to be the next billion dollar company, it never happened. And you know, I just. Put my own some funds into it from, you know, what I made in my college. So in my college, I used to work as a counselor. So during, the summer vacations that we have, I used to work with my college and I used to, you know, people used to come for an admission to the college. I used to show them the college around. So I used to get like two 50 per day paid. So I made around six to 7, 000, you know. Uh, in a month. So I used to work for two to three months making like 20, 000. So I worked for a couple of years. So I had some savings for that savings. I put into my startup, although I did not make anything out of it. after my startup, know, it failed. I thought of doing different, different things. So I did some acting. So I started in a couple of, you know, music videos. I did a short movie. So that I felt really interesting. And I also thought that, you know, I could also explore singing because singing was like my childhood passion. I used to be a bathroom singer, you know, before that I had never sang publicly, I used to be singing in bathroom only. So I thought, let's just explore this also, because I am a person that, you know, does not want any regrets in my life. will explore and, you know, see if it's something for me. And if it doesn't work out, it's fine. I explored singing also, and I started liking it. then I learned from the best teachers in the town. I learned Bollywood songs. I learned the Indian classical, you know, English music as well. So once I was a little confident, I started performing in Cafes, bars, you know, wedding events for little to no money. you know, I used to get paid like I did. I had a lot of free shows at as well in the beginning to build my profile. And once I built my profile, I used to get paid like sometimes 3, 500 for a show, sometimes 5, 000, sometimes 8, 000, 10, 000. So I used to have my own band. So I did music for almost like two years. So I used to perform in different, different cafes. And then in back in 2020, COVID hit. So in COVID hit all the shows and everything got canceled. So at that moment, you know, I, everything came back to zero again. You know, I, wasn't able to grab any good college placement. I failed my tech startup at launch. And then this music thing also, you know, like failed because of the COVID thing. So again, I had to, you know, figure out something because I have a very restless energy, you know, I can't just sit idle. I want to do something with my time. you know, after that COVID thing, I my, you know, family business. My father has a family business. I started helping him in my free time and help them escalate his business. But, um, I found out that, you know, this business is something that, you know, I'm not really enjoying for me. It's also that, you know, I should love what I do. It's not just about money. So I helped him, you know, grow his business. And then I started exploring of more different things I could do with my time. So there was actually one comment on my Instagram. I was really good at marketing. You know, I was doing these shows here and there. I was putting out content on my social media. So there was just one comment who, you know, someone commented that Sahil you're, you're overhyped. Okay. Your marketing is too good for your music or your voice. So I was just an average musician because at that point I've only learned for like one and a half year. My voice was not the best. I agree, but I was doing good marketing. You know, I was Getting some, you know, I was getting known in the town that some new musician has came. So I took it in a positive way. I never, you know, get sad as at these like hating comments. So I saw a great opportunity here that I was good at marketing. So at that point, I thought, you know, like COVID is happening and there are no shows. Why not just, you know, use the skill of marketing and PR that I have. And help other musicians with growing their online presence. So at that moment, I, you know, decided that I will start a agency and I will help other musicians grow their online presence. So that's how it came to reality. And after that, it has been like a long journey, you know, like I never stopped. I helped so many musicians. And after that, I saw a great potential that entrepreneurs also need, you know, online branding. So we help people from different fields. We helped, you know, lawyers, real estate. Professionals, you know, different, different fields. Like we have it like top 1 percent entrepreneurs in 25 plus countries to build their personal brand. So after that, they're no looking back and we've come to a point where now we have. plus, employees who work with us, we have a 10, 000 square foot office building in Mali and everything was going well. And the goal is to be like the greatest PR firm.

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 9:18

Excellent. So, what I love about this story style is, uh, that a troll inspired you, uh, to, to become, uh, this right. So Thanks to all the troll.

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 9:29

Right.

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 9:29

We we we get our share of trolls as well. Uh, so Rahul and I, we receive a lot of comments and some of them are just like, you know, you said. Um, and it's, it's great to see how you use that, uh, positive, uh, energy of yours to convert that negativity into something, that, your parents would be proud of, right? Uh, to see, okay, yes, you know, you look at Sahil and see what he's setting up. Um, so it's, it's very inspiring

rahul-mehra_1_07-10-2024_101147: 9:56

Right.

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 9:59

So it's been great. You know, like after that, I've never looked back and we have been constantly growing from the moment I had no office. I literally started from my bed with little to no money to my name and then opening my first office in Ambala. So I actually belong to Ambala. And I moved to Chandigarh Mohali like a couple of years back. So I started in 2020. Then in 2021, opened my first office, which was like a 500 square foot office in Ambala. had my first employee over there. And then, I just wanted to move out of Ambala because it's a small town. You don't have a lot of talent over there. So I moved to Chandigarh in 2022. And then I opened my first office building. Then we have scaled from there. And I also got my parents moved here because, you know, they believe in my vision. They see that, you know, he's, you know, doing great. So we also closed a couple of businesses that we had in Ambala because they trusted my vision and all of the family moved to Chandigarh.

rahul-mehra_1_07-10-2024_101147: 10:59

That's cool.

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 10:59

That's, that's even cool. that's the, you know, so you not only built it, but you also proved it and you brought your family along. So that's, that's great.

rahul-mehra_1_07-10-2024_101147: 11:10

Getting the trust of parents at such a young age is a big thing. Yeah.

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 11:14

Right. I think I have to do it of course, for whatever they have, you know,

rahul-mehra_1_07-10-2024_101147: 11:18

Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. Sahil, I have a question that, uh, you know, why is personal branding so important in today's digital landscape? And how a strong personal brand impacts an individual's career or business.

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 11:37

Right. would say personal branding is really, really important because we need to understand that, know, people are relating with people and not business locals. Okay. Whenever, you know, we are interacting, it's not like two companies having a conversation. It's the people who are running these businesses. Right. So if you have a personal brand, you know, you are putting out content regularly on social media, like people tend to relate with you more. Right.

rahul-mehra_1_07-10-2024_101147: 12:02

Yes.

12:05

Aman gupta Aman gupta the founder of boat

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 12:12

getting in Shark Tank, getting so much, you know, free press, free marketing that they have to stop their campaign for three months, which is worth a lot of, you know, marketing dollars. is how powerful, you know, PR is for them. And even for me, I'll give you my own example. You know, I have. I think around 20 to 40 percent of the revenue that we get in our specific agency is because of the personal brand that I have in my company. If I am, I am going to, you know, let's say doing cold outreach from my personal account to a big entrepreneur that has like million of followers. Okay. And because of the, you know, presence that I have, because of, I've been on podcast, I've been on press outlets, I've been on a television show, I'm posting content consistently. These people tend to have a conversation with me. They tend to at least reply to me. If I was to do the same from a business account, they would, wouldn't do so, you know, the reply rate is where it is. So because of the personal brand I have, you know, they tend to trust us more and then deals are closed with more ease. So that's why it's so important to have a personal brand.

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 13:20

That's, that's great. So how would you define a personal brand? Because I think a lot of interpretations or definitions of a personal brand, right? If you ask 10, uh, Marketing or brand advisors will give you 10 different, uh, answers. So what is your definition of a personal brand and what are the key success, uh, pillars? To build, um, a personal brand.

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 13:48

My personal brand definition would be that, um, the moment you step out of your house, I would say, or even, you know, you're within the house, you know, that is your personal brand, the way you walk, you know, the type of clothes that you wear, how you present yourself, the ethics that you have, you know, that you, that your company runs on, or the ethics that you have, you know, the way you talk to others. You know, everything is your personal brand. The people that you hang around with, everything is your personal brand. So you have to be very conscious about it. And the main thing here is that have to be authentic. We see a lot of people, you know, they have a different personal life and then they have a different, know, the way they are seen on social media is different. I think that's where it gets difficult. know, like faking is quite difficult. I would say you have to be authentic, just be your real self. And even if you have failed in life, you know, even if you have low memory, long moments, you need to be authentic, you know, you can share it on social media because people tend to relate more. So just be authentic and whatever you are, you know, present that. I would say. the best possible manner and people will relate to you more. I think the best content pillars are the best, um, would be that you have to be authentic, first of all. So be present, whatever you are, and then be consistent in the approach. So be consistent, maintain what you have. It shouldn't be that at one moment, you were saying this and another moment you're saying this. So be consistent in your brand voice and be also consistent in your, online presence, like, you know, be consistently showing up. So be omnipresent, be on all the platforms. And get most attention because if you want to make more money, I would say, you know, get attention. Attention is the biggest currency,

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 15:36

No, absolutely. And I, I loved one, one part of your statement where you mentioned, um, it is who you are at home. It is who you actually are, right? Your personality, uh, is your personal brand. And, uh, you know, the way you're, you're with your friends, uh, that's, that's also building your personal brand. It's not, uh, You know, you know, they

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 16:06

right?

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 16:07

people have, uh, split personalities, right? Uh, and, and that is probably sometimes leading to a, a fake personal brand. But I, I love the way that, uh, you, you visualized it for us, so thank you. Yeah.

rahul-mehra_1_07-10-2024_101147: 16:23

Sahil, uh, can you put some light on some common mistakes that people make when trying to build their personal brand and how these mistakes can be avoided or corrected?

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 16:34

I think the common mistakes that people make when building their personal brand is, um, I think they just get You know, what the other person is doing, like, you know, getting distracted, you know, like trying to copy the other person. Like, you know, you're trying to become a person who you are not. It's great that you take, you know, inspiration from other people who are doing great in the industry, who have great personal brands, that's not you. You have to see that what is your story. Okay. So be authentic, as I said before, you know, like share your own story because every story is different and every story is unique. Okay. So you come up with your own story and you share it. make a mistake of trying to be someone else that you're not, because people will not be able to relate with you. So just be authentic. And I think this is, this is the easiest thing to do. Of course it's, it sounds, you know, very, would say it's difficult, but it's very simple when it comes to it. Yeah. You just have to be yourself. You know, you don't have to be just someone else.

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 17:42

But

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 17:43

difficult. I think it's way simple.

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 17:45

it's easy to say this, right? And I'm going to throw a curve ball back at you, uh, because a lot of people are also shy. You know, uh, they have this syndrome or there's, there is this fear of what will people think? Uh, are people going to judge me? Uh, especially when you are starting off, you know, once you've, you've been in the game for some time, then you, you develop thick skin, right? But when you are initially starting off, there is this jajak that everybody has. Everybody's, uh, reluctant to kind of get started. And I think a lot of people are not building their own personal brands is because they're judging themselves even more than others. So what do you do in such situations, especially when somebody comes to you and says, I want to be a personal brand, but I'm, I'm very conscious of myself.

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 18:38

I think this is again, the mindset issue, of course. So if you look at my personal videos, and if you look at my content, like I wasn't this confident always, you know, I used to suck at speaking. Like there was a time when I used to, you know, do public speaking. I wasn't able to speak like 30 seconds on stage. I had no content. to the time, you know, I have spoken for multiple companies, like given speeches for like 20 minutes without, you know, stopping. So I think it's a mindset issue that we need to fix that. We need to understand that whenever we're going to do something for the first time, we're going to suck. Okay. So anything that we're doing for the first time, we're going to suck at the beginning and we're not going to be the best self. So I think this is a mindset issue that don't focus on being perfect. Okay. We need to start gathering proof. need to do more, you know, bowls. We need to do just more reps. Once you do more repetitions, you just start getting better at it. So I think this is a mindset that we explain to people, or we tell people that it's okay, you know, you're going to suck at the beginning. Just keep that in your mind, just keep improving at every single step. Okay. So just keep getting better, optimize and see where you can improve and just keep Keep growing. Okay. So for example, people come to us for a PR plan, right? I mean, I wouldn't just get them on a public speaking stage directly, right? So we create like a roadmap for them. So initially I think the most comfortable that people are with is, you know, written form of content. Okay. So we interview our clients and we create some sort of written content in their brand voice, and then we send it back to them for approval. They edit it in their voice and then we post it. Once someone is comfortable with, you know, written form of content, um, we can also start exploring little things like them into, let's say, podcasts. Okay. Podcasts could be a range. Once they're comfortable with the podcast, we could put them up on a speaking stage. Also, we have had clients who were on Josh talks, TEDx. So it's a step by step thing that, you know, they need to take checklist slowly and slowly. So,

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 20:46

steps one day at a time.

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 20:49

right.

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 20:50

That's good. So, uh, I, uh, we have all grown up reading, uh, one beautiful book, uh, called a rich dad, poor dad. And the author of that book, Mr. Robert Kiyosaki, you recently helped him get 10 million impressions in less than two weeks. was so fascinated by that when you told me about that. And can you share with this audience, Uh, first is how you did that and, uh, how was your, uh, meeting with Robert Kiyosaki? What was that takeaway? What did you learn? this man has taught pretty much everybody in this world, right? Whoever has read that book and you got an opportunity to work so closely with him. So one is how did you get him those impressions? And second is, uh, what did you learn from him?

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 21:43

Right. So, uh, I got an opportunity to work with Robert Kiyosaki back in September, August last year, when he was coming to India for a growth summit. So the producers of this event, you know, growth summit, they reached out to me on LinkedIn. So they might have just organically searched, you know, like a personal branding expert or a PR expert and they just found my profile Okay, so there they reached out to me They told me that you know, they're doing this huge event and they want to do some PR around it Okay, so we had a great conversation, you know, we showed them this is what we could do and we had a great collaboration So we discussed and the guys needed some help with digital press some podcast They wanted some press at the event So we did all of that and we arranged some great podcasts for Robert Kiyosaki. So, um, the 10 million thing impressions is that when we, you know, whenever we are working with the client, it's really important to understand, uh, who this person would fit the best for. Okay. Since Robert was very into the finance field, like real estate or finance money related. So we pitched to multiple people who were great, you know, In this specific field. Okay. So we reached out to Sharan and finance with Sharan. He has more than, I think, two or 3 million followers on So of course, you know, he was really excited to do it. So we made that podcast collaboration happen and it was short and it really went viral all over the internet. So finance for Sharan had a podcast for them. We had Beer Biceps did a podcast for them. Then there's another channel called Seekern, you know, they did a podcast for them and. All of the reels, everything went really viral and he reached like 10 million plus impressions in around two weeks. So that was a great experience working with him. And course I have like grown up reading his book. So I never thought, you know, I would get an opportunity to work with him. So maybe it's like, you know, the universe just sent me an opportunity and was all ready to make use of it, get the best out of it. a lot of learnings from him, of course, that, you know, you have to be wise with your money. Invested in real estate. So that's what I have done. I invested in my office building. So has grown by would say more than 150 percent now so invested in real estate. So a lot of great learnings, you know, I great guy had a great time with him were like 5 000 plus people So build some great connections with their

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 24:19

Nice, nice. Yeah, that's that's definitely a dream come true, especially for a lot of people in our generation who've kind of grown up reading that book. Um, so, um, I, I think a lot of people are also going to be jealous of you, uh, to have had the opportunity to work so closely with Robert. So yeah, great stuff.

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 24:41

right So that's what i've been focusing on, you know Like robert sir teaches that you have to be a business owner and you have to focus on things that you know make the business grow. So you have to be like more of a visionary. So at this stage, I'm trying to be more of a person who is, you know, like looking from a, like bird's of view, like, you know, what's happening overall and delegating as much as possible. So at this stage I focus on doing mostly the sales, you know, like the last goals in my business and everything else is taken care by my team. So just focusing on building a business that serves me. And not, you know, like serving the other way around.

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 25:21

Got it.

rahul-mehra_1_07-10-2024_101147: 25:22

Sahil, uh, my next question is a very basic one, but a very important one. I want to ask you how important is social media and building a personal brand and which platforms do you recommend, focusing on? Yes.

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 25:40

wise, it really depends. Okay. So first of all, like why social media is important. So back in the times, you know, like when there was no social media, That time so different, but now that everybody is on social media on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, people are searching you up on Google, right? So it's, it's just like your digital card, you know, like I don't use a physical card anymore. Whenever I'm going to events, you know, I just give them my Instagram, my LinkedIn, we connect there, right? So whenever people are looking up, you need to make sure that you are, you know, creating a narrative or you're having an online presence that someone is impressed by, because if your social media is not impressive enough, you know, you are not creating content, you don't have the numbers, like will be very less likely to, you know, buy your product or have a conversation or, you know, be inspired. invested in you. Okay. So that's why social media is really important. So create as much content as possible around who you are as a person, you know, share your values, uh, you could share some, you know, educational topics around your industry. Let's say if someone is into like a lawyer, okay. They could share some news about lows. You know, what's happening new in their industry. If someone is, going through the specific situation, this is what they could do. So start creating educational stuff around who you are, what you do, and anything valuable that you think. So that is going to help you build your social media. And coming to the platform side, uh, it really depends, you know, what type of audience you want to cater to. Let's say if you are into more of a business to business thing, is going to be a great platform. Okay. So like a lot of business owners are active on LinkedIn. So maybe you can start building a thought leadership profile over there. So maybe like written form of content. And if you are someone who is in the B2C space, you, you know, interact with young audience and a lot of consumers, like a broad one, you could go to Instagram or Facebook. Instagram is good. And if you are someone who is, you can decide, you know, you, if you like writing more, I think is better, or you can go for Twitter also. And if you are someone like who is more into visual content, videos, then I think Instagram is for you. decide, you know, what your audience is about and the type of content that you are comfortable doing. So based on that, you can decide.

rahul-mehra_1_07-10-2024_101147: 28:12

Okay. I really liked actually, when you said that, you know, Instagram. These are your business cards today.

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 28:21

Yeah.

rahul-mehra_1_07-10-2024_101147: 28:22

That's a very big statement that you made. In fact, actually, if we look at it, if you think about it seriously, then we'll get to know that, you know, what we are missing. If we are not putting ourselves regularly on those.

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 28:34

Hmm,

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 28:35

Right. I've built so many great relationships, you know, just through my social media. I'll tell you, I've closed deals worth, you know, 25, 000 all through Instagram DMs only. Like messaging the other person, you know, like cold DMing, having a little bit of conversation, bringing them on a discovery call, creating a customized strategy and presenting them a plan all through, you know, like an Instagram cold DM. So it's a gold mine of opportunity, I can say. So if you know how to use it the right way, you can make a lot of money on social media, like, but people are just wasting, you know, like their time scrolling through reels, you know, watching funny cats and dogs videos.

rahul-mehra_1_07-10-2024_101147: 29:14

So see, there's a lot, you know, consumers and sellers. So you are the seller and other people are consumers.

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 29:22

you, you need the consumers too. So let's not, complain about them And, and at one time of the day, Rahul and me, we are both consumers.

rahul-mehra_1_07-10-2024_101147: 29:32

Big consumers.

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 29:35

The link is in the description.

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 29:36

So s you know, the, the fun part is, uh, Rahul and me also started off, uh, this. So we, we are friends from a long, long time, right? 20 years. But, uh, you know, friends will send reels to each other, to reels, reels, you know, we, we started talking and then we said, okay, let's, let's talk about work. Also, sometimes reels, reels. And then we eventually came together and, and started this, right? So so that is also important.

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 30:06

Right. We just need to find the right balance. I believe.

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 30:12

So, Sahil, uh, now the industry around us is changing dramatically. We, we are all seeing AI, um, it has knocked on our doors, even opened many doors now. And there's, there's ChatGPT and so many other platforms out there which are enabling people to create content, you know, very easily. Um, we are also seeing a creator economy where, uh, a lot of people are going on to. Uh, YouTube and Insta and TikTok and Snapchat and all of these platforms to kind of become, uh, personal brands in their own rights, right? Uh,

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 30:49

Right.

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 30:50

you know, women who are, you know, selling products from their basements, In just based on the personal brand that they're creating. Or men who are selling perfumes or even makeup and accessories, uh, from different parts of the world. So we are seeing a lot of people do all these different things. So there's a big push towards becoming personal. Everybody's going in that creator economy space. So five years and then 10 years down the line, how do you. Because you know, visualize what's going to be the future, right? Today, we see companies as large companies, right? So these are large companies. And now I'm seeing individual solopreneurs kind of going out there and creating their own, uh, enterprises and pretty much million dollar companies of two people, three people organizations, right? So how are you, uh, and what is the trend that you're seeing in the industry, especially when you're talking to people, where do you think? This is going to be in the next five to 10 years. And is this going to be an overly crowded, saturated market? Are you, what are your predictions?

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 32:10

I think like personal branding has been growing like since the last out, I think three to four years now and continuing to grow, you know, like people are focusing more on this. I think people who are consistent with their brand voice, you know, who are doing this ethically, who have some sort of depth in their content, they are continuing to grow. Like there's like, there's a lot of, I would say, you know, like a lot of people are just copying and pasting a lot of this AI content, like there's no depth to it. I think those people will, you know, slowly get, you know, out of the process because they wouldn't see results. And so many people are just trying to become creators or, you know, like influencers. Just for, you know, like that short term kick short term gain. So that's not something I think going to happen. So of course we'll see some people, you know, like rise, there will be some people who will leave this, but branding is going to stay. And I think it's going to, of course, help people build seven, eight figure companies, would say not nine figure companies, because. nine figure is something that, you know, um, it's more of a tech and automated thing. Like personal brand can only do so much. So if you're something who are in like a service based business, I think personal brand is a great opportunity for you.

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 33:28

Got it. Yeah. I see that too, right? I see that a lot of individuals are trying out, but they're not being consistent. So

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 33:38

Right.

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 33:39

of consistency also starts hurting. And then, you know, eventually you, you taper off and you don't do it. Uh, but

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 33:46

I think people what, sorry, people, what they do is, you know, like they're trying to get, they do so much just to get the attention. they're, they're not doing enough to be great at what they want to do. Okay. So just focus on, you know, being good at your art also, not just focus on getting the attention and putting more of it. So you have to balance out and, you know, be great and then try to get attention, the other way around. I

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 34:14

And I think the, if I have to summarize everything that you have said to us today, right, being authentic, being consistent, being present and, and, and being really good at what you do. So if you look at the examples of the food farmer, right, he's really good at the, the knowledge that he has about the labels and, and the products. And he's so consistently out there, uh, audaciously speaking about these brands. And, uh, he's able to get that attention. He's built up Brand in a very, very short time. Um, so I think there is an opportunity. But as you said, you have to be authentic and you have to be consistent. um, as if you look at the one is the creator. We also spoke a little bit about the consumer and in many, Parts of the world, we will call it the communities, right? So we, for example, are the Indian community, right? So how important is building a community to personal branding? Is there a relationship? Is there, is there, do you see that connection between building a tribe or a community of people? who love you and who, who, who follow you and want to listen to you and want to see you more often. How, and how do you recommend somebody starts building one? Because initially you don't have a community, right? So you're going to start with one and then it's going to slowly grow. So what are the steps you would recommend?

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 35:46

would think that the best steps to build a community is providing free value. Okay. Like everybody can, you know, work with me, not everybody can work with you because. Let's see off the price points. Okay. I think content is what, you know, like is going to help you build a community. So that's why I, you know, spend so much money on the content. A lot of people, you know, out there, you know, spend so much money on the content side. Big just to build a community, just to build like a loyal tribe of people. Okay. So provide as much value as possible because it's going to come back to you. You know, let's say, you know, it's always come back to you. It might not come from the same person that you are trying to deliver, you know, that content to, or that value to, but it would come to you from, you know, another person in the world. always focus on, you know, giving value as much as possible without, you know, thinking of how it's going to come back to me. Okay. So just focus on giving, giving, giving. And what you deserve, I think will come back to you. So that's what I have been doing, coming back to me. And recently I like to mention that we've also adopted a few children whom we are sponsoring their education. it always comes back, you know, focus on providing to your community, focus on providing for your family, your friends. that's what is always going to come back.

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 37:06

so give before you get, so, so before you is your mantra.

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 37:12

Yes. Right.

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 37:13

Excellent. Excellent. So wonderful, uh, Sahil. Um, I, I, I really appreciate you giving us your time, uh, sharing all these incredible insights. We're going to keep knocking on your door regularly, uh, to listen in, tune into what you're doing. Uh, maybe next time you're meeting up Robert Kiyosaki, uh, you know, we'll, we'll welcome him and host him on the Indian community podcast as well. Uh, and, uh, uh, I I'm really thrilled to see how. You shared your story, right? Uh, your, you started off with your failures and all your attempts. And then of course, now you, you're at a pay place where I would definitely call it as success. Uh, you know, and success is because now your parents are also, with you and they're also enjoying the dream that you're, you're building together. Right. So I, I think This is, this is really wonderful and um, it's a pleasure to have you on the show. Uh, we wish you all the best and your team at, uh, level Up success, you know, um, and we, we wanna make sure that, uh, our listeners find you. So, uh, all the links to, uh, sales, uh, Instagram account, LinkedIn account and IS website will be in as part of the description and the comments below, so that we make sure that people find you. Uh, and of course, they'll find you irrespective, uh, you know, if they just type your name, uh, they'll, they'll find you, but we'll, we'll add the links on this as well. And any, last comments from you for, uh, the Indian community, because you've been seeing what we've been doing and, uh, what we're trying to do here, we're trying to, uh, bring the community together. Uh, in one global platform. Um,

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 38:53

Right.

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 38:53

are thoughts and observations on on us?

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 38:58

I would say, uh, I'm really glad of what you're doing. I've had the pleasure of, you know, watching a few of your shows. Like I watched the one that you did with the women founder, I think of RTHVI so the great content that you're putting out, it's, it's great. And I think Indians are doing really well all over the world. We are, leading some of the biggest companies. So it's going to grow my message to any Indians out there, you know, who are listening to the show is that, um, if there's anything that you wanted to, you know, in this world, Um, you can do it like there's nothing, you know, that's out of your league. So just go for it and you would find the way you will find the way. And if you don't find the way, just, you know, seek for help. Like there are so many people like, you know, mentors, you can reach out to me. If there's something I can help with, you know, Ahmed Rahul. just, you know, have that vision, just go for it and you will make it big.

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 39:54

Excellent. And yes, and if you're in Mohali Chandigarh, uh, please stop by to Siles office. I'm sure he'll treat you some, uh, to some good lassi, uh, and also share some good personal branding insights with you.

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 40:07

Definitely. I also know you love Chole Bhature.

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 40:14

now, uh, the secret is out, right? That's, that's true. Chole Bhature is one of our favorites too.

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 40:21

No worries. I'll make sure that I have that in the menu as well.

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 40:25

Oh yes. And Chole Bhature, especially if you're in Punjab, right? I think that is at a very different level altogether. Uh,

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 40:32

Yeah.

amit-gupta_1_07-10-2024_131147: 40:33

another league. Excellent. Thank you so much,

rahul-mehra_1_07-10-2024_101147: 40:37

Thank you, Zahid.

sahil_1_07-10-2024_224147: 40:40

Thank you so much for having me.