Unlock Your Brand Potential: 5 Book Recommedations

Greetings and a heartfelt welcome to those who are new to LeapFrog Scientist.

My last post, Grow Your Brand in 5 Small Habits, gave you my list of small habits, with the first being “Read”. The 5 books that shaped my strategic approach to enhancing my personal brand are listed below. One of the books I included isn’t solely focused on branding but played a crucial role in setting up my LLC.

This isn’t your typical top 10 list of personal branding books. In fact, none of the books I’m about to share made it onto any list I’ve seen.

As a scientist, reading is likely a constant in your life, whether it’s for research, staying updated on the latest publications in your field, or enhancing your skills through training. Finding time to read outside of these areas can be challenging.

These five books aren’t tailored specifically for scientists, much like the seminars we attended in graduate school that covered topics outside our research focus. Initially, I grumbled about attending these sessions, feeling they took away from lab work. However, I experienced a lightbulb moment where I discovered valuable insights applicable to my research, offering fresh perspectives on the problems I was trying to solve.

To me these books resemble those seminars- while they may target artists, entrepreneurs, investors, and others, they contain valuable nuggets that can enhance your personal brand. Amidst the abundance of individuals on platforms like LinkedIn and other social media channels boasting about how personal branding propelled them to success, it’s challenging for scientists to envision how these strategies apply to their own brand.

This book is an enjoyable and straightforward read, packed with numerous valuable insights that I've been actively applying to cultivate my personal brand as a scientist. Here's why I find this book particularly appealing:

One standout point is 'The key is process, not product,' which resonates with me on multiple levels. Firstly, it underscores the notion that perfectionism can hinder progress.

Often, we delay sharing our work with the world in pursuit of flawlessness, yet true growth stems from embracing mistakes and learning from the iterative process. It's akin to the wealth of knowledge gleaned from failed experiments, which, if shared, can benefit others and prevent redundant efforts. Secondly, it highlights the importance of seizing opportunities without hesitation, rather than waiting indefinitely for ideal circumstances.

The book discusses these 10 principles:

• You don’t have to be a genius

• Think process, not product

• Share something small every day

• Open up your cabinet of curiosities

• Tell good stories

• Teach what you know

• Don’t turn into human spam

• Learn to take a punch

• Sell out - People need to pay the rent

• Stick around

2. The Almanac of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson

The author, Eric Jorgenson, built the Navalmanack from transcripts, tweets and talks that Naval Ravikant, renowned entrepreneur, investor, and philosopher, had shared over a decade providing wisdom and insights. Crafted to guide you along your individual journey towards a more fulfilling and prosperous life, this book is a treasure trove of invaluable advice.

One of Naval's key teachings is encapsulated in the phrase, "Specific knowledge cannot be taught, but it can be learned." This encompasses expertise in various domains such as marketing, sales, or delving deeply into your research area, akin to the dedication you exhibited during your dissertation.

Each individual possesses a unique reservoir of specific knowledge, shaped by their intrinsic passions, life experiences, and upbringing—a distinctive blend that forms part of their DNA and sets them apart.

A few highlights from the book.

“To make an original contribution, you have to be irrationally obsessed with something.”

“The best jobs are neither decreed or degreed. They are creative expressions of continuous learners in free markets.”

“Compound Interest applies to more than just compounding capital.” This also happens to your reputation. This builds overtime with your work and personal brand. A stellar reputation is more valuable than another highly skilled individual but who did not compound upon their reputation.

“Become the best at what you do. Refine what you do until this is true. Opportunity will seek you out. Luck becomes your destiny.”

“If you are a trusted, reliable, high-integrity, long-term-thinking dealmaker, when other people want to do deals but don’t know how to do them in a trust-worthy manner with strangers, they will literally approach you and give you a cut of the deal just because of the integrity and reputation you have built.”

3. Leapfrog- The New Revolution for Women Entrepreneurs By Nathalie Molina Nino

Patience may be a virtue when pursuing a new opportunity or growing your following, but it is not the case for succeeding as an entrepreneur.

Leapfrog: (v) To work around, leap over, or outsmart anything that gets in the way of succeeding as an entrepreneur, on your terms. (n) Any hack used to leapfrog: a clever, ethical means of leveling the playing field.

This book inspired the creation of Leapfrog Scientist.

Nathalie shares 50 proven hacks tailored for women entrepreneurs, yet my preferred strategies transcend gender boundaries and hold particular relevance for scientists to incorporate into their practices.

• Hack your inner “peer” circle - People to hold you accountable, believe in you and keep you going.

• Cash in on your woman card - This one is for women, and for men, it’s for the women in your lives. Certify your company as woman- and -minority (if applicable) owned with the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) program and the National Minority Supplier Development Council.

• Forget passion. Find things you want to punch. - Keep an eye out for frustrations or “PITAs” (pain in the ass’) in your daily life, as others may share your experiences. By finding solutions to these common irritations, you can create valuable fixes that have the potential to be lucrative opportunities.

• Passive income is sweaty work. - Passive income streams have a hustle at the front end that isn’t talked about.

• If you want friends, create controversy - Stand tall with your beliefs and get comfortable with pissing people off.

• Out-Kardashian the Kardashians -The new influencer marketing - Become the influencer by starting to be vocal on social media about what you know. Eventually you’ll build an audience that understands they’ll learn something by listening to you. You can start by participating in other people’s conversations until you are ready to start your own.

  4. Independent Contractor, Sole Proprietor, and LLC Taxes by Mike Piper, CPA

This was the first book I invested in upon establishing my LLC back in 2019, and it proved to be an invaluable resource for fledgling independent contractors. It’s one of the primary recommendations I extend to every newcomer in the realm of independent consulting.

Transitioning from academia and industry, I lacked insight into the intricacies of launching my own company- whether it was determining the opportune moment to transition to an S-Corp, understanding deductions, selecting retirement plans for small businesses, navigating startup costs, and more.

While the process initially seemed daunting, this book succinctly distilled the essentials of independent contracting into fewer than 100 pages, offering clarity and guidance.

Even for those merely contemplating a side venture, this book serves as an indispensable initial stride, unveiling the manifold of benefits of establishing an LLC— a topic I’ll delve further in a subsequent post.

5. Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon

Another book by Austin Kleon, that is an easy and fun read on how to unlock your creativity and share your good work with others. He highlights that nothing is original, and that you need to embrace influence and to learn from others. His ten things nobody told you about creativity include:

• Don’t wait until you know who you are to get started

• Write the book you want to read

• Side projects and hobbies are important

• Be boring (its the only way to get work done)

• Creativity is subtraction - This was my favorite and I will paraphrase the nuggets. In the age of information abundance and overload, those who get ahead are those figure out what to leave out, so they can concentrate on what’s really important to them. Don’t make excuses for not working. Create with the time, space and materials you have, right now. Dr. Seus won a bet with his editor that he couldn’t write a book with only 50 different words and wrote one of the bestselling children’s books of all time, Green Eggs and Ham.

I’d love to hear what books you are reading. Leave a comment below and let me know.

Remember that building a personal brand is an ongoing process of small habits and consistency.

Thanks for reading and I hope you found value and motivation to begin your personal brand journey. If you liked this post, please share with a friend and don’t forget to subscribe to get the latest posts direct to your inbox.

Chat soon,

Bonnie