"Start branding yourself. The long and short of it is - you have a personal brand."
Megan MacNeill Tweet
Meet Megan Macneill, founder of Relevant.
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We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Megan MacNeill: Thank you, Jerome. My name is Megan MacNeill. I’m just your regular Scottish lass living the dream in Western Australia making sure that everyone has the skills and confidence to take control of their own personal brand before someone else brands them. Because they will. I moved to Australia in 2012 and have had a couple of in-house brand manager and CEO positions in the not-for-profit sector before deciding I wanted to work with more people.
Working in the not-for-profit sector you are often short on resources including money so you have to get creative with your marketing. I seemed to always lean into branding and getting great PR results for the CEOs, Presidents and Chairs within an organisation which in turn boosted the actual organisation. It wasn’t until I listened to a podcast many years later that I realised I wasn’t a general marketer. I am a personal branding expert. And I have been helping entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs build their brands to increase their influence and have a real impact where it matters to them.
2020 and 2021 threw a lot of curve balls into business on a global scale. Based on the experience gleaned in the past couple years, how can businesses thrive in 2022? What lessons have you learned?
Megan MacNeill: 2020 and 2021… where to start. I mean it’s 2022 and I still want to write 2020. And I don’t think I am the only one. The past two years have been a blur. Full of uncertainty. There is one thing I have learned and it is that the only thing you can really rely on is yourself. You have to back yourself because no one else will and when the going gets tough everyone is in panic mode and if you keep steady you will survive. We tend to make silly decisions when we feel uneasy. That’s why the majority of people can’t trade stocks, as soon as the line turns red they panic and pull their money. You have to stay the course and trust in yourself and patiently wait it out. Nothing lasts forever, good or bad!
The pandemic seems to keep on disrupting the economy, what should businesses focus on in 2022? What advice would you share?
Megan MacNeill: Start branding yourself. The long and short of it is – you have a personal brand. Every single person does. It is what people think, feel and say about you. If you stay in the shadows people will either make up what they believe to be true or even worse, they will forget about you. You have to take hold of your brand so you are in control of the narrative. And don’t make the assumption that personal branding is only for extroverts. We aren’t talking about becoming TikTok famous, we are talking about being industry famous. Having influence where it matters and creating a positive impact on the things you care about. Otherwise you are swept up in what others want for you and usually that is to their benefit and not yours.
How has the pandemic changed your industry and how have you adapted?
Megan MacNeill: Before the pandemic I would say Personal Branding and people ran for the hills. The assumption was that it was gimmicky and for celbs. Not having those face-to-face interactions in the ‘real world’ put a stop to that. Suddenly everyone realised that if they hadn’t already been cultivating their personal brands they needed to or they would be forgotten.
What advice do you wish you received when the pandemic started and what do you intend on improving in 2022?
Megan MacNeill: I wish someone had told me that I had to put as much work into my own personal brand as I do for my clients. But it is the same for everyone, right? The plumber always has a leak at home and the social media manager always forgets to post on her own socials.
This year I plan to put as much effort into my brand as I do for others.
Online business surged higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for 2022?
Megan MacNeill: I expect a hybrid. So many big players have invested in the technology to be able to do things remotely that I can’t see that stopping anytime soon. It is more cost and time effective. But we are human and we love real face-to-face connection so I think there will be more focus on high-level in person events that will replace lots of meetings about meetings. We value our time more now and we aren’t leaving the home office unless it is worth it for us.
How many hours a day do you spend in front of a screen?
Megan MacNeill: Too many! I have structured my business since having a baby in October 2021 so that I work 3 days a week. I try to keep one day for in-person meetings and events and two days for working on my laptop. My coaching clients are all over the world so the majority of my sessions are actually done in front of a screen. This was my reality way before the pandemic.
The majority of executives use stories to persuade and communicate in the workplace. Can you share with our readers examples of how you implement that in your business to communicate effectively with your team?
Megan MacNeill: I use stories everywhere. They are at the core of personal branding after all. Externally it is a major part of my brand and how I explain to people what it is I do and what working with me will look like. I am fortunate to have a team that gets this and understands the power of storytelling too and that is probably because we connect as much as we can and talk. I want to inspire my team to work with me and do the best they can for our clients. I can’t achieve this through long emails or dot points. I take the time to paint a picture of each client and what their needs are so we share the same vision.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as the real challenge right now?
Megan MacNeill: The real challenge right now is to ride this forward momentum and not to go back to ‘normal’ now that the world is opening up and we are returning to the office. Technology has come leaps and bounds thanks to the pandemic so take advantage of it. It has never been cheaper to try, fail and go again than it is right now.
In 2022, what are you most interested in learning about? Crypto, NFTs, online marketing, or any other skill sets? Please share your motivations.
Megan MacNeill: I have been an amateur day trader for a couple of years now so Crypto and NFTs intrigue me but I still don’t have my head around them fully. I do have a couple of NFTs that I bought as collector’s items for my baby – who knows, perhaps in 18 years’ time, they will make him a millionaire! My goal in life is freedom. Financial and time freedom so investing has always interested me as I see it as a way to make my money work for me and to allow me some freedoms.
A record 4.4 million Americans left their jobs in September in 2021, accelerating a trend that has become known as the Great Resignation. 47% of people plan to leave their job during 2022. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued and misunderstood in the workplace. Do you think leaders see the data and think “that’s not me – I’m not that boss they don’t want to work for? What changes do you think need to happen?
Megan MacNeill: Most will be thinking that, we rarely see ourselves as others do. I find the best way to keep my team engaged is to stay interested in them (professionally and personally) and help them grow. If you treat people like a number they will eventually walk. The pandemic hasn’t created this, it has just amplified it. There is a figure that floats around that basically says people will stay a little longer when you offer them more money but they will still leave. If you offer them a community and actually treat them well, they will stay.
I am already seeing some big businesses make changes. Some throw bonus as people to keep them but they still leave. Some are implementing better structures that create flexible working and are investing in their people through training, events and growing them as individuals rather than throwing money at them. Those are the companies that will keep their people.
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
Megan MacNeill: Delegation. I have an amazing team and I am still learning to let go of the things that they are better at than me. I don’t need to be involved in everything. I am a big thinking and your ideas person. Unfortunately, half these ideas don’t leave my brain because I am still stuck in a lot of the doing when really I should be passing it on. Saying it out loud has made me realise I need to get better at this.
What does “success” in 2022 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Megan MacNeill: Success this year means connection. Connection with friends and family I haven’t seen since before the pandemic and connection to like-mined business owners. We do everything better when we are surrounded by the right people.
Jerome Knyszewski, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Megan MacNeill for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Megan MacNeill or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
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