Before sharing my personal experience, I want to first define what I understand as a "personal brand" and how it differs from entrepreneurship. In one class, a student asked a question: "In all the talks you've given, has anyone ever asked the wrong question?" I thought about it, and honestly, I don't think things in this world are that absolute. I don't interpret any questions people raise as "wrong"—rather, it's that our thinking differs, so we need to communicate and understand each other.
Someone once asked me if entrepreneurship and personal branding are the same thing. I believe they're different because the starting point is different. In today's era, a personal brand is something you're passionate about that possesses three qualities:
First, expertise
Second, passion
Third, it helps others
Actually, in this creative era, the definition of "expertise" has become more personalized and broader.
In the past, we believed that "expertise" required licenses, certifications, or over a decade of experience in an industry to be considered "professional" or "expert." This caused many people, when wanting to share their knowledge, to worry about being challenged, facing trolls, or being criticized—all because they lack confidence in themselves.
But expertise can be understood differently: "combining your knowledge with personal insights and background to communicate to someone in a completely unfamiliar field." This means that as long as you have a certain level of understanding in a field or about something, you can communicate that to someone completely unfamiliar with it. You don't necessarily need to be a traditional professional with very deep academic knowledge; you can often explain it to others in simpler, more understandable ways.
Of course, many people wonder: does simply sharing basic industry knowledge count as expertise? I believe in this era, the answer is absolutely yes. Don't worry about taking that step.
For example:
Television reporters use "directional microphones," so when holding the mic, it must be pointed at the interviewee's mouth or voice source. If the direction is wrong, even if you're very close, the audio will be muffled or inaudible. Conversely, if the direction is correct, even if someone speaks very softly, you'll pick up the audio clearly.
This skill is extremely basic and simple in the media industry. Of course, if you share it with colleagues, you'll definitely be laughed at; but if you're talking to someone completely unfamiliar with the industry, it becomes professional knowledge. So when you're starting to build your personal brand, the simplest and easiest way to begin is by observing the details around you. What you think is simple may be a professional skill in someone else's eyes. So no matter what, don't underestimate yourself, because
"The world doesn't lack professionals—it lacks people willing to share."
When you continue doing something you love, perhaps initially no one will be willing to pay for what you create. But because you have passion, even if people don't pay you, you're willing to invest your time and keep going. Eventually, someone will notice your talents and be willing to pay for your skills. Your income will grow exponentially, not linearly. Before it happens, you may not be able to imagine it, but if you stick to your beliefs, over time, the world will repay everything you've invested.
But entrepreneurship is about "production, sales, personnel, innovation, and finance." You have a product, you need to manage revenue, costs, employees, and find buyers willing to spend money on your thing. Only then do you have income. You also have to deal with payroll, taxes, and other administrative matters. Of course, managing a personal brand doesn't mean you won't encounter these issues, but the mindset is completely different. Entrepreneurs have a business vision and goals—they want to lead employees and change society. But a personal brand is about having a skill and passion that makes people notice you and willing to pay for your expertise. So I believe entrepreneurship is about people chasing money, while personal branding is about money finding you.
# Creating Personal Value: Start by Understanding Yourself
Therefore, if you want your value and talents to be seen, before you take action, I want you to pay attention to the details of your life. Is there something you love so much that you spend time on it every day without thinking about it? Something that makes you lose track of time? If so, that's your calling.
If you can't think of anything, I recommend using the "WPV principle"—consider what you're "good at," what you're "passionate about," and what "has value for society and others." Find the intersection of these three things, and I believe you'll suddenly discover that you actually have resources, and you have the opportunity to create your own path.
Using myself as an example: my day job is as a text journalist. I used to write over seven articles a day, and I've taken on many different types of projects—like writing fun and pet news stories. In 2016, I also worked as a ghostwriter, helping authors publish personal books through interviews and written documentation. I can write both in-depth research articles and relaxed lifestyle pieces. Over five years, I've accumulated over 3,000 articles of various types. I can say writing is something I'm quite good at. Based on actual data, starting from the headline, I can complete a 1,000-word article in just 15 minutes using my phone.
Later, I discovered that writing does more than just help me organize my thoughts—most importantly, it relieves stress. Some people find writing articles painful, but for me, writing is genuinely therapeutic. If I have something I want to express but no one to understand, I spend time writing it out. If I don't write, I get anxious—that's "passion."
When I first started my WordPress blog, the articles were themed "Rookie Workplace Observations," documenting my feelings from the perspective of someone in their 90s entering the workforce and facing setbacks. The articles were republished by several media outlets, and I received a lot of feedback from fresh graduates. Some managers even messaged me, saying they'd recommend my articles to new employees, hoping they'd adjust their mindset through my writing. As I received positive feedback, beyond feeling a sense of accomplishment, I discovered that helping others through my articles was truly the most important thing.
Many people misunderstand "having value for society and others." Most people's first instinctive reaction to "value" is "being able to make money." I really can't agree with that thinking. While money is certainly important and can quickly solve problems, "value" can also represent personal image, influence, appeal, and networks—things that no amount of money can truly establish. Real relationships can't be bought.
I also want to share that finding your personal positioning is absolutely not about staying put and studying information, learning everything about a field first, and then starting to search. Finding yourself comes from accumulating life's small moments. Don't just imagine things, don't just look at data, don't just listen to what others say—you absolutely must actually try things out. Only by executing and trying can you know where your bottlenecks are, filter out what you like and dislike, and eventually draw an outline. Then concentrate your energy in that direction so you can keep moving forward.
# Starting a Personal Brand: Overcoming Your Inner Demons
"I'm not looking for massive reach; I think I'm still halfway through my journey." This is what Xu Quan, founder of XChange, earning 7 million New Taiwan dollars annually and working at an international corporation, said. It's not just humility. When he wanted to publish his book, he asked me to read it first and give advice. I thought it had great reference value for young workplace professionals. Few people approach job selection with such strategy. Yet before publishing his work, Xu Quan doubted himself—unsure if his perspectives were too personal, uncertain if he could really help others.
Another example is my college friend who worked in mainland China for five years as a department director. About 1-2 years ago, he asked me to look at his articles because he wanted to "start writing casually." This friend has given me substantial help at crucial points in my life and career, solving many of my doubts. So when I had the ability to give back, I worked hard—really hard—adjusting his article structure, hoping more people would see his work. Yet he worried that "my methods are too personal; I might mislead people."
Both these friends have high social status in their careers, yet when facing publishing their personal views and articles, they also experienced doubt. From them, you can understand that breaking through personal barriers is difficult, but such feelings are completely normal. Don't worry—you're not alone.
# Personal Branding: It Won't Matter if You Don't Do It, But It Will Be Very Different if You Do
How powerful is building a personal brand? I reviewed my "two lives" since entering the workforce:
| Year | Full-time Career | Side Hustle |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Social Media Editor | Online Reselling |
| 2016 | PR Specialist | Ghostwriter |
| 2016.10 | TV Station Intern | Gig Economy |
| 2017 | TV Station Local Reporter | Slash Career |
| 2018 | TV Station Text Journalist | Personal WordPress Website |
| 2019 | Personal Brand – Remote Work | |
| 2020 | Online News Program Host | Creator |
# Turning Setbacks Into Nourishment: Creating Your Own Work Rather Than Working for Others
In 2017, I took on ghostwriting work to help a university student publish a book, and I also regularly worked as a freelance reporter for online news media. This became my starting point for writing as additional income.
As a freelance reporter, my workload was one news article per day, paid per piece. Over 30 days a month, besides my full-time salary, I earned over 10,000 New Taiwan dollars. For someone with a low full-time salary who needed to cover rent, student loans, family mortgage, and insurance, it felt like manna from heaven. But good times don't last. After a year, the company I worked with decided to cut freelance rates. My daily output increased from one to two articles, earning 20,000 per month—but the per-article rate was cut to 60% of the original. The original freelance rate was already very low in the industry, but at that time, to make ends meet, I could accept it. However, with long-term cooperation and stable traffic, asking to cut the rate was unacceptable.
The reason was simple: I didn't want the value of freelance writing work to be diminished, and I wasn't willing to be the reason a company's quality declined. If the company only needed more articles without caring about more traffic, they didn't really need me. If they wanted more traffic, then cutting my pay was truly disrespectful.
I was grateful when a friend advised me: "You need to accumulate your own work. Why not go unpaid and write a column under your own name? Wouldn't that be more meaningful for your long-term development?" So I signed on to write a media column and started my personal brand journey.
You need to understand that even when you're struggling financially, you must maintain your dignity and stick to your own path. When you encounter someone diminishing your value, you might doubt whether you're not good enough, fear expressing yourself clearly, and even avoid communication. Yet hiding away and self-criticizing won't help.
Though such wounds heal, scars remain. Instead, if you face things positively, understand your own needs, and use setbacks and hurt from others as nourishment and fertilizer to stand up again, you'll become stronger. I can say this with certainty because the "pay-cut incident" inspired me to think differently and start creating my own work.
# Anonymous Platform Posts: Building Self-Confidence
"Record your unwillingness!"
After the pay-cut incident, I thought about how to create my own work. Thinking calmly, I realized I didn't have much content. If I just shared daily life, it would seem like a diary without meaning. But I realized my "workplace" experience was where I gained the most insight as I entered society. However, as a fresh graduate new to the workforce wanting to share personal views, it was difficult to convince others—which was my own doubt, the same as most people wanting to develop a personal brand and use writing to promote themselves. I didn't know how to overcome my own mental barriers.
I tried several approaches to adjust my mindset:
- Anonymous posts and submissions
- Posting on anonymous platforms
Looking at these two, they seem similar, right? But they're actually completely different strategies.
Anonymous Posts and Submissions
If you haven't formally started publishing your articles or work, you'll definitely worry: "Will people think I'm weird?" "I don't have real skills—can I really post and share?" "Will posting suddenly get me criticized?" etc. These concerns about others' opinions are completely normal—I felt the same way at first.
At that time, my Karen's Corner fanpage had about 16,000 followers. Most fans followed because of my editor identity. Not that I had no supporters, but I was really worried my colleagues would discover or discuss my workplace articles. Plus, I wanted to know if my writing would still be read without my identity and labels. So I changed my identity, created a new name called "MiKi," and set up a new fanpage with my MiKi-authored articles. My main page never mentioned this.
On the other hand, after writing for a while, I submitted to Cheer Magazine's online column to see if my articles had a chance at a commercial media outlet. If it worked, it meant my thinking and views were recognized and had reference value. The positive response from a few published submissions gave me confirmation that my content had market value and could be appreciated.
Anonymous Platform Posts
Content alone isn't enough—platform and delivery method are especially important. Initially, I posted articles on a job board social platform, but it got little traffic and minimal feedback. Soon, I posted my first article on Dcard, Taiwan's largest anonymous social platform. Dcard's main demographic is university students and young people, matching my identity and article audience. Because the platform is completely anonymous, even if people wanted to connect the article to me, it was quite difficult.
Later, I posted on the "Work" section, which is a relatively niche section on the platform. Popular posts in that section get around 60 likes and 10-20 comments—that's considered a well-performing article. At first, when I posted articles, they'd regularly appear in the Work section's hot topics. Eventually, they jumped directly to the platform's overall trending section with significant engagement. Many people's comments encouraged me, saying my articles gave them courage and hope. This simultaneously encouraged me. I then published the articles under my real identity on my own website and created my personal blog.
Actually, persisting in something when you don't know how it will develop feels powerless and helpless—that's completely normal. But whenever you think about giving up, take a moment to remember your original intention. Find what you love and like, and become an expert in something—even something very small.
Perhaps you don't initially know that your tiny contribution can create great influence, but time will repay all your effort. I'm grateful that platforms allow everyone to find resonance. This resonance means that no matter how small your voice is, there's a group of people with similar interests drawn to your content who find encouragement through your writing. There's no path better and more irreplaceable than the one you create yourself.
Someone once asked how I'd define myself during those anonymous days. Looking back, those days posting on anonymous platforms gave me courage, built my confidence from nothing, and provided nourishment to find my personal value. They taught me that as long as even one person gains encouragement and growth from my articles, that's reason enough to continue creating, recording, and sharing my perspectives.
