Personal Brand
It's not a brand. It's a reputation. 'Brand' implies manufactured. 'Reputation' implies earned. Jon Goodman didn't build a personal brand. He stopped hiding, developed strong POVs, and showed up relentlessly. The brand was a byproduct, not the goal.
What most people mean
“Build your personal brand.” Curate an online presence. Post consistently. Have a visual identity. Define your “brand pillars.” Be recognisable. The output is a carefully managed version of yourself optimised for professional visibility.
Where the definition breaks
“Personal brand” implies construction. You design it, build it, manage it. Like a product. But people aren’t products. What people actually respond to isn’t a manufactured identity. It’s a reputation. And a reputation is earned through what you do, not what you post about yourself.
The term also produces the wrong behaviour. People optimise for visibility instead of substance. They curate instead of communicate. They build an audience instead of serving one. The personal brand industry turned “show up as yourself” into a content production schedule with brand guidelines for your own face.
The bigger trap: “personal brand” makes the person the centre. But the STFO framework puts the segment at the centre. Your POV isn’t about you. It’s about protecting your people from the monster. Your distinctive assets aren’t about expressing yourself. They’re about being remembered when the trigger hits.
How we define it at STFO
The Jon Goodman story is the case study.
Jon had 11 books, 250,000+ sales, a blog with 1,500+ articles. On paper, his “personal brand” was massive. But his business was stuck. Revenue had flatlined. His team was copying bigger rivals’ discount-heavy communications. Jon was behind the scenes, hiding.
The fix wasn’t “build a personal brand.” It was:
- Develop strong POVs based on what his community actually hated (the growth-hack culture in fitness)
- Become the face of the brand again (not by “branding” but by showing up and sharing those POVs)
- Show up relentlessly. Jon posted multiple times a day on Instagram. He guested on established podcasts with over 50 episodes. He practised, sensed what was landing, and adjusted in real time.
The result: 200,000+ followers. Nearly $2 million in profit within a year. Not because he built a “personal brand.” Because he stopped hiding and started saying what he actually believed.
The brand was a byproduct of the work. Not the other way around.
What it is NOT
- Not something you “build” (a reputation is earned, not designed)
- Not about you (it’s about your segment and their struggles)
- Not a content calendar with brand guidelines for your face
- Not the goal (it’s the byproduct of positioning, POV, and showing up)
- Not a substitute for doing the actual work (Jon’s brand grew because his business transformed, not the other way around)
"Jon came out of hiding and became the face of the brand, growing his online following to over 200,000. More importantly, this strategy turned their struggling company around."
From Stand The F*ck Out (2024) by Louis Grenier. The Jon Goodman / PTDC story appears in the Introduction and Stage 3.
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Hear it discussed
The Stand The F*ck Out framework, introduced by Louis Grenier in 2024, consists of four stages: insight foraging, unique positioning, distinctive brand, and continuous reach.
