Brand:U #NVDay Event: FREE Brand Consultations, Sept 22 (Full Details)

September 21 is celebrated annually as Founder's Day in Ghana. This year, Ghanaians won't just reflect on the impact Kwame Nkrumah has had on our nation - with chichinga and two chilled beverages on deck - but are also being invited to participate in an initiative which truly embodies Nkrumah: volunteerism and community development.

An initiative of the Ghana Think Foundation, National Volunteer Day aims to engender a spirit of volunteerism amongst Ghanaians, particularly the youth. Meaning YOU. According to Ghana Think, NVDay is an opportunity to:

- Change communities one step at a time
- Commemorate Nkrumah's birthday by offering a free service for the benefit of mother Ghana
- Make Ghana better that day by making a positive difference
- Share what you did online with the hashtags #NVDay and #IMGBT (I Made Ghana Better Today).

How could I possibly say no to that?!

There are a whole list of great volunteer events registered via the NVDay Registration on Eventbrite Page, but I wanted to do something a little different, sorely needed, and highly relevant to young Ghanaian professionals and entrepreneurs today.

One thing led to another and I had an interesting discussion with my good friend Nana (@kentejames) which led to...drumroll...

Brand:U

What's a brand-u? Brand:U is a free brand consulting event, yes, but more importantly, it's our contribution to #NVDay and to proactive young GH leaders and professionals looking to put their best foot forward. Alors, on Sunday, September 22, 2013 (a day after the official #NVDay), Circumspecte and BluHue will be offering:

- 21 Personal (Career) Branding sessions

- 21 Startup/Entrepreneur (Business) Branding sessions

Each session will be 20-minutes long and the entire event will run from 11am to 5pm. Hence, this complimentary service will be available to a total of 42 people. Each person is entitled to either the personal (career) OR startup/entrepreneur (business) branding. 

Sign-Ups will follow a first-come, first-served policy; and all participants must meet the criteria below for the respective sessions:

Personal (Career) Branding Criteria:

- Two printouts/copies of a working CV/resume - maximum 2 pages.

- Participant must be actively job searching with the goal of securing employment by Dec. 2013.

StartUp/Entrepreneur (Business) Criteria:

- Must be either less than 2 months old OR have been in operation for 2-5 years.

- Provide relevant branding samples ie. logo, stationary, concept documents, imagery, etc.

Interesting in signing up? Email info@circumspecte.com and indicate either Personal Branding OR Business Branding in the subject line. Make sure you attach soft copies of the requested documents.

Sign Ups will be accepted until midnight on Thursday, September 19, 2013, and successful participants will be notified by close of day Friday September 20, 2013 with their time slot and venue information. Kindly keep 11:00am-5pm on Sunday, September 22 open until you receive your time allocation.

Questions? Contact @jabdulai or @kentejames on Twitter. Or simply email info@circumspecte.com. We look forward to meeting you!

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Still reading? Here's some more info: 

The first and most important branding tool you have is yourself. Unfortunately, it is often also the most overlooked. Whatever tools you have at your disposal, will only be as effective as YOU make them. In order to take full advantage of the many tools, it is important to know who you are and then, figure out how best to present yourself to your target audience. Getting to know yourself first might take a lot of time, energy and patience, but it pays back exponentially: if done right, it won't only be easier to find your audience, they will seek you too.

Personal (Career) Branding encompasses many things. From the way you look, talk, act, relate to others, work etc. Words like networking, public speaking, and elevator pitches are probably popping up in your head right now. And you're right. But as stated before, your most powerful branding tool is yourself. Unfortunately, you cannot always be in more than one place at a time, hence the need for a resume or curriculum vitae (CV). These documents - among others - are your ambassadors. As such, they should reflect the values, strengths, experiences, competencies, and interests that you embody. 

In a similar fashion, Startup/Entrepreneur (Business) Branding is an important medium through which a new/existing business introduces itself onto a market. Consumers are flooded with marketing messages daily, so your branding helps make a distinction between you and your competitors. It is also a promise of what your clients/customers/partners can expect from you. Business Branding is essentially your first step of building trust, and then on, continuously transmits the values and objectives of your organization. In simpler terms, if your business was a real, physical person, we would say your brand was its reputation, the identity would be its character traits, and finally, the logo would be its "name". Read more here.