Podcast Blog #10: Quentin Michael Allums and Brittany Krystle — Everyone Can Do This (Stupid Deep Ep.2)
Quentin Michael Allums and Brittany Krystle — Stupid Deep Podcast: Ep. #2
How resourcefulness and drive pushed Brittany to leave the legal field and succeed in the field of personal branding
Would you say that you have a personal brand? Or, as an entrepreneur, has it crossed your mind that you should put more effort into building one? What will people remember you for, and how will you scale your personal brand?
Brittany Krystle is an expert on this topic, so I turned to her interview with Quentin Michael Allums to learn more. Check out my podcast blog below on episode #2 of “Stupid Deep” where Quentin and Brittany share their experiences building personal brands:
Quentin Michael Allums: The day Quentin almost quit (0:00)
It’s a common struggle to be afraid of public speaking, but you might think for someone who speaks to a camera on a regular basis would be more comfortable in that situation. But that wasn't the case for Quentin. On May 11th, 2018, he had his second ever speaking engagement, and the first one had gone terribly, so this time he didn’t prepare anything. When the time came to go on stage, he just spoke, but afterwards he said, he didn’t remember a word he said. He was sure it went terribly, and he sunk into his chair when he returned to the audience to hear the other speakers. He almost quit that day. We’re thankful he didn’t
For Brittany Krystle, things could have also gone a lot differently if she hadn’t stretched herself out of her comfort zone. Today she’s an expert in personal branding working with now high-profile Gary Vaynerchuk, but before that she was in law school fulfilling what she thought was a lifelong dream, but it turned out was not the right fit.
Brittany Krystle: If I had the ability to get here, I’m resourceful enough to find something I love (1:39)
Brittany was in law school when she realized she didn’t like law. But leaving the financial benefits of a legal career were challenging, with the idea of six figures at the age of 21 or 22 awaiting. But her ability to succeed in law school gave the confidence that she could succeed in finding something else that did make her happy. So she took the bar to prove she could, then left the legal field and went to LA.
Of course, Brittany did have somewhat of a quarter-life crisis that she was so wrong about what she thought she wanted to do in life, but she was unwilling to give in to the sunk cost fallacy — that because she had spent so much time getting into law school, it would be a waste not to continue. She’d met too many other lawyers who had spent years unhappy because they thought they were in too deep.
Quentin Michael Allums: You are not entitled to an engaged audience (3:15)
Two tweets from Brittany’s Twitter account stood out to Quentin.
The first said that “people get discouraged way too easily when it comes to content creation and their expectations.” She said that if you’re working for long term success, it will come. But if you’re just looking for quick wins, it won’t work.
The second— “You are not entitled to an engaged audience.” Again, you have to work for it.
Back to Brittany.
Brittany Krystle: You don’t need to go to business school to work in marketing or branding (3:55)
To get started, Brittany applied for any job she thought she could get in LA to get her foot in the door. That was the start of seeing that she could really make things happen for herself and that she would survive leaving law. It also showed her she didn’t need anyone’s permission or a boss to recognize her for a promotion in order to succeed.
Gary V was the perfect example of that. Brittany didn’t know who Gary V was until her now-husband sent her one of his tweets that he thought she’d relate to. But in researching Gary V, he was for the most part just a regular guy. He broke Brittany’s perception that you need some special talent or “it factor” to be successful.
She learned to get started you need to ask yourself who you are and why you do what you do, and accepting that will evolve. Brand clarity is your own self-awareness. Who are you trying to attract into your world? Your audience becomes just as important as understanding yourself. Gary V understood his audience and thought constantly about what his audience wanted.
Quentin Michael Allums: A personal brand is not just about you (5:45)
A personal brand starts with you but is not about you, it’s about the people with whom you want to engage. Quentin describes this as data points. He had two data points with Gary V.
The first was when Quentin’s college track coach recommended he look up Gary V, and from there he went down the rabbit hole of his content. That first trip down the rabbit hole was his first data point — a time when Quentin’s path intersected with his. From there he started his first business, which failed. Then his second business, which failed. Finally, the third succeeded.
The second data point came at an event where Gary was speaking and Quentin had the chance to ask a question. His legs were shaking, something that didn’t usually happen, but he was speaking to the person who he owed some of my success to.
Successful brands create data points at scale. For Gary V, it’s not about him, but about what he’s doing for other people. If you’re doing it right, you can scale these moments where you’re intersecting with other people’s success.
Back to the story.
Brittany Krystle: Anybody can build a personal brand (8:24)
Brittany knew she needed to replicate the work she was doing with Gary with other people, but in running a branding business she wouldn’t be able to choose everyone she was working with. So, she had to think about how you make anyone interesting, not just people who have been actors or actresses in LA. With that, she realized anybody can do this. Everybody has it but Gary has been putting in the reps to have the confidence. Like anything, branding takes work and practice. Influence isn’t talent or luck but strategy.
And doing that work is worthwhile because your name and reputation is something you have forever. When you leave a business or your business fails, your name will continue with you and your personal brand can outweigh the corporate brands you’ve been attached to.
Quentin Michael Allums: Unapologetically himself (9:38)
Let’s go back to that second speaking engagement Quentin told us about earlier. One of the only reasons he kept speaking after that day is because he saw Brittany Krystle speak. They spoke afterward and she told him she loved the speech and how it was unplanned and Quentin said what he needed to say. That he was unapologetically himself.
It’s easy to compare ourselves to where other people are, but it starts with clarity in ourselves first. That’s the secret. Anyone can do this.
End (10:55)
Ep #002: Stupid Deep Podcast by Quentin Michael Allums: Brittany Krystle — Everyone Can Do This
0:00 | QMA: The day Quentin almost quit
1:39 | BK: If I had the ability to get here, I’m resourceful enough to find something I love
3:15 | QMA: You are not entitled to an engaged audience.
3:55 | BK: You don’t need to go to business school to work in marketing or branding.
5:45 | QMA: A personal brand is not just about you
8:24 | BK: Anybody can build a personal brand
9:38 | QMA: Unapologetically himself.
10:55 | End
Links & Resources
Quentin Michael Allums
Brittany Krystle
Ronnie Gyani
