@Leslie - Wow, sounds like you are doing a lot of great - and fun - things! I could see how it would be hard to integrate everything you do into a single brand. I think I have come up with a good way to do it so I look forward to hearing your thoughts on my future posts!

@Kendra - I like the terms you used -cohesive theme and vision...those are two words I will be using in future posts when I start talking about integration. So it is nice to see that others are speaking the same language. Thanks for the feedback and I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts about my journey!

Good post! I think I find this happens to me but no in a personal branding kind of way, but rather that I'm involved in a new tech, startup that a lot of my non-tech friends don't really get. They say, "Oh yea, you do something blogs, right?" They're my closest friends, as well.

Sometimes it's frustrating because although it's not my life, it is still my job and a lot of my interest is invested in the online world and personal brand. It seems like the kiss of death is helping you relaunch what you're doing and refocus your efforts, but although frustrating at first, is a nice step in the right direction.

I'm not sure how to approach my friends who can't grasp what I'm doing, but I appreciate when they actually sit down and listen, ask questions and at least try to understand. Not everything is clear cut and easy...we all understand different pieces in this world.

@Jose

Thanks for your input! You are right, eventually need to find a niche but a niche and personal brand are not the same things. You can have a few niches and one personal brand and I think the key is to find a personal brand where you can put all your passions, interests, and work experiences under. Again, you may not be able to put all of your activities and project, but you will want to try and put most of them. In my case, I disagree and don't think I am doing too many things. My challenge is to find a unified brand that can link them all under the same umbrella...and I think I have found it so you will just have to keep reading and find out if you agree =).

@Grace – Is it that your friends are not tech-savy or are they just not interested?

@Halelly – I think you are going to like what I come up with in my future posts. I am working out a new concept that may just work to put your brand under. Stay tuned! =)

@Holly – I have totally read your blog before! I haven’t in a while since I have been working on the business but I remember really enjoying it! (and a great domain to boot!). Nope, the clothing line is only going to be part of the personal brand. I am actually already onto a new project that I am going to be announcing in February that is in a completely different realm but will use the exact same skills I used to create the clothing line. As I mentioned above to Jose, niche and personal brand are two different things and your niche or niches fit under your personal brand. The challenge is trying to link them all together into what Kendra said so well “cohesive theme and vision for our lives). So I am going to try and focus on integrating all of them. I am not sure if it is possible, but I am going to try – and I think the brand concept I am working on will allow me to do so.

I am just finishing up another post that talks about “trying to figure out what I really want to pursue.” And I have to say, you don’t have to nail one thing down right away. Your twenties are all about exploring and your brand has to flexible enough to allow for exploration and new experiences. Otherwise, you may prevent yourself from integrating something you truly love doing!

@Grace - Then that is probably just a difference in your friends. From a psychological perspective, different people bring out different aspects of ourselves and there may just always be a gap between you and some of your non-tech friends. That being said, if they are interested then it may be up to you to provide them with a better understanding of what you do - a good way to improve your communications skills of translating tech stuff into understandable information for the masses. And if they are not interested, then, well, it tells you what kinds of a friend they are. But on the flip side, do you feel you understand exactly what they do in their jobs?

@Jose - I think you are confusing a successful brand vs. one you don't like. True, Trump has had many, many failures at trying out new products underneath the Trump brand, but he also has had many success as well. If I stuck with one niche, I would be bored. It is great for some people and I love hearing about people finding their niche and sticking with it and being successful, but to me there are too many things in life to experience and sticking to a niche could potentially prevent you from exploring other things you may find you love more than your current niche.

And thanks for the "Donald Trump in-the-making" comment. =)

Marcos