I dare to say it: forget about Personal Branding
Three on Tuesday 1/7/2025. Why personal branding is overrated, Lazy Luxury is curated, and AI knows your style better than you do.
Hi dear - how lovely you are here! Did you enjoy reading this blog? Let me know by tapping the heart button below. X Puck
1. Do not (I repeat: do NOT) be distracted
Ouch. 78% of my 1,140 subscribers (hi! So lovely you're here, dear friend) prefer to read in Dutch. This is only my third newsletter in English, and already my blog readership has dropped. I could erase the last three weeks and immediately revert to what most of you prefer. But here's the thing:
Never, ever let your current circumstances decide your desired future. Ever.
I'm building my third business abroad, our company language is English (I sometimes even think in English nowadays), and I admit (yes, I’m vain; no, I’m not ashamed!) that I'd love to attract a broader audience beyond my beloved Dutchies.
So, whether it's a relationship, your style, your fitness, your work, or your blog: Keep your eye on the prize. Don't let what's happening now distract you from where you want to go.
2. Personal Branding is a lie
Matt: “LinkedIn, is that a thing? Is it big?” Hi, meet my two business partners. Sandro on the left, Matt on the right. Two blokes who had never heard of “personal branding,” who’ve never posted on LinkedIn (Matt does not even has Linkedin, obviously...), who have no clue how Instagram works.
No overthinking what to share. No wasting time on “how to put myself out there.” And yet, they have a strong personal brand.
Sandro used to be a professional ice hockey player. Matt founded a company. Sandro joined after his sports career, and together they founded another company. They have built their companies into the biggest in Switzerland in its category. Then they exited, successfully.
That’s their brand: Not built by LinkedIn posts or Instagram stories, but by doing the hard, crazy work, and earning their success.
Look at Zadie Smith: a bestselling author who doesn’t even own a smartphone (and is now the muse of Bottega Veneta - wow!). And she’s not alone. Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, never built a personal brand, he built a movement. Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix, barely posts but redefined an entire industry.
Lesson (for me): Stop trying to be somebody online. Just do the work until you are.
(And keep on writing about what’s on your mind and on your heart without worrying about ‘does it add up to my personal brand’ ugh).
3. I spent too much time on the Internet. Three things that excited me the most.
Lazy luxury is mentioned as the new fashion trend and I like it. It blends perfectly with our longing for a softer, calmer era. But here’s the thing, ragazzi: Lazy luxury sounds wonderfully relaxed, but it's still carefully curated and available to a privileged few. Linen outfits, artisanal ceramics, cashmere sweaters, quiet rooms: beautiful but still staged. Not necessarily bad, but let's be honest about the work behind those "effortless" and lazy feeds.
AI Shopping Platform Daydream Launches in the US. Co-founded by Julie Bornstein, Daydream integrates advanced AI capabilities (similar to ChatGPT’s underlying tech) to transform online shopping. It delivers hyper-personalized product recommendations through intuitive, conversational interactions. Imagine a virtual assistant that knows your taste, remembers your sizes, suggests perfect matches, and keeps improving with every interaction. Say hello to your new personal shopper!
I mentioned Zadie Smith, and I am going to do it again: she is the muse for Bottega Veneta. Ayaaa how nice is this? Bottega Veneta, the Italian brand who makes the most amazing leather bags, also senses that absence is the new dominance (Zadie does not even has a smartphone, that’s what I have heard). A call-out to a new archetype: the elegant, literate, emotionally intelligent woman who dresses in Bottega and reads books, offline, without posting about it on social media.