Brand Development: Analysis of Social Entrepreneurs and LinkedIn

This report delves into the critical concept of brand development, emphasizing its importance for professional success in a competitive job market. It explores how individuals can cultivate a unique brand identity through the development of professional skills and expertise, highlighting the significance of a strong LinkedIn profile as a key tool for showcasing skills and experience. The report analyzes the profiles of three social entrepreneurs, Lauren Shuttleworth, Tom Lawrence, and Kenneth Springer, who have successfully integrated social missions with business ventures. It also outlines the core elements of a LinkedIn profile, including the headline, summary section, and skills section, and how to optimize them for maximum impact. The report concludes with a self-assessment of the author's future self, detailing strengths, experience, and achievements, and outlining plans for future development as a social entrepreneur, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning and networking.

Running head: BRAND DEVELOPMENT
Brand Development
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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Introduction:
After conducting personal research as well as reviewing the articles, I have developed a
clear understanding of the importance of brand value of each individual, who considers the idea
of achieving professional success in life. The job market, just like the goods market is a highly
competitive one, and in order to sustain here, every individual needs to possess, or develop and
nurture a set of professional skills and expertise that render a unique brand identity to him. I have
understood that although many people might work in an organization, his own identity is created
by how he serves the organization, and how he develops his identity to be perceived by the rest
of the employees of an organization. Regardless of the job role I might be assigned to, I should
ensure that my work and my professional skills stand out of the rest, and help me emerge more
than just another employee of the organization. Even some of the most common skills such as
time management skill, the ability to work overtime without getting stressed or the skill of
satisfying exactly what the client is expecting in the first go, can help in developing the brand
image of the employee. I have come to understand that the idea is not just to work somewhere,
but to keep on developing the skills so that one can keep on improving his own brand image, and
enhancing his reputation, that in turn will increase his employability, and add to his Unique
Selling Point, in a job market (Mawson 2014). The professional reputation of the individual is of
high importance, and instead of waiting for my employer to recognize my skills, I should
become my own Public Relations Manager. The recruiters wish to review the professional profile
of the employee before hiring him in the first place, and hence to control the impression, the
employee will need to develop his skills by enrolling himself in new training courses, and
adopting new skills, that are unique and yet not attained by many of his fellow colleagues
(Drucker 2008). I have come across Kelvin Keller’s statement that highlights the importance of

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understanding what an employee wants to do in life, and what he presently is. The gap needs to
be filled by the acquisition of new skills. Next, the individual would require to determine and
understand his emotional appeal, with the help of emotional modified based questions such as do
people love working with him or does he have a unique sense of humor that make him attractive
at his workplace. Next, one needs to be aware of the descriptive modifier that explains what
brand the individual is capable of making, such as which industry he works in or what are the
professional skills possessed by him (Yoder 2003).
Social Entrepreneurs Who Have Inspired Me:
I have always appreciated the profession of a social entrepreneur, simply because it is not
solely driven by the profit motive, but helps in accomplishing organizational success through
community development and voluntary engagement in social, charitable works. Accordingly, the
three LinkedIn profiles that have been reviewed of three noteworthy social entrepreneurs belong
to Lauren Shuttleworth, Tom Lawrence and Kenneth Springer. First of all, Lauren Shuttleworth
is known for running a profit-oriented print and stationery company- Words with Heart.
Shuttleworth’s LinkedIn profile clearly suggests that she is a social activist, working for gender
equality, while also ensuring profit for her through business (Haugh and Sugar 2017). Her
company is also known for providing eco-friendly papers, and she works in collaboration with
the World Economic Forum to address social causes. Her zealous efforts to make the world a
better place, while also earning huge revenue, are an inspiring tale in itself. Next, Tom
Lawrence, the Managing Director of Swanky Socks, promotes social causes, by donating a major
share of the revenue to people affected by soil transmitted disease helminth. His commitment to
social causes definitely boosts his sales and promotes his goodwill as well. Lastly, Kenneth
Springer, the founder of Hueyify, provides accessible experiences to all the disabled internet

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users, who have difficulty in navigating through website pages. Hueyify strives to ensure that
disabled users get the most out of their internet experience (Choi and Majumdar 2014).
Core Elements of LinkedIn Profile:
In order to endorse the skills a person possesses, and enhance the employability of the
applicant, LinkedIn is irreplaceable. Here is a list of the three most important elements if a
LinkedIn profile that can enhance the employability of the applicant.
Headline: The headline is the first thing the employer gets to notice, after searching the name of
the employee. This section helps in providing a short glimpse to the recruiter what skills and
experience does the employee exactly possess, and in what way, can it benefit his organization.
Hence this section must be short and succinct, and should explain the basic skills that the
applicant possesses and through which he wishes to be recruited in the next job. In less than 140
characters, it helps in providing a brief and yet clear overview of the expertise and competencies
of the employee. The greatest asset that can immediately tempt the prospective employer needs
to be showcased here. For instance, an applicant looking for the job of a Human Resource
Manager must explain here his professional degree and his immediate job role as a HR Manager.
Summary Section: The next section is the summary section that helps in highlighting the
experience of the applicant as well as discuss the utility of the professional skills, he possesses in
great detail. This area is the place where the user can explain the skills he possesses, the
competence he has gained by enrolling himself in various professional courses, as well as any
certification and accolade if he has ever received, or the languages in which he might have
gained proficiency as well. The profile can be made more robust, by adding as much content as
possible to the Summary Section. Since this section comprises of as much as 2,000 words, one

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can tell stories about his accomplishments, and under each accomplishment, one can easily add
at least three important sub-headings, in the form of bullets, that can also enhance the visibility
of the profile. This also helps to make the content visually easy to be read (Donelan 2016). It is
important to let an employer know the applicant, beyond his photograph and a mere job
description. Just like a resume has no meaning without a Summary Statement, a LinkedIn profile
has no meaning with a proper summary section. While the headline convinces a viewer to stay
on the profile and view the entire profile, the Summary Section helps to convince the recruiter
consider the applicant as a prospective employee in future. While the headline helps in
introducing the applicant to the employer, the summary section helps in discussing the
professional skills as possessed by the applicant, and elaborate the ways in which it can help the
applicant add value to the organization of the recruiter.
Skill: Endorsing the right skills is of paramount importance while applying for a job. The Skill
and Expertise category helps in giving the recruiter a brief insight into the major skills that the
applicant possesses. The more the skills are, higher is the chance of employability. The skills in
this section are usually added only if they are relevant to the professional domain one is seeking
jobs in. Hence, it is evident that the recruiter only after viewing the skills will tend to choose the
applicant. Often the recruiter runs short of time, and they do not have sufficient time to go
through an entire profile, and review each of the requirements (Peterson and Dover 2014). In
such a situation, the skill section helps them to develop an understanding of the basic skills of the
applicant and helps them to decide if they wish to call the applicant or not. Most of the career
experts have agreed to this, that if used correctly, this specific element can advance the career
and bring one more business.
Future Self (LinkedIn Profile) :

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Key strengths I Possess:
 Problem-solver who can easily turn any kind of challenge into opportunities
 Effective decision-maker who can learn from mistakes, stay firm in decisions, and can
take sound and reliable decisions
 Risk-taker, who prefers to be challenged professionally and explore all opportunities
 Highly creative and imaginative, aware of the social problems and the ways in which the
same need to be addressed
 Self-motivated and highly enthusiastic, willing to take up a variety of charitable projects
 Reflective and analytical that helps me to solve problems more critically
 Strong ethical impetus that pushes me to transform the society.
Experience:
 Worked for 6 months as a Project Coordinator at ALWS , helping in the accomplishment
of various charitable projects.
 Have worked for one and a half year with various international NGOs in Australia,
helping to create jobs for the members of the disadvantaged group of Australians ( such
as the offenders, immigrants and homeless people).
 Launched well-received professional project in collaboration with CARE Australia, that
groomed the unemployed and less privileged class of Aboriginal people, increasing their
employability skills, and assisted in their career development.
 Worked as an Executive Director at We Care Australia for 1 year undertaking academic
projects in Torres Strait Island, and offering free of cost education and job training to the
islanders.

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Organizations Volunteered for:
 ALWS
 Care Australia
Professional Association:
 Working as a Financial Advisor at Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit
Studies (ACPNS)
 An active member of STREAT Australia
Notable Achievements:
 I have launched various professional development courses for the members of the
disadvantaged community of Australia
 I have worked enthusiastically to actively exterminate poverty and illiteracy problem, as
found in the Torres Strait Island
 Have donated 5000 IT equipments to 15 selected schools of Australia located in the
interior region
 Have worked pro-actively to enhance the professional skills and competence of the semi-
skilled employees, and have generated 3000 jobs in the last 5 years.
 Have been awarded as the “Most Creative Problem-Solver of 2015” by The European
Network of Social Integration Enterprises (ENSIE) for unwavering dedication to work
for social causes.
Conclusion:

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I wish to become a social entrepreneur in future, as this would help me achieve
professional successful beside contributing something meaningful to the society as well. I would
need to nurture my creativity and analytical skills. For improving my analytical skills, I shall
enroll myself in different soft skill developing seminars and workshops that will teach me the
popular ways I can solve problems analytically. In case of opening up social enterprises, I will
have to develop a clear understanding of which product or service I can offer to the society, and
how the same can also change the society. I would require to Google the names of the possible
areas of product or service I can offer in the Australian market, and also understand the nature of
competition here. By searching online, I would be able to conceptualize some unique offering
that can help me in grabbing the attention of the consumers and address a social cause in a
innovative way. I will also need to improve my professional association.

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Reference List:
Choi, N. and Majumdar, S., 2014. Social entrepreneurship as an essentially contested concept:
Opening a new avenue for systematic future research. Journal of Business Venturing, 29(3),
pp.363-376.
Donelan, H., 2016. Social media for professional development and networking opportunities in
academia. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 40(5), pp.706-729.
Drucker, P.F., 2008. Managing oneself. Harvard Business Review Press.
Haugh, H. and Sugar, K., 2017, January. Social Entrepreneur Strategizing: Making Sense of
Conflicting Demands. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2017, No. 1, p. 12940).
Academy of Management.
Mawson, A., 2014. The social entrepreneur: making communities work. Atlantic Books Ltd.
Peterson, R.M. and Dover, H.F., 2014. Building student networks with LinkedIn: The potential
for connections, internships, and jobs. Marketing Education Review, 24(1), pp.15-20.
Van Yoder, S., 2003. The brand Called You. Retrieved May, 10, p.2005.

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Appendices:
Mind Map:
Social Entrepreneur
Skills
Problem-
solver
Decision-
Maker
Risk Taker
Values
Ethical Mindset
Integrity
Perseverant Experience
ALWS Care Australia We Care
Australia

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Lauren Shuttleworth: Social Entrepreneur LinkedIn :
Tom Lawrence: Social Entrepreneur LinkedIn:

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Kenneth Springer: Social Entrepreneur LinkedIn :

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