How can a personal brand open doors in business?
Updated 23 July 2026 by Chanelle Segerius-Bruce
This is an interview I gave to Celinne Da Costa, published in Forbes in April 2018. It is reproduced here as it ran, so the details describe the business as it was then.
A personal brand opens doors mainly by making you findable and recognisable to people who were already looking for someone like you. In 2018 Celinne Da Costa interviewed me for Forbes about exactly that: how I went from graphic design in South Africa to retouching for fashion houses in London, to wedding photography across the world, to business coaching, and what the brand had to do with each step.
Quick answer
A personal brand opens doors because people hire the person they already feel they know. In my case it meant a photography business that took us to Bali, Morocco, Mauritius and Santorini, a job in Turks and Caicos that came from a single tweet to someone I had met at a wedding, and eventually a coaching business built on people who were already approaching me for help. The pattern each time was being visible enough and specific enough that the right opportunity could recognise me when it came looking.
The professional background
Growing up in Durban, I always had an itch to travel. At nineteen I bought a one-way ticket to London with my then boyfriend, now my husband.
After a graphic design diploma in South Africa, I worked at top London advertising agencies, then went freelance as a retoucher for high-end fashion brands. Three years later I launched a wedding photography business, which took us to Bali, Morocco, Mauritius and Santorini, and was published in magazines seventy-five times.
In 2012 we took a position in Turks and Caicos, after tweeting the words hire us now to a studio owner I had met at a wedding in the UK. I had my daughter shortly after moving to the island, and within six months I was asked to come back full time. That was the moment I realised I never wanted to work full time again.
Why the move into coaching
We moved back to South Africa and launched a global social media agency, meant to be fast-paced and location independent. In the first month I signed five clients on six-month contracts, which let me grow it and hire people.
Then I hired my first high-level business coach. After seeing what that produced, I invested in a year-long programme to learn how to support the people who were already approaching me for help with their businesses.
I love teaching and sharing what I know, and coaching let me help women make real changes in their businesses and get past their own fears. Watching the ripple effect has been the best part of it: clients retiring their husbands from nine-to-five jobs, booking family holidays they had put off, moving into bigger homes.
What the personal brand actually did
Every one of those steps came through being visible and being specific. The Turks and Caicos job came from a relationship and a tweet. The coaching clients came from people who had watched me work and decided they wanted help.
None of it came from a logo. It came from people knowing what I did and what I was like, well before they ever asked me for anything.
Key takeaways
- A personal brand works by making you recognisable to people already looking for someone like you.
- Opportunities tend to arrive through relationships plus visibility, not one or the other.
- Being specific about what you do is what lets the right opportunity recognise you.
- Career changes are easier when your audience follows the person rather than the service.
- Hiring a coach was the hinge point between running an agency and teaching.
- The measure worth tracking is what changes in your clients' lives, not your own numbers.
Frequently asked questions
How does a personal brand open doors?
By making you findable and recognisable, so that when an opportunity goes looking for someone who does what you do, you are the person it finds.
Do I need a big following for a personal brand to work?
No. One of the biggest jobs in this story came from a single relationship and a tweet to somebody I had met once, at a wedding.
Can I change direction without losing my audience?
Yes, and it is easier when the audience follows you rather than a service. Mine moved with me from photography to agency work to coaching.
When is the right time to hire a coach?
For me it was when the business was working but I could not see how to move it to the next thing. It changed both the direction and the pace.
Is this interview still current?
It ran in Forbes in April 2018 and is kept here as it was published, so it describes the business as it was at the time.
Want your brand to open the same kind of doors?
Being recognisable for one clear thing is what makes opportunities find you. Brand Your Expertise Online is where you get clear on your niche, your message and what you want to be known for. Book a call to see if we're the right fit.
