(And Why You Might Need To Too)

I’ve been speaking a lot about personal branding lately – especially for founders navigating transitions, exits, and identity shifts.

And I realized something important:

I needed to walk the talk.

I’ve always known I have a personal brand. We all do. Whether we’re intentional about it or not.

And I’ve always been intentional. The way I dress, speak, write, show up… it’s all aligned.

But for years, my personal brand was so tightly woven into Lab Creative that it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. Despite me telling other founders to do the opposite.

It’s the classic shoemaker’s kids with no shoes… or maybe more like the interior designer whose own home is half-painted and full of fabric swatches.

Whatever the analogy, it was clear: I wasn’t following my own advice.

The Entanglement

My face was on the homepage.

The blog was filled with deeply personal posts I’d written about entrepreneurship, inspiration, and living boldly.

The kind of content that had very little to do with branding, and everything to do with me.

And while I made the intentional decision not to name my company after myself, Lab is still my initials. So I’ve been in it all along.

But here’s the truth: Lab Creative isn’t just me. It hasn’t been for a long time.

Maria has been on my team for over nine years. We’ve worked with hundreds of incredible founders. And yet, my face and ideas were still front and center.

Even Alejandra, while new to the team, is often the first point of contact when people reach out. Lab Creative is not a one-woman show and never has been – so why did it still look like one?

The Separation (and Why It Mattered)

The real shift happened when I wrote and started promoting my keynote, A Life Worth Dying For – a talk that has nothing to do with branding.

That’s when I knew it was time to untangle things.

And wow… they were tangled.

Last year, we (and by “we” I mean the brilliant Maria Saenz) created a personal brand site focused entirely on me: the speaker, the author, the founder, the storyteller.

It was the beginning of the separation.

From there, we made some key changes:

We removed my face from the Lab homepage and replaced it with a collage that features our team, our clients, and the work we’ve done together.
We moved all blog posts not directly related to branding to my personal site.
We moved The Legacy Branding Podcast over, too. It’s hosted by me, deeply personal, and centered on business transitions and reinvention. Lab Creative now sponsors it – and we use that connection to cross-promote.

And guess what? Not long after the changes went live, I had a call with someone who mentioned they might want to buy my business in a couple of years.

I didn’t see that coming. But it confirmed that we were onto something amazing.

Why It’s Worth It

At Lab Creative, our message is clearer than ever.

We help founders untangle their personal and business brands so they can grow, exit, and evolve with clarity and confidence.

Here’s the truth:

When your business and personal brand are too tightly intertwined, it makes everything harder.

Harder to scale.
Harder to sell.
Harder to step away from.

But when you do the work – and separate them with intention – everything gets easier. And opportunities start showing up.

You stop being the bottleneck in your business.

You start becoming the visionary of your next chapter.

What I’ll Take With Me

I built out my personal brand because it’s the thing I’ll take with me – whether I sell Lab Creative one day or not.

My thoughts on entrepreneurship
My books and podcast
My thought leadership and speaking

I’m using myself as the example. Because separating your personal brand from your business brand is one of the smartest, most strategic things you can do as a founder.

It creates clarity. It gives your business room to grow without you.

It opens doors – to speaking, writing, launching, partnering, and exiting.

Your Turn

So if you’re wondering whether it’s time to invest in your personal brand…It probably is.

Trust me. I just did it. And already, the impact is undeniable.

Does this sound all too familiar?

Let’s untangle your personal and business brands so you can grow, evolve, or exit on your terms. Book a call

Why I Separated My Personal Brand from My Business