Recently, I attended the Business Marketing Association’s February event. The speaker  was John Luginbill of The Heavyweights, who discussed increasing your company’s value. One of the lessons I took away from his presentation was that all of us-CEOs, managers, and even entry-level employees-own our own company.

The real lesson is that we all have a personal brand, and it’s up to us to decide how much that brand is worth. Every time we learn a new skill, acquire knowledge, or exceed expectations, we add value to our brand. At the same time, just like with multinational companies, a personal brand can be destroyed in a matter of moments.

What is your personal brand? How is that brand viewed by others? Most importantly, how much is your own personal brand worth? As an informal study, I asked my Twitter followers for their feedback on what the “Jay Mattingly” brand represents. My responses ranged from charismatic and energetic, to friendly, to my personal favorite “Master of B.S.” Asking people I know how they view me gave me some great insight into which traits I need to hone and work on in order to continue to increase the value of my personal brand.

It is never too early to start cultivating your personal brand identity. Unfortunately, for many of us in the early stages of our career, we may not be sure how we want to define our brand. The good news – brands, both company and, evolve over time.

What’s your perspective on maintaining a personal brand? And what have you done recently to add value to your “company?”