472. Personal Brand Beats Company Brand with Andy Storch

Ryan sits down with keynote speaker and author Andy Storch to talk about why your personal brand matters way more than your company brand—especially if you're trying to land corporate work. They dive into LinkedIn strategy for video business owners, why being relatable beats being perfect, and how Andy and Mike Kim collaborated on their latest book. Plus, you'll hear Ryan's hilarious story about filming a wedding for a software guy who married a stripper (spoiler: it didn't last).

Key Takeaways

Personal brand over company brand: People follow people, not companies—especially on LinkedIn. Share your story, your behind-the-scenes, your personality, not just portfolio pieces.

Relationships trump perfection: Clients often hire based on how you make them feel and how easy you are to work with, not just because you have the best reel.

The corporate shift is more profitable: Moving from weddings to corporate work means better margins, repeat clients, and getting your weekends back.

AI makes your humanity more valuable: As technology handles more tasks, your storytelling ability, curiosity, empathy, and personality become your biggest differentiators.

About Andy Storch

Andy Storch is a keynote speaker, connector, podcaster, and author of two books, including Own Your Career Own Your Life and his latest book, Own Your Brand, Own Your Career with Mike Kim.

Andy works with organizations to teach and inspire professionals to own their brands and careers to achieve more success in the future. He'a also the host of two podcasts, including the Talent Development Hot Seat and Own Your Career show.

Finally, Andy is a husband, father, cancer survivor, and expat, who is on a mission to get the absolute most out of life and inspire others to do the same.

In This Episode

• [00:00] Welcome to the show!

• [04:20] Meet Andy Storch

• [08:44] Marketing

• [13:04] Branding

• [17:23] Real Connections

• [19:57] Showing Up On Social Media

• [26:36] Wedding Versus Corporate Videography

• [34:39] Storytelling

• [45:20] Connect with Andy

• [45:55] Outro

Quotes

"Nobody cares more about your career or your personal brand than you do." - Andy Storch

"I don't follow any companies on LinkedIn. If I see any company posts on LinkedIn, I barely notice and I scroll on by. I follow people." - Andy Storch

"The thing I'm going to remember the most, it's how people make you feel." - Ryan Koral

"People have brands as well. We all have a personal brand. It's essentially our reputation. It's what people think about us, what people say about us. So we might as well be intentional with that." - Andy Storch

"If you're gonna choose one, I would choose the personal brand every time." - Andy Storch

Guest Links

Connect with Andy Storch on LinkedIn Follow Andy Storch on Instagram