Women, on the other hand, often don't want to stand out.

Her advice them: "Get over it."

Speaking downtown Wednesday to about 500 women, Briguglio talked about developing a "personal brand."

Briguglio is president of MMI Associates Inc., a marketing and public relations firm in Raleigh, N.C. In presenting her ideas, she joined an impressive slate of female business leaders from across the nation and Canada for the 17th Annual Women's Business Leadership Program.

To develop a personal brand, Briguglio recommends that women start with the principles of public relations. They need to ask themselves the "who, what, when, where, why and how" questions about themselves, and jot them down on paper.

List your abilities and qualities, for instance. Developing a PR and branding plan means defining your goals and strategies, and knowing whom you need to contact.

"A personal brand is the larger-than-life version of who you are," Briguglio said. "You have to craft your personal brand. It's important that you focus on who you are. Be yourself."

She encourages women to have a 30-second commercial prepared, or introductory speech, which they can share with others that helps define their brand. During her presentation, she had everyone stand and practice giving a 30-second commercial to someone else in the audience.

"A strong personal brand will evoke an emotion in people," she said.

Some well-known personalities who have strong personal brands, whether positive or negative, include Martha Stewart, Donald Trump, Britney Spears and O.J. Simpson.

Martha Stewart, for instance, has a strong personal brand that's changed over the years. She has built herself into an international name and now, after serving prison time, is seen as a survivor who has overcome adversity.

"You've got to walk the walk," Briguglio said. "Don't be something you aren't. I'm not suggesting it's all about baloney.

"If you say, 'I'm the banker with all the answers,' then you better have all the answers. If you've done something that has harmed your brand, then get out there and shape that brand."

It's also important to be a "difficult woman," or so says Marnie Walker, who founded Student Express Ltd. in Toronto, a multimillion-dollar school bus company that she later sold.

Walker credits being "difficult" as the secret to her success. While she used to be embarrassed when someone said she had that characteristic, now she just smiles, says, "Thank you," and wears it as a badge of honor.

Being difficult means that a woman knows what she wants and stands up for herself, Walker told the conference.

Growing up in a small Canadian town, Walker learned early on that there were "boy rules and girls rules." While her brothers got to do fun things such as fishing, hunting or sleeping out overnight, she got to cook and clean.

She said she became a difficult child because she wanted to do fun things like her brothers. That mind-set also enabled her to go to college, even though her father wanted her to marry a local guy, get a job in a department store and support her husband.

"The first step to becoming a difficult woman is to take charge of your life," Walker said. "Get in the driver seat, choose a destination and start on your way.

"It doesn't matter that you don't know where you're going, and it doesn't even matter that you don't know how to get there. What's important is that you get in the seat, you turn on the key and you get going."

Several years ago, after feeling like a cog in the wheel of a large corporation, Walker asked herself what made her most happy and what she wanted her life to look like in five years.

Her desire to start a company led her to found Student Express, which helped transport special needs children. The company grew from a start-up in 1990 to a leader in its sector with more than $10 million in revenue, 295 employees and 250 vehicles.

"Do what you love and love what you do," Walker said. "Find out what you love to do, and figure out how to do more of that."

Wednesday's daylong program at the Crowne Plaza Hotel was sponsored by the International Women's Forum Leadership Foundation, the Oklahoma International Women's Forum and the Center for Executive and Professional Development in the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University.

Laurie Winslow 581-8466
laurie.winslow@tulsaworld.com