We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jonathan George a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jonathan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

In 2000, I moved to LA to pursue my music career. I quickly landed on Ed McMahon’s “Next Big Star” where I won the title of Grand Champion. Unfortunately, I lost my record deal because the record label found out that I was gay. My team tried to get me married to change my image, but I refused to lie to the world. Regardless of the accolades, I didn’t know who I was or how to package all that I was to make my dreams come true, so I gave up singing.

During that time, I embarked on a journey of extensive self-development to build my self-awareness, self-confidence, self-identity, and self-worth. As I quickly discovered myself, I vowed to become the kind of coach I so badly needed in my own life. I needed someone to help me embrace my authentic self rather than trying to change who I was. Now, I am the CEO of a personal branding agency in Los Angeles called Unleash Your Rockstar. My clients have over 150 million online followers, making a huge impact by embracing their authentic selves.

People always ask me why my clients are so successful. To be honest, it’s not because of their talent or looks. It’s because they have a clear understanding of their identity and purpose in the world. This clarity empowers them to launch endeavors and businesses with exponential success, driven by their authentic influence.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I honed my skills in personal branding in the entertainment business, which is one of the most difficult industries in the world. For instance, there are over 60,000 songs uploaded to Spotify daily. Breaking through the noise without a robust brand and strategy is nearly impossible.

I not only learned how to build a personal brand, but I also discovered what it is and what it isn’t. Most personal branding “experts” try to build people’s brands on what they are “doing” or their “expertise.” They emphasize elements like websites, photos, fonts, colors, and meticulously curated social media posts. This could not be any further from the truth.

Following what I was taught, I’d build these flashy brands around performers’ “talents.” But when that artist wanted to switch tracks and launch a clothing line or be a lawyer, their brand didn’t fit. They’d freak out, and feel lost. Their social media turned into a source of pain and resentment because they didn’t know how to show up.

I quickly realized that I was doing it wrong. I was building their personal brands around their “doings” rather than their “being”. Once I flipped the switch…bam! The clarity freed the artists to authentically express themselves while pursuing any aspiration. This transformation is the driving force behind why they now have over 150 Million online followers while maintaining a healthy distance from social media.

My personal branding agency, Unleash Your Rockstar, serves CEOs, thought leaders, politicians, and others who are looking to elevate their businesses, organizations, and influence using their personal brands. We use a “wholistic” approach that allows people to rock their authentic selves, which gives them the confidence to successfully go after every endeavor they embark upon.

Additionally, we’ve introduced Rock My Campus, an educational program that has benefited thousands nationwide. This initiative employs personal branding to address the mental health crisis in youth and counteract educator burnout. With a staggering 58% surge in anxiety, depression, and youth suicides attributed to smartphone usage and social media, our program aims to restore self-connection, self-assurance, and mental resilience. By cultivating authenticity, vulnerability, resiliency, and a positive mindset, we’ve witnessed remarkable behavior improvements in schools, helping to alleviate educator burnout—a crisis projected to yield around 400,000 education job vacancies by 2024.

This fall, I am releasing my first book, “Unleash Your Rockstar – The Power of You Through Personal Branding,” tailored for Millennials and Gen Z. Similar to students, mental health issues are at an all-time high. Everything they do is online and they are constantly competing for jobs, raises, and even dates. They are always under the spotlight. My goal is to put the power back in their hands so that they can confidently, resiliently, and successfully maneuver through it all.

Can you talk to us about your experience with selling businesses?

Yes, I recently sold a small company called DFW Icon, which was a singing competition in Dallas, TX. The crazy thing is that I developed it as a promotional tool to introduce singers to one of my artist development companies in Dallas. I had 4 franchises across the US that developed the top talent you see in film, TV, and music. I didn’t have a marketing budget, and even if I had the money, I never had a good experience with typical marketing campaigns. I was able to partner with a festival, and they paid me to produce the event while we charged people to compete. This helped us get people signed up for my program. I developed the brand for four years and was able to turn around and sell it to someone else. The biggest lesson I learned from this is that every business should be built to scale so that you can sell it. As someone who spent most of my career building personal brands, I wasn’t focused on this. NOW… I have every client use their personal brand to scale their business brand so they can later sell it. I wish I had done this much sooner in my life. Notably, 90% of our clients have us build out their business brands so they can build out the proper assets to make it attractive to those looking to buy them.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I use my personal story to show my WHY, just as I did in the opening of this interview. It creates immediate trust, which turns people into raving fans. Then I build out the strategies to find, book, and speak on stages across the world where my ideal clients are in the audience. A captive audience that emotionally connects with you will buy from you at a much higher rate. If you watch shows like American Idol or America’s Got Talent, they always share the story of the competitor before they showcase their talent. We become emotionally invested, and as a result, we return to watch what happens next. Not only do I do this, but we also build this out for our clients to help them scale their endeavors.

Stages can encompass social media, podcasts, conferences, and more. A stage presents an opportunity to share your WHY with anyone who will listen. If you know how to share it properly and in front of the right people, you will create raving fans. Raving fans not only buy from you, but they also sing your praises and introduce you to people all over the world. Most people are so focused on trying to sell to others that they forget to connect first. This is why personal branding is incredibly important to me. It allows you to immediately connect with people, which opens them up to whatever you are doing at that moment. If you create raving fans, they will follow you into whatever endeavor you pursue next.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.UnleashYourRockstar.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathangeorgee/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathangeorgee/

Image Credits
LEVI WALKER PHOTOGRAPHY for the 2 professional pics. The others, I own. Please let me know if you want different pics.