Introducing You Inc, the world’s first personal branding agency.

He did it for himself. Now Cassius Ives wants to make you a household name.

If it feels like Cassius Ives came out of nowhere, it’s because a year ago he didn’t exist. For 33 years Ives went by his birth name of Tom Jones. “My whole life I’d been living in the shadow of Tom Jones the performer. It derailed job interviews. It made it impossible for prospective clients to google me. My personal brand was in crisis. Something had to give.”

What followed has become a case study in personal branding, and the basis of a burgeoning branding empire. Jones changed his name, sold his possessions, and moved from his hometown of Richmond, Virginia to Brooklyn, New York. He bought a whole new wardrobe. Underwent four cosmetic procedures. Tom Jones became Cassius Ives.

“Some have described it as a transformation. I prefer to call it a definition. I have a clearer identity. I know what I stand for. My personal brand is completely different from any other. Yet my core values remain intact.”

And now with You Inc, Ives plans to offer the same definition to everyday people. “We all have a personal brand. Just as the world’s biggest companies sometimes need help defining their mission, we too need guidance.”

“Your name is everything. It’s what you call yourself. It’s how others identify you.”

So how does that guidance manifest? Well, it begins with the first question: What’s in a name? “Your name is everything. It’s what you call yourself. It’s how others identify you. So we start by asking our clients which three words embody their personal brand. For me it was strength, trust, sophistication. For strength I chose Cassius, the birth name of Muhammad Ali. Like myself, Ali knew the power of a personal brand. For sophistication I chose Ives. It’s reminiscent of Jony Ive, one of the great designers of our time. He’s respected, even revered. Both of these names satisfy my third core value - trust.”

With a name chosen, Ives’ efforts begin in earnest. He observes the client around the clock to ensure they remain true to their core values. This informs their personal brand guidelines. As a roadmap for the rest of the client’s life, it covers where they’ll live, what they’ll wear, how they’ll act, where they’ll vacation, and what job they should be doing. Ives rebrands every aspect of their lives. In his words, “the slug emerges a butterfly.”

“To succeed is to be envied.”

With such drastic methods, Ives is not without his critics. “I have my fair share of detractors. Families angry that their child has moved on. Ex spouses who I chose to omit from the client’s personal brand book. Therapists throwing around terms like ‘dissociative’ and ‘disorder.’ To succeed is to be envied. My clients understand.”

Brimming with his trademark confidence, Ives says the results will speak for themselves. “A woman named Victoria Adams once said ‘I want to be as famous as Persil.’ We now know her as Victoria Beckham. And she’s a lot more famous than Persil. At You Inc we create Victoria Beckhams.”

John is a creative director, Thought Leader and amateur business analyst.