I saw the new movie, "Hollywoodland," over the weekend - the story about the actor, George Reeves, who played Superman on television during the 1950s. Something struck me while sitting in the theater: it may be possible to "over-brand" your product. In Reeves’ case, the public never saw him as the person, George Reeves, but really as Superman - as if Superman were a real person.

So what, you ask, isn’t that the point to good branding? To create serendipity between you and your product? You’re probably right, though how does branding this perfectly cripple your chances to branch out into new areas?

In Reeves’ case, he was so well-branded in his character, that the audience laughed at him playing a dramatic character in the movie, "From Here to Eternity," when it premiered. This public reaction caused the movie producer to re-cast the character in the final movie version before releasing it to the theaters. Reeves was never able to break out of his Superman character to try other roles.

How much is too much branding? Can you foresee a time when your career coaching business is branded beyond your control? What’s the solution?