Don't you hate it when a webpage has a limitation?

You know what you want to do. You can picture it clearly. The platform simply was not designed to let you do it.

That is usually the moment someone says, "Well, it can't be done."

My response has always been:

Don't tell me it can't be done!

Tell me what the limitation is, and let me start looking for another path.

Recently, I was looking at the green #OpenToWork ring around my LinkedIn profile picture. It does exactly what it was designed to do. It tells recruiters and other professionals that someone is looking for employment.

But I started thinking about people who are not necessarily looking for a traditional job.

What about consultants?

What about speakers, authors, coaches, freelancers, founders, veterans, fractional executives, and business owners?

What if someone is not "open to work," but they are:

  • #OpenToConsult
  • Available for Projects
  • Open to Speaking
  • Seeking Board Opportunities
  • Veteran Owned

Or simply trying to direct people to their website?

LinkedIn does not currently provide a built-in option for that.

So naturally, I started experimenting.

From Limitation to Possibility

The first step was simple.

I captured the existing LinkedIn profile image and began replacing the green ring with a custom branded version.

The original wording changed from #OpenToWork to #OpenToConsult.

Then I experimented with different colors.

The standard LinkedIn green became a cyber-purple gradient that better reflected a modern technology and consulting brand.

After that, I tested other wording, including:

PogueDigitalSolutions.com

The idea quickly became bigger than changing a few words around a photograph.

It became a way to turn a standard profile image into a small piece of personal branding.

A profile picture is one of the first things people notice. It appears beside posts, comments, messages, search results, and connection requests.

That small circle travels farther than most of the content on your profile.

Why not make it work a little harder?

The Problem Was Not the Picture

The technical challenge was only one piece of it.

The bigger question was:

What should the ring actually say?

That answer depends on what someone wants LinkedIn to help them accomplish.

A consultant may want #OpenToConsult.

A speaker may want Book Me to Speak.

A founder may want a company website.

An author may want a book title.

A veteran-owned business may want to make that identity visible.

A job seeker may still want #OpenToWork, but in colors that align better with their personal brand.

The image should not become a tiny billboard stuffed with every credential a person has earned.

It should communicate one useful idea.

That is where strategy enters the picture.

One Question at a Time

Anyone who has used AI for more than a few minutes has probably experienced the twenty-question avalanche.

You ask for help, and suddenly the AI responds with an interrogation packet.

That can become overwhelming quickly.

One of the principles I use in my work is simple:

Ask me questions one at a time until you have enough context to accomplish the task.

That same process became the foundation for a Custom GPT concept.

Instead of asking users to understand image dimensions, circular text placement, color theory, safe zones, and profile cropping, the GPT can guide them through the process one decision at a time.

What is the purpose of the profile?

What wording should appear?

What colors fit the brand?

Should the image feel professional, bold, executive, minimal, patriotic, or high-tech?

Does the user have the original photograph, or do they need to capture a screenshot?

On a Mac, that screenshot can be taken using:

Command + Shift + 5

On Windows:

Windows Key + Shift + S

The GPT can explain the process, review the uploaded image, suggest wording, show examples, and help create a profile badge that reflects the person's actual goal.

Examples Matter

People often know what they like when they see it, even when they struggle to describe it.

That is why examples are an important part of the process.

The GPT can show different directions before creating the final design:

  • A clean corporate ring.
  • A bold cyber gradient.
  • A website-focused version.
  • A consulting version.
  • A veteran-owned version.
  • A minimalist executive version.

The user does not have to become a designer overnight.

They simply need enough visual context to make a confident choice.

This Became More Than an Image Edit

What started as a workaround for a LinkedIn limitation became the beginning of a broader lead magnet and branding tool.

The profile ring is the entry point.

The deeper value comes from helping someone answer questions such as:

What do you want to be known for?

What problems do you solve best?

What do you want people to remember after visiting your profile?

What opportunities do you want LinkedIn to create over the next six to twelve months?

How should your profile photo, banner, headline, About section, and call to action work together?

Most people do not have an experience problem.

They have a clarity problem.

They have years of knowledge, work, training, stories, skills, and accomplishments, but those pieces are scattered.

A strong personal brand helps organize those pieces into a message people can understand and remember.

AI Should Help People Express Themselves

I do not believe AI should replace human expression.

I believe it should help people communicate more clearly, preserve continuity, and turn ideas into useful systems.

That is what interested me most about this project.

The technology is not the star.

The person is.

The AI simply helps remove the friction between the idea in someone's head and the finished result they want to share with the world.

Curiosity Finds the Side Door

I have often said that curiosity is my superpower.

When I see a limitation, my first instinct is not to accept it.

I start asking questions.

Why is it limited?

What part can be changed?

What tools are available?

Can the process be recreated?

Can it be improved?

Can it become something useful for other people?

That is how a green profile ring became a custom consulting badge, a branding workflow, a lead magnet, and a Custom GPT concept.

Not because the platform offered the option.

Because it did not.

Sometimes the limitation is the invitation.

What Would Your Profile Ring Say?

If you could replace #OpenToWork with one message that better represented where you are going, what would it say?

Would it promote your business?

Your website?

Your availability?

Your mission?

Your expertise?

Your next chapter?

That single answer may reveal more about your professional direction than another paragraph added to your résumé.

And when someone says the platform cannot do it, remember my motto:

Don't tell me it can't be done!

The better question is:

How can we make it possible?

Here's a link to let YOU make your own: Profile Branding Ring by Pogue Digital Solutions (Custom GPT)

Originally published on LinkedIn. Comments and the conversation live there.