Clarification: My full-time, paying job is being said public figure. Just for fun, lets say I'm one of the top-rated personalities at one of the news stations in town.
That your public profile rises because of that is a side effect. Anybody in that role would see their public profile rise.
How - and if - you monetize that is up to you, some people feel that monetizing their public image is not in their long term interest, others have no qualms about it and allow their image to be used for product endorsements and so on.
The final decision on how and when you 'mint' your public persona is really up to you but whatever you do don't become the 'face' of anything that you do not 100% believe in. Otherwise you might find that you can lose respect and standing as quickly as you can gain it, and possibly even faster.