You're ready to act on that business idea that you've been day-dreaming about for the last five years. Ahh, freedom here you come!
Now that you've committed to putting your plans in motion, where do you begin?
There's the logistics such as your business's name. Whether you'll have a storefront. Who your suppliers will be. How your business will be feasible and all of that "fun" business plan stuff.
But what about your brand? The image that you want your business to portray to the world. The non-verbal messages that are communicated to every person that comes across your business.
Surely in your day dream you've had a vision on what your business will be, how it will operate and what it will even taste like. But, have you taken your business's brand into serious consideration?
Have you picked a business name? Is the name you've decided on available? Have you looked into domain names that are similar, if not an exact match to your business name? The .com or .ca? Are the social media account handles available?
And then the visual.
Is your logo created? If so, does it reflect your business goals and values? Is it unique? Is it scalable? Does it look good across all mediums?
What about your website? Does your website design reflect the brand image you want to portray? Is your website searchable and set up for search engine optimization (SEO)?
How about your social media accounts? Is there creative that is inline with your brand? Do your Facebook and Twitter banners gel?
Your business card: do you have business cards created to hand out on the fly? Are your business cards designed with a consistent look and feel to your logo, website and social media accounts?
Is your email signature recognizable as part of your brand?
Don't forget about advertising. You're a new start-up and advertising will be an effective way to get your company's name and brand out into the world. Have you created advertisements for your launch?
WOAH.
That's a lot to take in. When you're focusing all of your energy on building your business and ensuring the cash will flow, you don't need to be debilitated by the work that should be in place when your business launches. Branding isn't something that should be taken lightly. It is an essential step in starting your business, and it pays to have it done properly from the get-go.
That is where I can help. I work with you to make sure that your vision becomes a reality. You're in the field of your business and I'm in the field of branding.