4 reasons you should invest in your brand.

Here’s the deal, as a business owner you have to be like 9 people, right? You’re customer service, you’re marketing, you’re IT support, the list goes on. Somebody asked me the other day if I had client resource person… um yes I do, it’s me. I am also the designer, the creative director, the assistant, the errand runner, the coffee getter… you get it. We wear all the hats, even if we’re outsourcing. We do a lot of stuff as entrepreneurs. So let me help you out with something…

In multiple facebook groups and all over Instagram I see this one question always pop up. “How much should branding cost?” And all the answers that follow that are “Go to Fiverr.” (I do not recommend this, read here to see when I recommend you use fiverr) “I have branding packages starting at $250” or “I make logos for $100 and you get it in a week.” Here are my two cents. 

Why would you put your businesses brand, what people will associate to your business, the face of the company (for when you’re doing your nine hundred other things) in the hands of these people. This is like buying $5 sushi on the side of the road… could be amazing or… well we know how that ends.

I get it! Paying someone $250 for a logo sounds super enticing plus wallet friendly but let me tell you why you should save up and hire a professional brand designer to help you.

1- A brand designer can truly make you look legit (aka charge what your worth!$$) think about it, you’re happy to pay a higher price for a custom dress made for you and your body by a fashion designer than the dress on the clearance rack at H&M. Duh! Now think about why you would shell out the money for the nicer dress. It is custom made to you, you will look amazing in it, no one else will have it, you can wear it forever vs. the H&M dress which will fall apart after one season of use, a lot of other people can possibly have the same dress, and its made to fit the masses. These are not things you want for a brand, especially a business you re pouring your heart and soul into! You want something unique to you. 

2- When you use Fiverr or other less experienced designers for your branding 9 time out of10 you’ll end up rebranding and getting the results you want is harder because your brand looks like other peoples and isn’t truly custom to you, your business, your personality to reach your target audience. So in the end you go through rebrand after rebrand (spending more $$) and confusing your audience, rebrand after rebrand hurts your audience as they aren’t fully able to develop loyalty to you- costing you $$$ in the end. 

3- A custom brand that fits you and your business like a glove gives you the confidence to ask for those premium prices! You know that cute outfit in your closet that when you wear it you feel like you can conquer the world, or it may be a pair of shoes, or that daring lipstick you wear to power meetings. A custom brand is the power pose of your company. It gives you the boost you need to charge the prices you’re worth! Don’t we all want that!? I do! 

4- Having a brand that is mixed with strategy makes you look like you have it put together, where people are not scared you’ll run off with their money and never get their product or service. A proper brand adds legitimacy from the get go and tells people that you really mean business, which creates trust in this potential client. Have you ever been shopping for products or services and run across their instagram or their website and you have that weird feeling that this whole thing looks like a scam or like its being run out of some weirdo’s basement? That is not the feeling you want clients or potential clients to ever feel when dealing with you and your company. You’ve worked hard, you’ve put in the time, the last thing you want is having someone think you’re not really a business.

Branding is a hard thing to navigate, especially with so much talent out there. Yet expecting to pay $250 for a brand that will tick all the boxes is not going to happen. Each designer is different and their experiences are not all the same so make sure you find the designer that is the right fit for you. (Read my tips on finding the right designer for you) This person’s job is to take the essence of your business and you and infuse it into a visual format for your clients to get, this is not an easy feat. You will be talking to this person a lot, the last thing you want is to not vibe with them. (Here is my list of questions to ask graphic designers to see if they’re a right fit.)

A brand designer will take you through the strategy, nailing down your values, to ensure everything that is created is designed with you, your business and your clients in mind.

BRANDING HAS THE POWER TO MAKE YOU LOOK LIKE A LEMONADE STAND OR A FORTUNE 500 COMPANY, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO LOOK LIKE?