Hello BadAss Business Owner, Welcome to week 2 of the Develop Your Business Blog Series.
This week has been both beautiful and traumatic for me. Here in Philadelphia the weather has been so fabulous but I have been plagued with this stomach bug followed by a spring cold that has left me feeling like I death ran over me. I spent a lot of time in bed resting, researching, and reading
- Name your business-THINK ABOUT THIS LONG AND HARD. Once you pick a name you are pretty much stuck with it. It becomes part of your soul, at least that’s how it was for me. I think I spent a week sorting out names and checking for available URL’s till I found the perfect one. Your business name is your brand identity, it’s the name by which everyone and everything within your business will be addressed. I love the name of my business, MadCris Images but believe me when I say that It has drawn a lot of questions and funny looks when people ask me. I KNEW I did not want my business to be named after me, Wanda Thomas Photography, I tried to be cute and find a catchy photog related name that would best represent my business but I got nothing. MadCris is a combination of my children’s names, I figured that this business was born of my creativity so I named it after my kids. Your business is, while personal also your brand. You can’t change this one a whim.( At least your shouldn’t) After you have a name picked out spends a few days saying it to see if you are comfortable with it. It should be a natural fit. When I say MadCris Images it just flows. It always flowed. I did worried about it being accepted and how it sounded but I stopped when I realized that the name of my business had NOTHING to do with the quality or experience I provide my clients. MadCris Images doesn’t create Wanda Thomas, Wanda Thomas CREATES MadCris Images. And you to lovely business owner, whatever you choose for your business name will be a reflection of your awesomeness
- Create a logo and brand– First let me say this, you are your brand. When I was going through my business identity crisis my business strategist Jeff Gibbard over at True Voice Media explained it to me like this you are your business. When people see Wanda Thomas they see MadCris Images, there is no separation. New business owners tend to get caught up in the details of choosing a logo, font and all of the pretty. And trust me I get it. As a visual artist I know first hand what that’s like. But you also need learn to make a decision and make one fast because if you spend too much time on this you are taking time away from other things like making money. My accountant, ( I love my accountant!) has had the same logo and branding colors for years as do many of the major companies. When was the last time you saw Nike change their Swoosh, or Coke change their wave. Kate Spade? If you want your clients to trust you, you need a brand they can trust. I know many people say (especially in the beginning) well it’s just a logo but your logo is your Business Identity, it’s how they find you! Imagine walk into any mall or department store and not being able to locate Macy’s because they changed their fonts and colors every other day. How would you be able to trust that they would be able to provide the same level of service My favorite is Nate Berkus, when you look at his site it’s clean,simple and he uses lots of Earth tones in his branding and marketing. I know that the trend today, especially for women is to use pinks and black and white lines. It’s very Kate Spade. And yes while I love me some Kate, I also think it makes everyone look the same. Find a way to separate yourself from the pack. Take time to look at other industries and see what you like. I love coffee which is why my major branding color is Chocolate. It reminds me of coffee beans, fresh roasted smooth and velvety warm coffee. What do you like cheesecake, food, the beauty industry? Great pull from these look around and develop YOUR BRAND.
- Create a website/blog- I started blogging 6 years ago on Blogger then I was introduced to WordPress and here is where my home is. There are LOTS of inexpensive ways to get your business online, WIXX, Webbly, Squarespace, Prophoto etc. I love WordPress (I have 3 WP sites that I manage not to mention those I handle for clients) because its easy, user-friendly and well received. I am not here to tell you which platform to use, my goal is to educate you on your need for internet real estate. DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT rely solely on Facebook as way to market your business. If you own your site it’s yours you can say, post, and do just about anything you want on this site. This is true even of the free websites. Pay for your hosting and your domain. Mine is www.madcrisimages.com not wordpress.madcrisimages.com the chances off someone telling you what you can and can’t do are lessened when you pay for your site.
- Create and order samples (if your field requires it)- As a photographer I need samples of my work. I am guessing there are other industries that need this too, Graphic designers maybe. So if you need this DO IT. If you can’t afford it in the beginning its ok to provide your clients a digital version of your work. But as a photographer I know my clients can’t understand the size difference of an 8×10 and 20×30 canvas on their mantle till they see it in person.
- Create a welcome packet…design marketing pieces We live in a very digital age and while it’s so easy to send an email with all of the necessary information I learned early on in this process that sending clients a welcome packet in the mail just sets the tone for the type of experience they are going to have with my Studio. I LOVE thick chocolate envelopes with my logo imprinted into them. When the client opens it up it has a welcome letter, what to wear guide, dessert menu, and a few other pieces of information. When I was first starting out I could not afford to do all of this the way I wanted to, but there are companies like Vistaprint and even Staples that have very cost-effective printing options and quality papers and supplies. Look at them, see if they are something you can get into. Because more than anything it’s also about getting your name out there.
We can talk about these topics for days, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. I am from the school that your brand is your culture and how you do one thing in your business is how you’ll do EVERYTHING. Clients learn how to be treated because you set that tone. Make them feel special, have integrity in all that you do, and they won’t know why but they will know you are THE person they want to do business with.
