Your Brand, Your Image
Often your personal identity or personal brand may be very different from the professional image or brand you wish to convey to clients. This is an element a budding entrepreneur truly needs to give it the time it warrants.
First, ask yourself “What is my current personal brand?”. If you are unsure, ask your closest friends and family members. Are you seen as introverted or happy go lucky or, perhaps, so many adjectives could describe you and your personal behavior, that only chameleon truly fits.
Your professional brand image should be clear and concise. Start with defining what you need to convey to your client base to ensure sales will follow. Come up with at least three (3) words that you will use as your firm’s brand objective. Perhaps Quality, Decisive, and Expert, for example. You wish to convey to your client base that you are an expert in the firm’s field, you deliver a quality product or service, and you are decisive in your business decisions. These can serve as a foundation from which to build the correct image you want staring back at you, professionally.
Second, work with your Brand Marketing Advisor. Use this as an opportunity for your Logo to reflect your company goals and values you used to define the professional image you are ultimately seeking. While they may be excellent artists, they are not you. They need a concrete image you are seeking. This starts with the colors of your logo for your business. For example, I actually researched colors used in logos for mine and found that yellow was one of the least used colors for business logos. I wanted to portray a guiding light in my effort to convey my field of consulting. I have always been fascinated by lanterns and actually found an image on a catalog selling various types of lanterns. I presented that to my Brand Manager and asked her to devise a logo using that. Do not imagine they can be you and can know exactly what you want to portray. Be specific, give them clues or words to use that will tell your story the way you want it told.
And, lastly, the name of your business is likely one of the most important aspects of your business that you will ever create. Make sure it reflects you, your business effort, and is something that sparks an interest in your product or service. Most importantly, let it reflect exactly what you want others to think of when they see it. Of course, you will need to check with your state business name domain and ensure it is not already taken, or copyrighted. This is where your attorney comes in very handy. Without one, you could find yourself changing names and logos in the future, a costly and exhaustive effort you want to avoid. Come up with the appropriate descriptive name for your company, check for domain usage and copyright or state usage, and when you are comfortable you have a winning name, move forward. Do not be afraid to run some of your top choices by those who know you best. They will have an insight based upon years or decades of knowledge of you to understand if the name truly fits who you are and what you are selling or making.
Remember, your company is about you, at the core. Exuding a positive image of the goods or services you are selling will be a winning combination. Be like Frida, the Pied Barbet in our Blog Photo today, check in with yourself to make sure you understand the correct professional image you need to project to make your company and its brand effective and attractive to your prospective client base.
Be well.
