To Brand Now Or Later: The Startup Story

By: Lisa Slagle

At Wheelie Creative, we work with a LOT of start-up companies. It's really exciting, and I love working with new business owners. They're passionate, driven, and mildly horrified.

I love working with startups so much that I even created a small business startup package-- a logo, brand book, business cards, and three "things" of your choice ("things" could be brochures, signage, stickers, social media image sets, clothing tags, posters, etc-- basically whatever YOUR new business needs to succeed.) It's a screaming' deal with a payment plan option, and I created that package because I like seeing new businesses make our little mountain community even more unique and awesome. We crank out a ton of these small business startup packages, and my team loves creating them, too. (It's actually the best-selling package we offer at Wheelie.)

Basically, we work with a lot of startups, so I know these are business owners working within a smaller budget until money starts rolling in. I get it. I adamantly believe that every small business needs a solid brand and brand strategy if they are serious about being taken seriously. (No one wants to buy anything from a company that seems sketchy and unprofessional. Some of my most terrifying life experiences have involved Craigslist offers in search of a washing machine that works. You don't want your customers to think you're the scary washing machine guy running a shop out of a storage unit. That's a bad vibe.)

Here are some reasons why you might consider holding off on a solid brand package and website:

• You are unsure if you have a good/unique product or business idea, and want to put out some feelers to see how people respond. 
• You have extremely limited funds and don't want to look for investors to help pay for expenses.
• You think you might know a friend of a friend of a friend who can make websites for two hundred bucks, and you're looking for low-cost options.
• You're not ready to go big. You just want something simple to get by for now while you save up for the design agency of your dreams. (These end up being some of the most amazing clients for us.)
• You have income from other jobs and can afford to wait on branding until your business grows into your full-time career.

Here are some reasons you should brand your business before you reveal it to the world:

• Set your customers' expectations. If your brand identity looks as quality and professional as you are, then your customers will know what to expect from your business (i.e. quality and professionalism).  This reason is huge. Put ten stars by it.
• Do it right the first time.  Rebranding professionally to fix the first attempt means you just bought the same thing twice.
• If you know who you are and what you look like as a company, you will launch a strong, confident business right away. People will see who you are, too.
• You are all-in on your startup business, and you are ready to quit your job and make this happen. You are committed, passionate, and know how important a cohesive brand will be to the success of your business.
• You're the new guy in town. Launch your business with a bang.

As a small business owner myself, I understand both sides of this story. I started my business with no investors, no funding from anyone, and grew slowly and methodically, watching every penny that came in and out of my business. I rebranded when I outgrew a logo that suited solo freelancing, but not a growing company with employees. (Next week, I'll write about rebranding or not rebranding your existing company.)

That wasn't too painfully nerdy, right? Now go enjoy the rest of your Sunday evening. It's still light outside, and Sweet Peaks might still be open.

Last week, three separate business owners of three separate startup companies came into my office and had the exact same conversation with me. They each wanted to talk about the businesses they were starting-- their ideas, their plan, and their products. The thing they all had in common is that each of these business owners was trying to decide if they should invest their money into branding immediately or hold off and then put money into branding down the road.

They asked what I thought. It's a great question, so let's geek out on this for a few minutes. 
 To BRAND NOW OR LATER: The Startup Story.