Before you start reading below, I suggest you read Part One first (if you haven’t already).
Now then, you’re ready for Part Two: So You Wanna Start An Online Business?
If you recall from the previous post, the first step was using the method I mentioned when deciding on what type of online business you want to start. If you followed those suggestions then congrats!! – you’re likely ready for the next step…branding your business.
This part can be frustrating because though you’ve decided on your business name (something unique yet reflective of you and your style) you may not necessarily thought on how you would actually make it part of your brand.
So what is a brand, exactly? A brand is “a name given to a product and/or service such that it takes on an identity by itself.” Well it at least sounds simple, eh? The truth is, you really want to think about this part.
Now to be fair, I kept my own brand rather simple. The reason for this is I was just starting out and since design is such an open category, I wanted my brand to be able to evolve as my business did. You may feel the same when it comes to your own branding. We can’t all have the top brand design right off that bat, but we can certainly strive toward that as our business grows.
If you have some design experience, and you can work Photoshop & Illustrator, you will most likely be able to create your own brand as I did. I recommend purchasing a license for any font you decide to use. If you’re using a graphic or illustration that someone else is selling, you need to buy a commercial license for that too. You don’t want to have your logo all made, ready to go, only to be told is has to be changed because you infringed on someone else’s design. So make sure you’ve got that end of things set before going forward.
The best option, if you an afford it, is to hire a graphic designer to create a custom logo for you. A logo is just one part as branding is so much more – but it is the first step. A graphic designer will help you with all of that; creating a design, choosing colors, styles etc. If your look is more feminine, I love the work of Brighten Made. I don’t know what they charge but the looks are contemporary and stylish. If you have less of a budget, you can go to sites like 99 Designs. Their prices might be more affordable.
If you don’t have much of a budget at all, I could recommend sites like Canva to help you create your own logo but any typeface/graphic you use from there is property of Canva – so that can become tricky. You can also go to Etsy to buy logo design templates. They will be a bit ‘stock’ in nature (as others may be buying them too) so yours won’t be all that unique – but it may be more cost effective for you.
A good option for a small budget is to buy elements off sites like Creative Market & Design Cuts – where you can purchase illustrations and fonts for your logo. (Just make sure you’re purchasing a commercial license for their use.) I sell on both of these sites and some of the artists there are truly talented. Then you can take all your elements and put them together in Photoshop and/or Illustrator. If you don’t have either, you can use Affinity Designer/Photo as you can purchase for a one-time fee. If you can’t afford any of the above, a free Canva account allows you to upload your purchased/licensed elements and set up the logo that way. Choose colors that reflect your style. If you don’t know what colors to choose, search around for color pallets that you like. Coolors.co is an online color pallet generator that’s free and easy to use.
I realize all of this may sound overwhelming (and it can be) but it really doesn’t have to be. You also don’t need to rush it. For the time being you can just purchase a font and create a very simple logo to use for the moment..to get your name out there. Then, as you become more established, you can focus on amplifying and fine tuning your brand.
So work on your brand, or at least get that part rolling by using any of the suggestions above. You’ll come across some challenges but I promise if you start the process, you will get it done! There’s more to this story, so stay tuned for Part Three.
Until then…
