My new client, Nanna's Homestead, is an urban farmer from Hemet by way of Compton. Like most people who stumble into business, she knew she wanted to grow, but didn't know how. Her business began when she started selling her produce in and around her neighborhood and to the local church ladies.
Like most home based businesses the goal is to make a few extra bucks or give in to your friends who want what you have and tell you to charge for it. It seldom moves beyond that because like my client, you're lost as to what to do next.
Her back story is that after being diagnosed and treated for cancer twice, when she received a third diagnoses she decided to take matters into her own hands. She began growing her herbs and vegetables that had medicinal factors. Thus a farm was born.
Prior to my services she was operating under a facebook friend page. While it's true she had a few hundred friends that followed her farming adventure, not all of them were interested. As part of her branding process, in January I helped her create her business facebook page. I designed a logo to represent what she's doing (that's my creative side). The color scheme is reminiscent of earth and vegetation. The font adds an element of a country vibe. The circles are representative of the planet, the circle of life, and never-ending possibilities.
Just doing these two things took her from a few captive facebook friends who possibly hide her post to over 750 followers in a matter of months. It also got her a mention in Essence Magazine. I also custom designed, again my creative side, t-shirts for her to wear and sell. As a business you should be a walking billboard when appropriate.
BRAND IDENTIFIERS What inspires what you want to do in your business? What are you drawn to in your business? What is the personality of your business?
Now that the brand is IDENTIFIED, work begins on the brand voice, brand essentials and brand positioning. If this is not done ahead of time, and you haven't named your company after yourself, you may end up looking for a new business name and tag line.
Recognize the value of your brand message. It keeps you on target of what your business is all about, the WHY of it all if you will. It helps you form your mission and vision statement. Getting all the various branding pieces in place builds audience anticipation, that's if you have what the people want.
So remember, when starting a business have a clear picture of your brand beyond logo colors and cute fonts. Discover its identity and personality and treat it as the living entity that it is then stay true to its mission.
Just a heads up. Before I could finish this blog post my client gained another 21 page likes/follows.
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