When you are starting a business, you want it to succeed as much as possible – and do all you can to reach there. One of these things is teaming up with other businesses that assist in your efforts to make a cool-looking logo, such as branding agencies, Web design companies or digital marketing companies.
However, you are mostly short of cash because you are trying to build your business from the ground up, so a question also arises – should you even bother spending money on a logo? If so, how much should you spend?
The answer is there, but not as straightforward as you may think. It actually lies in the state of your current business standing, such as the amount of money that you have, as well as how entrenched your brand itself is. Here are some things that can apply to the question, and help you make a decision.
What are your priorities?
When you are starting out in your business, your main job is not to make logos and undergo expensive branding – it is to attract customers, and make a decent profit. Will having an exciting logo at the beginning work well for your business at this stage? Probably not.
Yes, a logo and definite branding can help people to associate your services or goods to your business, but you need to decide on greater matters first, such as naming the business itself.
Of course, if you have the necessary budget for your efforts, then you can go ahead and do all you can. If you do not have it, it is okay, because you can use the limited resources you have to build your portfolio first. Most logos for businesses that are starting out o not tend to be original anyway – a lot of them look very similar to those of their competitors, and they most likely will not represent the brand properly.
When you have consistent revenue, then you can focus on the image of the business
Once you have an established customer base and a steady source of revenue, then you can analyze the behavior of your customer base, as well as how they see your brand – then use that to create logos and branding efforts that are worthwhile.
At this stage, make sure to hire a professional that can make a timeless and elegant logo for your business, one that sets your brand apart from the rest and become a game changer.
When you are bootstrapped and early on in the venture
When you are just starting out, the most likely scenario is you do not have much money to get by (unless you received a huge sum of money as initial capital). It is therefore understandable that you do not have thousands to spend on logo making and hiring branding agencies at high rates. The good news though, is that there are many options you can explore to have your logo options made for lower rates, and at a fraction of the cost you would normally pay.
Many of the options that offer this choice have a large number of graphic designers and artists working under them, and these people constantly submit ideas that can be viable enough and gel with your business ideas. Others like fiverr.com will have fewer individuals under them, but will still design your logos at an inexpensive price, and many of the people they hire are freelancers.
The only difficulty when you are fresh in the world of business is that you may not know what exactly you want to aim for, since you have not found your brand voice yet. Because of this, there is no need to keep rushing yourself to make logos at this stage, as you can have a better idea after some time.
After you have been in the business for some time, and it is time to start making logos.
So when you have operated in the business for some time, like having been at it for almost a year, you most likely have your brand idea and voice defined very well. You are also likely generating some revenue for your business and you are re-investing the money back into the enterprise – just like all other startups.
You are likely working on getting better infrastructure, increasing your sales, improving the products and services you offer, and so on. In addition, you have likely arrived at a point where you think your business has outgrown its original logo, and you are now ready to improve your efforts and overall approaches.
This point involves having significant differences in the way you see your business, as well as your current and previous needs. These mostly revolve around the branding you designed so diligently in the logo, although it does not always mean that you must ditch and forget about your current logo. You can re-invent the wheel or tweak the logo if you feel it will represent your brand in better ways.
It is also important to note that you can hire more companies that can handle your demands for the business at this stage, so make sure to invest a minimum of $5,000 in your branding efforts.
The mindset that accompanies the whole change is also different from when you started out, which is normal. It can change even faster if you raised large amounts of initial capital very quickly, which allows you to have more money that you can invest. However, you need to keep in mind that the money is not technically yours, so take your time before spending in brand and logo development until you have gone through some important milestones.
Final thoughts
If you are thinking about creating a new logo and investing your money in branding efforts, that is ultimately your decision. However, it is not something you should rush into, especially when you do not know what you want your brand’s voice to be; take our time, work through the business, then allocate a good portion of your funds to make a good logo that helps you stand out.
