When I say “profit”, do you think about money? Most people do!

Entrepreneurs are no different, and one of the most common ways to measure business success is by financial profitability… how much did you make last year versus how much you spent.

When you’re looking at profitability in your business, you look at the return on investment.

But what do you do when you’re measuring the profitability of a piece of your business that doesn’t just lead directly to money… like your brand?

It’s pretty unlikely that someone’s going to just see your logo and like it so much that they will be inspired to just give you money.

On the other hand, a good logo can help your ideal clients trust you and to like you more, and this can trigger them buy your services when you make an offer.

If you’re looking at the profitability of your brand, then that sort of situation should be taken into account. Otherwise, you’re not getting a full picture of the value of your brand.

And each kind of profitability  that your brand can bring can become a cycle – one that generates more and more money for your business.

Here’s what to look at when you’re evaluating your brand’s profitability… beyond money.

• Is your brand bonding with your ideal clients (and, getting you more clients… and more money)? As Imentioned before, you want your brand to help you build trust with your clients. That means that you need to build your brand in a credible, consistent way that demonstrates that you’re worthy of their trust.There’s also the likeability factor. If your ideal clients like your brand, they’re more likely to spend more time looking over and reading your marketing materials – so you have more of their attention. That “like” can also easily transfer over to you if you’re an entrepreneur – because, where does your brand end and the interaction with you begin (they’re probably pretty close). And when your ideal clients like you, they’re more likely to buy your services because of that emotion.Finally, consider the role of personal taste – especially when it comes to your brand image. If they like your brand and feel like it matches their personal tastes, then that can make them feel like you understand them and their needs – and that you can serve them well.

  See how the money cycle is starting to take shape?

• Does your brand contribute to your reputation’s bottom line? Is your brand and image making you look good? Are your materials engaging and impeccable? Are you developing a good reputation by being real and authentic in your brand? Does your brand clearly show the values that you stand for?Are you doing a good job of delivering on your promises? This goes for when you’re delivering your service, certainly – but it goes further than that. To build a strong reputation, you have to deliver quality content in your newsletter, your free reports and teleclasses, on your website, in your blog and everywhere else!Can your clients clearly see that you’re not just “in it” for yourself? It should be clear that you’re in your business to serve and that you really and truly care about what you’re doing. This makes them want to learn more, invest with you and come back for more.
• Your brand can extend your reach. If you’re an entrepreneur, chances are that you need some help spreading the word about your business… in the form of affiliates, partners, raving fans and messengers. Does your brand make you remarkable – and make people want to talk about you (in the good way, of course)?The other half of being remarkable is that you want the way your brand stands out to be clear, so that when people are talking about you they’re saying what you want them to say and they’re spreading the word in an interesting and engaging way. Your messengers need to know what to say so that their efforts can make as much impact as possible.How does this loop back to profit? Because the more people who know about you… the more people who can become your fans, get onboard with your services and then carry your message out into the world again. It becomes a self-sustaining loop of new clients and new opportunities. And, that equals profit!
• Your schedule profits because you gain more time. Focusing, clarifying and strategically planning your brand simply makes your marketing easier.Imagine… always knowing your next step. No more wasting time, searching for what to say or do for your next newsletter or blog post. Always knowing exactly what you’re promoting at every turn.And, even having the clarity of message and focus of brand to make that planning easier!

  It’s incredibly freeing – from a time perspective and it removes the stress from your marketing. This feeds back into your schedule and gives you more energy. It also lets you increase your marketing with no additional effort – so that you can keep building!

• You profit by making your ultimate vision a reality. I like to think of this one as “getting fulfilled”.  You’re in business – doing all the work behind being an entrepreneur – because you have a bigger vision, and because you want to serve your clients, transform their lives and make your mark on the world.If you find yourself stuck on the day-to-day hamster wheel of your business, and you don’t seem to be making progress towards your ultimate vision – then you may need to try a new approach.Try creating a brand strategy.

  Why? Because your brand strategy starts with the end in mind. You’ll begin the process of creating your strategy by looking at where you want your brand – and your business – to go in the future. And, by starting at the end, you can easily see how to build a step-by-step brand that will really get you there.

  This part of the profitability cycle not only keeps going to create more profit for you – but it also has a snowball effect. This portion, especially, can help your business grow exponentially and can help you create the lifestyle that you always dreamed of.

You can see that your brand can build profits for your business that go much deeper than money – and that many of these profits will circle right back and feed more profits into your business. The profitability cycle is worth getting rolling!

By: Erin Ferree

One of the questions I get most often is some variation of, “I just started my business. Don’t I need to create a brand before I can tell anyone about it?”

And you’d expect me to say, “Of course. You must run out immediately and design a brand this instant or else!” After all, I’m a brand designer.

But, I don’t actually believe that. Shocking, isn’t it?

What I do believe is that branding too soon can hurt a business in its beginning stages. Why?

• Good branding isn’t cheap. Why spend money unless you’re sure that it will turn out to be a solid investment?
• Branding isn’t just about design. There’s a lot of backstory about your business that you have to nail down before you get to design your brand. You have to know what your business is all about, what its personality is like, who your customers are and what they want, and what makes you different from others in your field. If you’ve just started your business, there’s a good chance that you have some theories about some of these – but you shouldn’t commit to them until you’ve used them in practice.
• Start-ups are subject to lots of change. As your business gets going, you’re likely to make some changes and modifications to your Grand-Master Plan (you know, that big business idea that you had in the first place!) If you design a brand now, it may not be valid by the time you really settle in to your business.
• You might not know your business well enough to get it right. After all, your business is just a “gleam in your eye” – an idea that looks good on paper. Try it out on some real people, to see how your delivery works and what results your clients really get (they may surprise you!)

That said, if you are clear on your business idea and you’re really ready to step out in a big way with your brand, then don’t let me hold you back. Take the next step that you feel is right for you so that you can go, go, go with your business!

By: Erin Ferree

There are 3 main types of logos that a consultant can choose to use for their business. Each has advantages and disadvantages for the consultant. Here are explanations and samples of each type, to help you choose the best match for your consultancy.

Combination logo: The most effective option for creating a consultant’s logo is to make a logo that contains both a graphic and your company name. This approach is called a combination logo. This type of logo contains both a memorable logo graphic that tells the story of who you are, what you do, and what makes you different as well as spelling out your business name for easy identification. One big advantage of this type of logo is that it combines an image and text – and having both combined will make the logo more memorable for viewers.

Text logo: A logo can be as simple as having your company name typeset in a unique font. The company name can have a small graphic embellishment – like an underline, or it can appear on a colored background. This is a simple approach that can work for many consultants. If you do go this route, you’ll miss out on some of the benefits that you can get by including a graphic in your company name – namely, that your logo won’t have an image in it to help clients remember it. However, if your company name is long, this approach will help you to keep the logo as clean and simple as possible. And, if your consultancy’s services or goals may change over time, there is no danger of your icon becoming inappropriate – since you don’t have one.

Symbol-only logo: You can design a logo that’s a symbol only (think Apple Computers or Nike). This approach is not recommended for consultants, though, because this type of logo takes a big investment in brand education to build up the association of your business name with the logo. Without that association, the logo will not have any meaning to the viewer, and will not help to build your brand.

By: Erin Ferree