Branding

Brand Challenge Day 3: Write your mission statement

Brand Challenge Day 3: Write your mission statement

You wouldn’t drive across the country from California to New York without a map. And you shouldn’t operate your business without a mission statement.

A mission statement gives you a framework for evaluating opportunities and deciding whether they fit your core business model and strategy.

It can help you define your business and establish your brand, and it can help you (and your employees, contractors, etc.) focus their efforts and suggest ideas that fit with what you’re trying to do.

But what does your mission statement have to do with your branding?

This post is part of Elle & Company’s 4-week Brand Challenge. Click here to see more details, sign up, and access the free workbook.

Brand Challenge Day 2: Brainstorm your future goals

Brand Challenge Day 2: Brainstorm your future goals

Big decisions require future planning.

You wouldn’t major in political science if you eventually want to become an art professor.
You wouldn’t sell your van and buy a 2-door sedan if you’re expecting your fourth child.

You have to consider where you want to be in order to put the steps in place to get there.

The same is true for your brand.

This post is part of Elle & Company’s 4-week Brand Challenge. Click here to see more details, sign up, and access the free workbook.

Brand Challenge Day 1: Conduct a current brand evaluation

Brand Challenge Day 1: Conduct a current brand evaluation

My husband and I just finished renovating an old 1930’s bungalow in our small South Carolina town.

I remember the first time I laid eyes on it. It was dirty and dingy with dark paint, busted windows, and a caved-in kitchen floor. I hardly wanted to set foot in it, let alone live in it.

But beyond the grime, there were remnants of what the house looked like in its glory days. Large trim, built-in bookshelves, original hardwood floors, french doors. I knew that with a little creativity and a lot of elbow grease, we could restore the house to its former beauty.

We put an offer on the house early last year (the same day we brought our son home from the hospital) and excitedly started dreaming up plans for the renovation.

But before we were able to dive into the demo, we had to take an inventory of all the work that needed to be done.

The same is true when you “renovate” and revamp the design of your brand.

Before you can dive into the obvious details like fonts and colors, you have to evaluate what is and isn’t working with your current brand.

How to Build a Thriving Community Around Your Brand

How to Build a Thriving Community Around Your Brand

Running an online business has numerous benefits (less overhead, more flexibility, the ability to work from home, the potential for passive income).

But it comes with its own share of struggles. The biggest one, I’ve found, being a lack of community and interaction with other people.

We’re unable to see the faces of those who are reading our posts, tuning into our webinars, and following along on social media. It’s more challenging to get to know people when you aren’t seeing them and interacting in person.

But all hope isn’t lost!

The internet actually allows us more opportunities to build and foster community around our businesses; we just have to know where to look for them.

7 Common Mistakes You Might Be Making with Your Logo (And How to Fix Them)

7 Common Mistakes You Might Be Making with Your Logo (And How to Fix Them)

Designing a logo is much more difficult than it appears on the surface. 

As with anything that looks easy, there are many tricks of the trade involved to make a logo look visually pleasing and appeal to the right audience.

You may have discovered this already, whether you’ve tried your hand at designing your own logo or you’ve designed logos for other business owners.

But over time, as you learn more about design and gain more experience, you start to pick up some tricks of the trade and learn to avoid some common logo mistakes.

Here are 7 that I come across fairly often (along with some easy ways to fix them!).