I think one of the things we’ve all been guilty of at some point as entrepreneurs is so cliché, but also 100% accurate. That’s right, I’m talking about not being able to see the forest for the trees. Here’s what that looks like: you’re serious about your business and you’ve been head’s down, doing the hard work to set it up for growth (the trees, the trees!), but you’re not hitting your stride because something just isn’t clicking yet (where’s that forest, again?). As business-focused entrepreneurs, it may not feel intuitive to you, but design can often be the solution to those “it’s just not working and I don’t know why” problems. To help bring a little more clarity around those feelings, here are the top 3 problems that custom brand design can solve, so you can start to see success from all your hard work.

You’re putting yourself out there but you’re getting low engagement and interest from your ideal audience and potential collaborators.

Feeling like you’re spinning your wheels and getting nowhere is the worst! As a non-renewable resource, time is incredibly valuable for us entrepreneurs and we don’t like wasting it. So, when you’re not getting the engagement and interest you think you should, it’s a clue that your brand design likely just isn’t landing. It’s possible that your brand design isn’t on par with the quality of the offering (or messaging) that you’re presenting, or there’s nothing particularly distinguishable about your design to make you stand out for your audience. Are you sure you know who your audience is and what will resonate with them? Like really, REALLY, know?

Audiences pay attention to intriguing design that stands out and conveys confidence and value. Other successful brands with whom you’d want to collaborate must protect their reputations (and audiences) fiercely, and part of that is choosing who they associate with professionally. You may have a lot to offer your own audience and that of a potential collaborator, but if you aren’t showing up in an elevated way, you’re going to be perceived as not worth the time (ouch!). Working with a custom brand designer means no longer playing small, and instead, building an identity that’s more desirable, professional, and bigger right out of the gate, so you can build relationships with your audience and network more effortlessly.

You’re getting leads, but most of them are not turning into sales.

I’ll admit that when I started my business, I was just excited about working for myself and making things happen! So, every time I received an inquiry request, I would get this feeling of exhilaration – this was it, I was going to work on a really cool project for a client who really needed my help! Aaaaand then I’d read the full inquiry and feel totally deflated. No offense to the grading and erosion industry, but you’re not exactly who this lady envisioned working with. Embarrassingly, even though I knew better with my 15+ years of marketing experience, I was caught up in the complexity of going it on own and hadn’t taken the time to think strategically about my brand or ideal audience – and that was evident in my own brand design. Is this sounding familiar?

If the engagement you’re getting isn’t turning into sales, it could be an issue of your design not really speaking to your ideal audience, confusing messaging, or presenting yourself in a way that doesn’t command perceived value. Custom brand design homes in on your target audience’s innermost desires and helps weed out those who would be better served elsewhere – giving you much better odds of attracting the right kind of leads, closing business, and developing long-lasting relationships with the people you work with.

You find yourself avoiding your marketing tasks to focus on other things.

For the longest time I knew I needed to start exercising more. But like most people, I would put it off with excuses. I’m too tired, conveniently I needed to clean my house instead, or my dog is really sad because he hasn’t had his quality time with me today. Really, I could make anything a plausible excuse. But then one day, I tried on some new tennis shoes while I was out shopping. Then, with my new sneaks in hand, I also bit for some cute leggings and a new sports bra, and a sweat-wicking tank top! And before I knew it, the idea of working out didn’t feel quite so awful. My real problem was that I was embarrassed to show up, not only out of shape, but in my shabby old workout clothes. All I needed were the right tools to feel more confident and motivated – and I’ve seen the same philosophy apply to custom brand design.

If you’re avoiding putting your business out there, you likely don’t have an intentional or cohesive brand – you’re just not comfortable putting your business out on display with what you have. But when you have a professional, authentic, unique, and stand out design with all the assets you need, you don’t have to “wing it” anymore. You can float from campaign to campaign and marketing channel to marketing channel effortlessly because you have all the right tools already in your toolkit. It just becomes a matter of strategically planning the “how” rather than the “what” of showing up.

So there you have it, the three most common problems I see entrepreneurs struggle with that can be solved through custom brand design. It’s not an exhaustive list, and everyone’s business, strengths, and weaknesses are different. Sometimes we need to seek out professionals with specialized expertise to help us gain some perspective. I’d be happy to discuss how (or if) I think design can help you sort out some of your specific business challenges – so go ahead and inquire now!