Do you own a business, or are you looking to start up one? Have you determined your budget? Do you know how much you can spend on equipment or marketing? Do you plan on spending any money on getting a professional logo, website, or marketing materials made? All of these questions arise when you own your own business, or are planning to start one. In this blog I want to talk to you about my experiences with starting my own business, the importance of graphic design, and how it can benefit you and your business.
For starters, thanks so much for taking the time to read my blog. I hope you can learn from my experience and knowledge.
MY BUSINESS
Two years ago I was close to finishing up my degree in graphic design and really wanted to start my own business. I decided to join the millions of people making a living screen printing clothing. I not only, one, had to learn to screen print, but two, decide if I wanted to do this by myself or do it with a partner. I decided I wasn’t prepared to take on such a project by myself so I decided to partner with a friend of mine who is also a fellow designer, Tony.
Tony and I sat down and came up with a business plan, budget, and talked about what we wanted to do about marketing, and promotional materials. Luckily the two of us are designers so we didn’t have to spend any money on things like designing a logo, website, or marketing materials. However, we did have to pay for a domain name, hosting, and the printing of our marketing materials.
IMPORTANCE OF GRAPHIC DESIGN
Chances are you’re not a professional graphic designer, and haven’t been partnered with one like I did, if this is the case, will have to spend money on getting your brand developed. Graphic design can sometimes be pricey but in my opinion it is one of the most important things and shouldn’t be done cheap or halfway.
Your logo is your first impression with your audience so you need a professional logo that is different, makes your company stand out, and memorable. A good website is also essential because you need to have an online presence where your audience can contact you, and learn more about your business. You also need to think about how you’re going to “get your name out there” and let your audience know your company exists. Social media is a great way to do this.
You can also do so by handing out business cards. These business cards don’t need to be pre-made templates from Vistaprint that has your logo slapped on it. They need to be made to work with your logo and website seamlessly so the second someone has your card in their hand they know exactly whose card it is. The same goes for all promotional or marketing materials you have!
I hope this blog post has been informative and helped you understand the importance of graphic design and basic branding items for your new business.
