Well, we found a new house. My wife and I talked about what we were looking for and we found almost everything that we discussed. Near the best high school in our area. Near our incredible church. A workshop. Four Bedrooms. More space to entertain the kid’s friends as they start to think about parties (ugh).

We found a house with the right “bones”, but as much as we got what we were looking for, we’ve turned our attention to the things we want to update. Budget is where we started. It seems that money always seems to determine direction. I wish that wasn’t the case, but it is.

Once we figured out what we can afford (this is a tough word, right?), we’re working on the renovation stages that need to be done. New flooring. New appliances. New paint colors. Things that have to be done in order to (later) do details as we can afford them.

Does your business need renovation? Things get old. Things get worn out. And trends change. If you’re experiencing less business or not enough business — it’s time!

One of the first questions that business owners ask us is “what should we do?.” After our first consultation, we find that the average business owner likes the “bones” of their company. What they sell. What they do. They just want to generate more business and “look” different.

Just like our new house, a business owner needs to figure out their budget first. And like the house, we’re replacing some areas that the previous owners did themselves. Often, we have a difficult task of informing owners that the material they’ve produced can’t be kept. The earlier you come to a branding strategist who works on this type of renovation, the less costly it is.

What needs to be done first? It’s always a question that comes after budget figures are established.

In order to build a foundation to construct a solid brand on, we look at what the company does, who their current and potential clients are, and then look at the visual image of the company. The logo is the single most important element of the visual brand. Companies rise and fall on logos. It’s your corporate identity.

The research done during this phase (as well as the interaction and consultation with the business), while we’re developing the logo, stokes the bank account for future work. If this stage is done right, the rest of the renovations are easier.

Our house closing is just 5 weeks away. I’m excited to get started on the renovation. It’ll be worth the money. I’ll keep you up to date as we do the stages. Just like I’ll write in future posts about the stages of a brand renovation. Next? The color palette.

Tags: Branding, budget, consultation, House, logo, process, renovation, stages

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 20th, 2008 at 2:10 PM and is filed under Communication Strategy, Design Essentials. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.