Tag: business

  • Business Plan Basics #3: The Market and Marketing

    Today we’re going to work through the third part of your business plan, the Market and Marketing. In case you missed the first two sections, they are here and here. When it comes to your business, how do you plan on getting the word out to potential customers? What kinds of customers are you hoping…

  • Business Plan Basics #2: The Vision

    In our introduction to Business Plan Basics, we dug into the first section, the Executive Summary. Today, we’re getting into the nitty gritty with the Vision, which is all about explaining the purpose of your business in much more detail. At its core, the Vision is meant to document the past, present and future of…

  • Business Plan Basics #1: The Executive Summary

    This is the first installment of a new series, Business Plan Basics! Let’s be honest here — business plans tend to get a bad rap. We think of them as being lengthy, boring and filled with marketing jargon. But remember, business plans don’t need to be overly corporate. If you’re not seeking outside funding, you…

  • Learning To Love Orange

    For most of my life, I loathed anything and everything orange. Any time I spotted the shade, I was reminded of construction cones and fast food restaurants (after all, orange is an appetite stimulant). I’d always thought of orange as being garish, low-budget and better suited for power tools. But over the last year, my…

  • An Inside Look at Starting A New Business

    Last Monday, We Are Branch went live. Less than two hours after flipping the switch, I rushed off to the airport to fly to LA for some client meetings and from there, straight to Palm Springs for Designer VACA. I barely had time to catch my breath, let alone explain the brand in more detail.…

  • The Power of Testimonials

    Amazon founder Jeff Bezos once said that “A brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” This can be a tough pill to swallow — after all, we work hard to project a particular image when running our businesses. I’ve been actively designing since 2006 yet up until last week,…

  • 6 Business Documents We Can't Live Without

    When you’re launching a new business focused on creative services, it’s easy to get caught up in what you’re presenting to the world — after all, potential clients are basing much of their decision on whether they should hire you or not on the quality of your portfolio. They’re also skimming your About page to…