Now that you have decided to venture off on your own, it is high time to show your potential customers your expert professionalism and quality services/ products. Many people have started their own businesses only to fall short even before breaking even.
Granted there are a couple of reasons that can be behind this; it is however clear that many individuals seem to neglect one of the most important investments when it comes to selling
their startup to the world.
As the saying goes, “first impression is primal”. When starting your own business, many of us  are working with a tight budget and it is not uncommon to find entrepreneurs looking for ways to cut back on their spending. One of the most neglected investments is sadly the first impression – namely the overall design of your brand.

What first impressions?

How many times have you seen an entrepreneur cut back on how much they spend on their business cards, their logo, or even their website’s interface? Most individuals always start up and promise themselves that they will “upgrade” these poorly executed designs when the money starts coming in. This is however a bad idea. Consider this:; what motivates you to click on a webpage or be interested in a certain service/ product from an unknown startup; is it not first impression? Is it not how well designed their logo, website, etc are executed? Would you be more inclined to request a service from a start up that has cheap and imperfect business cards or would you rather opt for services from that sleek and sophisticated looking business card?
These might seem like very simple and unimportant aspects to take into consideration to an entrepreneur seeing that they are more worried about staying afloat and breaking even as soon as possible. However, research has shown that more customers are inclined to click or call a certain startup and request for their services based on their brand’s overall design.
In the online printing industry, for example, design, presentation, and quality are effective ways to stand apart from the competition.

Business Cards

We understand that you are trying to cut down on expenses but your business card is the first hint of your brand. Many people might opt for cheaper options as they will save a few bucks. This is a huge mistake; you want a business card that oozes professionalism and class. Granted you’ll have to spend a bit more than you’d perhaps budgeted for, it’ll all be worth it once people see how serious and invested you are in your new startup. A well designed, subtle yet eye-catching design will attract more people and urge them to research what your company does, etc.

Logo

How long you take to come up with a creative and interesting logo tends to show in end results. A logo and the ingenuity behind designing it will reflect whether you are serious about your new business or not. Have you ever stumbled onto a logo that made no sense nor did it have any connection to services offered? Would you be willing to try a service from such a company? Take the time to come up with a unique yet interesting logo that is well designed and executed as it’s a gateway to more clients becoming curious about your brand.

Website

The first thing a potential client will do is research your company to gather more information. Many new business owners tend to cut corners when it comes to creating their website. Some individuals use poorly lit images, unprofessional content, unfriendly page interface, etc. It is rare to find a startup that does not want to increase traffic to their website. However, many new entrepreneurs are stumped unto why people are not clicking on their sites to view their services. The answer is quite simple; if your site looks cheaply designed, is hard to navigate, or content is uninformative, many potential clients will simply leave your page and move on to a site that is sleek, contains useful information, has high quality images that highlight exactly what’s being offered, as well as graphics. By writing informative content, people are more inclined to peruse through your webpage and sometimes even share your site on social media networks – Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc with fellow friends they think will benefit from your services/ products. This will eventually help expose your business to a broader audience. According to MOZ “People will be more in-tune to reading your posts and asking personal questions when you create content that provides valuable information and guidance.” This connection will help convert that traffic into leads and establish you as an authority in your customer’s eyes. This is particularly handy for both sales and service professionals.

Final Thought

We understand just how strenuous and exhausting starting your own firm can be. However, this is no cause for you to cut back on some highly important investments. Design is one of the most looked-over investments that many startups forego. One thing to keep in mind is that “how your brand is portrayed to potential clients determines your success.” This means that their first impression on how you’ve executed your overall brand design (cards, invoices, logo, webpage, etc) is directly related to your brand’s success or failure.