This patient has been seeing this dentist for 16 years, so you might guess that they were already happy with the service. However, having this secondary presence – a website with information about the staff, procedures offered beyond the basic cleaning, and several dental health articles, further cemented the patient’s happy relationship with the dentist.

The patient commented that the site (Carle Place Dental)  was overall “easy to navigate and very informative.”  They found the FAQs helpful and the articles about various dental health topics enlightening. So while the patient has been seeing this dentist for years, they now have more evidence that the dentist is knowledgeable and experienced.

This deepened trust can then extend to an increase in additional services. Maybe a patient has never considered teeth whitening – it doesn’t seem safe, it’s for celebrities, who knows – but when they see that their friendly and trustworthy dentist offers it… they might reconsider.

So, in addition to helping bring in new customers, a well-designed and informative website can also work to keep existing customers, strengthen the level of customer satisfaction, and increase sales with regular customers. And that’s something to smile about!

You like to travel light, you say, keep things simple. You’re exicted and you’ve already looked at possible office space!! That’s great, but do you know how much you can spend?

That’s just the sort of detail that writing a business plan will help you figure out by organizing the descriptions about your new business. Not only will it help you better define your company (which will help you pitch it to investors now and market it later), you’ll have a clearer picture of strengths and weaknesses, and, very importantly, where you plan to take the company. Formalizing all of your ideas in writing will give them more shape and make them more executable. As your business gets going, you will be able to refer to your plan to help make decisions (or to change the plan!).

So what’s all in a business plan? Here’s a basic outline of a sample business plan:

• A summary of your business. Keep this brief.
• A more in-depth description of the company including the purpose (or mission statement), info about your background, key employees, and goals.
• A description of the industry and your target customers.
• Description of products and services, including pricing info. Include photos if possible!
• Organization details: who’s involved and how everyone is organized, your legal business structure (such as LLC or INC), info about how sales are generated.
• Marketing and selling strategy. Good idea to start thinking about how you’ll promote your startup.
• Finances. If you are looking for a loan or investors, this will be important. Be realistic about startup costs and earnings projections.

That’s a basic overview. For more on how to write a business plan, see this sample business plan outline. Once you’ve really nailed down the details, you’ll feel better – because you have a plan for starting and growing your business. Trust us, you don’t want to be wandering aimlessly, in whatever industry it is, without a map.

There’s a lot of pressure out there to blog, to Twitter for business, to at least have a Linkedin profile for goodness sakes! And it’s true, you can’t “sit this one out” and “see where it goes.” Oh, it’s going. Our social lives and our business marketing will never be the same. Your business must participate in the online social sphere.  I’m just one more peer here to say, go on, try it.

It’s a curious feeling, even just posting photos that anyone could see, never mind a status update. So start slow. One site at a time, one profile at a time. Linkedin is an excellent place to begin, since it’s business oriented. When you’re ready to advance to the next level of posting videos on YouTube or setting up a Facebook page for your business, think of it as just that: for your business. It’s true, there’s blurring between the personal and the professional lines, you will be out there with your business – but take comfort in the fact that so is everyone else. That’s right, everyone is doing it.

As you get more comfortable, you’ll enjoy networking online because you’ll be finding old friends and new contacts. Your website will attract more traffic from the additional visibility. It will be worth it. And then there will come a day when you post on a blog and it gets some seriously snarky responses. And you’ll cringe and wish you had never set foot in cyberspace. But so what? It’s just people’s opinions and it will pass. And as they say, all publicity is good publicity. Just stay true to yourself, on message with your company, and keep making connections – online.

Those templates and clip art-font combos are easy to purchase, by you and then anyone after you, as many people as they can sell ‘em to. A hundred companies could pretty much have your same logo. That’s hardly what we call a custom logo. Here’s the thing: ideas for a business may not be as unique as you think, but your brand can be.

We designers are aware that the digital tools we use to create unique designs are available to all, and historically, pretty darn affordable. And as we become more computer literate as a society, more people are going to try their hand at setting up a blog and designing their own business card. I applaud that DIY spirit. And I wonder, if more people understand what it takes to build a website, will they appreciate a custom-designed website more? Or will they assume that because they did it with a template, what’s the big deal?

Right, back to templates. One can download a template for anything – brochure, newsletter, website, etc. Okay, but what happens when you need to change part of it? These templates are customizable, you say. Well, to an extent… but as we know from working with a few ourselves (in order to educate ourselves), minor changes might be possible, but the more unique you want it, the bigger your headache. May as well start from scratch.

And what about those cheap logo design offers? $19 I saw! (With that offer, there’s no changes, what you get is what you get.) One site I found had a step-by-step do it yourself option where you chose a clip art symbol – and they encourage you to copy from the examples – and then pick a font, then colors. Custom logos made easy, right?

Sure, but you aren’t able to make any changes to the drawing, or the lettering. And those are the things that make a logo truly unique and special. Also, there’s millions of colors, and often a surprising combination makes great impact. This is the sort of custom branding that designers are very good at: creating one-of-a-kind symbols and illustrations unique to your company, expressive color combinations, tweaking type for better expression of your brand. And that’s exactly what you won’t get for $19.

Ditto goes for websites. Except, “ditto” is what you won’t get when you work with a designer to create a custom website for your business. Whether branding a new business or rebranding an existing company, it’s well worth it to work with a designer who can listen to your needs, learn about your company, and deliver unique, original, eye-catching designs for custom logos, new business websites, company collateral, whatever. Your brand needs to stand out from the competition to succeed. That’s just the way the cookie crumbles.

So what’s involved in “branding” and why is it so important at the beginning? To start with, think about your business name. Deciding on a name can be the one of the toughest business decisions you’ll ever make, but the time investment will be worth it because it will be used constantly and consistently with all of your communications.

For example, many starting a new business simply use their own name, which works especially well if you already have a lot of contacts, and thus name recognition, in the industry. This also works well if you are a consultant or other sort of sole proprietor.

Similarly, some incorporate their surname into the company name: “The Wilson Group.” Okay, this might sound cool, but if you are totally brand new, I have no clue what you do. Maybe something more along the lines of “Wilson Marketing Solutions” would give me a hint. Not that clever doesn’t count – it can be very memorable. Just don’t be so clever that the rest of us don’t get it.

Another consideration with the name is what’s referred to as “brand position.” Basically, to which market(s) are you trying to appeal? For example, “Doug’s Grill” is very friendly. However, if the price range at said grill is, let’s say, for “special occasions” and the owner’s intent is to seem like they’ve been around longer (or they intend to be!) in the community, a name along the lines of “The Landmark Grille” might do more for the new restaurant. It sounds important, as if it sets the standard in these parts.

Once you’ve put a lot of thought into the all important name, the logo is next. This component of your brand is extremely important, as all the visual representations of your brand will stem from it. Not to add any pressure, of course. But think about how much recognition a consistently applied logo garners. (There’s so much to say about logos, we could go on and on, and will in the future.) Think of your logo as the cornerstone of your brand: all other visuals will build on it and relate to it.

And that last part is key: consistently applying the branding to all your materials, any collateral you hand out, any coupons, any uniforms, your website. Whatever it is, the branding should always be there, treated the same, sharing the same message. When you are new, and need to get recognition as quickly as possible, strong, well-thought out branding – your business name with a well-executed logo, supporting visuals and consistent verbal messaging – will go a long way. And isn’t that what friends are for?

No business card? (This is a very foreign idea to graphic designers!) “Trying to be environmental, save paper,” the fellow explained. Uh, okay… Website then? You MUST have a website… right? Nope. Now, in this day and age that’s pretty unacceptable. Okay, well, give us your email address then. Guess what, no email either! That’s okay for my grandmother, but how can you function in business without email???

This company had nothing. Nada. No business cards, no website, just a cell phone number. (Isn’t that how drug dealers operate?) Every time we discovered some other piece of basic business stationery or a digital trace of his company that was missing, the man became less real. He sort of vanished before our very eyes.

Maybe he couldn’t afford it, you say. Okay, I’ll give you that on a fancy, huge, dynamic website (options there too!). But there are many options for acquiring affordable company stationery. And it’s true that with email and online operations, there is less need nowadays for printed letterhead, but a business card is something affordable and easy to carry around (and give out!) that will remind your contacts of your business after you’ve parted. A business card legitimizes your company, advertises its capabilities, and shows people how� they can find you, literally or virtually. That’s a lot for 3.5 x 2 inches!

As it was with this man and his “company,” without company stationery, you pretty much don’t exist. There was no proof that he did what he said he did. No example of his operations. It was inexcusable and needless to say, we lost any interest in working with him. (What guy? Where’d he go?). I mean, even con artists get cards printed! It’s inexcusable because with digital printing, there are many possibilities for having company stationery created afforadably. Now, I mentioned having a website as necessary too – but that’s a tale for another day.

Just like the Internet itself, social media is here to stay. However, as with clubs or hairstyles, what networking sites are the “in” sites will likely always change. Social networking and sharing online will be a constant, just a continuously evolving one. And since consumers are spending time online, business are adapting and hanging out virtually as well. But what’s the right amount?

According to The Small Business Advocate blog, small business owners can easily get sucked into spending too much time socializing online, leading them to neglect “tried and true” traditional marketing efforts that are, in fact, working. While it’s definitely possible that online networks can lead to new clients, one may not see immediate gains, or any at all if it just doesn’t work for your business. Therein lies the secret, except that the secret formula for the ratio of social media to traditional marketing is going to be different for every business.

As for the scientists’ warning that the overwhelming speed and volume of tweets “could harm [one's] moral compass”… I’m not sure I want to think about that just yet. We’re all experimenting, and businesses (and people) have to figure out what works for them. But you’ve been warned.

We recently finished a fun video project for a client’s annual meeting in which we incorporated live action footage with motion graphics and still images. I went along with the videographer on a one-day shoot for some various footage we needed, and boy, had I forgotten what was involved in filmmaking!

I should tell you that I am a refugee from the film world. Before embarking on the graphic design path, I worked as a costumer in the film and television industry here in New York. There can be a lot of excitement, if “excitement” is another word for “stress,” but glamorous it is not. (Unless freezing in the cold for 16 hours or more on a night shoot is glamorous.) It’s really hard work. With an amazing amount of details to coordinate to get even 10 seconds of the movie right.

As we threw ourselves into the work, those details came rushing back. Such as the importance of finding the right location. This location has too many cars parked, that one has telephone wires strung everywhere, we can’t get a clean shot from this angle.� And the lighting! Well, we didn’t have any lights because it was an exterior shoot, but the day started out really gray and cloudy. It eventually brightened up, but as we worked, our light source (the sun), kept moving across the sky, requiring the videographer to make continuous adjustments. Those were just two examples of how much there is to control in order to get the image you want.
It all worked out, but it was not a walk in the park. Between the equipment, the schedules, the crew needed, the planning, and the time it takes – it’s no wonder movies cost what they do. It’s not all the star’s salary. It’s just what it takes.

Maybe some of that doesn’t apply to shooting a simple interview in a corporate setting, but the general sense that making a professional, well-lit video with decent sound requires a lot of coordinating and proper equipment does apply. And that can take time and money. Sure, people are shooting whatever and throwing it where ever, and we can too. But if we want to rise above all the clutter, we have to look our best.