FAQS: The Right Time to Rebrand

I’ve been getting a ton of emails about my rebranding experience. Most messages are obviously from other industry professionals, who too are interested in pursuing a potential business makeover like the one I’m half way through. It’s tricky to reply to each individual message because every business and business owner is so different than the next so I figured I’d write a little bit here to tell why I personally decided to take the leap and why for me, it was the best thing to do. Rebranding is a very personal and highly invested journey and certainly isn’t for everyone but if you’re completely torn down the middle on what to do then read this first. Hopefully my thoughts will sway you one way over the other and give you a little bit to think about!

Imagine this: as a new business owner, a local university has asked you to be the focus of an article they’re writing for the school’s newspaper. This is your first public ‘appearance’ of sorts into the community and is a big step for your business. You want to look professional, authentic and of course well put together. Perhaps it’s not in the budget to hire a make up artist, hair stylist and someone to coordinate your clothing nor does the circumstance seem appropriate to do so. Maybe a new shirt and a fresh new pop of color on your lips will be all you need to look the part and feel confident. The bottom line is you know you can confidently prepare for the interview and photo session considering the level of importance placed on the situation.

Now imagine being asked again to be the focus of an article in a different kind of publicaiton like the national edition of The Knot Weddings. It will be a three page spread on your business, your successes as a business owner and will include some lifestyle-esque photos of you in your office, of you on the job and of course of you just as is. Chances are you’ll want to hire and invest in a team of professionals to make the difference. It’s not that the article in The Knot is more importance than the small university piece. But it’s easy to invest differently into the preparation and presentation of yourself and your business for both situations. For me, this simple analogy has always been such a great way to keep rebrand-related things in perspective.

When I first started Hey Gorgeous Events a few years ago, my website from Bludomain was the absolute best business tool I could have gotten my hands on. Bludomain offers extremely affordable, professional and user friendly template websites for purchase. The great thing about affordable and customizable templates is not only can you save serious cash but you’re forced to keep your site looking good and up to date; a task that requires some time and effort on your part. Having my Bludomain site paired with my already established blog, small, but authentic portfolio of photos, and a few business cards with my handmade logo printed on them, was a great way to start my business. I truly at that point did not need anything more.

But for me, when I realized my business is absolutely what I should be doing, and I started to invest my fully in my work (setting up a home office, registering as an LLC, booking weddings for the following season, trademarking my business, etc), I realized a Bludomain template that hundreds and hundreds of other people have, was no longer cutting it. I have a business that has grown and flourished and accomplished a lot in a few short years and I have a brand that is fun, authentic, full of spunk and love and above all else I need a website, blog, logo and ‘look’ to represent that. Enter the professional brand consultants!

The minute I first thought of a rebranding, I was literally only six months into business ownership. I was spending triple what I was making on expenses, I was still trying to be content with doing my own thing versus taking the safe route, and I also felt it to be premature just thinking of going through an entire rebranding experience. I wanted to rebrand as soon as possible but I also knew it wasn’t the right time for me. It’s so hard to explain to someone who isn’t quite in a creatively-driven industry or who isn’t a business owner, what a rebrand experience entails because it’s so much more than just a new logo. But for me, I knew I always wanted to take my business to the next level and rebranding would be the absolute best way to do so.

It wasn’t until this past spring that I finally felt it was the right time to move forward with a rebrand. I was at a point finally where my professional, mental and financial (sort of :) situations all lined up nicely. My current brand, website, blog and collateral are just fine and can get me by but they aren’t exactly what I feel they need to be to equal my potential greatness. With the final results of my rebrand, when my website has launched, my blog design reflects my new brand, my collateral sparkles and the back end of my business is structured and streamlined, I know there will be nothing standing in my way of success.

Everything I mentioned above is obviously how my business journey has played out and certainly isn’t applicable to everyone but hopefully gives the lot of you who have contacted me a bit more insight. The above two photos are from a recent summer wedding shot by Amy Carroll and will be some of the gorgeous new images shown on the new site. And below is a screen shot of my Bludomain site as it is now. I can’t wait to show you the after in just a couple months :) Happy Monday xoxo