Small Business Summit Center

Andre Paquin, Andre Paquin Associates

AB: Small businesses usually don't have much of a budget for a rich visual identity. What should a CEO of a small company look for at the minimum?

AP: We’ve all been there when your business crawls out of the proverbial primordial ooze and starts to take shape. It begins to evolve into the vision you had for it. An important foundational part of business planning that many new small business owners take for granted is branding. Especially at this stage of development when cash is scarce and resources are tight, there are basic principles every small business owner can employ without having to break the bank. At the very minimum, every new business owner should take steps to implement these practices:

Develop a strategy for your business image – Many people make the mistake of creating their business without considering critical image planning issues. After all, no matter how expert you are at what you do, it’s perception that is reality. First and foremost, understand the market your products and services are sold in and consider what’s most important to the customers who will be purchasing them. Remember WWMCT (what would my customers think?). Use this measuring stick when you consider what you want them to remember your business for and then build your brand upon that foundation. Your name, your tag line, your logotype design, your communication vehicles (letters, business cards, envelopes, brochures, web sites, signs, uniforms etc.) all need to reflect your brand essence. Branding is like planting seeds into the fertile minds of your customers. You want your brand to grow because of the seeds you’ve planted, so make sure your seeds are on target.

Dress your business for success – You would never think of greeting your customers in your robe in slippers after just crawling out of bed would you? You want to take every opportunity to make the best first impression you can because you may not ever get a second chance so you present yourself professionally because you want them to remember the experience they had with you. Take that very idea and expand upon it. You want every experience customers and people who might one day become your customers to be excellent. Because you cannot personally guarantee you will greet everyone, you need to create a franchise model that is successful everywhere you cannot personally be so you can feel confident your business is represented in the very way you intend it to be presented. Building upon the concept of image planning, your professional appearance at key points where your prospective customers come in contact with your organization is key to fertilizing those seeds you’ve planted.

Look sharp even on a shoestring budget – New business owners quite often do not have the capital to afford to hire a professional to help them create their start-up brand identity. Many people consider the logotype as the brand identity because it is the visible representation of your company. However, there are many meaningless good-looking logo designs that do nothing to help your customers associate your business with the very essence of your brand. Consider the graphic design aspect of your business to be what stands between you and your customer. The graphic design is like the icing on a cake. Many people wouldn’t find out whether the cake was delicious unless they were attracted to it by the way it looks. Good-looking icing doesn’t make the cake taste any better, so make sure your cake tastes great first before you begin to ice it.

There are many online offshore alternatives for canned logo designs that cost a fraction of the price working with real professionals would cost you. However, more of the burden of ensuring your company image is within strategy lies on you. Most online offshore solutions will provide you with options. In most cases, like in every aspect of life, you get what you pay for.

Other options do exist if you’re willing to sacrifice the benefit of experience. Many young designers and students are willing to work for relatively little for the chance to create something they can use to build their portfolio and gain experience. In any case, it’s always important to be consistent with the image your business projects. Spend time to manage it closely. The more you plant the seeds for your business in a consistent manner, the higher your probability for recognition and future success will become.

AB: Running a small business for the first time means lots of new challenges. What part of entrepreneurship have you worked hardest on?

AP: Marketing yields sales. In a world where electronic devices allow us to multi-task upon multi-tasks, it is close to impossible to connect with a targeted customer without a referral or introduction first. I’ve learned from my mistakes and have recognized some very key things about how my business is done. First and foremost, business does not come to you – you have to go out to meet it. And, there’s no better way to meet your customers than by being introduced by someone who feels confident you can be a great asset to them.

Word-of-mouth marketing and networking have become my primary means of business development. It does no good to solicit to lists of impersonal business contacts without some form of personal connection. In my youth, I looked down on the idea that you couldn’t succeed unless you “knew” someone (that it was all about who you “knew”), instead of being recognized for “what” you knew (the inference was that it didn’t matter what you knew). Today, I recognize that it is all about who you know. Networking has afforded me the opportunity to increase my probability of meeting the right people who would appreciate what I have to offer and recognize me for “what” I know.

AB: What would you do if you weren't in business for yourself?

AP: That’s a hard question to answer. I’ve spent 26 years of my career working for others and have finally tasted the blood, sweat and tears of independence. If you’re asking me what would I do without this independence, then I would have to say I would do what I have to do to survive, but my heart would be elsewhere. If you’re asking me what I would do if I claimed financial independence and cashed in my chips, then I would explore my creative side even more deeply. I would write. I would paint. I would capture images. I would sit on the beach and stare at my navel and contemplate the meaning of life. I would explore the deep recesses of my mind and I would push my body and then reward it. I would understand my spirit and renew my brand.

Business Bio

Andre Paquin is an independent business consultant specializing in branding, identity, communication and design. With close to 30 years experience in the business of creating and building strong brands, Andre has had the unique point-of-view from the client side of the business and the agency side. Half his career has been as the client working for large Fortune 500 companies like Wells Fargo, Kraft General Foods, RJR Nabisco and International Playtex. Andre has also worked on Madison Avenue for corporate identity and branding giants Interbrand, FutureBrand, Brand Union and Siegel+Gale.