Choosing Logo Colours

Photo by Thedalog

There are so many things that can make a company look professional, but one of the most common and often overlooked at times is a company logo. It can portray so much about a company, either through images or colours used. What colours can say about you and your company through something as simple as a logo is quite amazing!

The colours you use in your logo can end up being one of the biggest decisions a company can make. These colours are likely going to be the colours you end up using throughout your company – from letterhead to uniforms, business cards to the paint colour scheme in your office. So not only do your colours have to represent you well with their meaning – but you had better like them!

There are many different resources to help you learn more about different colour meanings, a few that I’ve come across are:

• http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html
• http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/color2.htm

Those are just two of many great resources. If you look you will see that you really need to be careful what colours you choose – especially if you have a specific target client. For example, you have probably noticed that many companies that have primarily Chinese clients tend to use a lot of red because in their culture red is an important colour. At the same time you have to be careful that you also do not offend by using a “bad luck” colour.

Another example, if you’re working with money, using green will get people thinking about money. It can also reflect that a company is using “green” practices and have that positive swing to it as well. What about if you’re going for a high-end clientele? Purple, the colour often associated with royalty can be a good choice. Or if you’re thinking high-end corporate a colour like “IBM” blue mixed with greys can work really well too.

A couple examples of negative colours would be red and yellow – while sometimes they can be good representing luck with red or energy with yellow, the colours can also mean different negative things too. Red is also a sign of caution and yellow can make people be on edge or it can also represent being scared or afraid. If you’re wanting to come across with confidence and professionalism you will want to be careful how you use those colours!

Overall just make sure that you don’t just pick a colour because you like it, but research it and make sure that it doesn’t have bad connotations attached to it, particularly if you target a specific clientele. You need to make sure that the people and companies that you are targeting as clients would like the look and feel of your marketing material!

Anna Kouwenberg is the Owner and Creative Director at ARK Squared Productions where she offers web and graphic design services. You can connect with Anna about your logo and design needs via email at anna@arksquared.com, Twitter:@arksquared, or her website at www.arksquared.com.

The Importance Of A High Quality Logo

When people think about starting up a company they tend to focus on getting their product or service ready and selling it to their clients. One thing that can get left behind is ensuring they have a consistent image to put forward in those efforts. How much more professional does, say a courier company appear when they show up in uniform, with a nicely logoed car? A professional image definitely makes a statement, and it can be one of confidence, intentions to be around for the long-haul, and the list goes on.

The key piece to any visual consistency in a company is the logo. Everything can come from the logo – colours used throughout marketing elements, a general feel for anything from business cards to websites. If you don’t have a logo, or don’t have a good one, you can find yourself having a tough time being consistent throughout various marketing mediums because you do not have a strong base.

There are a few key things to consider and remember when putting a logo together and one of the most important is ensuring you have a high quality logo. Some companies use photos in their logo, but most companies are tending to move away from that because a computer generated image is the easiest to keep looking the best. The reason is that photographs are made up of pixels, the higher quality/larger size the image is the more pixels (and thus smoother image) you get. So if you have a poor quality image and you try and use it for a billboard it will look rough and grainy. A computer based image can be done with vector instead of pixels and then holds its smoothness regardless of size. Let’s look at an example with a basic circle:

Original image:

Now let’s zoom in on the image, left is what it would look like if we zoomed in and it was a traditional picture file, right is what it would look like if it was a vector file:

 

Now think of some of the ways that you might use your logo. Sure business cards, brochures, etc, those you do not have to worry about too much. But let’s say you wanted to put a great wrap on your car, make a nice tradeshow booth, or maybe you wanted to do a billboard ad. When you enlarge your logo, is it going to be an ugly circle like the left or like the nice high-quality circle on the right? We all know which one we’d want anyway! So remember that when you get your logo designed – ALWAYS have a vector image available. You can save the file as the traditional “pixel” image for various uses, but being able to go back to the vector image for different projects is very important.

Anna Kouwenberg is the Owner and Creative Director at ARK Squared Productions where she offers web and graphic design services. You can connect with Anna about your logo and design needs via email at anna@arksquared.com, Twitter: @arksquared, or her website at www.arksquared.com.

Should Career Development Professionals Recommend Self-Employment?

"Our role isn't to prepare people for destinations; it is to
prepare people for journeys." Paula Wischoff Yerama

Leaping from full time permanent employment to self-employment wasn’t something I had put much thought into and it certainly wasn’t something I had prepared for. It was, for all intents and purposes, a reactionary decision. I made the decision to quit my job in isolation and set up my business, without a formal business plan, in a relatively short period of time. Somewhere along the line I took an online entrepreneurial readiness quiz. The results essentially told me I wasn’t cut out for self-employment. I went ahead and incorporated Career Designs for Life anyway. Did I do thinks the "right way"? Probably not. Was my decision the best decision given my situation? Not necessarily. If I had to do it all over again, would I? Absolutely – with a few adjustments! While admittedly I could have gone about becoming self-employed more effectively, the lessons I learned along the way were invaluable.

Whether to recommend or not recommend self-employment as an option to clients is a source of great debate amongst career development practitioners. As professionals we have a responsibility to our clients to support them in making decisions that are in line with their values, interests, and abilities; informed decisions. We also have a responsibility to be open with them about our scope of practice and expertise, and to connect them with the information they need. Self-employment isn’t for everyone but that isn’t for us, as professionals, to decide. Our role isn’t to prepare people for destinations; it is to prepare people for journeys. Self-employment is most definitely a journey, a journey that has both rewards and challenges.

In my role as a self-employed career development professional and the Chair of the Career Development Association of Alberta I have had the opportunity to talk about self-employment with people who are both envious and skeptical of my employment situation. Some of them were seriously considering self-employment before they talked to me, and some had never considered it as a viable option. I don’t have a firm stance on recommending or not recommending self-employment as an option to the people who ask me about my own experience and would never advise someone one way or the other. My story has been inspiring to some and discouraging to others. I don’t tell my story to dissuade or persuade anyone but rather to give them one more perspective to help them make an informed decision. That’s the key to making any decision isn’t it, to have as much information from as many different perspectives as possible?

I am certainly not a business expert, but my own experience with self-employment has taught me that self-employment readiness quizzes aren’t they ultimate perdictor of self-employment success. The best way to support our clients is to connect them with and guide them to as much information and as many resources as possible. When it comes to information and resources there are all sorts of self-employment courses and programs, checklists, inventories, quizzes, articles, workbooks, and blogs. Our role as professionals is make our clients aware of the resources, services, and tools that are available, help them to seek out the most appropriate sources of information, and encourage them to talk with people who have struggled, and succeeded.

We can best help our clients to explore self-employment by treating it like any other employment option and encouraging them to research self-employment like they would any other occupation. It is also essential that we be knowledgeable about the programs, services, and resources available to them and to support them in making those connections.

Wishing you all the best with your self-employment conversations!

Paula Wischoff Yerama is the President of Career Designs for Life Inc. and a Certified Career Development and Rehabilitation Professional with a passion for supporting and inspiring work searchers, career transitioners, and employees to be their finest and best every day. Her eclectic background includes experience in customer service, human service, career development, human resources, and team building. Paula frequently responds to requests for information interviews and shares the story of her self-employment journey with her clients and can be reached through her website, http://www.careerdesignsforlife.com.

Leverage Yourself As An Expert By Using Social Media [Infographic]

Have you been wondering how to get your name out there? What are the best platforms for leveraging yourself as an expert?  Social media has been the driving force of many successful careers.  Take a look at this infographic by Zintro about how to leverage yourself as a social media expert.  Click on the image below.

Preparing For A Networking Event

© cliff1066™

Networking is an essential component for businesses success. Not only will you meet potential clients when attending a live networking event, you will also meet your competitors. Keeping tabs on the competition is one way to ensure your business is involved in the right kinds of activities and you can learn from successes and failures as well. Networking events are also a great way to meet supporting businesses (i.e., your allies), ones that may refer you customers/clients or provide you with supplies, and vice versa. Establishing synergies and strong relationships with others in your field builds your reputation and your success. Don’t only network with those who will benefit your company now, be sure to connect with those who will benefit your company in the future too.

Getting connected with your local Chamber of Commerce or Board of Trade is a great idea as they may host local networking events. Besides attending, you could consider renting space to exhibit your company at a networking event. Another way to find networking events is through http://www.MeetUp.com.

To make the most of a networking event be sure to:

• Identify what you hope to achieve by attending or exhibiting 
• Research who will be exhibiting and possibly attending, and identify who your top “have to meet” people are 
• Practice how you are going to introduce yourself to others. That oh so dreadful “elevator pitch” must be flawless 
• Wear a name tag or logo’d shirt that identifies what you are in the business of doing and dress to impress 
• Bring plenty of business cards, write on the backs of them notes to jog the memory of the person your giving it to (e.g., the guy you discussed ducks with) 
• Collect business cards and be sure to write on them who you need to follow up with 
• Follow up with the important people you’ve met either through a phone call, coffee, drop by their location, or social media (e.g., like their Facebook page, send them a LinkedIn invitation, or follow them on Twitter) 

What other ways do you find contribute to success of attending networking events?

Miranda Vande Kuyt is a self-employed project and communications consultant. She is also the facilitator of the "Look Before You Leap: Self-Employment Survival Strategies" online course through www.LifeStrategies.ca.

The Cold, Hard, Truth About Self Employment - And Some Crucial Advice

So you're considering becoming an entrepreneur?

Do you really know what you're letting yourself in for? 

Take some time to consider these cold, hard truths before you take the leap!

There are 3 main reasons why someone becomes an entrepreneur:
1 - They fall into it.  They're an 'accidental entrepreneur' through redundancy, lack of opportunity, remote location, etc.
2 - They are making a 'lifestyle choice.'  They want to work more flexible hours and call the shots - work on the beach, spend time with their kids, etc.
3 - They have the heart of a pioneer and can't feel truly content unless they are forging their own path. They have a strong need for autonomy and are never happier when the buck stops with them. These guys are often tough to manage in a corporate setting but they make great entrepreneurs!
But whatever has lead you to this point of decision there are a couple of truths about being an entrepreneur that you should be aware of before you step over the fence towards what looks like greener grass:

1. It's lonely

You're the boss. You make the decisions. It's all on you. Your spouse or partner will never really understand what you're going through (unless they are an entrepreneur themselves), and even with the great forums and networking groups out there, at the end of the day running your own business can feel like a pretty solitary journey.

2. You'll always be on a raw and painful learning curve

There are very few experiences in life that can make you feel as incompetent, scared, and under pressure as running your own business (parenthood matches it, but little else!) You are constantly having to course correct - making decisions every day that may turn out be wrong later down the line. And if you are ambitious this feeling of flying half blind is constantly present as you continue to push the boundaries.

3. You'll have to do things you don't like

One of the things that makes me laugh is when people say they want to start their own business "because they are sick of office politics". Well they're in for a shock! Believe me there's just as much politics in the self employed world as there is in any corporation. For example, if you're like me and decide to sell your services as an online expert, you'll soon find that there are industry giants out there with more experience, better websites, bigger lists, and far more clout than you can dream of. And, they all know each other. They endorse each others products and work as affiliates, generating more leads and more money for each other. It's a reciprocal relationship and if you ever want to make it big you're going to have to step into that arena at some point. Even if you're plans don't include this level of exposure or income, you will come across politics in almost every area of business from manufacturing of goods to offering services. There's competition. There's sales. There's politics.

My Advice:

HAVE A PLAN!! Please, please don't start a business with the "I'll just start it and see how it goes" mentality! Organic growth is messy, expensive and highly risky. Decide what you are playing for and plan for it right from the beginning. If you want to work a 4 hour week then you can't have a service business that requires you to be constantly engaged with customers. If you want to be earning $300,000 in 10 years then set up your business model NOW to allow you to deliver this kind of income further down the line.

I wish you all the luck in the world with whatever path you choose. And if you decide to take the leap into the crazy world of entrepreneurship then I'll see you on the other side!

Vicki Childs is a qualified coach and the founder of FISSION Coaching, where coaches go to release their ultimate potential. Vicki's mission is to help coaches build the tools and business processes needed to create an automatic flow of clients and income, allowing them to focus on their true power and talent - creating fundamental shifts in the lives of their clients. For more information visit http://fissioncoaching.com and be one of the first to receive my latest ebook '3 Fundamental Shifts In Thinking You MUST Make Before You Can Release The Ultimate Potential Of Your Coaching Business'

How To Create Loyal Customers

Direct marketing is a unique way for people to be in business for themselves but not by themselves. I spent a few years in direct sales and worked my way up to a leadership position with a growing team. I got started with the help of an AMAZING person – the FABULOUS Bev Burr. She is a ball of sunshine that encouraged me to work my business in a way that made me want to be successful because I knew she believed I could be. How did she do it? How does Bev continue to be successful in direct sales? I recently caught up with her to find out her secrets.

Q 1. What are the key concepts that drive product sales for you?

Bev: There are 3 Key Concepts I use to drive product sales:

1. Listen to the needs of the customer. If you don’t know what they like or want you can’t make a sale. Always ask open-ended questions, such as: what occasion would you see yourself wearing this?

2. Develop relationships. People are more important than the sales. If people know you like them, then they will feel comfortable to buy what you are selling.

3. Sell the benefits of the product. Let people know what the product can do for them and why they need it in their lives.

Q 2. What are the top objections you deal with in product sales?

Bev: The top objection is always cost. That objection is easily overcome when I show them the value of the products and the Host program. Every direct marketing company offers a host program where customers can get any product they want for FREE by having a few people over and having some fun. Actually, being a hostess was what got me started in direct marketing.

Q 3. How do you overcome objections and move forward?

Bev: Objections are just opportunities for a conversation. People are usually fearful of the unknown. If I can assure them of a positive outcome, they usually relax and become the customers I need and want. Putting the customer first, their wants and needs – and taking my wants and needs out of the picture, actually gets me what I want in the long run.

I never worry about the sales. I worry about making people feel comfortable, happy and valued. If I follow that plan, then what I want and need falls into place.

Q 4. What attitude or outlook on your life and business has lead to your success?

Bev: I believe you need to come from a place of abundance. Give without expecting anything in return. Give for the joy of the gift.

I also have a positive attitude – turning lemons into lemonade. No one wants to do business with anyone who is negative, grumpy, or has a an attitude of “its all about me”.

Q 5. What keeps your customers coming back? Why are they loyal to you?

Bev: I believe my customers keep coming back to me because I take the time to get to know them. I ask questions about their family and let them know they are important to me by sending cards for important occasions. My customers are valued because they are not just about the sales to me – THEY are people and their lives come first. I have discovered that sales is all about developing the relationship first, and then you can sell anything when that trust is confirmed.

Bev Burr has been involved with the Direct Marketing Industry for the past 20 years – full time for the past 10. With her positive attitude and friendly demeanour, Bev has been able to develop a successful home business – not only with top sales achievements, but by also empowering and mentoring women to create their own successful business. Bev’s website can be enjoyed at www.liasophia.ca/bevburr.