First of all, I want to start out by saying you’re not behind. You’re not screwed. And you don’t need to have it all figured out. But you do need to know a few things and I’m about to share them with you.

Hi, I’m Sydney. Brand and website designer for female founders who are overly? passionate about what they do, and they do it so damn well that word of mouth is their biggest client driver. However, they’re having to work their mouth way more than they would like to make sure people know how great they are. Then they hire me. And then their brand walks the walk while their website talks the talk for them. So now all they have to worry about is when and how they’re going to get all this work done!

Okay, now to the part you came here for. Buckle up for a little story about you.

Before you dive into investing in your business (an investment, by the way, not an expense. I’ll die on this hill) you need to make sure you are so clear on what your business is, what it does (generally) and who you’re talking to about your business—and why.

Where to start:

Write it all down, get a new fresh journal and just get the messy out of your head. Then you can turn the page and clean it up. Go page by page and lay out –

• What you actually do. Not the elevator pitch, but the day to day, the step by step, what you do.
• Write down why you do it. What makes it beneficial to your customers or clients? Why do you actually love doing it? Why did you start it and why do want to keep doing it forever?
• Next spell out who you serve. Not the chat gpt version of “where they hang out, how they dress, what the love to drink” nonsense, but who they are their core. What makes them happy, sad, scared, fulfilled. What do they need? What problems do they have and how do you solve them for them. Which problems do you solve directly and how does your service specifically make their life different after working with (or buying from ) you.

Why this matters:

A designer can make any idea into a pretty brand identity. But a true brand that can withstand the test of time and growth is born of strategy, and to lay out a strategic foundation, we need to know why we’re doing it! We need to know what it is we’re actually building around. You don’t, by any means, need to have your messaging perfect. But you do need to know what problem you solve and why.

Next up, if you’re already in business, you need to figure out what your problem is. (It’s not “I need a website” I promise.)

We want to make sure that you’re looking for a designer because you’re ready and you’re in the place to do so. Not just because everyone else with a business hired a designer so that must be the logical next step. Could you imagine if everyone you age was getting married so you just married your asshole boyfriend “just because it was the logical next step”? Shut up. Let’s figure out why you’re looking into design in the first place!

Do you have a website already but its’s not converting? (website/copy problem)

Are people not finding you at all? (visibility problem)

Do people think you’re someone else, or that you do something else? Are you constantly defining your services in DMs or discovery calls? (brand clarity problem)

Are you losing clients to competitors who “look” more professional? (brand perception problem)

All of these problems are not the end of your business, but just a chance to stop, notice, reflect and pivot! If you are feeling any of these problems above, you’re probably ready for a designer.

If you’re feeling like you don’t know who your ideal client is yet, your positioning keeps changing, or you feel like everyone is your ideal client. You’re not ready to solidify a foundation yet. I love you, but you need to go back to the drawing board.

You won’t be able to build a sturdy foundation from a shaky hand. AKA you can’t build a brand around a message that is unclear. A designer can make it pretty, but it’ll only get you so far before it begins to fall apart.

If you’ve been saying things like, “I want a website, but I’m not sure if my offer is right yet.” or “my services change per client.” or, my favorite challenge, “I haven’t validated that people actually want what I’m selling.” then you’re probably not in a place of confidence enough yet to see the value in yourself, and you will not be able to sell your services from a place of insecurity.

Lucky for you, I have a service called Make It Make Sense sessions where you can spend 90 clarifying minutes with me untangling the entrepreneurial excitement that is happening in your head, and get started with a clean slate and vision for what to do next, what to offer, and who to offer it to!

Okay sorry, I had to do it okay!!

Anyway, point 3. You need to make sure you are ready and honest with yourself. (about your business AND yourself).

Get clear on what your actual goals are. Not your crazy pie-in-the-sky goals. Your real goals.

I’m talking about the ones that keep you up at night. The ones that make you actually excited to work. The ones that feel possible but challenging. Not “I want to make a million dollars” but “I want to work with 10 premium clients who pay me what I’m worth and respect my time.”

Be honest about your story too. Not the sanitized version you tell at networking events. The real one. The reason you started this. The messy part that led you here. The thing that makes you different even if you don’t think it’s that different.

And here’s the piece I feel like nobody talks about: you need to be honest about what scares you.

Are you scared people won’t take you seriously? Are you worried you’re not actually good enough? Are you terrified of being visible? Are you concerned that once people really see you, they’ll realize you’re just winging it?

Your designer needs to know this stuff. Not because they’re a therapist (spoiler: they’re not). But because the best brand work happens when you stop hiding. When you stop apologizing for what you do. When you actually own it.

If you’re not willing to tell your designer the real story, the real problem, or the real vision, they can’t help you. They really can’t. You can have the prettiest brand in the world and it’ll still feel like it’s not you because you never let them actually know you.

So before you hire anyone, journal about your business like you’re talking to a friend. Not a client. A friend. That honesty is what we need.

You Need a Budget (And You Need to Be Honest About It)

Not going to sugarcoat this. Good design costs money.

That’s not because designers are greedy. It’s because good design requires time, strategy, expertise, and skill. It requires someone who knows color theory and psychology and human behavior. It requires someone who will ask hard questions and push back when something isn’t working.

You can get a logo for $49 on Fiverr. You can. But you know what that logo will feel like? Like a $49 logo.

I’ve seen business owners invest $500 in a brand and then spend $5,000 trying to fix it because it wasn’t built on strategy. So they ended up spending more anyway.

Here’s what I need from you: know what you can actually afford. Not what you think you should be able to afford. What you can actually afford right now.

Maybe that’s $2,100 for a brand foundation. Maybe that’s $4,500 for a Hot Seat day to tackle one specific thing. Maybe you’re ready for the full $7,800 investment. All of those are valid.

But what’s not valid is hiring someone and then resenting them because you stretched too thin to pay them. That’s not their fault. That’s you not being honest about your budget.

Understand that cheap brands feel cheap. Not because designers who charge less don’t care. But because there’s only so much you can do with limited time and resources.

Figure out what feels like a reasonable investment for your business right now. Get real about it. Then we can figure out what version of the project makes sense for that number. Or figure out what you need to do in your business’s current situation to make enough money to be able to afford design. Try a flash sale to sell more, try doing the thing where you tell instagram what you’re trying to raise money for and if they buy (your thing) they’ll help you get there.

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This is one you really need to commit for… You Need Time and Willingness to Show Up and do the work.

This isn’t a “hand it off and ghost me” situation. This isn’t a “copy paste the questions into chat and copy paste the answers” situation.

You’re going to need to be involved. You’ll need to answer questions about your business. You’ll need to provide feedback on designs. You might need to make hard decisions about your brand. (you, not chat, okay?) You’ll need to be available during check-ins and revisions.

The best work happens in collaboration. If you hire a designer and then disappear because you’re in launch chaos, it’s not going to work. You need to show up for your own brand.

That doesn’t mean you need to be available 24/7. It means you need to carve out time in your calendar for this project. It means you actually respond to messages. It means you show up prepared for calls with answers and feedback.

I had a client once who booked a project and then didn’t respond for two weeks. When they came back, they were frustrated because nothing had moved forward. But I couldn’t move forward without them. It wasn’t about me being slow. It was about them not having the bandwidth. Could I have guessed or assumed or just wrote something out for them? Sure. But when it comes time to show up would they be able to portray that messaging 100% authentically?

So before you hire anyone, make sure you can actually dedicate time to this. If you’re in the middle of launch chaos, maybe wait a month. Better to do it right than do it rushed.

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This may be crazy, but you Need to Understand What a Designer Actually Does

A designer is not just someone who makes things pretty. We’re not just out here slapping logos around on napkins and mailing them to you.

If that’s what you think, you’re going to hire the wrong person and have a terrible experience.

A real designer asks questions about your business. They ask about your clients. They ask about your goals. They ask about your fears. They dig in and try to understand the bigger picture before they ever start sketching a design.

A real designer pushes back. If you ask for something that doesn’t serve your brand, they’ll tell you. They’ll explain why. They might suggest something different. They won’t just say yes to everything because you’re the client.

A real designer helps you see things you can’t see because you’re too close to it. You’ve been living in your business every single day. You can’t see it clearly anymore. A good designer can. That’s what you’re paying for. The outside perspective. The expertise. The strategy.

If a designer jumps straight to “send me your Pinterest board” and starts designing without asking any questions, that’s a red flag. They’re not designing. They’re just taking orders.

So when you’re looking at hiring someone, ask them questions. How do they work? What’s their process? Do they do strategy? Do they ask questions? Do they push back?

Listen to their answers. You’ll know pretty quickly if you want to work with someone or if you should keep looking.

You Need to Be Ready for Transformation (Not Just Updates)

Here’s the thing about a real rebrand: it’s transformative.

Your brand might change. Your messaging might evolve. Your website might look completely different than what you have now. You might feel uncomfortable at first because it’s new and different and it’s not what you’re used to.

That’s normal. That’s actually good. That’s growth.

If you’re looking for someone to just refresh your current website and keep everything basically the same, you don’t need a brand designer. You need a web developer.

If you’re ready for actual change, that’s different. That requires trust. It requires openness. It requires being willing to try something new even if it scares you a little bit.

The best transformations happen when someone is ready to stop playing small. Ready to stop apologizing for what they do. Ready to actually own their expertise. Ready to fully embrace their brand and show up.

If you’re there, maybe we can chat!!

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WHERE TO START (If You’re Not Sure You’re Ready)

Okay, so you’ve read all of this and you’re sitting here thinking “Sydney, I’m not sure if I’m ready.” And that’s totally fine, that’s what got you on this page isn’t it? It’s good to question yourself. It’s healthy to notice growth and sit with it for a minute.

Here’s the path forward.

Step 1: Do an honest audit of your current situation

How’s your website actually performing? What’s not working? How do people actually perceive your business? What feedback do you get from potential clients?

Step 2: Get clear on your story

What do you actually do? Who do you actually serve? Why does it matter? Write it all down. Get it messy first, then clean it up.

Step 3: Define your goal

What would success look like for you? What are you hoping will change? What’s the actual problem you want to solve?

Step 4: Figure out your budget

What can you invest? What’s that worth to you? Are you ready to prioritize this?

Step 5: Reach out

If you’ve done all this and you’re ready, that’s when we talk. I can help you move forward.

If you’re still figuring it out, that’s okay too. There’s no rush. But I’m here for when you are.

Got it? GO.

You don’t need to have it all figured out. You don’t need to be perfect. You don’t need to know exactly what you want.

But you do need to be willing to do the work. You do need to be honest. And you do need to be ready for things to change.

If that’s you, I’m here for it.