If I was starting over from scratch tomorrow with a new business idea, I wouldn’t do what most people do. I wouldn’t immediately build a website. I wouldn’t hire a designer. I wouldn’t post on social media every single day.
I’d do something else first. Something that would actually save me time and money and heartbreak down the road.
I’d get clear on what I’m actually doing before I told anyone about it.
The Mistake Everyone Makes
Most people start a business and immediately think about how it looks. They want a logo. They want a website. They want an Instagram aesthetic. They want to look legit.
So they hire a designer or they throw together a Canva logo or they slap together a Squarespace template. They launch it. They tell people about it. And then they realize that what they’re selling isn’t quite right, or their positioning is confusing, or their messaging doesn’t land.
And now they’re stuck with a beautiful brand that doesn’t actually work. So they pivot. They change their offer. They change their messaging. And now the beautiful brand doesn’t match anymore.
So they rebrand. They hire another designer. They rebuild the website. More money spent. More time wasted.
All because they got the cart before the horse.
Start With What, Not How It Looks
When you’re starting a business, the first question isn’t “What should my logo look like?” It’s “What am I actually doing and why?”
You need to get clear on what your offer actually is. Not the polished version. The real version. What do you do, day to day, for your clients? What’s the actual process? What are the steps? What’s included? What’s not included?
Most people can’t answer this clearly. They know it in their head but they can’t articulate it. They mix up different offers. They add things that don’t belong. They leave things out that should be there.
Get clear on this first. Write it down. Explain it like you’re talking to a friend. Get messy. Get specific. Figure out what you’re actually selling before you design around it.
Then Get Clear on Who You’re Talking To
The second thing is figuring out who actually needs what you’re selling. Not everyone. Not women ages 25-45. Not “entrepreneurs.” The actual person.
What’s their life like? What are they struggling with? What do they actually need help with? Why would they hire you instead of someone else? What are they afraid of? What would change in their life after working with you?
I know so many business owners who think their ideal client is “anyone who needs what I do.” That’s not an ideal client. That’s just anyone with a pulse. And when you’re trying to speak to everyone, you speak to no one.
Get specific. Paint a picture of the actual person you’re serving. If you can’t do that, you’re not ready to build a business yet. You need to go back to the drawing board and figure out who you’re actually for.
Figure Out Your Positioning Before You Design Anything
Once you know what you do and who you do it for, you need to figure out why they should work with you instead of someone else.
This is your positioning. It’s the angle. It’s the thing that makes you different. Not your logo. Not your colors. Your actual difference.
Maybe you’re different because you’re the only one in your market who does it that way. Maybe you’re different because you bring expertise from another industry. Maybe you’re different because you understand the struggle on a personal level. Maybe you’re different because you’ve created a process that actually works when everyone else’s doesn’t.
Figure out what that is. Write it down. Be able to explain it in one sentence. Because that sentence is going to inform everything else. Your messaging. Your design. Your website. Your entire brand.
Without clear positioning, you’re just another person doing what everyone else is doing.
Test Your Messaging Before You Spend Money on Design
Here’s the step that almost nobody does but everyone should. Test your messaging before you hire a designer.
Tell people what you do. In real conversations. Listen to how they respond. Do they get it? Do they think you’re for them or do they think you’re for someone else? Do they ask clarifying questions or do they understand immediately?
Start a newsletter and write about your approach. See if people respond. See if people actually care about what you’re talking about.
Post on social media and talk about your process. See what lands. See what people ask about. See what confuses them.
You don’t need a pretty brand to do this. You just need to start talking about what you do and listen to the response.
This is free market research. This is real feedback from real people. This tells you if your messaging is actually working or if you need to adjust.
So many people skip this step and go straight to paying for a designer. Then they launch the beautiful brand and realize their messaging is off. Then they have to rebrand.
Test first. Design second.
Then Hire a Designer, Not Before
Once you know what you do, who you do it for, why you’re different, and you’ve tested your messaging and it actually works, then you hire a designer.
Not before. Not because you think you should. Not because everyone else has a logo. But because you actually have something to design around.
A designer can’t build a brand around unclear positioning. They can make it pretty but it won’t work. A designer needs to know what the foundation is so they can design on top of it.
And when you come to a designer with clarity, everything moves faster. You’ve already figured out the hard part. Now they just need to make it visual.
Build Your Website Around Your Clarity
Once you have brand strategy and design, you build your website. Not before. Not as a placeholder.
Your website is where everything comes together. Your strategy, your design, your copy. It’s where you prove your positioning and make the case for working with you.
But you can’t do that if you’re building the website before you have clarity. You’ll be designing in a vacuum. Guessing at what to say. Making things up as you go.
With clarity first, building the website is straightforward. You know what each page should say. You know what you’re proving. You know who you’re speaking to.
Then Focus on Getting in Front of People
Once you have your offer clear, your positioning figured out, and your website live, then you focus on visibility. Social media. Networking. Content. Speaking. Whatever gets you in front of your ideal client.
But visibility without all the other stuff is wasted effort. You can get a thousand people to your website if your website doesn’t actually convert them. You can be visible all day long if nobody actually understands what you do.
So you do the foundation work first. Then you focus on getting in front of people.
The Timeline Actually Matters
If you do this in order, here’s what it looks like:
Month one: Get clear on what you do and who you serve. Test it. Refine it. Make sure you’re solving a real problem for a real person.
Month two: Get your positioning and messaging dialed in. Write about it. Talk about it. See what lands.
Month three: Hire a designer and build your brand. Now you have a foundation to build on.
Month four: Build your website.
Month five: Launch and focus on getting in front of your ideal client.
Five months isn’t that long in the grand scheme of building a business. But so many people rush the first three months and then spend the next year trying to fix what didn’t work.
Slow down. Do the foundation work. Then move forward.
Why This Actually Saves You Money
I know what you’re thinking. This sounds slow. This sounds like a waste of time when you could just launch and figure it out.
But here’s the thing. If you launch with unclear positioning and messaging that doesn’t land, you’re going to have to rebrand. You’re going to have to rebuild your website. You’re going to have to hire a designer again.
That’s expensive.
If you spend two months getting clear before you design anything, you’re going to hire a designer once. You’re going to build a website once. You’re going to have a brand that actually works and actually lasts.
That saves you thousands of dollars down the road.
The Real Talk
If I was starting over tomorrow, I wouldn’t skip any of this. I’d spend time getting clear. I’d test my messaging. I’d make sure I actually had something worth designing before I asked a designer to build it.
Because the businesses that actually work are the ones built on a solid foundation. Not the ones that look the best. The ones that have thought through what they’re doing and who they’re doing it for.
That’s the difference between a business that flops and a business that grows.
Where to Start
If you’re starting a new business and you’re not sure if you’re ready to hire a designer, you’re probably not. Start with clarity first. Get your positioning and messaging figured out. Write it down. Talk about it. See what lands.
Once you have that, a Make It Make Sense session can help you organize it all and create a roadmap for moving forward.
BOOK A SESSION
Or if you’re already clear and you’re ready to build your brand and website, let’s talk about what that looks like.
LET’S CHAT
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