June 3, 2010

“Solopreneurs,” those hardy warriors who are a company of one, must build a brand just like larger organizations if they want to go big time. However, they make some simple boo-boos—perhaps because they are working alone and too close to their business. I asked my buddy Joe Moreno, founder of Epics3.com and successful solopreneur, to help me compile a list of six mistakes that solopreneurs need to avoid. 

1. Diluting your brand. Just because you own multiple businesses or domain names, doesn’t mean you should put them on your business card or in your email signature. This is what this boo-boo looks like:

Sincerely,

Jay Smith

JandBAssoc.me

SoCalRealEstate.com

JaysMakeMoneyFast.com

jaysmith42@gmail.com

This type of signature creates more questions than it answers: “Why should I care about these other things?” “How can he do a good job for me if he’s got these other gigs?” This is not the place to advertise how busy you are with your other ventures.

2. Overusing pictures of yourself. Does your home page contain a picture of your smiling face that looks like the pictures on supermarket carts for real-estate brokers or the owner of an online dating site for busy professionals? Go to the home pages of all the best brands: Do you see any pictures of the CEO or founder?

Do what you want in the About page, but cool it on the home page. Even on the About page, if you’re good looking, you don’t need to include a picture. If you’re ugly, why remove all doubt and scare people off?

3. Spending an inordinate amount of time and money on your logo. A recognizable logo is more an outcome of success rather than the cause of the success. For example, the Apple logo is, without a doubt, an extremely powerful icon but only because of Apple’s overall success.

Many top companies, such as Microsoft and Google, use logos that are not much more than stylized text, and there's nothing wrong with that. Amazon.com has a well-recognized logo, but most people don't realize that the swish, pointing from the A to the Z, is meant to convey that Amazon sells everything from A to Z. Just get a decent logo and focus on your business. If your business is successful, people will think your logo is swell—or you can fix it when you have the time and money.

4. Using a weak email address. What do you think when someone with an AOL.com email address writes to you?  Thoughts like “with it,” “dedicated to this business,” and “hip and cool” are probably not what pops into you head. An email account with your company's domain name is better for two reasons: first, it shows that you’re serious about the company; second, it shows that you’re not clueless.

Email from a Gmail account is a tricky case. Using Gmail doesn’t make you look clueless, but it does beg the question: “Is this person serious about the business or just doing this on the side so she’s using Gmail?” Why open this can of worms? Get a real email address and remember: any little faux pas like this can affect the perception of your brand.

5. Confusing your look and feel. Details such as look and feel, font type, and color should be consistent on your website and marketing materials. Apple is a great example of a company with a consistent look and feel across multiple product lines. For example, their consumer hardware is usually white, black, or colored (iPods, iBooks, MacBooks) while their professional hardware is brushed aluminum (Powerbooks, MacBooks, Mac Pros, and Xserves).

Pick a scheme (font, color, overall style) and stick with it. It’s one less thing to think about, and it will make your business look more stable and solid.

6. Being long-winded. Keep your branding messages short and sweet. Websites or emails with hundreds or thousands of words will not be read in today's world of 140 characters and ten-second sound bites. If you can’t communicate what you do within these parameters, maybe you’re not doing the right things.

You’ll be lucky if you can stand for one thing in the minds of your customers. Volvo = safety. Porsche = engineering. Audi = four-wheel drive. Ferrari = sexiness. Solopreneurs get long-winded when they try to stand for multiple things for multiple people. That’s a recipe for disaster.

The appeal of solopreneurship is that you can control your own destiny and do the right things the right way. These are six examples of ways that you can improve your branding and increase the probability of succeeding.

Joe Moreno is the founder of the photo sharing site Epics3.com, based in Carlsbad, CA, and also provides cloud computing consulting services to businesses. You can follow Joe on Twitter @JoeMoreno. 

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Join the conversation ( 12 )

• Kenneth Jamaca 1 year 11 months and 10 days ago

  

  I agree with the logo comment. I am working with a small business owner who spent more time figuring out her color scheme and logo than she did on her business plan! It is easy to get caught up in the aesthetics of your brand, but that should be second to the product or service your brand represents.Our logo (nicknamed "Seamus") was created for $100 by a company I found on Craigslist. The company name and logo have a rough correlation to what we do, but all in all, it is memorable and people seem to like it.As far as pictures on the home page - definite "no no"! Save those for your other social media venues and the 'about us' page.

• Carla Bobka 1 year 11 months and 13 days ago

  

  These are solid tips, particularly when so many of the long-time unemployed from corporate America are trying to reinvent how they get paid for their expertise. And these tips are tough to accomplish when you are so inside the machine, and working w/ limited funds.Here's a suggestion on that - outsource to friends you have with a marketing skill set. It could be a former colleague who is still inside the corporate machine you left, it could be a local business person who business skills you admire. You can post a request for help to a group on LinkedIn or put an ad for a graphic designer on Craigslist. Another option is to check out a virtual assistant who has marketing expertise. You can hire them to edit, review your site, help you hone your wordy messaging. Typically a few hours a month is all it takes, so it's not committing to a full time person or supplying them with a place to work.

• Joe Moreno 1 year 11 months and 13 days ago

  

  McNeal, Something else to consider is: what do the logos of the largest corporations stand for?Off the top of my head, the four biggest companies are Exxon Mobile, Apple, Microsoft, and Walmart. These logos don't really stand for anything.(The name Apple wasn't picked for any reason and it's not really a bite taken out of the Apple logo, it's just a part that was covered up by the lower case "a".)

• Joe Moreno 1 year 11 months and 16 days ago

  

  While designing a logo is a lot of fun. No customer will decide to do business (or not do business) with a company based on the logo and no employee will decide to work for a company (or not work for a company) based on a logo.

• Fiona Bosticky 1 year 11 months and 18 days ago

  

  True, I agree with some of the other commenters on Point 2. Too many company websites look very impersonal and you don't even know who's working for the company, let alone who is running things. I think for a Solopreneur is a fine balance. If they ARE the brand, then a photo on the front is a must. But if they are planning on growing their company, and eventually adding more staff, their website should allow for this, and not be built so much on the brand of one person. Great post :)

• McNeal Maddox 1 year 11 months and 28 days ago

  

  Guy - I follow your tweets closely, so I was encouraged to see one linked to an article about branding and brand strategy. I'm in agreement with everything you and Joe listed EXCEPT for #3. The advice to “just get a decent logo and focus on your business” is counterintuitive. Entrepreneurs need to build awareness around their company and an important part of that is creating a memorable visual identity. If they just build a “decent” logo (and I'm not sure what you mean by “decent” or what that even looks like), they’re probably overlooking the importance of creating a strong corporate identity that can distinguish them from competitors — which SHOULD be the focus of their business. A logo is more than just an identifying mark. It should stand for something -- ideally, the unique idea that underpins a company. Most entrepreneurs fail to understand that fact. Maybe that's the common mistake that's made instead: Spending too much time and money on a logo that doesn't really represent what the business is all about. Not only can a well-crafted logo support the "short and sweet messaging" you suggest in point #6, but making an upfront investment in a meaningful identity for your company can pay dividends for years to come. Although the Apple logo has been modified over the years, the core idea has been there since it was first designed. Businesses have to think about long-term performance, and, in the long run, it's worth the investment.

• Ted Wright 1 year 12 months and 0 days ago

  

  Why is it "lucky" if you come to stand for one thing with your customers. Isn't that standing for one thing the result of hard work, good decisions and constant focus on a single goal?

• Joe Moreno 1 year 12 months and 0 days ago

  

  Guy Kawasaki has to be the biggest hypocrite in the world! Look at the huge photo at http://www.guykawasaki.com! What gives?Obviously, I'm joking – I greatly appreciate your feedback on our article about branding boo-boos.Keep in mind, if you're building a personal brand like Guy, then a photo may be appropriate.A common mistake I see is when a startup company tries to raise funds from VCs (after all , Guy is a VC but there's no photo at http://garage.com). You want to look like you know what you're doing, but there's no need to try to look bigger than you are.

• Louise Julig 1 year 12 months and 1 days ago

  

  I think I'm going to have to disagree about the photo also, but of course I am also using one. I use the same photo for my LinkedIn account, Twitter account, and on my web site - I think in this age of Social Media, people expect to have a photo to reference to a name. My business is my name, so I want people to have an idea who they are dealing with. I agree with most of his other points, although I can't say that I'm following them all yet

• Jason Cartwright 1 year 12 months and 1 days ago

  

  I'm with David on the photo issue as well. In the era of Social Media and Online Branding, people want to do business with a person. And the brand you should be building is YOU. Granted, you can certainly go overboard... but allow people to connect with the real you.

• Larry Keltto 1 year 12 months and 1 days ago

  

  Here's another one: grammar, spelling, punctuation and usage mistakes in your written materials.

• David Garland 1 year 12 months and 1 days ago

  

  I disagree with the point about photos (I'm also bias because I have one of them). I find that it is humanizing and creates a better connection with the reader/buyer/watcher whatever when they can associate a face. Trying to emulate Apple might not be the best play for solopreneurs...Just my .02 :)