It’s no secret that many entrepreneurs struggle to delegate or outsource, but at some point it becomes inevitable—there’s only so much time in any given day. And if your business is experiencing rapid growth, or if you’ve found yourself in that strange yet enviable position of having more money than time, you may be ready to not only delegate to others on your team, but to outsource a more major piece of your operations to another company.
In that case, I hope you’ll allow me to make a humble suggestion born of years of entrepreneurial experience: when deciding which part of your business to outsource, brand design—the creation of a cohesive visual brand identity as well as graphic design needs—can be a strong place to start.
All too often, entrepreneurs think of visual branding as the icing on the cake—a “nice to have” that they’ll get around to adding at some point once they’ve baked the more essential pieces. But as I’ve described in previous blog posts, branding is less the icing on a cake than the foundation of a house.
Still, I understand why entrepreneurs put off their branding when they’ve got their hands full with all the more immediate aspects of running a business. Luckily, it turns out that brand design isn’t only essential to your business—it’s a great area to outsource. And in this article, we’ll explore five reasons why.
#1: Solidify your brand identity
Many entrepreneurs are exceedingly practical—they’re concerned with the here and now, and are less interested in the more ephemeral aspects of running a business. For this reason, I’ve seen countless business owners make the mistake of prioritizing their marketing ahead of their branding—or of failing to distinguish between the two.
When you outsource the admittedly formidable task of establishing your brand identity, you get the best of both worlds: you can focus your time and attention on the more practical aspects of running your business while gaining all the benefits of a strategically designed brand. You may find that during this process, you discover dimensions of your brand you’d never previously unearthed. If you don’t believe me, ask Camille French, founder and CEO of AmeriSource HR.
I first met Camille to redesign her website, but she ultimately chose to go deeper by completing a Brand Snapshot with my team. When recalling her experience, Camille said,
“We didn’t just build a website, we found our voice. We were asking, ‘What do we want our brand to look and feel like?’...It really solidified our branding, and I couldn’t say I had that before.”
Outsourcing your graphic design to solidify your brand identity can help you communicate your vision to members of your team and build brand awareness and loyalty with your audience. Best of all, it can leave you with a stronger, more intimate understanding of your business than you ever thought possible
#2: Get creative direction from an expert
Have you ever misplaced some essential item—your wallet, your car keys, or your favorite lipstick—and torn the house apart in a frenzy looking for it, only to have your partner or friend find it just a few moments after you recruited their help in your search? It’s a somewhat exasperating experience, but I’d argue that the main emotion present is relief.
Outsourcing your branding and graphic design to a creative expert serves the same purpose as asking the nearest person to help you find something you’ve lost. As we said above, there are aspects of your brand identity you might not know until you see them. You might not know that the color green doesn’t mesh well with your brand until you see it in a mockup of a logo, or that you hold an inexplicable grudge against a serif font until you see it spelling out your business name. But making these discoveries on your own takes time and energy that you may simply not have.
When you outsource the design of a cohesive brand identity, you get the relief of discovering an essential missing piece—coupled with the equally powerful relief of no longer having to worry about finding it. After all, there’s nothing worse for a busy entrepreneur than unloading a task to someone else’s plate…only to be peppered with so many questions about how you want them to complete that task that you may as well have done it yourself. While this scenario is all part of the training process for internal team members, it’s something you shouldn’t need to worry about once you invest in outsourcing to a creative expert you trust.
#3: Invest now to save later
Often, entrepreneurs avoid outsourcing because they want to save money. Even if they’ve experienced rapid growth and significant success, it can be difficult to reconcile their newfound financial resources with their long-practiced history of careful budgeting. This leads to business owners taking shortcuts that, while cheaper in the moment, end up costing them in the long run.
For instance, an entrepreneur may consider outsourcing their graphic design to be an unnecessary expense when they have access to free or inexpensive “DIY” options such as Canva or 99designs. They may have used these solutions in the past, and figure they’re working well enough. But cobbling your design together with free templates or cheap monthly subscription services ultimately ends up hurting your brand because you’ll miss out on the most important facet of brand design: the underlying strategy.
The difference between investing in a professional brand strategy versus DIY-ing your brand design is the difference between starting a road trip with a predetermined GPS route versus relying only on your own flawed sense of direction. Both methods will eventually get you to your destination…but one will get you there much faster and with far less expense.
Still, sticker shock is real. Take the time to consider what you’re hoping to get out of outsourcing your brand design, and find the solution that most closely aligns with your budget and your goals. Just keep in mind that investing in a cohesive brand strategy now will only save you money in the long run.
#4: Grow and scale with consistency
Branding and marketing are two separate but intertwined categories, and many branding and graphic design experts also offer some range of marketing services. Once you’ve established a strategic design for your brand, you may have the opportunity to outsource your marketing duties as well.
For many businesses, marketing is the first thing to fall to the wayside when they experience rapid growth and success. It makes sense—if your branding and marketing efforts are successful, they’ll attract new business; however, all that new business means you no longer have the time or energy to dedicate to your branding and marketing efforts. But this means that once all those new clients finish up their contracts, you don’t have any new business waiting for you—so you have to start your branding and marketing efforts in earnest all over again.
Outsourcing your branding and marketing allows you to avoid this maddening chicken-and-egg cycle. When you have a team of experts regularly promoting your business and driving brand awareness, it means you can focus on your day-to-day operations while your outsourced team works in the background to keep your client flow steady. This allows your business to grow and scale at a consistent pace rather than in dramatic highs and lows. And that in turn gives you a more reliable source of income as well as the ability to sleep at night without worrying where your next clients are coming from—both huge benefits in my book.
#5: Gain a trusted partner for your team
When you outsource your brand design, you’re not passing an essential element of your business off to a stranger. Rather, you’re bringing on a valuable partner who you can continue to lean on for guidance in further developing your brand.
This is particularly important when you consider that brand strategy isn’t a one-time-only deal, but an ongoing endeavor. As time passes and your business grows, you’ll inevitably need to make changes and updates. And that’s much easier to accomplish when you have an expert in your corner who has an intimate familiarity with your brand.
Here at Miss Details, my team and I have had the honor of serving as trusted partners for over 800 brands, guiding business owners’ strategy and crafting their designs based on a thorough understanding of their histories, identities, and goals. If you think we might be a great match for your brand, schedule a free consultation today.
Wondering if a certain area of your business should be delegated, outsourced…or simply done yourself? Download Miss Details’ free Delegation Flowchart for instant clarity.
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