Branding Archives - Maura McMahon

The Women’s Business Initiative

November 29, 2017 By mauramcm888

I’m super excited to be working with a brilliant group of professional business women (and a few select men) on a new business development project in Tacoma, WA. Currently under development in a local business incubator called RAIN, we’re pulling in the expertise of all who are interested. We’re collaborating with everyone from city & county people to politicians to independent business owners to retired professionals. The vast knowledge base is humbling.

Our goal is to provide women who have entrepreneurial inclinations – the resources, education and business support they need in developing their own businesses. It’s time to start to even out the scales a little bit…

Studies show that women lag behind men in creating entrepreneurial ventures and receiving funding. Only 11% of US firms with venture-capital backing have been founded or led by women, and women-led ventures have received only 7% of all venture funds.”

From Forbes, What’s Gender Bias Got To Do With It? Almost Everything For Women Seeking Venture Funding (Read the full article here)

After establishing the mission statement, the next step was developing a new logo design (one of my favorite things to do!).

The graphical concept is breaking down growth to a base level – everything is created from cells/dna/genes.

The graphic is the shape of a cell, with another shape breaking through that, and could be a stylized strand of dna or a “W” (for Women). The linear structure of the cell is the base level structure from which we create. The breakthrough shape is the organic flow of creation, women, growth – we all know there’s nothing linear about that.

To join our newly formed public group on FaceBook, click here.

Moving From ZenDezignz to “MauraMcMahon.com”

April 25, 2017 By mauramcm888

From Business Brand to Personal Brand

In the world of branding and business development, moving from one business name to another can be both risky and challenging – you don’t want to lose your tribe. And when you’re a solo pro, there’s an eternal question about using your own name to develop a “Personal Brand” OR using a business name to develop a “Business Brand.”

I’ve spent the last 10 years developing ZenDezignz into an international business brand. And then it lost it’s sparkle. I outgrew it. It fell out of alignment. In the interest of business evolution I’m moving it all over to my personal brand “MauraMcMahon.com.” Because we all know – if you don’t evolve you wither.

This move is giving me more freedom. Freedom to pursue my passion and clearly focus on creating; along with the freedom to keep the flames of creativity burning.

I hope my tribe from ZenDezignz will evolve along with me and stay connected.

Here are my new social media channels to make it easy:

FaceBook • Twitter • Pinterest • LinkedIn • Instagram

As my personal brand launches, I’m looking for agencies and individuals to contract with. Agencies that have established relationships and need efficient & inspired freelance creatives to make their clients happy. That’s where I fit in. I’ll also continue working with business owners who are savvy enough to know they need professional creative help to build strong & memorable businesses.

If you’re in the market for unique & original illustrated logo designs, print media designs that will convey the key points of your business brand, packaging and/or label designs that will help sell more of your products, need a WordPress website for your service-based business, or digital graphics for your online presence – we’ll have a lot to talk about. I hope you reach out to chat!

Unleashing the Power of Your Brand

March 19, 2017 By mauramcm888

Having a memorable brand is like wielding a very sharp sword that slices through the noise of a global marketplace.

It’s not only a symbol of strength, integrity and power – it’s also a very useful tool. Using it freely gives you the ability to cut through the confusion of mixed messaging – which only works to weaken your business. When in a confused state, people freeze with inaction. A memorable, well developed brand resonates with it’s target market and encourages engagement.

[Strength]

A memorable brand empowers it’s wielder with crystal clear purpose. That clarity of purpose results in strong messaging. When people understand your message, they’re more inclined to align with it or against it. Either way, opportunities for action arise. The strength of your brand lies in it’s ability to communicate clearly and inspire action.

[Integrity]

A memorable brand brings forth integrity. It’s living, breathing proof you believe in the success of your business enough to nurture it, develop it and invest in it. Diving deep to the inner workings of your business is not an easy task, it takes time and commitment. However, once you’ve figured out your vision – the pay off is huge. When others see the results of solid business development, it creates a compelling story that invites people in. We trust businesses who show integrity.

[Power]

Behold the power of the memorable brand! It can propel you forward – faster & further than you ever thought possible. It can double, triple and quadruple your income. It can exponentially increase your reach and impact the world. A well developed brand acts as your very own super power.

Unleashing the power of your brand results in a frenzy of activity for your business. It works to support your messaging, improve engagement and increase visibility. All of which results in more growth and opportunity.

There’s a reason the world’s most successful business owners have invested in developing their memorable brands – it works!

Logo vs. Brand – What’s The Difference?

March 15, 2017 By mauramcm888

What’s the difference between a logo and a brand?

A logo is a symbol, image and/or combination of letters that visually represent your business. Most often, it’s a combination of a graphical image combined with the letters that spell out a business name.

A brand is much more complex than a logo. It’s a combination of many different elements that represent the overall ‘personality’ of a business. A basic brand includes a logo, a tagline, a mission statement, a color palette and various products or services that the business provides. A well developed brand will also include an engaging story, various graphical & photographical images, ideas that it aligns with, perhaps sounds & music, perhaps scents or tastes.

I like to think of a brand as a completely separate person, with all the senses we have to relate to it:

1. Sight

Does the business have a logo, color palette, type faces, specially shaped business cards, a website and/or social media channels? If viewed separately, can you tell those elements are part of the same business?

2. Sound

What is the business saying – what’s the tone of it’s content? And how does that make people feel? Does it have a theme song? Sound effects?

3. Touch

How does the business ‘handle’ it’s clients? And how do the actual business materials feel? Does it have a ‘soft touch’ coating on it’s business cards? Are it’s products eco friendly?

4. Taste

Is the business “tasteful” or “tasteless?” Is it’s ‘flavor’ spicy, sweet or sour?

5. Smell

If the business has a scent what it is? Fishy, floral, woodsy, citrus?

You can even take it out of the physical and into the spiritual – think about things like a spirit animal, totem, god or goddess, energies and/or chakras that represent the business brand. Diving deep into the ‘personality’ provides more opportunities for people to engage with & experience it, which creates a stronger way of relating to it. The more relatable the business brand is, the more memorable it becomes – and a memorable business is a successful business!

Isn’t that the goal?

When Your Name Is Also Your Brand

March 5, 2017 By mauramcm888

One of the most common issues for business owners is defining their business. This is particularly true for personally branded businesses. An example of a personally branded business would be ‘Oprah Winfrey’. Her name is her business and her personal brand. There’s been a trend in these types of businesses over the last several years, which is great to see, but brings an interesting set of issues with it.

The biggest issue is a struggle with separating the person from the business, but also keeping some personality. You want to keep the professional part of the person and intertwine it with the business part of the brand. But you also need to keep your own identity as an individual, obviously. So what’s an entrepreneur to do?

Here are 4 guidelines:

1. Develop a strong tag line.

Naming your business after yourself is great, but you also need to let people know what it is you do and how you can help them. In these cases, the tag line is extra important. The goal is to condense it into just a few words that specifically define what your business is about. Don’t be too tricky, don’t make people guess. You want your tag line to be short and straight to the point. For example: “Coaching For Business Growth” would be better than “If you want to find ways to make your business better then call me to help you with that”.

2. Secure an effective domain name.

When choosing a domain name, you will have a greater chance of attracting potential clients searching for you online if your area of expertise and/or location (if location specific) is included is that name. Statistics show that more than 90% of the public is out there searching for products and services before they connect with anyone. If you secure a domain name such as, “EmmasCoachingSeattle.com”, it will work much better than, “EmmaLikesCats.com”. If your business was all about how much you liked cats, then that would be a great domain name, but if it isn’t then it’s not such a good choice.

3. View your business as a separate person.

Talk about it as a separate person. Plan for it as a separate person. But keep in mind that it is an extension of yourself. The higher, more professional part of yourself. Attracting the right clients will be a constant balancing act of personal and professional. Err on the side of professional in the case of business decisions. For example: ‘Oprah Winfrey the person’ may love cats so much she has them on her underwear, but ‘Oprah Winfrey the business’ will not talk about this because it’s not professional. ‘Oprah Winfrey the business’ will instead share with you a local underwear company that makes really nifty cat underwear in case anyone wants to buy some, because that’s what her business does – it promotes products she likes. Get it?

4. Don’t make business decisions based on personal preferences.

This is a big one and also ties in with viewing your business as a separate person. If your favorite color is pink but your business isn’t selling barbie dolls, then don’t use it. Use color as a tool. If you’re a business coach, use a color like blue that inspires trust. The same goes for any sort of advertising or marketing that you’re using for your business. If you like a type face, but it’s hard to read, then don’t use it. You won’t get your message across. Use a type face that reflects the personality of your business and is readable. If your family member likes to dabble in designing websites, but is employed as a vet tech, don’t have them design your website. Chances are it won’t look very good, it won’t work well and it won’t draw new clients in. Try hard to make decisions about your business from a perspective that takes your customers wants and needs into account, not your own. You need to sell to your customers, not to yourself.

If you follow these guidelines you’ll have a much easier time connecting with your target market, which in turn will help your business grow more quickly.