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If you've ever started a new business or side hustle and got really excited about designing the color or the logo or the typeface, just thinking about the branding, but you actually think more about that than the actual business, what you might relate to today's color, they're wondering if they should continue to polish the package or actually finish the product first. So let's see if we can give them some guidance to keep their creativity flowing. I never want to be negative or say, like, don't work on something you're excited about because it is fun to create a business identity and decide, okay, here's what things are going to look like or here's how the presentation or packaging is going to be. So it's not so much brand versus product, it's more about sequence.
Like, what part of your branding do you need to genuinely do to speed up the validation and actually get to launch, and what parts can wait until you've actually got orders and you're like, oh, now I've got a real business, maybe now I want to invest a bit more in this process. So I thought this was a really fun question. I enjoyed thinking through the most helpful response, and hopefully I will do my best to give that to our caller and to you as well. Stay tuned, Detail Question, and my answer coming right up.
Hello from Vancouver. It's Aria here. I'm developing a pet care line, but haven't finalized a single product. And at the same time, I keep sketching logos and choosing color palettes because I enjoy the creative side, but my friends are telling me branding is pointless until the product exists, and other people are saying a polished brand attracts early followers and retailers.
So what I want to know is at what point does investing in a logo and visual identity help? And when is it just an excuse to delay product validation? I want to avoid wasting effort, but also look credible when I do launch. So what comes first be brand or the product?
Well, I'm not going to just say, oh, you need to build the product first and put off the brand, because it's fun to build the brand. At least it sounds like this caller is having fun doing it. If it's something that you're not into, well, then you don't need to worry about it so much. But let's again think about this question of sequencing.
So maybe the first checkpoint is like proof of problem. Like, are you sure this is the right product to build? Reasonably certain, let's say. Is it more than just like I have a cool idea or my friend says it was a cool idea?
If you have some sort of proof of validation, which we talked about in some other episodes, then proceed. If not, maybe just limit that visual identity to a simple name, a basic type of typeface, maybe a one-sense promise. Don't spend too much time on it. But then checkpoint two is like a path to a purchase event.
Do you have something coming up in the next month or two? Like you're going to have a retailer pitch or a trade show or some other client facing meeting of some kind in the next 30 to 60 days. Well, if so, it's probably worth the effort to spend some time on the branding. If not, I think then the branding becomes a bit of a rabbit hole.
Ultimately, your early buyer is going to care much more about the benefit than about your Pantone code or which HTML hex code you're using for colors on your website. So go with a simple, consistent look to keep you credible and focus a little bit more on the product. But again, as I said, if you're having fun, it's okay. Do just enough branding to present a clear promise and then finish and test that product.
And of course, once your business is going well, then don't hesitate to invest more. I mean, that's a fun time. That's a fun process to be part of as well. Listeners, let me know what you think.
If you have a question or an experience, comment, critique. It's all welcome. SideHustleSchool.com, you can access every single episode from the archives, 3,200 plus free episodes there. And of course, the new episodes are out every day wherever you like to get your podcasts.
It's available anywhere, anywhere, everywhere, always free. Thanks for tuning in. My name's Chris Gillevo. This is SideHustleSchool.
From the Onward Project.