I recently put a question out there on Facebook. What is it that you would like to know about business and or design/PR.

I received some great requests, but what stood out was this:

How does anyone know what to do first or how to prioritise what is needed to make a small business known to others, on a small budget?

OK, so there isn’t a simple formula for this one unfortunately. I wish I had it myself! What I can offer is points on what can assist you during this phase of your business. It takes time, a little bit of money and plenty of perseverance!

To make it easier, I am listing each in order of priority.

Design your logo

You’re right. It’s awfully tempting skipping the designer and using Microsoft Word to design your logo. Yes, it’s cheaper for you to do this, but what is it costing you? This is the face of your new venture and will be for some time. It’s worth investing in it. You may not be able to afford an agency, but you may have a designer who fits your budget. If not, check out crowd sourcing sites. There’s plenty of designers around the world that are more than willing to design you a logo that suits a shoestring budget - and create much more appealing work than anything that comes out of Word.

Things to remember

Is my logo clear and legible? Who am I targeting? What do I want them to think when they see my brand? Will it reproduce well on business cards, website, collateral and apparel?

Design your website

Many new business owners skip this important project. Yes, websites can get expensive, but you don’t need the bells and whistles from the get go. Again, if you don’t have the budget, try a crowd sourcing website.

Create a small website that is clear about what you do and has an easy-to-use navigation. Don’t overload it with fluff. We’re all time poor and we want to get to the point quickly. Include a call to action like contact me for… or subscribe to our newsletter – whatever the objective of your website is.

I recommend building your website in a universal content management system (CMS) like Wordpress. This way you can make changes whenever you like and any developer can usually make structural changes when your budget allows.

I’ll cover stage two in our next post.