The ABCs of Branding for New Entrepreneurs

Your brand is more than a business name and a catchy tagline; it’s the personality of your business—it’s how customers experience and remember you.

From selecting colors to designing logos, the entire process can be both thrilling and overwhelming if you're just starting out. Thankfully, there are tools that make it easier, like Canva, which I cannot recommend enough for new entrepreneurs.

This post aims to ease that overwhelm by breaking down the ABC’s of brand building and giving you a head start on creating your very own brand kit. Be sure to snag the free Brand Building Checklist at the end to keep you on track!

Before we get into the details, I want to bring attention to two often-overlooked essentials that can help you build a strong foundation as you cultivate your brand.

Overlooked Brand Essentials:

1. Brand Language
Don’t focus solely on the visuals—how you communicate is just as important. Remember your parents telling you, “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.” The same applies here. Think of your brand voice as the tone that shows up in every conversation you have, from social posts to customer emails. Keep it clear, consistent, and true to who you are. This authenticity builds trust, helping your audience feel connected to you every step of the way.

2. Consistency Across Platforms
Your brand is like a familiar face—customers should be able to recognize it no matter where they see it. That sleek logo is a great start, but make sure your style, colors, and messaging show up consistently across all channels, from Instagram to email signatures to packaging. A cohesive brand not only looks professional but also makes your business quickly recognizable, no matter where your customers encounter it.

With these essentials in mind, it’s time to dive into the heart of building your brand. The ABCs of Branding will walk you through the key steps to create a brand identity that’s true to your vision, connects with your audience, and sets you apart. Let’s get started!

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The ABCs of Branding: A - Align Your Brand Voice with Your Vision

Before you start picking colors and fonts, make sure your Vision, Mission and Values align with your Brand Voice. Your brand voice should reflect these core elements, ensuring every piece of content you create reinforces who you are as a business.

Vision, Mission, Values

If you haven’t already, start by clarifying your vision and core values: Ask yourself what impact you want your business to have and what values you want to communicate.

Here are some questions to get you started:

• What’s important to me and my business (core values)?

• What’s my mission?

• How do I want my brand to be remembered?

• What differentiates my brand from others in the same space?

Brand Voice

Next, define your brand’s voice - the way your business “speaks” to your audience. Your brand voice is the personality your customers will experience at every touchpoint, so it needs to feel true to your vision and resonate with your audience.

It can be helpful to think of your brand as a person with a unique personality that embodies your vision. Is it friendly and approachable, or bold and authoritative?

Describe your brand as you would a friend. For instance, if your vision is to bring joy to clients through products that celebrate individuality, your brand voice might be playful and expressive.

Here are some questions to guide you:

• If my brand were a person, how would I describe them?

  • Consider traits like friendly, bold, professional, playful, etc.

• What kind of tone do I want to convey?

  • Is it casual, formal, quirky, inspirational, or authoritative?

• How do I want my audience to feel after interacting with my brand?

  • Do I want them to feel motivated, reassured, empowered, or delighted?

• What words or phrases do I naturally use that could translate into my brand’s voice?

  • Think about phrases that feel authentic to you and your business style.

• Who am I speaking to in my content, and what’s their communication style?

  • Consider the language and tone your audience would feel most connected to.

When your brand voice is a natural extension of your vision, it will feel authentic to you and your audience, building a strong foundation for all your marketing and communication efforts.

B - Build Your Visual Identity

Now for the fun part—choosing your visuals! This includes your business name, logo, colors, fonts, and graphics. These elements should work together to tell the story of your brand and make it memorable.

Some basic elements to include in your brands visual identity are:

• Logo: Make it clean and simple. Your logo should be easily recognizable and adaptable (it needs to look good on everything from business cards to Instagram). Picture all the places you’ll use your logo, and jot down a list if you can. It’s helpful to have a few versions: a light and dark option for different backgrounds, transparent files, and even a compact version, like initials, for smaller spaces where the full logo might be too detailed.

• Color Palette: Choose 3-5 colors that complement each other. Coolors is a great tool for color inspiration if you are feeling stuck. Be sure to snag those hex codes! My personal approach is to take a few keywords from my brand’s personality—think words like “vibrant,” “warm,” or “trustworthy”—and type them into Pinterest. This helps me to find images that capture the mood I’m going for and colors that associate well with those target words.

• Fonts: When it comes to fonts, less is more! I recommend starting with two—one for headers and one for body text. Think of it as giving your brand a signature style that’s easy to recognize. Too many fonts can feel a bit chaotic and might distract from your message, making it harder for your audience to stay engaged. A clean, consistent look is key to creating a polished, professional brand that resonates with your customers and keeps things easy on the eyes!

Leverage a Brand Mood Board

Utilizing a brand mood board at this stage can help guide you as you begin to define your business visuals. What is a brand mood board you might ask. Basically it is your vision, visualized!

Pinterest and Canva are fantastic places to start a brand mood board. Think of it as your brainstorming hub—a collection of images, colors, styles, and textures that capture the feeling you want your brand to convey. Use it to gather inspiration for a clearer sense of your brand’s emotional tone and aesthetic direction.

Keep in mind, a mood board is meant to be flexible, serving as a creative springboard that lets you explore what resonates with you before making any final design decisions. It’s one of my go-to tools for brand development, and it can seriously cut down on the time and stress of trying to pick out all the new elements for your business.

Canva Brand Mood Board Templates

Tips for Creating a Brand Mood Board:

1. Find Brands That Inspire You
   Take a look at brands you admire or feel drawn to. Ask yourself, What is it about this brand that catches my eye or draws me in? Whether it’s the color palette, the clean design, or a playful font, understanding what resonates with you will guide your choices.

2. List One-Word Descriptors
   Next, jot down a few one-word descriptors that capture the emotion or essence of your brand. These words will serve as guideposts as you create your mood board. You can also use descriptors from your Brand Voice.

   Here are some words to get you started:

• Elegant

• Playful

• Bold

• Minimalist

• Friendly

• Sophisticated

• Creative

• Modern

• Trustworthy

• Professional

• Artistic

• Inviting

• Warm

• Innovative

• Classic

• Adventurous

• Fun

• Vibrant

Where to Create Your Mood Board:

It should be no surprise that one of my favorite tools for creating a brand mood board is Canva. They have pre-made templates that make the process super easy to capture a snapshot of your logo, colors, fonts, etc. You can also find mood board inspiration on Pinterest or Etsy. If digital isn’t your style, go old-school and use a cork-board or poster paper. Add cut-outs and printed photos that really capture the vibe of your business.

Canva How-To Resources:

• How to Create a Logo with Canva

• Choosing a Color Palette for Your Brand

• How to Create a Brand Mood Board

C - Create Your Brand Kit

Now that you have your visual identity in place, it’s finally time to assemble your brand kit. This will become your go-to for all branding decisions and helps keep elements cohesive across all platforms and materials from social media graphics to business cards.

Here’s a simple checklist of what to include:

• Logo variations (full, black & white, etc.)

• Color palette (include hex codes for easy reference)

• Fonts (include variation notes such and when and how they are used)

• Brand voice guidelines (tone, language, messaging & style)

• Mission, Vision and Core Values

• Graphic Elements (icons, patterns, textures or shapes)

• Templates (plug and play social media posts or presentations)

Why Create a Brand Kit?

I know putting together a formal band kit can feel like a lot of work but I promise you it will save time and simplify decision-making down the line. Hello, who doesn’t need that!?

With a brand kit, you have a go-to resource for creating on-brand content. No need to rethink colors, fonts, or styles every time you create something new; your choices are already made, saving time and streamlining the creative process.

Where you house your brand kit is up to you. Use Google Drive, OneNote, Canva or even just a folder on your desktop. As long as it’s contents are clear, concise, and “easy to reach" you’ll be more likely to keep your brand consistent.

Brand Voice Guidelines

By now, you’ve probably nailed down your brand’s voice and personality. To keep things consistent, put together some brand voice guidelines—a 'rulebook' for your brand’s tone, language, and style. Think of it as a cheat sheet to make sure every message sounds like you.

These guidelines typically include:

1. Tone – The overall attitude or emotional quality in your brand’s communication, such as being friendly, professional, or bold.

   If your brand is friendly and approachable, your tone might be warm and conversational. For instance, a bakery’s tone could be “welcoming and cheerful” in a way that makes customers feel at home. Imagine how you’d greet a customer in person—this vibe should carry through in your brand’s tone.

2. Language – Words, phrases, and expressions that your brand frequently uses (or avoids) to reflect your brand’s personality and connect with your audience.

   A wellness brand might use calming, supportive language like “nourish” or “restore.” Alternatively, a tech brand could use straightforward and action-oriented terms like “optimize” or “boost.” Choose words that match your brand’s energy and values to keep the language consistent and purposeful.

3. Messaging – Key messages that consistently convey your brand’s mission, values, and unique selling points.

   Your messaging should communicate your brand’s key promises or mission. For example, a fitness brand’s core message might be, “Helping you reach your goals, one step at a time,” while a luxury travel brand’s might be, “Crafting unforgettable, bespoke experiences.” Messaging is what you want people to remember about your brand—so think about what your brand stands for.

4. Style – Specific grammar, punctuation, and style preferences, like whether to use contractions, active vs. passive voice, or emojis, which add a signature feel to your communication.

   Style is the overall “look and feel” of your brand’s words. For instance, a children’s toy company might use shorter, playful sentences and lots of exclamation points, while a financial consulting firm would likely use more formal, polished sentences. Match your style to your audience’s expectations—keeping it aligned with how they want to engage with your brand.

These guidelines make it easy to keep your voice true and recognizable across every platform and interaction, building trust and creating a seamless experience for your audience.

Templates

Creating reusable templates for your brand kit is like setting up the ultimate time-saver and consistency booster. By designing templates for common tasks—like social media posts, client proposals, and presentations—you’ll have a ready-made, on-brand framework to fill in as needed.

Here are some key templates to consider adding to your brand kit:

• Social Media Posts: Design a few layouts for different types of posts, like quotes, announcements, or product showcases. Choose colors, fonts, and image styles that align with your brand’s visual identity. This way, you can focus on content instead of design every time you post.

• Client Proposals and Presentations: Impress clients from the get-go with professionally branded proposals and presentation slides.

• Email Newsletters: Keep things visually consistent by creating a branded email template that uses your logo, colors, and fonts. Each email you send out will look instantly recognizable and remind your audience who’s in their inbox.

• Marketing Materials: Think flyers, posters, or even business cards that match your brand style. These templates ensure that every piece of marketing you share builds brand recognition.

Canva is an ideal tool for setting up these templates! Design a base layout, then save it in your brand kit to reuse and modify as needed. Your templates will keep your brand identity intact and simplify your workflow, so you can spend less time designing and more time connecting with your audience.

Canva How-To Resources:

• Setting Up Your Brand Kit on Canva

Keep It Simple, Keep It You

Building a brand from scratch doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Start small and focus on the foundation. Don’t fall into the trap of analysis paralysis; instead, give your brand room to grow and evolve.

To make things even easier, I’ve put together a free Brand Building Checklist to guide you through the essentials. Ready to bring your vision to life? Download it below and start crafting a brand that truly reflects you.

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