5 Elements Every Small Business Needs to Get Started

Branding & Design

13 Dec

When you’re starting a business, it’s easy to get swept up in the aesthetics of branding. You may get swept up in Pinterest boards, trendy colour palettes, fonts that feel" “cool".” But branding isn’t about how pretty things look on the surface. It’s about clarity, confidence, and connection.

You don’t need a thousand-page strategy document or the trendiest moodboard to start building something meaningful. You only need five core elements that are founded in intention, shaped by your story, and designed to grow with you.

Logo: A Visual Anchor

Your logo is the first handshake your brand makes, visually that is. It doesn’t need to be overly complicated or fancy. It does, however, need to be recognisable, adaptable, and aligned with your brand tone. Think of it as a visual anchor that ties your brand identity together across every platform.

Tips:

Start with a wordmark (just your business name) if you’re on a tight budget
Choose simplicity over complexity; it needs to work at both large and tiny sizes
Have a few variations; a full logo, wordmark, and icon

When I worked with Hands On Holistic, we created a calming logo with soft curves that echoed the nurturing, grounded energy of her practice. It now appears on her website, business cards, brochures, signage, and email footer and still feels exactly like her.

Colour Palette: Emotional Cue Cards

Colour sets the emotional tone for your brand. It’s not just “what looks good” or your personal favourites. It’s about what feels right for your audience and for you.

Tips:

Pick 2-3 primary colours and 1-2 accent or neural tones
Consider colour psychology: blues = trust, greens = health, pinks = warmth and so one.
Test accessibility (contrast matters for readability)

For The Play Doula, we chose rich, muted colours, paired with contrast colours that matched specific healing gemstones to get a sense of the grounding and playful tone they were looking for. Every shade was chosen to reflect their values of wellbeing, connection, and inclusivity.

Fonts: Voice in Print

Fonts are one of the most overlooked brand tools and yet one of the most powerful. Typography speaks for you, before your words do.

Tips:

Choose 2 fonts (3 max): one for headings, one for body text
Avoid anything hard to read or over-stylised (no Comic Sans or script fonts for paragraph text)
Make sure your fonts reflect your brand personality

Brand Voice: Say It Like You Mean It

Your brand voice is how your business sounds in words; your tone, your rhythm, your choice of language. It tells people who you are and how you make them feel.

Tips:

Define your tone: Are you playful, calming, bold, nurturing, straight-talking?
Choose a few “voice styles” that guide your writing style
Write how you speak, especially if you’re a personal brand

For Morgan Charlie, we build a voice that was candid, creative, friendly, and a little bit rebellious. This reflected the founder’s art-meets-therapy mission. Their website (pending publishing) copy doesn’t sound like everyone else’s. It sounds like them, and that’s the whole point.

Brand Story: More Than a Bio

Your story is the soul of your brand. It’s what makes people connect, trust and care. It’s not just “how you started,” it’s why you do what you do, and who you do it for.

Tips:

Share why you started your business (beyond just making money)
Be honest about your values, lived experience, and what drives you
Invite your audience into your journey

When I rebranded Angell Designs, I didn’t just list my services. I shared my story of living with chronic illness, neurodivergence, and disability. I also shared how they shape the accessible, emotionally-attuned studio I now run. Clients don’t just buy my branding, they connect to the why behind it.

Branding isn’t about pretending to be bigger than you are. It’s about being clearer than you were. These five elements are the building blocks of a brand that feels true to who you are. You don’t have to have it all figured out right now. You just have to start with intention. And if you want a partner to help bring it all together? You know who to call.