Let’s Make Branding Affordable!

Today we are here to tell you the story of Just Startup and why we decided to make branding affordable – a simple story that started with one word: Frustration. Yes, we were frustrated. But why?

Because as a branding and creative design agency, we are faced almost on a daily basis with fantastic social enterprises and start-up projects struggling to get started. Be it trying to get their message out, to gather audiences and support, to build communities and to prove their concept. They are in need of logos, they need name cards, they need powerpoint templates to build investor decks, but the words “branding” “affordable” usually don’t go together. (If you are sitting here wondering why the hell marketing & branding is that important – we would suggest that you click on the link 🙂 )

Unfortunately, as much as we wanted to help and as much as we were excited about the buzzing ideas and concepts we could not equip them with brand assets for free. As a business it was simply not possible to give away branding for free. Because developing branding especially good branding takes time and effort. And time as a resource from our team involves costs.

So, yes, we were frustrated.

One thing you need to know is that frustration doesn’t sit well with us. We needed to find a solution to help entrepreneurs bring their dreams to life at accessible prices. While we were racking our brains, we realised that the solution was staring at us in the face: circular economy in digital services!

By selling recycled designs developed but unused from past projects we were killing 2 birds with 1 stone! First, we were reducing our digital waste by not storing unused designs indefinitely and making good use of it to empower low budget projects. Secondly, since those designs are already developed, they do not require much additional time for our team to prepare and can be made available at a much more affordable price! The solution was in our very own database.

This way, we were in a position to help inspiring projects get access to professional communication services at very affordable prices. It was awesome, but why did we think it was such a good idea?

1. There is (or was) a clear gap in the market

From our experience discussing with burgeoning start-ups and aspiring (social) entrepreneurs looking at launching their business, finding free logos online was possible. In fact, many services allow you to update designs yourself or propose auto-generated solutions. However from their perspective these were not actually fully satisfactory which is why they were seeking out professional branding services.

The logos they were able to generate from these platforms were very “common” and did not really help their business to stand out in their markets. They looked and felt very DIY and very often failed to convince their target markets or their investors.
Most of the time those platforms were only offering logos and not real brand identities with name cards, powerpoint templates, letterheads, e-mail signatures, etc. This meant it was very difficult for them to maintain consistency across platforms or collaterals.
While they had a great business sense of what they wanted to do, they did not necessarily have the creative sense to develop a logo and an identity themselves. As a result it was creating frustration on their side, and the sense that their time would be better spent doing something else.

Just Startup is the absolute answer to each one of those pain points, making great professional branding affordable:

Original creations developed by creative and branding experts & professionals, helping brands to easily communicate their purpose & values and stand out in market
Access to a full brand package including logo, name cards, letterhead, powerpoint templates and e-mail signatures to create consistency for your brand from the very start
Quick access to branding, as easy as browsing, selecting, purchasing and ready to go! Therefore allowing business owners to put themselves in the position to succeed quickly and efficiently.
Allowing them concentrate on what they do best while we take care of what WE do best.

2. We help increase chances of successful business launch/development

Affordable branding for successful business

Why is branding so important at the beginning of a project you may ask? Because your brand is your identity, and your identity affects how ANYBODY relates to you. As a result we have various metaphors we always use during consultations to explain just how important branding is to business managers. Here is one of our many metaphors. Imagine going through the world without identity. Without a name, without a signature, wearing a white sheet in lieu of clothes, and without any personality. How do you think the people around you would react?

Chances are people would whisper around asking who is this strange person? Probably start talking about personality disorders and giving side looks when you pass by. It is the same with brands, IMAGE MATTERS.

Intrinsically, you know it.

It doesn’t matter if you are just starting off, looking at reaching your next stage of development or already a full blown stable company. Regardless you need an identity that your customers or any stakeholder for that matters can recognise and relate to. If you have a professional branding, it will make your market entry easier, it will support your business growth, it will help you convince your investors, your bank. Consequently it just increases your chances of success by tenfold! And this is where we come in, by making professional branding affordable.

3. We give businesses the opportunity to make their communication dollars count

In line with the values of Lime Agency through Just Startup, not only will we give businesses the opportunity to grow and expand by making branding affordable. We give them the opportunity to make each of their communication dollar count. We have been a part of the raiSE social enterprise network since 2016 and each branding pack, workbook, masterclass, mentor pack and coaching pack sold helps us support social enterprises. Furthermore these new digital services will allow us to expand into new social initiatives.

Lastly it is our belief that in today’s world businesses should no longer only be about profits. Rather it should be built around positive business models that stand strongly for social impact. As a result, for the past 4 years since the first day of operation the focus of Lime Agency has been to empower social enterprises in their growth. Finally leading consumers to make conscious choices in their purchase decisions.

By choosing a product or service from a social enterprise vs a mainstream business, consumers positively influence society. With Lime Agency, and now with Just Startup, we are giving this opportunity to businesses as well.

How you ask? By offering them the possibility to make their communication and marketing spending count towards building a positive and inclusive society, towards their corporate social responsibility.

Above all we really hope you’ll like what we are offering you here. We can’t wait to see how our branding will empower businesses all around the world!