10 Lessons from 10 Years as a Founder: #6 Building A Brand That Stands Out

Starting a business is no mean feat, but maintaining its relevance over a long period of time is an even greater challenge. That's where the importance of building and evolving a brand comes in. One that not only stands out, but also stays relevant in a competitive and ever changing landscape.  

I am a sucker for a “good” brand and I love the art of communicating with an audience – whether that’s face to face, or on a page. I also respect the creative process immensely – and am a bit jealous of people who can work magic in Adobe Illustrator. So when planning the launch of Hable, I always knew that a brand is much more than just a logo or a catchy tagline. A brand encompasses the values, mission, and culture of a company. It’s about creating a unique identity that resonates with your audience and sets you apart from the competition. 

On a practical note – I knew that I wanted Hable to be a “proper” company – and stand apart from me as an induvial – hence making sure it was not called “MR Consulting” or something involving my name. 

I remember being sat at my kitchen table with an old school friend, making the first ever logo for Hable. All I really had was a vision of the company I wanted to build and the 2 words I wanted to use: Dream. Deploy. At the time, I couldn’t have imagined what our brand would go on to be – I just knew we needed a logo!   

In addition to your company name, your colours and the words you use – your company values and “tone of voice” is important to think about to. If you love this sort of stuff like I do, then great – but if you don’t, there are lots of agencies out there (at various price points) who can give you advice. 

Loving Your Brand – And Being Prepared to Evolve It  

While staying true to your core values is essential, it's equally important to be adaptable. The market is constantly evolving, and to stay relevant, your brand must evolve too. Over the years, Hable has undergone 3 significant rebrands – each time, to ensure that our identity reflects who we are and where we want to be. I feel like it got simpler and more “grown up” over the years, whilst retaining some core elements – our colour (green) and the speech bubble.  

Over time, your brand – if you do it right - will feel like it means a lot to you – to your staff, and of course to your customers. There are some industries in which people will buy from just purely because of your brand (clothing, for example) – but for most companies it is just one part of the buying decision. When I research a business – as a potential customer – the brand really matters. Or at least, if the brand – and the way they present themselves is poor – they are not making it any further. If I like their brand, they are likely to at least have the chance to pitch – so I can dig deeper. 

 10 years on, our brand is something that our employees carry with them every day - on water bottles, bags, hats and even socks. That feels great as a Founder – and also shows me that our staff feel proud to be associated with our brand.  

Something we have done at Hable is regularly reflect on our own look and feel to ensure we are happy with it. Periodically assessing your brand to ensure it aligns with your identity and resonates with your audience, while also looks fresh and modern in an ever-changing world, is key in ensuring you maintain your positioning in the market.  

It’s what led us to a big brand refresh back in 2022. We liked our branding, but all kind of agreed it had served its purpose. Our colour palette was orange, blue, and of course, green. We started to feel it looked a bit too “primary school” in places. We wanted to smarten up and professionalise further. So for the first time, we worked with an agency whose feedback was something I still remember to this day: 
 
“We think you should own green.”  

We expected them to suggest a broader colour palette, but instead they looked at our competitors and fed back that nobody else was green – so we should double down on it – and push even harder on using green as the main identifier of the Hable brand.  

I loved that idea, and still do. We have become really synonymous with green. You’ll see it all over our socials, website, merch. At events, in our documents and work. It’s who we are.  

When you think Hable, you think green! That’s strong branding.  

However, building a brand that stands out and stays relevant is a continuous journey, not a singular destination.  

While have no plans currently to change our brand (which I’m sure will be a relief to our Marketing team) I do know that at some point – given how quickly our industry changes – we might need to revisit it. That constant process of revaluating and evolving your brand, is a really exciting part of owning and running your own business.  

What “value” does your brand have? That is very hard to quantify. But I know it helps your business succeed – and I also know how proud you feel, once you’ve build a brand that people recognise. It’s one of the best bits about being an Entrepreneur…