How to Create a Killer Brand for Your Bookkeeping or Accounting Firm with Karima Creative
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"Branding" is such a buzz word when you start a business of any kind.
It seems like there is a lot of weight on the "perfect" logo and choosing colors that you will be stuck with forever.
But how important IS brand development for your bookkeeping firm?
We sat down with branding expert, Karima Neghmouche, owner of Karima Creative to get the answer and talk about all things branding and design.
Read this blog if you want to learn:
More about Karima and her brand design empire
How to create a brand for your firm (new or established)
How to rebrand if your current brand no longer aligns with you
How to decide if you should brand for your niche or yourself (or both!)
How to include your team in your brand
Karima's secret to creating a brand that supports your vision, not just looks pretty
...and of course, SO much more in between!
Let's dive in!
Why did you start Karima Creative?
Karima started her career in the corporate world as a writer, but always found herself trying to design.
"I just was dreading going to work on Thursday for next Monday. Like, it was so bad that like my entire weekend was just like riddled with anxiety about work. And I barely could pay my bills."
After parting ways with that job, she designed resumes in coffee shops for 20 bucks a pop until she secured a new job.
This one included a sexy title and tons of responsibility, but zero fulfillment.
Karima decided to hire a business coach, without so much as an idea for what kind of business she wanted to start.
Three and half years later, she is running her brand and web design business full time with two team members!
How do you create a brand?
"A brand is so much more than a logo...your brand is just how you want people to perceive you and your business. Do you want them to get on your site and feel energized and ready to go? Or do you want it to feel like they're sitting down with you and having a cup of coffee, like warm and inviting?"
She also let us know that we ALL have a brand, even if we don't own a business.
This could be anything that we do consistently; wearing red lipstick, only drinking a specific brand of bottled water, etc. These are the things that become part of our personal brand that might help inspire a brand for your business.
"Logo, color, palette, fonts, photos, that's part of your visual brand. Right? So that's the outward facing things that people see, but then the things like your copy and the strategy and the words you use, the way you talk, the way you dress, like those are also part of your brand. It's just not necessarily like the things that you can have a designer do and put a bow on."
What is Karima's zone of genius?
"I definitely take an intuitive design approach. I call myself a design chameleon, but I really try to step into my client's shoes whenever I'm designing something."
Karima loves to extract the design elements that are true to her client and make them a reality so they have a brand they are proud to share with the world.
Do I brand for my niche or for myself?
Imagine your niche is plumbers, because that is who you really love to serve. If your personality is full of rainbows and unicorns, your ideal client may not resonate with that branding.
So how important is branding for your niche, versus staying true to yourself?
"I've seen this happen so many times, it's just when people try to fit any sort of script that isn't true to them. You know? And so I think that the best way to do that is kind of like, we'll look at the things you're drawn to and then look at how people perceive you and you can ask your ideal clients, what five words would you use to describe me?"
Create a list of words with these responses and compare them against what you are trying to put out into the world.
There is a way to create balance between a brand that feels true to you, and speaks directly to your client! The use of typography, spacing, photos, and color are all elements of design that come together to create the perfect brand.
"I think it's important to take a step back and make sure, is this the niche that you want to work with forever? You know, for the long run too, do you want to start marketing yourself to other industries? Is this the time that you can look at the business and the strategy and be like, I'm attracting these people, but are these the people I want to attract? If the answer is yes, then I would try to figure out a good compromise between the two."
It's also important to point out, that choosing a brand elements that feel right for you should win over choosing elements that feel like what you "should" choose.
Your firm may niche in female photographers, but others outside of that demographic are still going to find you and WANT to benefit from your stellar services. Don't put too much pressure on yourself to create that perfect visual brand, when there is truly so much more to it than that.
Why do bookkeepers and accountants need branding?
"I think it all goes back to the know, like, trust thing that we've heard so many times in marketing."
Creating a visual brand for your firm gives people the chance to connect with you before they even speak with you.
Karima tells a story about when she wanted to go skydiving. She did a "skydiving near me" Google search, and didn't choose a company until she got to page two of the search results.
Why didn't she reach out to the first one on the list?
Because she didn't connect with their brand.
Instead, she kept looking until she found a company who's website earned her trust and made her feel like they were the BEST option to help her jump out of an airplane. 😅
"Every choice you make is because you trust this brand. And so much of that trust when you have never experienced that brand before comes from their visual identity."
How do I create a brand for my FIRM?
Remember the hot tip from above as a super fun exercise you can do right away to start building your brand:
Go ask 10 people to describe you in 5 words (favorite clients, relatives, friends) and capture their answers.
Now, write down 10 words that you would want people to use to describe your brand and compare the two lists to get a vision for your new brand.
"Do not compare what you are putting out into the world to other people, because it will never feel good enough."
Karima also stresses the fact that too often, she sees business owners put too much pressure on a logo.
"It's okay to DIY until you can hire someone, it's okay to not have this amazing, perfect logo from day one. Just have something that's good enough and be consistent with it."
If you go the DIY route, you can totally do a rebrand when you are ready to hire a pro!
When you are ready for a rebrand, it's a great opportunity to keep showing up as the amazing bookkeeper you are, but with a snazzy new look.
Rebranding your firm shouldn't be confusing to your clients because they've already had an experience with you, but creating a full brand identity helps give them a visual experience as well.
As you begin to work with clients and learn more about yourself as a firm owner or start to niche down, you may want to change up your branding to better represent your company!
Karima recommends keeping some elements the same when you go through a rebrand, just to keep that thread of consistency and recognition.
how to include your team in your branding
If you decide to revamp your brand, include your team in the process! It is crucial to incorporate your team in the visual aspect of your brand so that your clients know that they have a whole team of support in their corner.
This could mean adding a snippet on each team member in your ‘About’ page, hosting a retreat and taking team photos, or just considering everyone’s feedback when developing your brand.
Including your team in your brand helps communicate to your clients that the success of your firm does not rely 100% on you! It builds authority for each member and will help you transition if you ever choose to remove yourself from the day-to-day.
Do you have a team or want to build one? In our sought-after group coaching program, Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants, we will dive DEEP into all things hiring team members to support your firm!
How to get in touch with Karima Creative
If you are at the beginning stages of creating a brand for your firm check out Karima's podcast: Creative Minds Think Alike. You'll find awesome branding tips and interviews with incredible guests to guide you if you wish to go the DIY route at first.
When you are ready for the next level and want to fully dive into brand development for your firm reach out to Karima Creative for all things brand design!
You can get a logo anywhere, but the strategy behind the branding is Karima's secret sauce.
"I like to make sure that this is fitting in the strategy of making sure that it's going to positively affect your business goals."
So the moral of the story is: no matter your branding, consistency is key.
You are allowed to DIY.
You are allowed to make changes.
You are allowed to go outside the box of what may seem "normal".
A brand is how you show up in the world, so the strategy behind it is wayyyy more impactful than if you choose purple or blue.
Are you ready to have a custom brand designed for your firm? Use the button below to connect with Karima Creative (and let her know Workflow Queen sent you)!
