• Start with one sentence
  • Pick a small kit and stick to it

A small business brand is the impression people are left with after every contact with you: the quote, the van, the website, the invoice, the way the phone is answered. To build one on a small budget, write down who you serve and what you promise them, choose one simple look and one tone of voice, and use them everywhere, especially in the dull places like estimates and invoices that customers keep.

This page covers the brand itself. For choosing and registering a name, see how to name your business. The same look and voice should carry onto your site; how to build a business website covers the build.

Start with one sentence

Before colors or logos, write one sentence: We help [who] get [result] by [how]. A bathroom fitter might write We help homeowners get a bathroom finished on the date we promise by planning every job in writing. Every later choice, from photos to the wording on a quote, should fit that sentence. If two choices conflict, the sentence decides.

Pick a small kit and stick to it

A brand kit for a small business can fit on one page:

  • Logo: one main version and one simple version that works small or in one color.
  • Colors: two or three, with the exact codes written down.
  • Fonts: one for headings, one for text.
  • Voice: three words that describe how you sound, such as plain, warm, exact, and three you avoid.

Give the page to anyone who makes something for you, from a printer to a freelancer, so the look doesn't drift.

Use it where customers spend time

Customers may look longest at the things they have to read: quotes, invoices, contracts, booking confirmations and follow-up emails. Make sure those carry your logo, your colors and your voice, not a default template. A neat, consistent invoice can say more about how you'll handle a job than an advert does.

Check the trademark basics

Check how to protect a brand name or logo before you spend money on it. The US Patent and Trademark Office (US, last updated November 30, 2023) says: "A trademark can be any word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination of these things that identifies your goods or services." It also says: "You’re not required to register your trademark. However, a registered trademark provides broader rights and protections than an unregistered one."

On symbols, the same page says: "You can use “TM” for goods or “SM” for services even if you haven’t filed an application to register your trademark." Whether to register, and where, is a question for a trademark lawyer.

Worked example: a first-year brand budget

Sample figures, for illustration only. A new cleaning business budgets for its first brand kit:

  • Logo and simple kit from a freelance designer: $600.00
  • 500 business cards at $0.08 each: 500 × $0.08 = $40.00
  • Domain name for a year: $15.00

Total: $600.00 + $40.00 + $15.00 = $655.00. The owner keeps the designer's files and the color codes in one shared folder, so every later item matches. Use your own prices; these are only an illustration.

Where Billed fits

Your estimates and invoices are brand touchpoints too. Billed's features page says you can "Choose invoice template, add your logo and business info and customize invoices according to your needs." Billed's estimating page says you can "Customize your estimates with your own logo and tailor them to perfectly align with your unique business needs." Billed's invoice software page adds: "You can customize the emails Billed sends to match your business voice, or set up your own SMTP settings so they come from your own email account."

Mistakes to avoid

  • Spending on a logo before deciding who the business is for.
  • Letting each new item, from flyers to email signatures, use slightly different colors.
  • Sending plain default invoices after a polished sales pitch.
  • Choosing a name without checking whether someone else already uses it for similar services.
  • Changing the look every year instead of using one look long enough for people to recognize it.

When this guide isn't for you

If you're renaming an established business or need to protect a brand in several countries, work with a trademark lawyer and a designer with that experience. This page is about the everyday basics.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where should a small business start with branding?

With one sentence about who you serve and what you promise. Then pick a simple logo, two or three colors, two fonts and a tone of voice, and use them everywhere.

Do I have to register a trademark in the US?

No. The US Patent and Trademark Office (US, last updated November 30, 2023) says: "You’re not required to register your trademark. However, a registered trademark provides broader rights and protections than an unregistered one." Ask a trademark lawyer whether registering makes sense for you.

Can I use the TM symbol before I register?

The US Patent and Trademark Office (US, last updated November 30, 2023) says: "You can use “TM” for goods or “SM” for services even if you haven’t filed an application to register your trademark."

Can I put my logo on invoices in Billed?

Billed's features page says you can "Choose invoice template, add your logo and business info and customize invoices according to your needs."

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