The Power of Branding for Your Home-Based Business: A Starter Guide for Mompreneurs

 The ability to start and run your own business from home is one of the many ways that full-time moms are taking back their careers. Forget the days when your own personal career aspirations had to take a back seat. Today, it doesn’t matter if it made more sense for you to be the full-time parent as opposed to your partner, because you can continue working right from home. While yes, remote work has absolutely made continuing your career more likely, if you ever dreamed of doing more with your professional life, then switching tracks to start your own business is a must. 

When it comes to successfully launching a home-based business, know you need a clear-cut identity. Branding can help you stand out. It can help your customers know immediately who you are and what you sell. It can even be a second income stream, so long as you use this starter guide.

What is Branding? 

Branding is business-focused design. It means all the design elements, from your logo to your fonts, to your color scheme and even your tone of voice that is used to represent your brand. A total branding package can cover everything from visual, to tonal, to even physical. Though each element may be unique and different, all of it must feel like it’s enough that customers feel like they’re engaging with the same business no matter where they see you.

What Branding Elements Do You Need? 

Branding can include: 

• Logo 

• Fonts

• Colors

• Motifs

• Tone of voice

• Website layout

• Store layout

• Customer service 

• And more 

Traditionally, however, branding is a visual medium. Just make sure that you consider the wider branding scope when in the design process, so your whole business feels like a single entity. 

How to Translate Branding into Merchandising 

When done right, branding naturally leads into merchandising. Merchandising itself is a very fast, very easy way to boost sales and the reach of your business. To encourage customers to actively buy products that represent your brand, however, you need to put design first. 

To do this, start by working backward. Go to a top-quality supplier like Anthem Branding, pick out the shirt or hat design that you like best, and then use the specs outlined in the design process to design a great shirt.

 

Try to use motifs first, and then your branding after. If you’re a bookstore, for example, then create a series of book-lover’s shirts that you would get for friends or for yourself, and work in your logo or brand from there. This makes the item a fashion piece first, which makes it far more likely that customers will actually wear your merchandise when they’re out and about. 

How to Make Sure Your Efforts Remain Cohesive 

Your branding doesn’t have to be 100% uniform. The logo and designs that you use on your merchandising line can be more art and fashion-forward, for example, while your website and packaging can have a stripped-down version. The key is to use unifying threads that connect all your branding materials and assets together. 

A single color scheme, for example, can help unify all of your branding. Using the same fonts will also help. Overall, if you’re not sure how to do this on your own, then hire a professional who can do it on your behalf. Yes, it’s a big investment, but you can actually keep adding onto your branding profile as you go. Start by hiring a professional for your logo and bare bones branding. Then as you grow, you can hire them again to create the packaging branding, and again for your merchandising line. 

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How to Make Money By Being Yourself

Were you that kid at the grocery store—the one always making friends with the butcher, cashier and customers on the other aisles? Did you participate in every sport, extracurricular activity and school-sponsored event—not because you were good at them, but because other people would be there? Do you live by the expression "never met a stranger" and consider everyone you meet to be a future friend?

Chances are you're an extrovert. And studies show, that's a good thing when it comes to money-making potential. If you're a naturally sociable, energetic and expressive kind of person, here are a few ways you can use your personality to make more money:

Direct Sales

If you are looking for a flexible job that involves interacting with people while setting your own hours, direct sales is a great option. You can do this either as a side gig or full-time job—either way, you typically sell exclusive products that cannot be found in any mall or store to customers.

For example, Amway is a reputable company that relies on extroverts like you to sell its products as Independent Business Owners. What is Amway and what does the company offer? Started in 1959, the American-based direct selling company has expanded its health, home and beauty products to global markets. Headliners include vitamins and supplements, skincare and cosmetics, home cleaning products and energy drinks. It is a low-cost and low-risk job opportunity, and you can leverage that outgoing personality of yours to make money on the side.

Physical Therapists

If you like the idea of helping people who have been injured or have other health issues to recover and get back on their feet—often literally—a physical therapist job may be ideal. The job is ideal for outgoing people because it requires outstanding interpersonal skills that involve working closely with people who are in pain. Your communication skills will be used throughout the day when you are encouraging your patients to do certain stretches and exercises as well as speaking with the patient’s family and other caregivers.

Help Desk Technician

Tech jobs often inspire images of people working alone in their cubicles, hunched over their computers coding and creating software for hours. Actually, if you enjoy tech related work, there are a number of jobs that blend needed tech skills with plenty of human interaction. For instance, a help desk technician job involves working with either co-workers and/or people who call in with problems with their tech devices like computers, mobile devices and online systems. The job involves lots of talking to other people, asking questions and solving complex problems, so being an extrovert who doesn’t shy away from communicating with strangers will definitely be a benefit.

Tips and Tools on Finding Work

If you Google “Best Jobs for Extroverts” you will find plenty of articles devoted to this topic, including some by employment websites. This is a great way to start the job search process and see if any of the suggested positions match your interests and experience. You can also attend networking events in your area; be sure to ask not only about the job duties and benefits, but overall culture of the company.

Enjoy that New Job!

Whether you want a part-time job, something you can do from home, or a 40 hour a week position, there are plenty of solid options for extroverts. By looking for something that naturally encourages your ability to speak to others—including direct sales, health care, certain IT jobs and more—and doing some networking along the way, you will be sure to find a job that fits you and your friendly personality very well.