I've built my career and reputation around creating - and expertly promoting -various types of brands for both non-profits and small businesses for over two decades. Colleagues say I have a talent for seeing "the big picture," which ultimately helps me with both long and short-term strategic marketing plans. I believe I have an instinct for what will stick. I can't always explain what drives it, but I can tell you that experience fuels it, both my successes, and my failures.
But by far the most difficult brand to launch has been my own. And therein lies the reason it is so much easier to hire an outside expert versus trying to work out such a crucial part of your business on your own. As business owners we have the ideas, we have the drive, but often we are too emotionally tied to our creation to properly vet and refine the most important details. It's easier to execute your vision with an added set of expert eyes thoughtfully guiding the message from behind the scenes.
As a small creative agency, I loved the play on words with my name. I am often up late into the night working by nothing but the glow of my laptop screen - my personal night light if you will - and wanted to evoke a friendly vibe both in my name and in my brand.

As I worked on my website I made sure not to let anyone see it. When I finished, I invited a trusted group of colleagues to review my it. They all had positive reactions: 'I love the yellow!', 'It's so friendly and clean.', 'I can't believe you chose yellow, but I love it!'
Yellow is an iconic color. Light and warmth are synonymous with it - but so is depth of information. And that, my friends, is what we love to do; provide non-profits and small businesses with the tools and information to expertly promote their brands.