A logo with pretty colours is still just a logo with pretty colours.

(And I take my coffee black with a splash of milk).

I don’t consider myself a coffee aficionado, but I do love me some great coffee.

Not sure if it was my time spent drinking Stumptown at the Ace Hotel. Or the fact that mom-and-pop coffee shops were my go-to while living in Vancouver. Or the fact that my friends gifted me a Breville espresso machine last summer.

Not tryna start a fight, but everything tastes better than Starbucks to me. (But that doesn’t mean I don’t gift my collaborators Starbucks gift cards).

Most of my collaborators are global, and I know they won’t have trouble using their gift cards at a Starbucks around the corner—the brand's unmistakable and is generally loved worldwide.

I’m pretty certain it's brand strategy that's made Starbucks so iconic.

The same principles apply to branding your biz.

Don't start with:

• The colours you want

• The logo design you want

• Anything, really...

Until you start with brand strategy

I’m not a Starbucks hater. I just love my independent coffee.

And I understand that brands have their fans, whether big and global, or small and local.

You’re not Starbucks 2.0 nor a quaint mom-and-pops cafe.

But if you wanna be either…

We start with your brand strategy first.

Not just a logo with pretty colours.