Here are 5 questions you can ask yourself to determine if you’re ready to invest in a custom brand identity design:

1. Have you written a complete business plan? If you’ve only made a rough draft, and the details are here and there, or better yet if you haven’t yet made one at all because you feel so overwhelmed with the process, then this may be a sign your not ready to make the investment in a custom brand identity design just yet. Waiting until you have a complete business plan may make for a more justified custom brand identity investment.

2. Do you have a complete business plan, but you find your having to revise it on a consistent basis? As you become more experienced in your business, you may find that changing your business plan to better shape the reality of what it’s becoming is a familiar task. If you’re making changes to it on a consistent basis, than this may mean that your not ready. Until your brand direction has not yet been established the effort and cost invested in a custom design may be a waste.

3. Do you feel, developmentally confident about who you are as an artist and professional? If your business plan has stayed relatively the same for at least a period of one year, and as a artist, can you easily and confidently answer the questions who you are, what do you do, who do you serve, and why do you serve those people with little hesitation and provide concise and non-generic detailed answers, than you may be ready for custom brand identity design.

4. Can a pre-made brand identity designs work for your business until it becomes more established? If your studio is young or fairly small then it is probably a wise decision to invest in a less expensive branding solution rather than a custom identity costing thousands of dollars.

With a small photography studio it is okay to change your look from time to time. However, if you are a large business with an already well-established clientele, then you may want to not change your look.

If your photography business is well established already then it may hurt you more than help you to make a complete overhaul of your brand with a custom brand identity. In this case it is better to make small incremental changes over time so your customer base isn’t confused.

5. How much experience do you have in the photography business? If you’ve worked in other studios or owned another studio in the past then you may have the experience already to know what you want out of your photography business. If not, then you are better off waiting awhile before buying a custom brand identity.

If you can create a complete business plan with real certainly and confidence in it as a result of previous experiences in the business, than you may be more than ready for the investment, even if your studio is still very young.

That’s it! I hope these questions have helped you to better understand you and your brands readiness for this kind of business investment.

If you have answered these questions, and you feel think that you are ready for a custom brand identity, then congratulations! You have a solid, well established business that is ready to move forward. However, if you aren’t sure that you’re business is ready to invest a large sum in a custom brand, then don’t worry. There are other options for you to include pre-made brand identities that will perfectly suit you.