049 - Micah Vetter: Beyond Logos, Building a Brand That Tells Your Story

Welcome back to Stylist Soul Tribe Conversations! In this episode, I’m thrilled to be joined by branding expert, Micah Vetter, owner and creative director of Vetter Design Co. Micah specializes in helping entrepreneurs define their unique position in the market and build visual systems that communicate their story authentically.

Micah shares her journey from studying graphic design at Illinois State University to running a successful branding studio. We dive into the heart of what branding really means—beyond logos and colors—and how a brand should reflect the values and mission of your business.

During our conversation, we talk about:

• Branding as storytelling: How to make your brand more than just visuals.
• Authenticity: Why aligning your brand with your core values attracts your ideal clients.
• The beauty industry’s branding challenges: How salon owners can break away from the mold and stand out.
• The power of understanding your audience: Why knowing your target market is essential for creating a brand that resonates.
• Brand identity vs. personal identity: How to create a brand that represents your business, without losing your personal values.

Micah also gives actionable tips for creating a brand that feels personal and powerful, and shares exciting news about her upcoming rebrand and expansion!

If you’re ready to rethink your brand, gain clarity, and take control of your business narrative, this episode is for you.

Key Takeaways:

• Your brand is more than just visuals—it’s the story you’re telling.
• Authentic branding happens when you align with your core values.
• Stand out in a saturated market by embracing what makes you unique.
• Understand your audience’s needs and desires to create a compelling brand identity.
• There’s a difference between your personal identity and your business brand, but they should complement each other.

About Micah Vetter: Micah Vetter is the founder of Vetter Design Co, a branding studio that helps entrepreneurs define their business identity and communicate it through stunning visual design. With multiple awards and experience teaching at Illinois State University, Micah has helped countless small business owners refine their branding and achieve their goals.

Connect with Micah:

• Instagram: @vetterdesign.co
• Website: Vetter Design Co.

Make sure to subscribe and share this episode with fellow stylists and entrepreneurs who are ready to elevate their brand!

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Transcript

1:09

Hello friends. Welcome back to Stylist Soul Tribe Conversations. I am joined today by Micah Veder. Micah is the owner and creative director of a branding studio called VE Designs Company. She specializes in helping entrepreneurs define their business' unique position in the market, and then build visual systems that communicate their story. Over the years, she has received awards from the world brand design ted.com, and A-I-G-I-A. I don't know if that's properly how I say that. Yeah, yeah. You're good. You're. Love it. For her graphic design and brand identity projects, she has also taught design classes at Illinois State University and continually educates her local small business community through recurring brand retreats. Hi, Micah. Thanks for coming on. Hey. Oh, this is so fun. I'm really excited to be here. we were chatting a little bit before I hit record and Micah's like, is there anything specific we want to talk about? I'm like, no, I just found Micah on Instagram she's local to me. We live in the same town. I saw her work. She's done a lot of things in the Bloomington Normal area, and I had a project on my mind, which has now been, released, so this is gonna come out a month from now, so you guys have definitely heard about it. I wanted to create an oracle deck inside of Stylus Soul Tribe just to, bring to my people, and I have DIY'd on Canva for so long, and I think a lot of my audience feels the same way, and I was really craving a more, creative run with it. Here's my thoughts. Somebody who's better than me do this. And Micah blew me away. The deck is so good. I still need to get her one in person so she can feel it. I actually have one right here in front of me. amazing. I love it. I'm using it every morning. Soul Tribe girls are already getting it and using it in their morning routine and tagging me. We're working on another little project for my upcoming retreat and whenever I meet really cool people that are doing cool things, if there is even remotely a slice of value that that can bring to my audience or vice versa, why not? Bring those worlds together. So I asked her if she wanted to come on and just chit chat with me on the podcast. So that's why we're here. Yeah, it's so fun. I love what you do too. I remember stumbling upon your stuff and I just love small business owners. they make, they're just the best people in the world. They make me so happy. I feel most like myself when I'm around them and I love seeing other people that invest in small business owners. So like the work that you do and helping stylists be the best that they can be and take their dreams and make them reality. I mean, that's like pretty much the same thing that I'm in the business of doing, too. So, yeah, this is gonna be really fun. Yeah, so do a brief little, like, intro. Obviously, what I know of you, very briefly, I'm sure there's a whole lot more to who you are. So let's start with, like, a little bit of your story and then we'll kind of go into all the other things. Sure, yeah. I studied graphic design at Illinois State University. And I always was just into art. I loved art. I was the art kid. but I was never like the, the weird art kid. I don't know if that makes sense. Like the trendy art. Yeah. Yeah. Like everyone I remember in school, like we had a professional artist. I don't really even know what this is. It's like in high school came in and he was like, in order to be an artist, like you need to be dedicated to just basically like, you're going to kind of always be a little sad. And I was like, I don't like that. I really like practical art. I liked making beautiful things and having them have a function. I never really liked going to art museums. And that was a really weird pull I had because everyone was like, oh, Micah's the artistic girl. You know, she is going to want. You didn't fully fit that mold. No, I didn't. People described you that way. I didn't really like painting just to paint. I was like, I don't know. Not knocking that, I think it's wonderful, but I just had a really hard time with not having the practical side of that. So, when I went to school, and I found graphic design, that was the first time I was like, Oh, there's this whole world of, you know, it's. Application of art and so we're taking art and we're making it design because it's art with a purpose. We're trying to have a goal and an outcome and we're just using visual effects to get you to do something. So yeah, so I found that at school, studied graphic design in the program. I found really interesting. Branding specifically in my world, just like blew up. I just started finding other entrepreneur, like business owner, women that were running studios. It's really small. Only 0. 1 percent of brand studios are run by women. Crazy. Yeah. and so I found like the small handful of them on social media, just became obsessed with them. when I graduated, I was like, I want to work at a studio. That's kind of the graphic designer dream is you want to move to Chicago or New York. You work in an ad agency or something. but my husband was like, you know, you don't want to work for an ad agency. I think you want to own it. And I was like, Oh, that's way harder. So, that is kind of like spurred me chasing this and opening my own business. I only worked, I worked for a, commercial real estate company doing their branding for a year. That was my only corporate job. And then, yeah, I just dove in and started this three years ago. And it's been so rewarding. I can't believe how well it's done in this short amount of time. I've been open. I've been really blessed, to just have people. that want to work with me, and I love working with them. so yeah, that's kind of how it all started, and it's just kind of snowballed, from there. Yeah, and I think there's something to that, like, passion driven, mission driven push, that, like, it factor. Like, I know you say it's only been three years, and it's wild, but, like, my business kind of took off in the same way, and there's something about when you're starting out, So in alignment with what you're supposed to be doing, and it comes so natural to you and you just push forward and run with it. not for everybody, but for a small handful of people, and you can spot it really easily. It's just like, people are just attracted to them, just drawn to them like a magnet, and I think you so have that. And it seems like it's just, fun and natural and easy to you and so it's such an easy buy for people because it's what you're meant to be doing. Totally. And that really goes back to like the heart of branding is, branding is just having this crystal clear understanding of This is my purpose and I, everyone thinks branding is logos and colors and whatever, but all a brand is, is I know who I am and I know what I'm doing and I know where I'm going and who I'm serving. And when you know that, like, people are just attracted to you because you're getting the right people and you're doing the things you need to do, to attract them. And so it fits you naturally because you're like, yeah, it just makes sense. Like this is so, it just comes from this really organic place. so yeah. Well, and I feel like when people aren't like totally in alignment or they like take a class or just like copycat, copy and paste something else, you can like smell it. Like it's not natural and not that you're like mad at it or anything. It's just not such an easy Yes, I'm in on this. And again, I just I feel that I detect that with you so hard and so strong. So with the brand identity specifically, whether it's your when you first learned this messaging, or I know now you are hosting your second retreat, I'm eyeballing the tickets. I may be there. I will be there eventually. I know that for sure. The thought process that you share with others about brand identity and how to find that, like, how would you put that into words? What are the common misconceptions and what is your way of thinking about that? Yeah, so this is the baseline metaphor, I guess, that I give to people. Everyone acts like they're a business is this separate like cold thing. It's just like this moneymaker thing. And anytime I get in a meeting or I'm running these retreats, the first thing I say is let's drop that. And we're going to look at your business like it's a person. and that is kind of what you were talking about earlier of like, I can smell it when it's not genuine people at the core of everyone. Everyone just wants to connect with other people. And so when you were Just kind of repeating and regurgitating what someone else is doing and it's just kind of a modge podge. Honestly, it's kind of like when you read a caption, you're like, I know it, like, ChatGPT wrote that person. It just feels robotic. But if it's like, no, like, there were some spelling errors, sure, but it was kind of funny and witty. And I just, I feel like I can connect to this person because I know a real person wrote that. That is what we want for a brand. The core of understanding like what your brand is, is we need to drop that. I kind of talk about, it like sims, like this is a big thing for you and my kickoff. I'm like, let's picture this sim character and it's floaty and it's just kind of like transparent and weird and we're gonna build it. So I want to know like, is it funny? Is it sarcastic? Is it like a contemplative thinker? Does it work for Dora? Let's put that together and make it feel real, because that's what people buy from, people buy from other people. so that's the core, before you do anything, is we need to understand who the business is. And everything, what the person does follows who, like, their core beliefs are. So, yeah. I feel like my audience and the people that I interact with, Have gone through a lot of like stages of this I'm curious to hear because you say I love how you say it's a person but it's not you're not saying it's you And I think that this is i've been like, you know for many years debated back and forth I've heard i've seen educators in my industry that it's very much like you are not your brand Separate yourself from your brand yet the people we see with the really good brands It really seems like that's them like to their core. So how do you Hat like intertwine that? Are you a twin of your brand? Are you guys like just co creating? Like how, how do you put the line in the sand of where the difference is between you as a person and your brand? That's a really good question. I get that a lot. and I think it actually, depends on the industry you're in, I would say one in your goals. So there are some people get confused by this because the influencer culture is so prevalent right now. Personal brand has become personal brand, right? And that gets convoluted with, the brand of a business. so I would say like Kim Kardashian, she doesn't have the same brand as skims, right? Like those are, those have different feelings yet. It makes sense that Kim like has skims and like represents them. Like it's not too far of a stretch, but she doesn't have to act like skims all the time. Like that would be odd. And so I think there is this essence of, honestly, like when we think about brands and like getting understanding, like the core of values of a, of a company, there is something to be said of that's important for everyone to do as a baseline for themselves. Like, I think it's important for every person to. evaluate yourself, understand your values. so that way you're not coming across like this chaotic, crazy person who's changing the way they're talking and, and acting and addressing people all the time. no one likes that. And those people aren't trustworthy. Now, so I think that is separate from sales or, business or anything. I think that's just like a person thing. Like everyone needs to do that. and then I think we need to treat our business separately and we need to do that for the business. and oftentimes when you have a business and you decide, okay, I'm a hairstylist, I'm going to open this salon. you're probably not going to be opening a salon and have goals for the salon that are So far away from your core values If you love animals and you're maybe a little organic. You're really into some, beachy vibes and just earthy. It would be really odd if you were like, I just really wanna open this business that is like cutthroat Nike vibes. And is gonna like. take over New York City. that doesn't really match. You just probably aren't gonna want to do that. so I think there's something of, once you understand yourself better, you're going to build a business that has goals that are aligned with what you want. And so then your brands are gonna just have more of a bridge. That makes perfect sense. And do you have any, like, tangible takeaway advice or pieces? Because I feel like a lot of people get stuck in that. Like, Understanding themselves and then bringing that like what are some questions you would prompt somebody obviously we're going to share as we continue on there's ways that you can work with someone hand in hand, but if someone's just listening to this podcast straight take away like what are some of those questions that you would really say like sit down and then expand upon moving with this knowledge. For yourself, or are you asking for a brand? Maybe starting with yourself, because it sounds like that's important, and then moving right into the brand. can they do that themselves? Is it really helpful to bounce that off of somebody else? Totally. Well, I do think it is really helpful to do it with someone else. but you can also reflect on it yourself. taking just some time even if it's with a friend or a professional designer or brand designer someday, having someone to bounce those ideas off of, cause you say these words out loud and you're like, Maybe you think them all the time, but you see them and you're like, that actually didn't feel that authentic when I said it. so that's, that's just a tangent of, I do think it's really helpful to talk about those. but my actual, like the first, one of the first things I start off with, in my meetings, and some people might find this to be a little backwards. But I start off with goals. So before we talk about, sometimes people want to start with like the core values and you work up to that and your goals, but I'm a really big believer that your goals reflect your desire and your desire reflects like your core values. and so when you're able and goals are kind of easier to say, it's a little bit easier to just be like, I want to be a millionaire or I want to have a really big family for those things are that's a little easier to say than to really get into the nitty gritty of your value system. So that would be where I would say to start is I would just make a list of Hey, these are the things that. When I am old, I want to look back and be like, man, I did that. Like that is a life fully lived is these things. and not to be ashamed of it. Sometimes people are like, this is silly. Or I know this is kind of out there, out there is amazing. I want different than what everyone else is doing. That will make it have a stronger foot to stand on. when my husband was like, you should be one of that, that 0. 1 agency owner, I was like, Bro, I don't know about that. That's a big one. and then you do it because you say it out loud. So that's where I would start is I start with your, your goals. And then you say, what is that? What do these goals say about me? And piece those apart of, okay, I'm saying that I want to have a big family or I want to have a really strong friend group. That's showing me that I value connection and I value relationships a lot. And then that goes back to like, you just, you just kind of keep taking it steps backwards. that will then lend itself into business of, I want to create a business that is really focused around like having conversations. I want my salon to be a place people stay and they talk. They get coffee and everyone's just chit-chatting in the lobby. I wanna, and that's gonna inform the way I design my space. It's gonna be super loungey. I'm gonna have a lot of couches, like way more than most salons, But you'll figure out what these desires are and it just informs all these other decisions later in your life. And what makes you unique and then how you can build stories around that to properly market it. I love that. Yeah. Totally. You also had written in our talking points is taking control of your business narrative. What do you mean when you say that? what I mean by that is everyone is so concerned about what people think about them. I mean, I know I'm concerned about like, everyone's thinking about human nature. Yeah, to admit it. And branding is a way that you can kind of, you can control that instead of just crossing your fingers and being, I hope people like me. why don't we actively do some steps to make sure. They do. Not, not all people, but we make sure the people we want to be on our side are on our side. Because it's science. Like people are not as complicated as we think. It's really not that wild. Like we can do some things. We can say ABC is going to lead to this group. like having a connection with my brand. so that's what I mean by the narrative. Let's control the way people are talking about you. That's also one of the questions I have in my kickoff call is, one of the questions is, what do you hope your competitors say about you? So if you just overheard the salon down the street and they were talking about you, what do you want them to be saying? Do you a little jealous? Do you want them to feel like they're on your team and whatever? People have three options. It's pretty funny. Some people like it. But I love your analytical brain of like, you can craft things, like you can shape everything around so that that's the way that it works. And again, as you're talking more and more, I see going back to you saying you never really felt that like artistic. Cause I really do think that my brain, is much less analytical. So it's so fascinating hearing you say that. I'm just so like intuitive. I don't know how to explain it, but you saying like, what do you want them to be saying? Okay, well, let's give them something to talk. Like that's what we're gonna, we're gonna be intentional and we're gonna craft that. Love that thought process. What you just said is when you said, let's give them something to talk about. That's my opening line on I love it. Let's give them something to talk about. I love that. So how, how many salons, I know you've worked with, what's her name, Sydney Evermore, right? Yes. I've had coffee with her once, she's here in town. I know you work with Yoga Lab, but how many like salons, hair stylists, businesses have you worked with before? Just out of curiosity. Including you, I've worked with three like hair salons. that I can think of right now. Or even beauty industry aesthetics. I've done a lot of beauty stuff. I've done some work with, Botox and filler people, permanent makeup, like tattoo eyebrows, lips, things like that. several hair, like just hair salon, the guest house was, I think they were my first, intro into the beauty industry. Is there a salon in Bloomington? I don't know them. They're in Eureka. Everyone should check them out. they're beautiful. They created the most beautiful space. Well, for a long time, I lived in Lincoln. So I'm a little bit more south. I still work out of Lincoln, but Guest House is the coffee shop there. So I just, that's where my brain went, but I'm definitely gonna have to look into them. So is there anything you would say about the beauty industry specifically that stands out to you being someone that works with multiple industries, multiple brands? Is there anything specific to the beauty industry that you'd notice? Yes. Okay, tell me everything. And this is going to maybe make some people mad. Ruffle some feathers, let's do it. So this is my, like, when I get a beauty industry, inquiry, I actually have this moment of like apprehension. Okay. and that's not me saying I don't want to work with you, lovely people out there. I do. But the reason I have apprehension is because a lot of the times people in the beauty industry, which maybe sounds counterintuitive, they, they like to look the same. It's actually very hard to convince people in the beauty industry to take a leap of faith into a new direction. Yeah, so like color palettes are pretty much always the same. Like, neutral, like no one in the beauty industry wants to have any color in there. Because it feels polarizing, which I totally understand that. and yeah, that is true. Like there, that is true that there is some essence of like, we need to remain a little neutral so that we can have beauty represented. but I think I just would say a lot of beauty brands play it safe when it comes to the brand. And they follow the same trends. So they use the same type of fonts. They use the same like four colors. the photography styles are often very similar as well. And do you think that's like an education thing? Cause I have a, there's a coach in my industry that I've worked very closely with, and she'll always say she studies a lot of other industries that we are a way more connected industry than anyone else. Like the way that. Instagram rose and like the beauty industry just like got so interwoven and hello That's literally what I do is connect with the industry Do you think that has something to do with it is like they're following the same educators They're taking the same classes or like when you look at I don't know a realtor or a car repair shop or like a restaurant, why do you think that we're so different in that way? Is it online? Do you think that's what it is? Or what? I do think that is a really good point. almost every beauty industry. I've worked with several. there's so many more people are coming to my now. I've worked with people who've done like, do like facials. huh, aestheticians, yeah. I would say almost all of them that I've worked with, like, in our kickoff meeting, they all say they value education a lot, and they all take a lot of online courses, and I love that. it makes me so happy. I'm always like, just want to give them a hug and be like, I'm so proud of you. So many other industries just don't do that. They're just dive in and they're like, I don't know. But man, the beauty industry, people like, y'all are on it. You are up in your game. So I would like to say that's great. And, sure. Maybe that does lead to the fact that, you know, A lot of people are just learning from the same people and they have the same aesthetic and so they feel like they need to do it that way. And maybe there is this, yeah, maybe you need to have this, hold it looser of these people have really great education and I don't need to be them. And I can be myself too. And so there's just this liberation of how can I take what I've learned here and bring a new twist on it? because there also is a reality of oversaturation. And if we're all looking at exactly the same, we don't stand out. We don't stand out. Yeah. And so why is someone going to want to come to you instead? And that doesn't mean you need to be like, Having bright purple. how, what is the unique twist we can put on your brand to give you a different perspective? Well, okay, so let's play devil's advocate and give you my perspective because I do feel like I probably am blind to Some of the things that you see, so when I think of what you're saying in neutrals, just me personally, this is my own business. I'm behind the chair very little now. I'm not focused. I haven't been focusing on growing that business for a long time, but I did for many years and my like dream clientele is lived in low maintenance balayage and I think something I did. Now that I'm looking at it from a larger perspective, whether it was Instagram over all these years, or something made us think neutral and there's the running joke about the hairstylist with the wide brim hat is like the final boss of hairstylist or whatever, like, definitely has turned into a vibe and a thing. But like, when I think of like a low maintenance, blonde balayage, shit. Kind of vibe, I think neutral, cause that's almost the same color of blonde hair, like naturally grown out, sandy beige. Look, if you knew that, and you're not blind like I am, you have not been in the trenches for the years and years and years. Literally, my brain is wired to think a certain way. If you were to go into the beauty industry scene, like you are, let's say you're the professional. And that is your target market, and that's what you're trying to grow. And if you want to ask me some more questions for, values or things, what take would you go in with fresh eyes that would look so different from what the industry has been doing? Just, like, expand our even, like, Possibilities of what there is. Sure. well, I would say there's a couple of, there's a lot of things that can make you different than it's not just color. I, I, well, I'll, there's a lot of, I'm like getting so excited right now. I need to take a beat. Okay. Let's go there. Let's build this fake. Let's build this brand. so you said your target audience is the lived in blondes. I mean, kind of myself, truthfully. And a lot of people say you're not your brand, you're not your target market, but I'm like, my entire career, if my clients say, do whatever the hell you want, I'm like, don't tell me that, because you're all going to walk away with the exact same hair that I have, because it's easy to do. It grows out beautifully. It's flattering on everybody. So like, that's the audience. Yeah. Okay. there's other parts about that person that aren't, it's not just their hair and what they want with their hair. So I would say I want to know more about that, that person. One, I want to know, are they a girl? I want to know how much money they make, how much money they're probably spending at your, how much you're wanting them to spend at your appointments. I want to know about their value system. So I would want to know like, do they have a family? Are they a career woman? or both? Like, is this like a CEO boss that's coming in and she's like, I need to get out of here quick. She has her laptop and she's working on anything else while you're doing her hair. or is she like fun? Like what is, what are you not to say? Okay, let's just play it out. So obviously, and I know hairstylists struggle with this too, because they are always like, Oh, I know. I love this girl who's a nurse But I love her who's a teacher, but I love her so like that's the struggle that we have So i'm gonna say let's just speak more to the masses because I only have I have very few clients that are ceos So, let's say she is a Nurse with a very flexible schedule and or in a higher position at work where she can take time off whenever because that's in our industry what we're looking for because it's hard when they work a typical nine to five and we don't want to work those outside hours. So either high up corporate, not CEO, but like head of human resources or something like that and or high paying nurse job. Yes, she has a family. Let's say she earns, I don't know, 160. Okay. What is, what is it that she wants? Besides hair, what does she want? Like, is she tired? Like, what are, the core things about her? It doesn't have anything to do necessarily even about what you're giving. Like, what is the thing that she's like, I just, need this. Like, is she just tired and wants fun? like, I think she's rested because she prioritizes self care because we don't want to take on the weight of her tiredness. So she's rested. She prioritizes self care. She loves coming in and getting her hair done by us. But like, she's not a hot mess that emotionally dumps everything on us. Cause that's what I think of when you say tired, cause we all have some of those. So what is it that she, what are the, like, what are the core things she's looking for in life? She prioritizes her time with family, she prioritizes feeling good, she prioritizes, Looking good at work and maintaining her professionalism and being respected by the world. Yeah. so let me tell you what I would do with that information. I would take that and do a bunch of research. I'm going to research, find these people. Online, find real versions of them and the things that they like. I'm also going to look at other products that type of person is buying. And I'm going to look at the visual aesthetics of all those things. But also, the practical uses of, like, what, what is that person in this demographic buying? And why are they wanting those things? Like, what are the problems that they're trying to solve? so like you said, like, the, their appearance is really important to them. And they want to appear professional and put together and all that. So that's going to be, like, so we probably shouldn't be doing this, like, fun, crazy brand that's got, like, Really squiggly letters and whatever that's going to inform. Otherwise, so when we're talking about color, I can't just give you like a brand on the spot to do, but let me tell you the different ways that a brand can look different from competitors that are more than just colors. One thing is fonts. Fonts, people glaze over. I think this is something I see the most common of people copying and pasting what other people are doing. fonts are personalities, just like in these little letters. No one realizes it. I'm obsessed with fonts when I'm outside. When I go to a city, I'm taking notes of signs constantly. It's just like little people up there on the key is doing something weird and it's like, oh, he's a fun little guy. Well, and even like right behind you, the make it. Something. And then the logo. Those are two different humans. Oh, yeah. If we have them as humans. Yeah. Totally. They're like crazy. Yes. Yeah. so fonts tell stories and fonts say a lot. so I would say that would be, that's usually the biggest part that I start on. I actually do color last when I'm doing coding. Okay. So I would be like, what do I want it to be? Sans serifs or fonts like this one that don't have serifs. Ticks on. Yeah. The edges. So like, style, soul, tribe, yours, it has those. Okay. And that usually it feels more high end. they're a little bit more traditional. Interesting. but they just feel a bit more elegant when you have the IFFs. If you don't have it, they feel more modern. Interesting. and so, that's usually where I start, I like break down which category is it going to be in. And then within those, there's a lot of things that go into that, like the weight. So is it a really thin letter, or is it more of a thick letter? So it could be a serif that's thicker, and that feels a little bit more welcoming, and more down to earth. Or like a tall, thin serif, like your serif, that feels a lot more high end. Interesting. and then same thing with the sans serifs. Also like how wide a letter is. When it's really wide, it feels a little bit edgier. It's kind of going somewhere. It's got something today. It's taking up room when it's thinner. It just feels a little bit more like petite. Tight, a little bit more put together. So you're saying you go and you really, really study that and then you spend time coming up with what feels like it will meet that person. and then graphics too. So in colors. So all these things play together. Like, am I going to be, is this going to be a really heavily illustrated brand that's got like drawn things because this really values, human connection. And so I don't want this to feel really geometric and looks like it's built by like an AI bro robot. Like I want it to feel like a woman drew this in her journal. What are the different aspects of that? and so those graphic elements are really huge. it's not even what those graphic elements are of. Like, yes, it could be of a gem, but is this gem geometric? Is it abstract? Is it loopy? What there's so many visual pieces that go into it. So that's what I would do is I would I would take all that information you just got told me, and I would put that together in a mood board. So yeah, I would say neutrals do make sense for your, your girl. Okay. But I would also counter that just neutral, like just neutrals in black and white. doesn't need to be a bright color, but there should be some sort of warmth to that person because she values connection. And like she has a family so it shouldn't feel too like uptight and stuffy that needs to be a warmth to it. And I think there's something really powerful of just seeing it all the way through, and I think that's probably where this, you know, outside perspective of our, of the beauty industry has come from, is if you spend enough time working with someone that knows what they're doing to build it out in its entirety, and let's say it's navy blue, like it can be a color that we never see, but if it's done well and right and fully, the full package accompanies that element, and I think people are scared to introduce that when they're just slowly piecemealing a brand together by each piece of content, right? Is that fair to say? Like you have to understand it in its entirety before you like bring this and I think people play it so safe because they don't have that full understanding of their brands. And, a big part of what I do is, there's variations of what you can get when you're getting branding done. Like, at the base level, you can just get, okay, I want my colors, my fonts, and my logos. And you give that to me on a little sheet, and that's what I get. my majority of what my packages are is a brand guideline, which is like a 45 to 60 page PDF. And that tells you how to do all those things. So instead of being like, here is your Navy and neutral color palette. And you're like, awesome, Micah, I'm terrified. I don't want to use those colors. I break down, here's how you use these colors. And this color is only for backgrounds. This color is for header fonts. And then like, I just tell you how to do literally everything. So that way implementing it is so much easier. I think a lot of people. Or go a little bit on the more affordable side where you just get like the sheet of the deliverables but not how to implement them. And then it's a lot scarier, like you said, to jump into new waters and to try something new because you can't just like copy what they're doing and make a little canva template that's similar. Because you have a totally different set of rules you're playing with. Totally. Totally. I love that so much. So before we hit record, you were saying you have very limited space available this year, and I said this is going to come out in a month, and you're like, okay, I'm definitely booking into 2025 then. If you don't mind sharing, if you'd rather not, I can cut this part, but price wise, just because if someone's listening, I want them to know if that's even remotely where they're at. I mean, I have people who spend quite a bit on their business, so don't be Yeah. If you feel good about. so my, my packages start at 4, 200 for the smallest package. So that's you get a logo set with that. Okay. I'm very much like, I just want to set people up to have all the things you need. you can get just a logo, you can get just a color palette from designers, but if you don't have it all together in, as a identity, then it's just not going to work. Like you're going to have the same problem you've been having where you're just like mod podging a bunch of things. So yeah, It can get up to, clients that spend like 15, 000 on branding. and that can go with implementation too. So people who are up in like the 15, 000 range, they're getting the biggest brand guidelines. you get a marketing strategy with that too. So we break down what is your brand? like we talked about before as a person and how does that translate from brand branding is the overall, like who you are. So like, who is this person marketing is, how are you getting that across? Like action wise to people. I also can make a marketing plan where I'm like, this is how the brand is going to market itself. You're going to use these platforms. these are your content pillars. This is how your brand acts within these content pillars. You don't entertain by dancing to a Tik TOK trend song, you entertain by showing really peaceful behind the scene videos. Whatever the thing is. So you can do websites like you can do an Oracle deck. Every brand is different. there's all these different add ons we can add, that make it, kind of come to life easier. I haven't told you this yet, but I'm going to tell everyone on this. hopefully by the time this podcast launches or maybe a little after, I'm actually rebranding my business and I just signed a lease on a space in downtown Bloomington and I'm going to be expanding my team so that I'm also going to be offering, social media management for people after I do their branding. Because a lot of times I hand over this brand and everyone is just terrified. They don't want to touch it. They don't want to post because they don't want to mess it up. or they hand it off to like a freelance social media person who just. Posts and they're not like brand informed. and so I want to attempt to brand to do your marketing from a brand first perspective. So I know your brand better than you probably know your brand. I will hire photographers. I'll write your captions. I'll do all of your design templates and everything like that and we're going to just go from there. so that will be coming in January 2025. I basically want to help you give birth to this brand and then also help you raise it because a lot of the times scary to have this little baby and you're like, oh my gosh, it's. So tiny and I want it to get big and strong. so that's going to be a new offer. I'm really excited about. Last time we talked, you did mention the, the physical building and I'm so pumped for you for that. I cannot wait to see how that continues to unfold. And you did say these do not have to be local people. Very few of my audience is local. but Micah did say she works with people out of state across. I mean, international, whoever is listening, she is open to that. So how do people get in touch with you if they want to, start to explore that with you? Yeah. You can go to, a lot of people will communicate with me on Instagram. It's thebetterdesign. co. or you can also reach out to me on my website, and just fill out my inquiry form. I get back to you within 24 hours. usually what the first thing we do is I want to hop on a small call. Your business is unique. And so I just don't do templated. This is what you can get. Because I want it to be like, what's best for you. I love small business owners and they don't want to waste your time by giving you stuff you don't need. So the first thing we do is I just say, what do you want? Like, what do you want out of this business? What are your goals? Like you said, yeah. What are your goals? I just want to get people where they want to go. It's so exciting. Yeah. I love that. And as someone who has now worked with you, that is exactly how it felt. And that was The direction we went. So yeah, thank you so much for coming on. Sorry to put you on the spot and ask you to build a brand like that, but I just love to hear. I wasn't expecting you to go that route. I'm not surprised now that I hear it out loud and it is So refreshing. I talk to so many people that are so interwoven in my industry that we really do become blind to how the public perceives us and the way that you feel about it is definitely how the everyday consumer in a sense is feeling. I want to say I wasn't saying that as a knock to all of you stylists out there. I hope it feels like I gave you permission that you can be who you want to be. And who you are and that desire you have is really good and you should follow it. So, yeah, I'm excited to see hopefully where this takes everyone. Absolutely. And I think we need those hard truths sometimes. I think we need to like have a mirror held up every so often, but I think a lot of people just don't know what to do. And so now there are tools and there is, there is knowledge to be, you know, shared of how they can bring that to life. Thank you everybody for listening. I will have all of Micah's information in the show notes, in the description, and all of that jazz. And I will See you guys all, next week and thank you again, Micah, for being here. I appreciate it. Yeah. Thanks.