We often think branding is just logos and colors—something to tackle "later" when we have a budget. But the truth is, without a clear brand strategy from the start, you're wasting precious hours every single day making decisions that should already be systematized.

Sarah Sears, founder and principal of S Design, joins me to break down what branding really means for small business owners and why it's so much more than visual identity. We explore the uncomfortable truth that your business will evolve over years (not months), why designing for yourself instead of your customer is a costly mistake, and how brand strategy connects to everything from sales to hiring. Sarah shares practical advice on creating systems that save time, the power of consistency, and why trusting your gut about brand misalignment is actually strategic intelligence at work.

Highlights

• Brand is the perception customers and stakeholders have about you—not just your logo and colors
• The evolution of your business takes years, and trying to shortchange this process always backfires
• Brand strategy is fundamentally about differentiation: solving problems differently and aligning with what customers actually need
• The biggest waste of money is not having a branding system in place—teams waste time daily rethinking tone, messaging, and visual decisions
• Your purpose lasts forever, values anchor to purpose, but mission and goals evolve over time
• Brand strategy and business strategy should align like two strands of DNA
• That "nagging feeling" when something doesn't feel right is brand misalignment—trust your intuition
• Design thinking is iterative: gather research, reflect, incorporate, and continuously improve
• Schedule regular time (monthly or weekly) to reflect on what you're learning about your brand and business

Chapters

0:00 - Introduction and Guest Welcome

1:12 - The Importance of Branding for Small Businesses

2:17 - Understanding Brand Strategy

5:30 - Differentiation and Customer Alignment

6:51 - Brand Identity and Consistency

10:07 - Common Branding Mistakes and Solutions

15:27 - Evolving Your Brand and Continuous Improvement

19:55 - Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Resources Mentioned

• S Design Inc. - Sarah Sears' branding agency: sdesigninc.com
• Sarah Sears on LinkedIn
• ChatGPT

Want to join with other like minded entrepreneurs? Visit the Good Humans Growth Network for connections and support: https://www.theghgn.com/