Small but Mighty: Branding a (Really) Small Business
There are so many great cliches that are tempting to use here. Good things come in small packages. Less is more. Bigger isn’t always better. Sorry not sorry, they all happen to be true in the case of this tiny project for a tiny shop in Orlando, FL.
YAY! is a small business on a mission to preserve the joy of local shopping. They’re doing it by packing tons of artisan products into a jewel box sized store. With a background in gift buying for major art supply retailer Sam Flax, the owner knew how to create a compelling, one-of-a-kind merchandise mix, but was struggling with how she would attract shoppers into the store, which is set back from the street (and did I mention really really small?).
To solve this branding challenge, we created a set of custom icons that build on the bold style of the existing logo and represent the various products the store carries. We had a set of these icons produced in vinyl to display on the storefront’s main window, so shoppers walking by get an idea of what they might find inside. We also created whimsical round business cards to help get the word out and drive traffic to the shop and its Instagram profile.
YAY! came to us with a logo and a mission, but not much else in the way of branding. The great thing about how we work at Working Lunch Co. is that we can meet you where you are. We know not every client is ready for the full Brand Launch Pro (that happens to be better suited to our startup clients who are about to massively scale or need to get everything buttoned up to go raise their Series A). And many clients come to us with a few pieces of a brand in place. We can work with that!
We used our initial working lunch with our YAY! client to understand where she was struggling and to articulate her brand’s personality, which helped us create the icons but will also inform every decision she makes about this small business brand going forward.
We’re excited to help this tiny shop continue to grow!
If you’re in Orlando, be sure to stop by and check out YAY! for yourself at 1211 N. Orange Avenue in the Ivanhoe Village area. Or, follow them on Instagram @yaytinyshop.
Do you need help branding your small business? Let’s do lunch! Get in touch to schedule a FREE consultation and learn how Working Lunch Co. can meet you wherever you are in building your small business brand.