As entrepreneurs, our businesses are ever-evolving. ✨
We outgrow certain offers, we switch up our messaging, we pivot into new industries.
Part of the beauty of entrepreneurship is that it’s never static. We’re always in flux, shifting into the next-level version of our business.
Because things change so rapidly, you want to make sure you’re regularly auditing your business to make sure everything is in alignment with your current direction.
There’s no better time to do this than the new year!
If you’re feeling like your brand might be in need of some updates, read on to hear about our 5-step brand refresh checklist to make sure you’ve got everything in order for the new year. 👇🏽
1. Revisit Your Mission and Values
Your mission and values are the FOUNDATION of your business. It’s important to check in with them yearly. Are there any updates?
If you want to show up as a leader in your community, it’s important you display your brand values loudly and proudly.
Make sure your values are being communicated in your content and in on your website.
Pay special attention to your about page, and don’t forget to include your brand values in any job postings you may be hiring for. That way, you can make sure you bring folks on to your team who share similar values and world views! 🌎
While you should be frequently changing your core values, it is normal they evolve over time – you may realize some values don’t quite fit or you may discover certain causes that are super important to your business’s mission. 💛
2. Revisit Your Offers & Services
It’s only normal that your offers and services will shift as your business grows with you.
Whether you’re simply making small tweaks to your services, or pivoting business models altogether, you’ll want to take inventory of *exactly* what you’ve changed.
What shifts have you made when it comes to your programs and services? Have you updated the way you do things or the way you work with clients?
Say, for example, you’ve switched from a solopreneur to an agency. You’ll want to make sure you update that messaging in your website, agreements, your marketing, etc.
Or maybe you’ve made a smaller change, such as only meeting with clients on a monthly basis rather than weekly.
Whatever it is, get out a pen and paper and jot down all of the changes you’ve made, and then make a list of all of the places you need to update!
This will help you start the year off on a clean slate, without any old policies, business structures or offers mistakenly being referred to!
3. Revisit Your Policies
Once you’ve reviewed your offers, it might be time to upgrade your client contracts, in order to make sure they reflect your existing policies, or to craft those new policies.
The new year may also be a time where you’re drawing up plans for future biz offers (exciting, we know!).
Maybe you’re planning on adding a membership community to your product suite, launching your first digital course, or transitioning from 1-1 coaching to group coaching.
Whatever BIG plans you have for your business, the new year is a good time to get your ducks in a row by scooping up legal agreements for those new services/programs/containers.
Pssst: we’ve got every kind of legal agreement you could possibly need as an online business owner over in our Contract Shop. 😏
4. Refresh Your Visuals
With an ever-changing brand, it’s easy for your brand visuals to go stale, fast.
You need to make sure you’re constantly up-leveling your visual assets so that they’re showcasing where you are TODAY…not three years ago. 🙅🏽
Ask yourself…are your visuals still aligned with your overall message and goals? Or are you still using the same old graphics and photos from when your first started your business?
Make sure your visuals are true to you while also staying up to date with current marketing trends.
If you’re realizing you’re in need of an update, here are a few ways to refresh your brand and visual assets:
- Invest in a new set of templates from a graphic designer (for a more budget-friendly option, you could purchase images off creativemarket.com and customize them in Canva!)
- Book a brand photoshoot
- Go through all your social media channels and make sure everything is consistent and on-brand
By following these tips, you’ll have a brand that *perfectly* encapsulates the new-year-you in all of your glory! ✨
5. Refresh your contracts.
Are your contracts “on brand”?
Let us explain. 👇🏽
For example, if your brand is upbeat, fun, and playful, but you send over a drab, serious intimidating contract, it might feel a bit ‘off’ to your clients.
Up until you send over your contract, they’ve seen your brand in a totally different light!
Now, this isn’t to say contracts aren’t serious business (they are!) but here at Coaches & Co. we truly believe the best business relationships can blossom when BOTH parties understand the agreement they’re getting into.
If your templates are filled with legal mumbo-jumbo, try our fun templates which are free of jargon and legalese!
Get our easy-to-understand contract templates for entrepreneurs here.
When you take the time to properly update your brand values, messaging, offers, visuals, and contracts you can know with certainty that you’re stepping into the new year as your highest version of yourself as a business owner.
And don’t be afraid to make those big shifts, friend.
Your business will be better off when you’re following what feels fun, fresh, and exciting. ✨
Check out our ready-to-use, lawyer-approved, plug-and-play legal contract templates! So you can upgrade your client contract while staying Profitable & Protected™✨
Not sure where to begin? We’ve got you. Grab our FREE Legally Launch Handbook to get the legal lowdown on everything in entrepreneurship, without the confusing mambo jumbo. We’re serving it up straight & to the point. (Heads up: It’ll forever transform the way you view your client relationships!) Grab your copy now.
*The information presented in this blog post is for educational & informational purposes only. This should not be a substitute for customized legal advice from a licensed professional in a private setting. If you need legal advice, please consult with an attorney. This is not a law firm.
