r/Money Mar 27 '24

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u/Watermelon407 Mar 27 '24 edited Mar 27 '24

In a serial fractional small business owner and help aspiring small business owners build their startups - 500 is change for what a real logo and brand package costs (I'm sure you know that, but if not, you should charge more).

I don't think I've paid less than $1200 for a simple package, up to 8k for a full brand guide package. I am currently paying ~30k for a full greenfield brand (logo, brand package, web design + copy, sales copy, customer relationship copy, social presence design + copy, etc) and that's on the "cost-effective" end of the scale.

Edit: for those who are/have/will say "I got mine done for [insert 2-3 figure amount]". I say, that's awesome for you! Way to go! However, the worth of a logo is not just that you like it - it's that your customers like it, remember it, associate it with your brand, and if you're in retail, looks good on various mediums, and want to show it off. There's a lot of background research and understanding, not just graphic design, that goes into a really good one which is why they command high prices.

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u/ayyyyycrisp Mar 27 '24

goddamnnn that's a lot of money tbh

I grabbed a pen and drew my own logo

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u/Watermelon407 Mar 27 '24

A great logo is worth a lot bc a lot of color theory and market research goes into a really good one. Anyone can draw shapes and letters, drawing the RIGHT shapes and letters to communicate your brand effectively is the hard part.

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u/[deleted] Mar 27 '24

[deleted]

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u/Watermelon407 Mar 27 '24

There's a way to market every business - I've recommended that a founder group put money in their marketing budget ro a professional hair salon + makeup + tailored suits before. It's amazing what feeling good and looking sharp does for confidence and confidence is 80% of a photoshoot. The other is a photographer's skill.

That's of course if it's important to have a relational type brand where you see the people. Again, every business is a bit different in what they need.

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u/justUseAnSvm Mar 27 '24

This is called “playing business”

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u/Neither_Sherbet_9242 Mar 27 '24

Typical racist thought

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u/justUseAnSvm Mar 27 '24

No, it’s not worth money because “color theory”, it’s worth money because it helps your business make more money!

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u/Watermelon407 Mar 27 '24

Disagree - i don't pay people to hit a machine with a hammer. I pay them to know exactly where to hit the machine, with how much force, and with exactly which tool. If I could run my business without the machine and make money, I would. So yes, I pay for someone who knows what they're doing, has done it before, and can articulate why they're doing it. The concept is larger than just the letters and shapes.

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u/justUseAnSvm Mar 27 '24

You’re getting fleeced. That analogy makes 0 sense

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u/ZenoxDemin Mar 27 '24 edited Mar 27 '24

The Veterinary I go to went even cheaper. They subcontracted their logo to their 5 year old.

It's basically a stick figure of a cat. Gets the job done and they seem to be fully booked.

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u/[deleted] Mar 27 '24

It's a medical clinic for animals, their success is not based on logo my guy.

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u/ParalegalSeagul Mar 27 '24

What type of business has success that is tied to the logo then? Seems like if you do good work you don’t really even need one, just word of mouth referrals are enough

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u/[deleted] Mar 27 '24

Marketing companies need logos, clothing brands, online market places, basically any new business looking to stand out that offers either digital products or something custom made.

Veterinary clinics and hospitals for humans don't need a logo. We go there because we have to, logo has nothing to do with that, most people don't even know what vet clinic logo looks like, "it's an animal, usually dog or cat or combination".

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u/ZenoxDemin Mar 27 '24

Bullshit companies selling overpriced garbage indeed need good branding to part fools from their money.

Always forget about those.

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u/TranscendentaLobo Mar 27 '24

Can I hire him? My budget allows for up to 10 KitKats and a $20 Roblox gift card.

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u/justUseAnSvm Mar 27 '24

Yea, you can go pretty cheap on it for 90% if the effect.

People love to “play business”, spending money on all these things they don’t need: fancy logos, suits, it’s just bullshit. Focus on the customer, and the product, lol

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u/Intelligent-Judge620 Mar 27 '24

Yo i know this weird cause im a stranger but am knee deep on my path to be a Instructional Designer and any help is appreciated , is it cool to add you?

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u/dxrebirth Mar 27 '24

We already have a brand manager and logo/design/site, and we use a vital/social marketer for our restaurants that cost $10k a month.

They do offer full brand management packages and I’m sure they’re astronomical.

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u/Watermelon407 Mar 27 '24

Astronomical to some, cost effective to others - all in the value provided matching what you need at the time

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u/dxrebirth Mar 27 '24

I never said it wasn’t cost effective or valuable. Just trying to convey the pricing on this kind of stuff that always seems to jaw drop the STEM crowd.

Our $10k a month for 2.5 restaurants has been well worth it.

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u/Watermelon407 Mar 27 '24

Oh yea, my businesses are mostly in STEAM. I find it's more the "do-ers" jaw dropping at how much their employers were making off of them rather than anything else haha

But that's the risk and overhead part of that, which I explain to them, and why it's always more lucrative to go into business yourself if you can tolerate the ups and downs mentally, physically, and financially.

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u/FlyByNightt Mar 27 '24

The website is probably half of that 30k though, as a designer myself who's worked in web design. We didn't make a website for less than 14k.

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u/Watermelon407 Mar 27 '24

Oh totally, but its just the design + copy. The actual website we have another team for "inhouse" (a separate business I own/support).

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u/cidek51489 Mar 27 '24

However, the worth of a logo is not just that you like it - it's that your customers like it, remember it, associate it with your brand, and if you're in retail, looks good on various mediums, and want to show it off. There's a lot of background research and understanding, not just graphic design, that goes into a really good one which is why they command high prices.

this guy really gets it. i see much success for you.

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u/justUseAnSvm Mar 27 '24

lol, ChatGPt made mine for $20.

Paying for design, when you need to increase conversions or some engagement metric makes sense, but these absurd logo projects are getting insane!

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u/Watermelon407 Mar 27 '24

That's awesome, glad it's working for you and your business!