Is Your Brand Clueless?

Yesterday I met with a friend and brilliant branding mind, Casey Weatherford of Kind Creative Co. She brought up a great point worth repeating. New companies often get stuck in the initial phases of launch, striving to create the perfect website with the perfect message, meticulously fine-tuning every detail of their services before their big debut. Is this work valid? Absolutely. Should you carefully identify your services, rates, and points of differentiation? Definitely yes. But will your offerings, brand, and identity likely evolve within the first year? Without a doubt.

It reminded me of the 90s classic movie Clueless. Much like Cher Horowitz’s journey, where she starts with a superficial makeover for her friend Tai, only to realize that she herself needs a deeper transformation, brands also go through an evolution. The initial version—be it a website, logo, or service offering—is like Cher’s first attempts: a starting point that will undergo refinement and growth as clarity and purpose emerge.

We’ve all heard of, and many of us have introduced, an MVP or Minimum Viable Product: a simplified version of a product that includes just enough features to be used by early customers. MVPs are crucial for gathering customer feedback to validate hypotheses, reduce development time, and avoid unnecessary work. They serve as the foundation for the product you aim to polish, much like Cher’s initial makeover efforts.

If you’re creating your first website or logo, think of it as your MVP. It doesn’t have to be perfect or costly because in the first year, you’ll further clarify your vision, prune services that don’t fit your model, and define your brand identity and ideal client with more detail. Don’t heavily invest in your first website design or get stuck in analysis paralysis in pursuit of perfection. Instead, focus on delivering a clear solution and avoid unnecessary features.

And then, just as Cher transforms into a more self-aware and confident version of herself by the end of Clueless, give your brand the glow-up it truly deserves after its first year. Refine its identity, sharpen its message, and unleash it into the world with renewed purpose and clarity. This isn’t just a makeover—it’s the next chapter of your brand’s story, ready to leave a lasting impact and connect deeply with those it’s meant to serve.

Is your brand launching or coming of age? Let's talk.