What to Expect

What to Expect While Building Your Brand With DesignGood

We’re thrilled to be collaborating with you on this project that will mean so much to your business. Your dedication and enthusiasm are the key ingredients to making your new brand a success. That’s why we want to tell you a little more about how to make the most of working with us. Everything you need to know about how we work can be found here, so be sure to keep this document handy for future reference.

What Working With Us Is Like

• Creating your brand with DesignGood will be low pressure and high fun. We’re here to inspire you, create possibilities and help you have the business you have always dreamed of.
• We’re committed to your success. We’re all in for you, and we aim to build a trusting relationship so that you can turn to us for future projects as well. This is a true partnership, and one we take seriously. 
• We have very defined processes and systems. We developed the way we work based on what’s helped our clients succeed time and again. Every step we take, and every task we ask you to complete, is in place because it helps us deliver the best results for you.
• We are available. You're paying us for our full attention and guidance. It’s important that you feel 100% taken care of by our team. So we want you to communicate with us freely whenever you need something or have a question. 
• We help you think long-term. After all, creating your brand is just the start of your story. We’ll guide you on your next steps and provide you with resources to keep you headed down the right path. 
  

Home Base: Your Google Client Folder 

You should have received an invitation to your Google client folder and an email from Operations Manager Kristie Urbano. This is the folder where we will collaborate with you on your project. Your folder is also where you will share your revisions for your website copy and anything else we write for you. Please let Kristie know if you need to give anyone else access to this folder. 

Project Timeframes

We will use internal deadlines to keep your branding package on track for completion ideally in 10-14 weeks. Actual completion time depends on the scope of your project and the different facets of your brand we will be creating for you. Delays in feedback, and multiple rounds of revisions, can extend this process. 

Step 1: DesignGood Business + Brand Discovery

1 - 2 Weeks

In this step, we gather everything we need to start designing, writing and creating your custom brand. 

Here’s what we need you to do during this step.

1. Complete parts 1 and 2 of the Your 5-Part Business + Brand Discovery worksheets in your Google client folder. These worksheets cover the background and basic information we need to build your brand. We will use your answers to parts 1 and 2 to customize our phone conversation in Part 3. Please do not complete Part 3, we will work through these together during your Business + Brand Discovery phone call. We will also request that you complete worksheets 4 & 5 after your Brand Discovery call.
2. Confirm you have received your invitation email to your Business + Brand Discovery phone call. You can simply accept the invitation and the call will be automatically scheduled on your calendar. This is an audio only conference call.
3. Think about any materials that would give us more context or insight into what you do, your process or even the initial planning or your business (if your business is new). Add those documents, articles, decks, tools, programs or other materials, or links that you want us to review, to the Client-Provided Resources sub-folder of your Google client folder. If you prefer, you can also email those resources to us and we can add them to the Google folder. 
4. (Optional) After your Business + Brand Discovery phone call, you can provide us additional information that will help us build your brand by completing “The High-Vibe Entrepreneur Method” workbook and sharing it with us. This workbook will help you further explore where you are in your business, and create a clear picture of where you want to take it. You may already have a copy of the workbook, but you can also find it in your Google client folder. 
   

Step 2: DesignGood Brand Foundations

4 Weeks 

This is a very important step in our process. We’ll take everything we learned about you during Business + Brand Discovery and use it to create what your brand looks and sounds like. This step includes completion of your visual identity, foundational brand language and the site plan for your website. We must have approval on this step before we move on to writing, designing and developing your website. Client approvals and revisions can affect the below timelines. 

Once they’re finalized, we will add your visual identity (logo assets) and foundational brand language guide to your Google client folder so you will always have access to them. We will also send these to you via email. 

Step 3: DesignGood Brand Toolkit

6-10 Weeks

We then use the foundational elements of your brand to write, design and develop your website and any other branding materials we are creating for you.

If we are helping you with a custom brand photoshoot or video, that work will happen during the creation of your website. When we are ready for this step, you will receive an email with more information on how we’ll make sure your photography extends the vision and professionalism of your new brand. We also will set up a 20-minute call with the photographer we select together to communicate that vision and plan the shoot. 

Because your DesignGood Brand Toolkit is such a significant part of the branding process — and a stage where your input will be vital to keeping your project on time and on budget — we wanted to give you a detailed look at how everything happens and what to expect.

How Website Creation Works 

• We write the copy for your homepage or the main page of your website based on your approved site plan. The copy for this page will set the tone for the rest of your website copy.
• Once we get your approval, on your homepage  copy, we’ll design two website looks for you to choose between. The look and feel of the rest of your website will be based on the design you select.
• After you approve homepage/main page copy and design, we will write copy for the rest of your website. Depending on the size of your website, we will send you 2-3 pages of copy at a time for your approval.
• As you approve this copy, we will continue to design pages and present them to you for approval. Design will always follow the approval of the copy of each page. The websites we create are custom and are designed around the words we write for you. So by the time we get to the design phase of your website, there should be minimal adjustments to the language, if any. 

• Development of your site begins as soon as we have your final approval on designs for a majority of the pages. Development takes 5-15 business days depending on the design and complexity of your site. 
• Once your site moves into development, we’ll also start working on additional deliverables in your package, such as email marketing templates, social media feed branding or any sales or outreach tools. These additional deliverables will be based on the language and design of your website. This creates consistency, which is important because your brand should look and sound the same anywhere your audience encounters you.  
• When website programming is complete, you’ll have one more chance to review your site and make light adjustments before it launches.
  

IMPORTANT NOTE: CLIENT APPROVALS AND REVISIONS CAN AFFECT THESE TIMELINES. PLEASE READ MORE ABOUT OUR PROCESS FOR CLIENT REVISIONS HERE.

Step 4: Brand Momentum 

1 - 2 Weeks 

We will launch your website and train you on how to update and manage your site and everything else we have created for you. With this training, you will be able to make copy and photo adjustments to your website post-launch, as well as add new features like a blog or podcast. We will also schedule your Brand Momentum coaching call with Kristin to set goals and create a plan for moving forward. This brainstorming session will help you keep the momentum going and build on what we’ve created for you. You can also ask questions.

Need Help?

If you ever have any questions about our process or the next steps in your project, please refer to the Client Resources page on our website. In addition, there are other tools and resources that will be useful when providing your revisions and communicating with us.

For any questions not covered on the Client Resources page or by our email updates, please reach out to us. Here are your key contact people:

• Creative director: kristin@designgood.com
• Project lead: chelsea@designgood.com 
• Billing + operations: kristie@designgood.com
• Web-related issues + updates: alivia@designgood.com
  

Payments + Terms

As a small business ourselves, we know that making an investment like this is a lot easier with a payment plan. Our plans are typically split into four payments. Please review your estimate for your specific terms or contact Operations Manager Kristie Urbano. All payment plans require your first payment (or deposit) to be made before your Business + Brand Discovery call with Kristin and your final payment to be made before your website goes live.

We offer three ways to pay:

1. Checks: Personal, business or cashier’s checks made payable to DesignGood Studio LLC and mailed to 1306 Northridge Dr., Austin, TX 78723. There is no charge to use this option 
2. ACH bank transfers: Secure online ACH payments through the QuickBooks payment network. You will put in your routing and account number for an automatic one-time withdrawal. There is no charge to use this option 
3. Credit card payments: Secure online payments through the QuickBooks payment network. If you would like to pay by credit card, please let us know and we will resend the invoice with a 3% processing fee.
   

Operations Manager Kristie Urbano will handle all billing. If you have a question regarding billing or payments, please email kristie@designgood.com.

Outside Costs

Your website will incur a $399 annual fee for your CMS (content management system) and hosting. Our team will help coordinate these services. Please note that outside costs such as printing and photography are not included in your package unless specifically specified. We will always communicate additional costs to you ahead of time so that you can always make decisions about what is best for your business.

Project Fee

We have done our best to create a fixed cost for your project. You will receive additional fees from DesignGood only if you go beyond three rounds of revisions at any stage or you add to the scope of the project. We will also always let you know when something is outside of your original scope and you decide whether to move forward. 

Let’s Get Started!

Thank you for taking the time to read this guide! We’re so honored to be working with you and excited to create a fun and memorable branding experience.