So I have some big business news to share with you!
This has been brewing for a long time and I have been trying to get all my ducks in a row. Although I still call myself Sherman while talking to myself (“Sherman, get it together!”), I have been Kelly Reynolds for almost two years. For along time I was ok with having the business be my own under my maiden name, like it was still my thing to myself. But as I have gotten more used to be a Reynolds it has felt more and more disconnected.
The other issue was I had started the business and the blog kind of separately but sort of related. Very clear business strategy as you can see. I guess in the beginning I was giving myself options since I had no idea what direction I was going in. I was just so happy to be out of finance and NYC. Now I have found that most people remember the Ridiculous Redhead name more anyway. A clear brand identity was a huge theme of the Building a Creative Business course that I took and loved so it was on the top of my list to figure out in my head. I wanted to have one identity to go forward with to really build on.
So I am changing my business name to Ridiculous Redhead Design, LLC.
It seems like a simple change but there is so much to consider! First was the name search (to make sure no one else uses the name) and the LLC paperwork filing. I used Legal Zoom. So many times people tell you to discuss things with your lawyer. I don’t have a lawyer (which is probably a good thing!). One day maybe I will have so many contracts to review that one will be necessary but for now Legal Zoom will work. I will say they have the process down and were super helpful. You can submit all the paperwork to the state yourself but since I’ve never done it before it was nice to have the piece of mind.
The next thing I wanted to work on was a logo. I design things but I am not a graphic designer or a branding person. I also cannot afford many of the branding companies I was referred to. I really stressed about it for awhile and tried very hard to create something but I have no idea what I’m doing. One of the things the course taught me was to have the courage to ask people for help and even offer to barter services. I asked on Facebook if anyone knew someone who could help me. I got a lot of responses for recommendations. And then I got a private message from a friend – who does graphic design and branding for a living. Seriously, he was one of 85 people at my wedding and I totally forgot what he did! Sometimes you just have to throw it out there and then you realize that what you are looking for is right in front of you!
I really was looking for something that had the redhead part for name recognition but I also wanted a nod to the eco friendly nature part of the business too. I think that gets lost a lot of times and I want that to be a bigger part of my brand going forward. The reason you pick my furniture over other people’s is because mine doesn’t stink like chemicals after all. I wanted some kind of nature, leafy something but without being too cartoony and obvious. Oh and I wanted to stick with the green / gray color scheme that I love.
So after many emails (for which I owe him a bunch of liquor) I have a new logo!
It’s got leaves and trees and a suggestion of red hair without being obvious.
So now I am working through the long list of things to change over. For a little while there will be a few things that don’t match up but hopefully I will get it all ironed out quickly. I have been putting off this post and the switch over a bit I think. The company name is one of the last things that has a name I had for most of my life and that is a little bittersweet to let go of. Luckily I grew up a tomboy so I still have friends who call me Sherman and I don’t think that will ever change!
