When you’ve launched your business and are ready to bring your product or services to the market, the next question is how you will position yourself to the public, and how your business will be known in the world. The shorter word for this is brand.

Your brand is everything about your business that speaks to the consumer. From the website colors to the design of your packages, a holistic brand identity encompasses all areas of a sophisticated company. Just like a well-fitting suit. But what kind of suit you wear depends entirely on the image you want your business to project to the market.

You can decide to position your business any number of ways, but below is one of the more personal routes to take when branding your business.

If you’re still wondering how to position your company, and what type of brand your business should embody – classic, ultra modern, etc. – take a moment to reflect on your past.

How did your business begin? Did you have the idea in your garage, tinkering with your inventions late at night? Or did you write up your business plan on a pizza box with two of your closest friends? Whatever it is, that story may be the key to unlocking your business brand.

Utilizing your origin story to build a business brand isn’t just smart marketing – it’s an authentic way to present your business to the world. In fact, some of the most compelling brand stories are those that simply rely on how they came to be, letting that history inform their brand identity.

Whether or not it’s right for you depends on how closely you associate your product with your initial motive to start a business, and how much you continue to identify with that initial reason.

Although how you present your business to world should, and probably will, evolve over time, your initial brand identity should be fixed from the moment you launch until you’ve built a reliable consumer base.

Although it’s important to remain consistent with consumers when you’re new to the market, allowing your brand to be flexible is necessary for growth. Remember, your brand isn’t just a tagline; it’s the entire identity of your business.