In 2004 I started a business by accident.  The short story is I had moved for a new job and I wanted to make local friends.  I started a social group online and 100 joined it the first week.  Within 2 years, I was able to quit my job (I worked with troubled youth) and run the group full time. Revenue came in from membership dues, event fees, and sponsors.  The group was HUGE.

In the early months I had no logo. I also had no budget for a graphic designer because the company was not bringing in any money at that time.  So I did what anyone would do, I started with a DIY logo (I think it was made using MS Word but I'm not sure).

2 years later, when there finally was decent revenue, I was able to get a professional logo, created by a professional graphic designer.

The point of this story is you have to start somewhere.  Having a DIY/starter logo may have kept my business from growing quickly or maybe it didn't, who knows.  I just know that I did the best I could with the resources I had.

My starter logo was good enough and once I was able to make money, I was able to upgrade.

Recently, in peer to peer Facebook groups, I noticed that some were saving up for a logo.  So they had NO logo at all and were expecting it to take a long time to save.  Often professional logos are anywhere from $300 to $1000.

I wanted to show people that the lack of a logo does not have to hold them up!  So I did something I've never done before. I went to Fiverr to get a logo for one of the members of Birth Worker Mastermind. 

I posted every step of my $5 logo experiment below so you can repeat it for your business. The worst that can happen is you lose a small amount of money. But the BEST thing that can happen is you walk away with a logo you can use until you grow your business.

Step 1
I went to Fiverr then to Logo Design.

Step 2
I flipped through the artists. 
I looked for those who had portfolios that I liked.  
I looked for those who had good ratings.
I read up on what you get for $5 (some would provide the original files, others wouldn't, some would do 3 logos, some just one, some offered unlimited revisions, some offered no revisions).
I narrowed the artists down to THREE.

Step 3
I sent Artist B and C the message below.
Artist A was going to create her own original drawing, so I told her I wanted a shell and a pearl.

Note, there is NO need to send an image to the artists. I just wanted to see what they would do with it and without it.  

You SHOULD however, send them a color palette.

Name of the Business:
Jersey Shore Doula

Color Palette:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/7e/2a/d6/7e2ad68eae22dcb869397ae7696b6f2a.jpg

Image:
See attached. Pick the pearl and shell image (you can delete the box that is around it).
I am looking for you to use this image AND to do an alternative logo where you pick a pearl and shell image that you like. 

I am picturing the image of the shell on the left and the words to the right.

Step 4
I received all of the logos within a few days.
Total spent was $16.50 ($5.50 per artist).
Everyone allowed for edits but I didn't opt for any since this was just an experiment.

Artist A

Artist B

Artist C

In my personal opinion, there are SEVERAL good logos here! Artist A and C really shined.  Artist B was horrible! My 4 year old could have made better logos.

All three artists allowed for edits. So I could have easily asked them to tweak the fonts or the layout.

I think the most important takeaway is that many of those who start a business start it with a very low budget.  It is ok if your logo or website is not perfect your first day in business.  Keep doing what excites, the money will follow, and then you can get a fancy logo that better represents your brand.

This past week Dollar Photo Club closed it's doors to accepting new members.  If you have been following my blogs or webinars you know that Dollar Photo Club was my go to for Stock Photos.  Each image was $1 and their collection was amazing!

Here's what it means to you:
If you currently have a membership it seems you can continue to get the $1 images. Just make sure you do not let your credit card expire and do not cancel your membership. If you feel like you have too many stock photo credits in your account you can always see if any of your peers or friends need stock photos! No where else can they get $1 images.

If you missed the boat and need stock photos I suggest you check out Fotolia (affiliate link). You can follow the steps in the image below and get $2 images that are medium in size (they'll fit across your websites and blogs. Clearly this is double the price but it's the best deal I could find right now.

Below are the steps to get the $20 a month for 10 images deal.

Many of the "good" Facebook groups do not allow blatant advertising.  For instance you can't post something like this on the wall anytime you want:

But some groups will allow some sort of "advertising". Usually it will look like this:

• Every Friday you can post an ad like you see above.
  
• You can share your blog as long as it sticks to the topic of the group.
• You can run a contest that truly gives something away (no half off discount but a true FREE item/service).
• If you are running a FREE event, you can post it any time you want.

If you belong to a group that has exceptions, as I stated above, that is a WIN for you! Now the trick is to make sure your post does not get pushed down and buried by the normal, every day chatter or by other people's "ads".

The secret to making sure your ad gets seen is to get people to comment on it. Every time someone comments on a post in a FB group, that post gets bumped up to the top!


Here are some examples of what to do regarding the possible scenarios I posted above.

1. For these scenarios:

• Every Friday you can post an ad like you see above.
• You can share your blog as long as it sticks to the topic of the group.

What to do:

• Do not just post the ad or your blog.  Post A QUESTION along with your ad or blog.
  

Sample post:
"After I had a doula at the birth of my first child I knew it was the career for me!  Did you have a doula at your birth? http://brentwooddoula.com/"

"So tell me moms, how much did the ultrasound tech say your baby weighted VS the actual weight at birth? http://brentwooddoula.com/2015/06/size-matters/"

If this blog helped you then it may help others.  Please share it with friends and with groups you are in.  For bonus points, ask a question when you share it so others will comment ;)  

So you've been stalking Facebook groups (as I discussed in my webinar) but you are noticing that when someone asks:

"Can anyone recommend a [insert birth worker title here] who serves the area?"

That the post is FILLED with recommendations (by both the birth workers themselves and former clients).

Below is an actual post from one of the FB groups I own. There were 4 Placenta Encapsulation that were referred multiple times (you'll see that PC C was mentioned 5 times).

*I coded them as PC A, etc for privacy reasons. 

What is a birth worker to do?

Here is what I recommend:
1. Always post a "Kind Reply".  Follow the steps in the past blog.  Even if you feel it is pointless to post as your comment is already 16 deep do it!  

2. If this is YOUR group (you own it and moderate it) you need to revamp your rules ASAP!  Add something like this to the description: 
This group is moderated by [your name] of [your website] and you can PM her here, [your personal FB page url]. [your name] is a [job title] servicing the [your region].
Please
- Do not post anything that is a solicitation for another doula or placenta capsulator. 
- Be kind to each other.
- etc.

3. If you don't own a group start one! This way, YOU can create the rules AND come across as an expert and leader in the community.  I talk about how to start a group in the webinar.

4. Consider starting a brand ambassador program.  Basically you will form a team of clients who used your services and loved you (you super fans).  They'll back you up on Facebook (in a genuine and transparent way) and you'll reward them (perhaps with free services, free classes, invites to private play dates, etc).  Google around for more information, they are VERY popular right now.

5. Above all, what you DON'T want to do is nothing.  If you do nothing, I guarantee that client will not become yours.

Do you want to dominate in Facebook groups? Check out my next online class (available for a limited time).