Small business owners need to brand their business by using logo and a set of consistent marketing materials. Here’s a list of some of the benefits to having a professionally designed logo and marketing package:

Attract more clients - Some clients look for a well-defined company look-and-feel for making a purchasing decision.

Brand yourself - You need a logo in order to build an image and a brand.

Convey that you are established - A logo and professionally printed materials show that you are committed.

Give clients a sense of stability - You may not have been in business “Since 1908″, but if you’ve invested in an identity, you’re much less likely to fold in the eyes of your customers. It goes a long way toward building the all-important “trust” factor.

Be more memorable - having consistent graphics on your business materials make you more likely to come to the forefront of potential clients’ minds.

Explain your company name - the logo gives visual clues to its meaning.

Endear your company name to your clients - reinforce the name with interesting, compelling graphics, they’re more likely to remember that hard-to-recall name, and to pick up the phone and hire you.

Explain an unusual line of business - If your business is nontraditional, or in a hard-to-explain industry, a logo can help to explain exactly what it is that you do.

Show what practices differentiate you from your competition - tell the story of how you do business - what special practices make you stand apart from the competition.

Stand out in your field - can put you far above the competition.

A logo is just expected - In the creative services industry, especially, having a logo is an industry standard.

To do it for yourself! - To show your commitment and for the sense of personal pride it will add to your practice.

Naza Group founder and chairman Tan Sri S.M. Nasimuddin S.M. Amin died on Thursday in Los Angeles after losing fight with lung cancer at the age of 53. Nasimuddin had been receiving treatment at a private hospital there and he leaves behind wife Puan Sri Zaleha Ismail, five children and a grandson. Zaleha and his children were by his side when he died at 9am, local time in Los Angeles where Nasimuddin had been undergoing treatment at the hospital since January.

He said the Malaysian Islamic Society of North America was preparing the body to be flown back to Malaysia today. The Naza Group is involved in various businesses including motor trading, motorcycles, manufacturing, transport services, engineering, plantation, water craft, property, hotel operations and insurance. The group is the franchise holder for Ferrari, South Korea’s Kia, Peugeot, Brabus, Hamann and Ducati motorbikes in Malaysia. It also holds the import permits for Mercedes-Benz and Mazda vehicles. Nasimuddin has been quoted as saying: “I have always loved cars. That is why I am in this business.”

In a brief meeting with the press at Menara Naza yesterday, Datuk S.M. Shalahuddin S.M. Amin said his late brother found his passion in his business, which nurtured the growth of his business venture.

A lot of people never start businesses because they believe they don’t have enough money to do so. Unfortunately, these same people don’t realize that many of the world’s most successful companies were started on a shoe-string budget by an entrepreneur with limited resources. Below is a list of tips to help you save money when you’re first starting a company:

* Manage your finances in MS Excel, not Quickbooks.
* Manage your contacts in MS Outlook, not ACT.
* Get free legal and accounting advice from law/business students or lawyers/accountants who are willing to do pro-bono (free) work.
* Look for and join organizations that support youth entrepreneurs and small business owners.
* Hire unpaid interns and make their job exciting.
* Partner with somebody instead of paying them.
* Use credit cards.
* Get free, professional advice from SCORE, Teachers, and Professors.
* Get investments from family and friends.
* Find organizations who incubate startup companies or companies who might have office space that might be willing to let an aspiring entrepreneur use it. Perhaps, your school will let you use their copy machines and phone lines.
* Swap services with a company instead of paying them.
* Learn how to do graphic design and web design yourself. If you have these two skills, the startup costs of every business you have in the future will be dramatically reduced.

Buying into a franchise is a great way to be part of a recognized brand with the benefit of lower advertising outlay. With many franchises to choose, here are some tips before you get involved with franchise:

Get The Support of Your Family
The success of your franchise is also the acceptance of your immediate family in supporting your effort. It is this simple. Take for instance, if you buy a franchise which is part of a book-store chain and your family does not even visit it once. Will you have the determination to see it through? If you need to take a short vacation, will your family member help to run the franchise in your place?

Know Your Strengths & Expertise
A franchise should not just be a means for you to start your first business. It is preferable that you have a recognized skill or interest in the franchise before parting with the franchise initial capital. Maybe take a personality test to determine if you have the tenacity to follow through with the franchise.

Unique Proposition Of The Franchise
The franchise should be protected by a patent or intellectual property law. This will create a significant barriers to entry.

Market Research
A franchise can be a huge success in a particular geographical region but has less acceptance in another country. Thus it is crucial that you inspect the relevance of the market research that has been conducted by the franchise company especially in the area of when the market research was conducted and the demographics of the sample set.

Franchise Competition
Do not get a franchise that does not seem to have a recognized competitor or an industry that can be classified - unless you are interested in being a master franchiser or have a first-mover advantage. The market may be slow to accept your franchise and you may find it hard to re-coup your initial investment within the agreed contractual period.

Legal Assistance
It definitely pays to get a legal expert to read the franchise contract fine-print. You do not want to be accused of violating some of the franchise terms of agreement and pay an unnecessary penalty.

Get New Contacts
Do not just depend on the contact database that may be provided by the franchise owner. You should also try to generate new contacts as the franchise contact database may also be used by new franchisees.

Unique Ways Of Promotion
Buying a franchise should not mean that you lose your competitiveness and innovativeness. You should find new ways of promoting your franchise through flyers, website and even various media. But remember to inform the franchise owner of your effort and get approval.

Joint Promotions
You should also team-up with the franchise owner to joint promote in trade fairs and trade directories. You can also volunteer to start a dedicated franchise newsletter and be a regular article contributor. Your ideas may help improve the franchise.