Brand Style Guide Basics for Small Businesses

Why Consistency Matters

A strong brand isn’t just about having a logo. It is about showing up consistently across every touchpoint: your website, social media, packaging, proposals, and even your email signature.

When your look and tone are consistent, three things happen:

1. You build trust because people recognise you instantly and feel confident buying from you.

2. You save time because you don’t reinvent your visuals or voice every time you create content.

3. You look professional. Even if you are a one-person business, consistency makes you appear established.

This is why you need a brand style guide.

What Is a Brand Style Guide?

A brand style guide is a simple document that defines the rules for how your brand looks and sounds. Think of it as your brand’s rulebook.

It doesn’t have to be a 40-page corporate document. For most small businesses, a 2–5 page style guide is enough to keep everything aligned.

Your style guide should cover both visual identity (colours, fonts, imagery, logos) and, ideally, your verbal identity (voice and tone).

The Core Elements of a Brand Style Guide

1. Colour Palette

Your colours are one of the strongest signals of your brand identity. Limit yourself to a small set:

• Primary colours: 2–3 core brand colours

• Secondary colours: 1–2 neutrals or accents

Always include exact codes: HEX for web, CMYK for print, and RGB for digital.

Example:
Primary: Deep blue (#003366), Aqua (#00AEEF)
Neutral: Light grey (#F5F5F5), Charcoal (#333333)

Tip: Test your colours for accessibility. Text should always have enough contrast to be easy to read.

2. Typography

Typography sets the tone of your brand’s personality. Clean, consistent fonts make your brand more polished.

• Headline font: bold and distinctive but easy to read

• Body font: simple and legible on screen and in print

• Fallbacks: system fonts as backups for web use

Example:
Headline: Playfair Display (serif)
Body: Lato (sans-serif)

Keep to a maximum of two font families to avoid clutter.

3. Imagery

Images are powerful mood-setters. Decide on a clear style so your brand visuals always feel consistent.

Ask yourself:

• Do we use photography or illustration?

• Are images light and airy, bold and colourful, or dark and moody?

• Do we prefer candid, natural shots or polished studio photography?

Examples:
A wellness brand may use bright, natural, minimalist photos.
A law firm may use professional, muted, confident photography.

Avoid generic stock photos. If you must use them, choose ones that feel authentic.

4. Logo Use

Your logo is your anchor. A style guide should cover:

• Primary logo (the main version)

• Alternative versions (monochrome, reversed, icon-only)

• Spacing rules (how much space to leave around it)

• Minimum size (to keep it legible)

• Don’ts (stretching, changing colours, adding shadows)

Tip: Show visual examples of correct and incorrect use.

5. Voice and Tone (optional but powerful)

Your style guide doesn’t need to stop at visuals. Adding a section on voice and tone ensures your brand sounds the same everywhere.

Decide on 3–4 tone words that describe your communication style.

Examples:

• Supportive, clear, motivating, approachable

• Bold, confident, witty, direct

• Professional, authoritative, calm, trustworthy

If visuals are the face of your brand, voice is the personality.

How to Create a Simple Style Guide

1. Start with a blank document or Canva template.

2. Add your logo, colour palette with codes, and fonts.

3. Write one or two paragraphs about your imagery style.

4. Add logo rules and usage examples.

5. (Optional) Write 3–4 tone words and sample text snippets.

Even this simple version will give you a professional foundation.

Example: What a 3-Page Style Guide Might Include

• Page 1: Logo, colours with HEX codes, and fonts

• Page 2: Image style examples, do’s and don’ts

• Page 3: Voice and tone words with a sample sentence

That’s enough to brief a designer, social media manager, or copywriter, and keep your brand looking and sounding consistent.

Checklist: Does Your Style Guide Work?

✅ Does it include a clear colour palette with exact codes?
✅ Have you chosen only one or two fonts for consistency?
✅ Do you have clear logo rules and don’ts?
✅ Is your imagery style defined?
✅ Is your voice and tone consistent with your brand personality?

Key Takeaway

A brand style guide is your shortcut to a consistent, professional identity. It doesn’t need to be complex. Even a short, clear document makes your brand stronger and saves you endless time and confusion later.

Go further

Need more than a one-pager?

MY PA Business Planner (physical & digital) helps you plan weekly, track goals, and stay accountable.

See the Planner

Ready for the complete system?

The Business Starter Kit bundles the planner with templates, financial tools, and a 30-day roadmap.

Explore the Starter Kit

Raising funding?

Get investor-ready with structured planning, forecasts and checklists. (Investor Kit link set to Starter Kit as requested.)

See Investor Kit

Runway and Forecasting Basics: How to Build Startup Forecasts Investors Trust

Why runway matters

In startup life, cash is oxygen. Runway is the number of months your business can survive before it runs out of cash. If you misjudge it, you risk scrambling for funding at the worst possible time.

For founders, knowing your runway helps you plan ahead. For investors, it signals when you’ll need capital again and whether you’re managing your resources with discipline.

How to calculate runway

The formula is simple:

Runway = Current Cash Balance ÷ Monthly Burn Rate

• Example: If you have £150,000 in the bank and spend £25,000 per month, your runway is 6 months.

This back-of-the-envelope calculation is what investors will do immediately when they look at your financials.

💡 Tip: Always calculate your “net burn” (spend minus revenue). If you generate £10k/month in revenue but spend £35k, your net burn is £25k.

Why investors care

A founder raising with less than 6 months of runway is negotiating from a position of weakness. It creates urgency, which often leads to down rounds or poor terms.

Savvy investors prefer founders who raise with 9–12 months of runway left. It shows foresight, confidence, and an ability to execute under less pressure.

Building forecasting scenarios

Investors know no forecast is perfect. What matters is whether you’ve thought through different outcomes. A good forecast includes three scenarios:

• Base Case: Conservative revenue growth, steady expenses.

• Best Case: Faster customer acquisition, higher retention, controlled costs.

• Worst Case: Growth slows, costs creep up, and fundraising is delayed.

This tells investors: “I’ve considered risks, and I have a plan no matter what happens.”

How to build credible forecasts

Early-stage founders often overcomplicate their models. You don’t need 200-line spreadsheets. You need clarity on the drivers of growth.

• Keep assumptions simple.
  Example: 100 new customers/month at £20 ARPU (average revenue per user).

• Tie expenses to growth drivers.

  • Marketing spend = new customer acquisition.

  • Product spend = improved retention.

  • Hiring = capacity to scale operations.

• Focus on 3–5 key variables.
  This makes your model transparent and flexible, rather than fragile and unrealistic.

Example from the real world

Uber’s earliest forecasts were far from perfectly accurate — but they impressed investors because they showed a clear logic:

• Spend on driver acquisition → More drivers → Faster rider adoption.

• Offer rider incentives → Boost trips → Build market dominance.

The model was credible not because of precision, but because of its cause-and-effect clarity.

Common mistakes founders make

• 📊 Only showing best case. Investors see through this instantly.

• 👥 Forgetting hiring costs. Growth requires people, and payroll is usually the biggest expense.

• 📈 Assuming endless linear growth. Growth curves flatten, churn happens, and competition enters.

The takeaway

Runway and forecasting aren’t about predicting the future with perfection. They’re about showing that you:

• Understand your numbers.

• Have thought through multiple scenarios.

• Can explain how funding today leads to growth tomorrow.

👉 Next Step: Use the Investor Kit for ready-to-use forecasting templates, scenario models, and investor-ready financials.

Go further

Need more than a one-pager?

MY PA Business Planner (physical & digital) helps you plan weekly, track goals, and stay accountable.

See the Planner

Ready for the complete system?

The Business Starter Kit bundles the planner with templates, financial tools, and a 30-day roadmap.

Explore the Starter Kit

Raising funding?

Get investor-ready with structured planning, forecasts and checklists. (Investor Kit link set to Starter Kit as requested.)

See Investor Kit