A NOTE FROM HANNAH POMPHREY, OWNER OF HUE & TONE CREATIVE 

Anyone who has started a small business has probably heard a lot of scary statistics about the chance of their business’s survival. 

20% of small businesses fail in their first year, 30% of small business fail in their second year, and 50% of small businesses fail after five years in business. Businesses fail for a lot of different reasons including lack of demand, limited financial resources, and being outpaced by the competition. 

After five years of owning Hue & Tone, I feel like I’ve learned a lot of dos and don’ts about how to grow revenue and thrive as a small business. Growth doesn’t happen overnight, and it’s important to build connections with your community and nurture yourself as your business expands. 

One of my strongest values as a business owner is the importance of reaching out a hand to those on the same path. If I could give a few pieces of advice to other entrepreneurs – or to myself five years ago! – here’s what I’d share. 

Network, network, network. Even in the digital age, small businesses thrive on word of mouth. Taking the time to build strong connections will form the foundation of your success.  

Never hesitate to set up a coffee or grab a drink with someone (even if it’s digital). It might be a bit awkward at first, but the only way to learn more about someone’s business is to talk to them about it. Start by learning more about what they do… and then let things develop naturally from there! 

Focus on your strengths. Don’t feel you have to offer the same services as your competitors or fit within the mold of other businesses around you. Play to your strengths, and don’t offer a service or product if you can’t add value and ensure quality.

Your unique service offerings are what make your business distinctive to you. While it’s smart to take a strategic look at your competition, don’t be swayed what you see. Offer the services you can really deliver on – and, if you hate doing something, don’t advertise it heavily. Leave services you could offer (but don’t want too) off of your website – if someone inquires, offer them then, but don’t lead with something you aren’t passionate about. 

Don’t be afraid to take the lead. Whether it’s teaching a course, serving on a board, or lending your expertise to a local non-profit, the opportunity to lead in your community is one of the best perks of running a local business. 

Don’t hesitate to build some flexibility into your schedule so you have time to partake in things you’re really passionate about. Volunteering is a great way to give back – but also a great way to make new connections with industries or organizations you’re passionate about. 

Keep seeking inspiration. Working 24/7 without taking time to nurture your personal life drains you of the inspiration that led you to start your business in the first place, especially if you’re a creative entrepreneur. No matter what fuels you, be sure to set time aside for yourself. 

Keep taking time to travel, cook, create – whatever fuels your ingenuity and imagination! Block off time or days on your calendar to do the things that inspire you and you’ll come back to the office even more productive than if you never left. 

---

Hue & Tone Creative: Your partner is business and marketing 

Overwhelmed with all the functions of owning a business? Let us take the marketing off of your hands. Outsource your creative work and get more time back to do what you really love. We’re here to help you get your time back, help you maximize your bottom line, and increase your reach. Let’s connect and work out the specifics of how we can help.

A note from Hannah Pomphrey, Owner of Hue & Tone Creative 

Five years ago, I took a deep breath and hit publish on this blog’s first-ever post. I was announcing that I was chasing my dream of opening a small business and founding Hue & Tone, a creative-services firm focused on all things design, marketing, multimedia, web and social. 

A half-decade later, we are facing an uncertain, deeply challenging time throughout the world. As I continue to work on behalf of my clients – from a safe social distance – I am reflecting on all the last five years have brought.

It’s been quite a journey: we set up shop in Revolution Mill, one of the most exciting reclamation projects in Greensboro’s history, and later made the move to the vibrant center of downtown Greensboro (once we’re able to be safely out and about again, you can find us at 301 South Elm Street). 

We’ve helped major corporations, small businesses, startups, nonprofits, government and advocacy organizations, and individuals upgrade their branding, hone their message, reach their audience and tell their story. We’ve created everything from brochures to bus wraps. 

But during this time of physical distance and social solidarity, what matters most to me are the relationships we’ve been able to build. 

From working with the Chamber to volunteering for nonprofits I’m passionate about, seeing Hue & Tone become part of the fabric of this community has been the most rewarding part of the job. We’ve had the privilege of providing design assistance for organizations that do enormous good in the Triad and beyond. 

We’ve been able to participate in the growth and revitalization of this city we call home, working with clients like the Self-Help, Greensboro Downtown Parks, and Triad Local First. On a personal level, this has been a time when I’ve put down roots – I purchased my first home in Greensboro in 2017 – and Hue & Tone has put down roots in Greensboro, too. 

It’s been our honor, for the last five years, to work with Greensboro business owners and nonprofit leaders of all stripes – from law firms to ASL interpreters to our local universities. 

I am so proud to be part of Greensboro’s business community and, despite the many uncertainties of this time, I am confident this city full of creative, adaptable, and open-hearted people will rebuild and rebound from the challenges we’ve facing.

We’re looking forward to the next five years, and being part of that rebuilding along with our friends in Greensboro’s business community.

The view from Hue & Tone’s office.

Check out our favorite posts from 2018.

Every once in a while we like to take a break from sharing a new post to recap some of our most popular posts. For the last few years, we’ve kicked off January with a rundown of some of our best posts from the previous year.

To start off 2020, we’ve compiled our 5 most read posts from 2019!

Top Read of 2019: 5 Ways to Incorporate Social Media Into Your Placemaking

It’s time to figure out how to marry your social media strategy with more traditional placemaking efforts. That’s called Digital Placemaking – and PPS defines it as “the integration of social media into Placemaking practices, which are community-centered, encouraging public participation, collaboration, and transparency.”

---

More Great Free Fonts to Download

Finding the perfect font is no easy feat. For starters, there’s an unfathomable number of options to choose from. Even once you select a font, there’s a ton of variables that can interfere with what does and doesn’t work - but if none of those are speaking to you, we’ve pulled together another list of ten great free and easy to download fonts.

---

Belief In Business: 2019 is the year of Woke Advertising

Is there a place for advertisers to take a moral, ethical, or political stance in their marketing? Historically, brands have avoided contentious topics for fear of upsetting, disgruntling, or outright alienating their audience. But, in an increasingly polarized political climate, playing on identity and political belief can lead to a big buy-in. 

---

4 free welcome email templates

Why are welcome emails so important? If done right, they engage new customers straight away by prompting recipients to start the next stage in their customer journey -- and they also provide a means for you to follow up on any value propositions you promised (a new customer discount, for example). 

---

Back to Basics: Google My Business

Need a new way to aid your organic traffic efforts? Then look no further. Google My Business is a free, easy, and proven method that will help improve your site’s visibility in search results, make key information more accessible, and enable your company to cut through the crowd with a competitive edge.

---

Most read of all time: 7 Squarespace Font Pairings

This post has made our lists of favorite or most read posts quite a few times! Still the number one most read article of all time, is our article on Squarespace font pairing suggestions. Although it may be tempting to stick with the default settings of your template, taking the time to select the right fonts adds depth and personality to your site.

---

Hue & Tone Creative: Creative consultants in greensboro, nc

We specialize in all things design and color-related. Let us help you set up your marketing plan and then execute each piece of it with precision and accuracy. Hue & Tone is a creative graphic design agency specializing in logo design, web design, social media management, and more.

Be sure to read to the bottom of this post to learn more about why we’re switching up our blogging frequency!

Here at Hue & Tone Creative, we’re big proponents of blogging. We believe it’s one of the best ways to connect and grow your potential audience…and in turn, your revenue. 

Blogging gives you a regular (and free) platform to discuss your ideas, your business, and your expertise. By amplifying your content on social media (which is also free!) you’ve got the beginnings of a very successful marketing toolkit.  

The most important thing we tell people about blogging is that it’s part of playing the long game – if you don’t see big results immediately, stick with it. Even if you’re doing everything right, it can take months, even years, to see a big return on blogging. 

The more you blog, the more traffic you will see – and the more opportunities you will have to connect with your audience. Over time, you’ll get to know what they want and what questions they have.  

Still not convinced you need to make the long-term investment that is blogging? Growing your audience isn’t the only reason should post regularly, you’ll also: 
 

• Earn more exposure/SEO Benefits: As you post more, you gain new opportunities to show up in search queries. Every time you blog you create additional pages. Additional pages tell Google what your site is all about and helps them know who they should serve your site to. 

• Share your knowledge: Your readers might not be ready to hire you yet – but your blog will help keep your name front of mind and you’ll be the first person they call when they are ready to buy. 

• Try out new ideas: While evergreen content provides your blog with longevity, sharing exciting new ideas and concepts on your blog can spark excitement with your audience. 

• Help educate your clients and customers: Save yourself the time of constantly having to explain things by creating an easy to reference database for your audience. 

• Build your professional network: Blogging is a great way to connect with potential clients/customers, other leaders in your industry, and community figures. 

• Get to know your target audience: As your blog audience grows, you’ll get more and more questions from your target audience, which can help you shape and grow your future offerings. 
  

Blogging Frequency 

Once you’ve decided that you want to invest time into blogging, you have to decide how often you’ll be posting. Maintaining a regular frequency is important because it offers your readers consistency, and also helps with your internal organization. 

But, how often you should post is a very personal decision – one that should be informed by your industry, and how much time you have available to write quality content.  

Many businesses experience a boost in their profitability once they’ve amped up their blogging efforts, but other business owners may find they get more leads when they spend their time marketing their posts through social (while blogging less often). 

Ilfusion explains why blogging more is typically considered to be more effective:

“In general, the more blog posts you publish, the better the chances of capturing more traffic. Research shows that companies who blog 3 to 5 times a month, or around once a week, get twice the web traffic than those who don’t blog at all. This doesn’t conclude the ideal number of blog posts per month; rather, it bolsters the fact that, overall, businesses who commit to posting regularly on their blogs tend to reap the biggest rewards in terms of web traffic. The more you post, the more exposure your blog gets—and, over time, the results continue to pay out as your blog builds more traffic and consequently boosting your SEO ranking.”

Blogging frequently (more than once a week) is only a valuable use of your time if you can maintain high-quality content, avoid repetitive topics, and continually appeal to your target audience.  

About four years ago, we started out by blogging twice a week. Once we had built up a valuable backlog of content (after about six months) we moved to posting once a week – and we’ve maintained that frequency for a little over three years. 

Now, we’re planning to make the shift to blogging every other week. We’ll still be bringing you valuable content on everything marketing, graphic design, and social media related – but we’ll only be posting about twice a month. This will allow us to put more time into each post, so you can expect longer, more in-depth posts starting the first week of October, 2019. 

Curious why we’ve made this choice? There are a few big reasons that pushed us to make this decision:

• We need more time to focus on client work: Our calendar is booking a few months out these days, and we want to free up as much time as possible to focus on the projects we’ve got booked. 

• We want our blogs to be the highest quality possible: Less posts means we’ll be able to produce higher quality (and more in-depth) content. 

• We want more time to spend on content promotion: Writing less gives us more time to focus on marketing and promotion for both new and old content.

Now that we’ve explained our rationale behind how often we post, tell us: How often do you blog? What drove the decision behind your posting frequency?  

---

Hue & Tone Creative: Marketing, Design, and Beyond

Need help getting your social media and blog calendar on the right track? We’re here for that! We don’t write your copy – we help you develop your strategy. From social media to blogging we’ll help you determine everything from the right posting frequency to the topics you should be posting about. Contact us to get started.

This week we couldn’t decide on just one topic, so we have a little bit of everything -- from taking pictures to social media facts and standing out -- we’ve got something for everyone this week.

One | Taking pictures with your smartphone can be a pain (trust us, we know!), but these 17 tips and tricks will help you take better iPhone pictures. It’s amazing the results you can get with just a few simple tricks!

Two | Did you know that your biggest advocate on Twitter is most likely someone with a low number of followers? This is just one of the 10 most surprising social media facts. 

Three | “Look around you right now, I guarantee you can see at least one brand mark somewhere.” Ever wonder how big brands leave a lasting impression? Creating a brand that is consistent and thoughtfully executed will leave a lifetime mark. Here are 12 simple strategies all memorable brands use.

Four | Over the course of the day, almost 5 million pins are shared on Pinterest! So... now you’re probably wondering “How can I stand out and make sure people are seeing my pins?” Implement these 4 simple tweaks to help stand out.

Five | If you checked out our post earlier this week, you know we talked about GSO inspiration. And, we couldn’t resist adding one more local business to our list! Vivid Interiors (located Downtown) has been sharing some of their favorite Hygge and West wallpapers on their blog. Not only would they look great in your home or office, but these snapshots also make cute iPhone wallpapers!

If you’re in Greensboro this weekend, check out the 100 for 100 art sale or National Trails Day. See you on the blog Tuesday!

Happy Friday, and welcome to our first Friday Links of May! This week we’re focusing on a little bit of everything -- from Mother’s Day to design tips.

One  |  What does your brand’s color say about your business? Color can affect mood, perception, and buy-in. Review this break down of color psychology before settling on a final signature color for your logo!

Two  |  Did you know this week is National Small Business Week? If you’ve ever wondered what is takes to be a small business owner here’s an infographic that breaks it all down.

Three  |  “Thou shall always stick to thy deadlines” = our favorite of these 10 commandments of graphic design.

Four  |  Looking to take your designs to the next level? Here are 50 visual tips + examples that will help you fine tune your designs to convey exactly the message you want (perfect for social media managers).

Five  |  Crafting a message or graphic for Mother’s Day?  Here are 6 creative Mother’s Day Ads for inspiration!

Stay tuned for next week’s blog all about social media platforms. Have a great weekend!

On April 1, 2015, Hue & Tone Creative opened its doors. In a literal sense, we opened one door – to our office on the Revolution Mill campus in Greensboro, NC. Figuratively, it’s been a year of many more doors opening and closing for this business. New clients and partners have made their mark. Processes have been refined. In a personal and professional sense, it’s been a year of learning what works and what doesn’t. 

You only get one first year in business – and I want to celebrate all the successes and challenges that entails. So, with that in mind, here’s an overview of the last 365 days! 

Where We’ve Been

Getting the keys to our office!

Hue & Tone got its start in early 2015 as the new, relocated home of Hannah Pomphrey Graphic Design. I’ve been a freelance graphic designer since I was about 19, and was coming off a 9-5 stint in marketing. I realized, though, that it was time to start up a bona fide business in my then-new home of Greensboro. Here’s how I described my freelance journey a year ago:

It wasn’t until my first client gave me a $100 “tip” that I realized I had just found my new side hustle. I set out with my VistaPrint business cards in hand to find myself some new clients. I cold-called and did pro-bono work for local nonprofits until I found enough momentum to begin working almost solely on referrals.

Recently, I took a break from freelancing full-time to try out a 9-5. I packed up my mismatched furniture and my massive shoe collection and relocated to Greensboro, NC with the intention of settling into my much more ‘normal’ 9-5 job.

Turns out this 9-5 thing isn’t for everyone. Even the parts of freelancing that I thought weren’t for me – the irregular income, quirky clients, and doing my own taxes – were some of the things I missed the most. While some might call irregular paychecks and lulls in work terrifying, it now seems like some much-needed work/life spice.   

A year in, I’d still describe it the same way. Owning your own business isn’t easy – it’s not even in the same universe as easy. But the ability to work for myself – to shape the business objectives of my organization, while still getting my hands messy with design – is rewarding and worthwhile in a way I have a tough time explaining. Given the decision to make again, I’d make the same one.

Growth as a Company

As I said above, Hue & Tone’s first year in business has been a year of refinement and learning what works. I’ve had the opportunity to work with fabulous clients, new and old, and have worked to improve processes both on the client side and internally.

On average, Hue & Tone typically works with 10 to 20 clients at a time, and the scope of work taken on varies by client. I’ve done print design, web design, videos, social media, and consulting for large corporations, small businesses, nonprofits, and individuals. Some clients seek assistance on a per-project basis, while others hire Hue & Tone on a monthly basis for ongoing projects.

Internally, I’ve worked toward greater cohesion and focus for Hue & Tone as a business. That’s meant asking tough questions about the type of work I do and the clients I seek out. (For example: do I primarily work with local clients, or web-based businesses?) It’s also meant diversifying our portfolio so multiple skills and competencies are being exercised through our current body of work. It’s never my goal to do only social media projects or only video projects or only (fill in the blank here). When possible, I love working with clients across a wide variety of their creative needs – simultaneously working on design, video, and social, for instance. There’s a lot of interplay between different types of creative and having a hand in multiple pieces of the puzzle can add some coherence and visual consistency.

Finally, the growth of the past year has meant I needed to continue defining and re-defining the way Hue & Tone itself is marketed. You may have noticed some changes on our website, and here on the blog as well. I’d love to hear your feedback as I continue to learn what works.

 

A Few Stand Out Projects

With year one in the books, I’d love to share a few favorites and highlights of the year. Every project was an opportunity to learn and grow, and I’m grateful for each one. Here are a few that stood out…

Comprehensive Branding for CSDHH | Website and branding for CSDHH, a nonprofit that provides communication services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Notable for the opportunity to start from scratch and a desire, on the part of the client, to avoid the obvious. 

Revolution Mill Social Media | Design and daily management of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for Revolution Mill. From social graphics to #RevMillGSO, a chance to engage with a broad range of stakeholders (from future leaseholders to the community at large) about the live-work-create environment of Revolution Mill.

Pitch Video for Brown Investment Properties | An opportunity to create something rich, visually appealing, and (no pun intended) creative, while serving a strategic (and serious) purpose.

Favorite Blog Posts

Throughout the year, this blog has been a reliable place to share the ups and downs of Hue & Tone’s first year in business. Increasingly, it’s also become a place to share design inspiration and a few hints of the colors, textures, and patterns that fuel my imagination each day. Here are a few favorite posts from the year…

5 Questions to Help You Name Your Business

Greensboro Favorites

Freebie Coloring Pages Here & Here!

10 Pinterest Boards to Spark Design Inspiration

Mood Board: Who Dares

Mobile & Desktop Wallpaper: “Hustle”

Hue & Tone’s Brighter, Cleaner New Look

Favorite Events

One of my favorite aspects of being a local business owner is the opportunity to interact with the community. Here are a few of my favorite Greensboro events!

Coffee & Conversation | A Greensboro Chamber event with for networking and learning about a new, focused topic each time.

IdeaNetwork | Organized by Cochran Creative Group, IdeaNetwork is an opportunity to come together, hear a speaker, then participate in a group discussion on the ideas raised.

Craft Freedom | An initiative to change the North Carolina law that restricts the growth of breweries by placing a cap on the amount of beer they can self-distribute, and a chance to support small businesses’ rights.

Thank You!

When all is said and done, the past year has been a big one – a wild one – a just-plain-irreplaceable one. It’s involved a lot of hard work, both of the creative variety and the messy, hauling-furniture-into-offices variety. None of it would have been possible without the support and partnership of many, so a few thank-yous are in order!

To Hue & Tone’s clients, thank you for your partnership, and for allowing Hue & Tone to help tell your story. It’s an honor every time!

To the community of Greensboro-based designers I’ve met, your advice has been invaluable.

To Sirtuah, and to my family, thank you for your patience and support through the crazy journey of the last year.

To the Greensboro community as a whole, thank you for welcoming me, welcoming Hue & Tone as a business and being a wonderful place to call home.

With all that said…that’s a wrap on Hue & Tone’s first year. It hasn’t been perfect, and I wouldn’t change a thing. Here’s to year two!

As we head into the holidays, we'll be blocking out some time in our schedule to work on Hue & Tone as a business.

That means the website will be down temporarily as we work on some improvements -- which also means we'll be taking a short break from the blog! 

The site will come down on Friday, December 11. If you need us while it's down, don't hesitate to reach out via phone or email: 

hannah@hueandtonecreative.com

336-365-8559

Don't forget to grab your holiday resources before the site goes down! We're wishing you all the very best holiday season, and can't wait to be back for a new year on the blog.

As my small business grows, I have a better understanding of who we are and who we’re trying to reach. When I founded Hue & Tone, I went with muted, simple colors – but quickly found that this very basic palette was limiting.

Hue & Tone’s refreshed branding is cleaner, brighter, and better represents who we are and what we do – without being such an overhaul that we’ve become unrecognizable. A wider range of colors and textures, along with an expanded font palette, offer visual flexibility and do a better job of telling our story.

Check out the before and after here: 

---

How do you feel about your business's branding? Does it tell your story well, or is it time for a refresh?

You may have noticed that we haven't been around much on the blog lately. Our days have been filled to the brim -- packed with social media scheduling, logo design, video shoots, client meetings, and a few cups of coffee to keep it moving along. 

 It has been harried and busy and interesting and fun. On a serious note, I'm grateful for the opportunity to support organizations and individuals as they sort through the puzzle of explaining who they are to their audiences. It's my favorite kind of work and I'm glad I get to do it every day. 

Moving on, though, I wanted to share a little of what I've been working on since I last spent time in this space.

Downtown Greensboro banners

Front

Back

I've loved making a home in Greensboro, NC. It's one of those cities that's the perfect size -- big enough that there's plenty to do, small enough to know your neighbors -- and there are great things happening downtown. I partnered with the City of Greensboro to design these banners, which augment the city's placemaking efforts and establish the feel of downtown Greensboro for visitors and locals alike.

Action Greensboro print ad

This ad captures the spirit of Action Greensboro, which harnesses the energy of local business, education and government to strengthen the economy and ensure a great quality of life in Greensboro. This design needed to be clean and simple, while still capturing the verve and vibrancy of the work.

Social Media - Revolution Mill

I'm lucky to call Revolution Mill my home away from home (it's the location we chose for Hue & Tone's offices). Revolution Mill is a new live/work/play development in downtown Greensboro; the site has a rich history and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Social media for this client has to strike a balance; we need to highlight the great opportunities at Revolution Mill now (from studio, office, and event space to restaurant concepts and residential coming soon) while remaining grounded in the history of the space and sharing the story of preservation that's happening. 

I'd love to know -- what projects have you been working on lately?