Getting your logo will be one of the most exciting parts of starting your business. It is the symbol of your company and represents your hard work and dedication. You should be proud of it.

However, it doesn’t mean nearly as much to others who haven’t been there with you putting in that work. Your potential clients won’t have nearly that level of attachment to it. They see hundreds, if not thousands, of logos every day. They’re completely inundated with them. Just like anything they see all day, they don’t “see” any of them.

It’s hard to develop a logo that really stands out. Which is why most companies don’t try. Logos from Fortune 500 companies look the same. It’s not an accident. Those companies want to look established and reliable – which tends to look like other established and reliable companies.

Even the companies that spend millions of dollars on a logo swing and miss sometimes. You don’t have that kind of money to spend, and it would be unlikely to impress anyone if you did. You need a serviceable logo you like and are proud of that can be attained at a reasonable price. Don’t worry if your logo doesn’t stand out. If your logo is the only thing about your business that does stand out, you’ve got a much bigger problem.

Here are some of the routes you can go to get your logo:

Looka

Looka is a good option. You can get a logo through this site for as low as $65. The designs are more basic and generic – using your name in different colors/fonts and adding some different symbol options. This site is good enough for most small companies. The whole process may take as little as 10 minutes.

Fiverr

Fiverr is another good option. This one comes with a little more risk than Looka, but you will likely get a less generic logo. You review designers and pay a fee for one to come up with logo concepts for you. You pay whether you like the concept or not. Fees can vary a lot based on the designer you pick. You can enter some information about what you are looking for in a logo and Fiverr will recommend some designers based on the info you provide.

99designs

You can get a unique logo for your brand designed for $299. Unlike Looka, which uses automated designs, 99designs uses a large group of freelance designers who submit their work to you. You start a contest and agree to pay $299 to the winner. You submit some information and examples of logos you like, then the designers run with it. You can tell them what you like and don’t like so as the process goes on, you start to get a better idea of what you’re looking for. This site is where we got the logo for Rehabilitation & Performance Institute. We received more than 100 logo design options and were able to work with the contest winner to adjust her design a little bit. Then she provided all the file formats we needed for the logo.

Hatchwise

Hatchwise is very similar to 99designs, but with a tiered pricing structure. For each pricing level, you get a certain number of guaranteed designs. The consensus is that you generally get better quality logos from 99designs than you do from Hatchwise. Here’s a review from Best4Business comparing these two options.

Local Designers

Using a local designer is probably going to be the most expensive route, but for many the added cost is worth it. You may not get the same variety in designs as you would from the online options, but you will get to closely communicate with the designer during the process. My general rule is to support local individuals and businesses when I can afford it. I encourage you to reach out to some local designers in your search.

Big Picture

We all want a cool logo that jumps out at prospective clients. Realistically, this doesn’t happen often. The iconic business logos you know are memorable because the companies have done great things, not because the logos are amazing. It’s ok if your logo doesn’t turn heads. Let your service to the community be the part of your company that stands out.