How do you get your logo right? - Tania Boshier-Jones

Meeting Topic

People and Business Growth: What Every Female Business Owner Should Know – Lisa Oakley

Many women launch their businesses wearing every hat—from sales to bookkeeping to customer service. But once you employ even one person, the landscape changes. Your people become both your greatest asset and your greatest risk. It’s no longer just about finding the right person; it’s about shaping your culture, staying compliant, and preparing your business to grow without unnecessary stress or costly mistakes.

1. Don’t Wait Too Long to Hire or Seek Support

A common trap is waiting until you’re overwhelmed before bringing someone on or seeking expert advice. By that point, you’re firefighting, and quick decisions can lead to long-term problems.

• Action: Track the tasks that drain your energy or pull you away from strategic work—those are your earliest delegation opportunities.
• Hiring or seeking support early gives you space to make thoughtful choices and onboard well, which saves time and reduces risk.

2. Culture Isn’t Optional—It’s Your Competitive Edge

Your culture starts long before you have a “team.” It shows up in how decisions are made, how customers are treated, and what behaviours are rewarded.

• Action: Identify three core values you want to see lived every day. Use them to guide recruitment, performance conversations, and recognition.
• A clear, consistent culture attracts aligned people, keeps them engaged, and becomes part of your brand identity.

3. Anticipate Conflict—It’s Part of Business

Even in the healthiest workplace, conflict is inevitable. It won’t just come from employees—it will show up with contractors, suppliers, partners, and customers too.

• Misunderstandings about expectations, communication gaps, and assumptions are all common friction points.
• Action: Build simple, values-aligned practices for resolving issues early—things like clarity of agreements, check-ins before concerns escalate, and a shared commitment to approaching conversations constructively.
When conflict is anticipated rather than feared, it becomes a source of learning rather than disruption.

4. You Don’t Need to Be an Expert in Everything

You don’t have to know every detail of HR, health and safety, or workplace legislation—but you do need to ensure your business is protected. Missteps in compliance, employment agreements, or dispute handling can be stressful and costly.

• Action: Identify at least one trusted external advisor or professional you can call on when needed—someone who understands your stage of growth and your values. Preparing this support early prevents reactive, high-pressure decisions later.

Takeaways

Growing a thriving business isn’t just about the product or service—it’s about the people, relationships, and systems you build around it. Start today by:

1. Listing one task you’ll delegate in the next three months.
2. Naming the top three behaviours that will define your culture.
3. Identifying where conflict is most likely to emerge and how you’ll approach it constructively.
4. Lining up an expert advisor before you need them.

Which step will you take first to strengthen your business foundations?

Contact Details
Lisa Oakley – Director, People Associates
Website: www.peopleassociates.nz
Email: lisa@peopleassociates.nz

Lisa Oakley is the Director of People Associates and a passionate advocate for helping women entrepreneurs grow businesses where people thrive. Drawing on decades of experience in HR, health & safety, and workplace transformation, she supports leaders to build people practices and cultures that align with their values and enable sustainable success

Next Meeting Topic

How do you get your logo right? – Tania Boshier-Jones

Well, you need to start with your brand.

Memorable brands are built with intention and consistency, by:

  • Knowing your strategy: your mission, audience, and positioning, to make

design choices purposeful.

  • Developing your voice: having a clear, consistent tone so your brand sounds

like you, everywhere.

  • Creating your visuals– your logo, colours, fonts, imagery — so they all work together to build recognition.
  • Applying consistently, across every platform: repetition creates connection.

A logo is a symbol: it represents your company. It becomes powerful when backed by a clear, consistent and authentic brand.

Your logo is a visual shortcut to an experience. When people look at your logo, they
don’t just see shapes and colours, they feel something. That reaction isn’t created by design alone; it’s created by everything that surrounds it.

Elements to consider

Colours
Imagine a financial adviser whose competitors all use navy and silver. She could blend in with the industry’s trusted, stable look — or stand out with a teal accent that feels equally professional but more individual.

  • Do you have a colour palette that represents your brand or industry?
  • Do you want to stand out, or blend in?
  • Will you need an inverse version for dark backgrounds?
  • Will you need mono options for black-and-white printing?

Remember — you don’t have to use all your brand colours in the logo itself: secondary colours can appear in supporting elements.


Fonts
Your font choices say as much as your colours do. Think about the tone you want to convey. A boutique florist, for instance, might choose a rounded sans serif font to feel fresh and approachable, paired with a soft script for the tagline to add warmth and personality. What tone are you aiming for?

  • Sans serif (no feet, e.g. Arial, Calibri, Open Sans) – clean, modern, friendly.
  • Serif (with feet, e.g. Times New Roman, Garamond, Baskerville) – classic, reliable, elegant.
  • Script – handwritten or formal; can feel personal and stylish, or messy if overused.

Keep it simple – clarity always wins

Icon
Do you need an icon, or  will a typeface have enough personality to represent your brand?

For example, a landscaping business might use a simple leaf or spade icon to make its purpose clear at a glance, while a boutique consultancy could rely on a distinctive wordmark, letting a customised typeface carry the brand’s personality without extra symbols.


Usage and Outputs
Your graphic designer will guide you to think about where your logo will live, and what formats you’ll need:

  • Orientation –stacked (square) and/or horizontal versions so your logo fits neatly in different spaces.
  • Vector logos – so your logo can be scaled up or down without losing any quality – perfect for print, signage, or embroidery (ai, eps, pdf).
  • Raster logos – for digital use, because they’re great on screen, but can go fuzzy if only low resolution and then get enlarged for print. (jpg, png, gif, tiff).

Remember – The best logos are flexible, stand the test of time and represent your business and it’s core values.

Need help aligning your brand and visuals?
Check out www.electricturtle.co.nz — I’d love to help you make your brand unforgettable.

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