Oh yeah, that Bones Jones is piece of work I'll tell ya, not a fan of him really, but dude wins, can't hate on that.
lol ill give a discount to the SI forum bros for sure. ive gotten tons of useful info(and laughter) from these forums.
Don't go off an impersonal site that's templated and cookie-cuttered their bottled services priced at a professional rate but processed and serviced by their apprentice interns. When getting a tattoo, those who open up a book of flash images and say "dat one, brah!!!" and have the next pony-tailed, BCN mustached dude spark up that needle on them are the first in line at the laserbeam institute getting the molecules of that ink altered and dulled beyond recognition of the original image yet still leaving a blemish. Compare that to the subject that thinks long and hard (like the 3rd grade was on rcarter) and carefully about what his tat wants to rep about their life, experiences, values, and interests, then goes and seeks out the most experienced, skilled, and personable (the artist needs to work WITH you and leading you like Erock says Mike Daniel does with the Coil boards he makes shreddahs) and collaboratively produce the intended image. Subject B is the one who is proud to wear that ink for years and maybe gets addicted to the ink!! Interpretation of the analogy to your biz: 1) Don't go through any of the wholesale logo houses found on das Webernet. 2) Immediately PM the pro GDs in this thread to see if they'd like to help you by giving you more detailed advice than listed in the thread, possibly doing the work for you at a fair market price for their services. 3) Work WITH the artist/professional of choice to arrive at the image that will represent the business (your baby) in a way you are both proud of and have belief in, as well as one that will facilitate success of your biz. 4) Get that symbol of your movement on all necessary media. 5) Get that media out to the universe!
Do yourself a favor and do a little more research on companies that do that kind of work and go with the one who has the most solid rep and does quality work. If you cut corners on your brand, you'll wish you hadn't down the road. You don't want to have to change it mid-game because it's not working like you had thought. $400 is a drop in the bucket for a long-term investment on something such as your brand, something that you will pride your company after for years to come. And if $400 is going to put you out then you really ought to consider if this is the best time to be launching. Just my .02, If I had this decision to make for myself, that's how I would approach it.
One mo ting braddah, to da words up deez ones...how u gone like dat crib when it get no brahs in dare n jus gets cobwebs n den gotta shut da doors?!?!!? U wanna trow a fiesta at ur palace on da reg n check mo cheddah den a food inspectahhh!!!!
4 big bones won't even get you a showpiece of a classic stick to put up on the wall above the front desk or lounge area.
Neva taken da biz skool brah, not fo one day!!! I gots it frum me faddah da big biz guy who make Spicoli kneel on da rice when he act like a kook in da life from small kid time. Dat n ma brain just tinks a dis stuffs too!!!
Gary gnu wit da news...aka Mista OP... Gfootr dropping some knowledge fo serious on your brain right here. More great tips and advice. When Nike saw that swoosh by that ingenious collegiate kook and natural-born marketing machine, you know they put the concept out there R&D style to poll sample populations of various target and non-target markets and get a verdict of whether or not what they thought was the ticket to commercial success would in fact make it rain in the marketplace. You think they had to spend money just to see if that mark would sell? I'll bet my absurdly over-sized quiver they did. The great thing about das Web is that you can get your R&D on your proposed mark(s) by spending time and not too much if any money doing more of what you are already doing here with us but on a larger scale, and definitely starting with surf forums and also travel forums based out of major metro areas that fly into Nic on the reg.
No doubt, I only took a few classes at the local U for this stuff, but I did work in the advertising industry for 5 years, so I learned a lot in my time there. I helped many of small / medium size companies grow their brand and helped them become profitable with the ads I created for them and sold them. From your local serviceman i.e. roofer / contractor, to real estate agents & mortgage companies. The principles are universal though, and can apply to any business. Hey O.P. hit me up on PM if you ever need any suggestions or advice, I'm no genius, but I'm not using that part of my brain much these days so I don't mind lending a hand and not letting that info go to complete waste.
yea my website guy said he'll throw in the logo for about 300 bucks depending how much work his person has to put into it. i was using this freelancer as a starter to get some more ideas. i figured 40 bucks to get a few ideas, and if something sick came out of it, sweet.
Shoots, brah!!! Let's get the dates you got open beds for us and we'll book flights stat!!! Funk dat, I'll lay up in one of those world-famous Nicaraguan hammocks instead of a bed. No different than the frequent nights I sleep on the hammock hung on my porch. I even eat dinner sometimes lamping in that rack. You heard that yankee. Mo surveillance!!! Gnu, I'll even help you with the build out!! Love making things with my hands almost as much as breaking them.
A typical web guy is a programmer and that's if he's not coding HTML and using boxed-up for wholesale WYSIWYG which non-pros can do mad easy. He may or may not also have creative skills and GD experience, but even if so, that would be rare if he's the one that will help you hit it out of the park to launch. Who's "his person"? What's their background and portfolio look like? How successful have his former clients been? Think about how much time, effort, and money you're putting into your launch. Listen to the gurus that have been there. Don't buy a potato chip, hop out on the swell, and bag your surfing career a few days/months in because it was a destined self-fulfilling failure from the start.
for those of you interested in keeping tabs. we do have a facebook page - www.facebook.com/LasPalmasSurfLodge a few pics of the construction, but its mostly the surf, as construction pics can get boring to look at.
Good luck with your launch man, it takes a big set to make that leap, now just make sure to talk to as many people about it as you possibly can and don't let anybody steal your dream, ever. You have to build up a following for your grand opening and make sure you make a huge splash on that day, it'll develop business for you for years to come if you do it right and make people take notice. Don't just whisper about your business, yell about it from the mountain tops! Ok, that's all I got.
My last advice... most web "designers" aren't logo designers, so $300 sounds good, but be careful. Don't settle. This is your vision. DO it right. ALso make sure you code the website as a Content managed system so you can keep it fresh and updated. Google LOVES new text. Get your Search Engine optimization inline. And connect the site to your social sites. FB, TW, IN, youtube, and more... Lastly, code the site "responsive". This way it adapts to tablets, phones, automatically rescales graphics and nav system. One site, multiple devices.
