Rebranding & Raising Prices | 2024 Recap + 2025 Updates
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As BrandWell Designs closes the chapter on 2024 and steps boldly into 2025, Victoria returns from a well-deserved break and reflects on a transformative year marked by strategic changes, personal milestones, and significant business growth. Victoria is thrilled to finally share all that has been happening behind the scenes at BrandWell.
Starting with a quick 2024 recap, offering a candid look at the highs and lows of the past year Victoria shares exactly what worked and what didn’t, then continues to share how she decided to navigate the challenges throughout the year. Victoria also discusses the recent rebrand of her design agency and shares her insights on the process. With this rebrand, BrandWell is stepping into an elevated version of themselves and Victoria shares a few of BrandWell’s big plans for 2025… Including a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!
This episode promises to be a fun catch-up conversation while also being a valuable and encouraging resource for any female entrepreneurs looking to assess their own businesses and make informed decisions for their future. So grab your earbuds, or turn on CarPlay, and enjoy this episode!
Work-Life Balance as a Busy Mom of Small Children
One of the biggest wins for 2024 was finding a sustainable rhythm for balancing work and motherhood. With two young children (a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old), Victoria shares that the past five years have been an ongoing adjustment to find the right childcare setup. This year, she settled on a schedule that worked well for her family and business needs.
Victoria’s oldest daughter attended preschool two mornings a week, and a babysitter came for three additional mornings, providing 12 dedicated hours each week for client calls, team meetings, podcast recording, and other business priorities. Outside of those hours, Victoria often worked during nap times, after bedtime, or whenever her husband was home to help. Those structured childcare hours provided a solid foundation for managing her workload and navigating the demands of 2024.
BrandWell’s Growth: New Team Members, Retreats, and Photoshoots
BrandWell Designs achieved several important milestones in 2024, making it a standout year for the business. One of these milestones was the decision to bring on an in-house copywriter in January. By mid-year, a second in-house copywriter joined the team, further enhancing BrandWell’s ability to deliver web-friendly, conversion-focused copy for clients, and this new resource quickly became a significant value add-on to BrandWell’s services.
Another major highlight was the launch of BrandWell’s first-ever internship program. Although Victoria had received internship questions as early as 2019, the idea felt overwhelming without a physical space or the energy required to train interns. With the growth of her team, including managers Libby and Lauren, the timing was finally right. BrandWell welcomed a social media intern and a digital marketing intern, which not only added a new dynamic to the business, but also allowed Victoria to fulfill her passion for mentoring and inspiring young women. The internship program has been a success this far and will continue in 2025!
2024 also included the team’s third annual retreat in Nashville, which Victoria called their best yet, and three professional brand photo shoots that refreshed BrandWell’s visual identity.
Celebrating Six Years and Securing a Trademark for BrandWell Designs
In 2024, BrandWell Designs proudly celebrated six years of growth and success. The team expanded with two talented West Coast designers, a strategic move that enhanced service for California clients, one of BrandWell’s top markets alongside Virginia, New York, and Florida.
A monumental achievement was securing the registered trademark for BrandWell Designs, a process that took nearly two years. With the help of trademark attorney Paige Griffith, Victoria navigated the complexities after an initial attempt through LegalZoom fell short. This trademark solidifies BrandWell’s professionalism, sets a strong example for clients, and adds long-term value to the business.
Taking a Summer Break and Closing Early for the Holidays
In 2024, Victoria decided to take the summer off to be with her children instead of replacing her babysitter who was away visiting family. During June and July, her team at BrandWell managed operations while she stepped back from meetings to embrace a slower pace. Her managers attended Circle Day at Squarespace HQ in New York City, strengthening the company’s industry connections.
In December, Victoria made another bold decision—to close BrandWell’s books three weeks early, meaning no sales calls and inquiries after December 12th. BrandWell achieved its highest monthly sales within those first 12 days. This decision reflected a commitment to creating a company culture that honors work-life balance, allowing her team to focus on administrative tasks and work comfortably during the holiday season.
Things That Didn’t Work in 2024
In 2024, despite BrandWell’s overall 30% financial growth, Victoria faced some challenges. The most significant challenge involved the Branding Business School’s live launches. After three launches throughout the year, with diminishing returns on each, Victoria realized that the live launch model wasn’t sustainable for her current season of life. While the first launch was highly successful, the next ones attracted only a handful of enrollments. The live launch format required intensive email nurturing, sales processes, and live events, which are difficult to maintain while managing her business and family responsibilities.
The second major challenge came from BrandWell’s affiliate program. Victoria wanted to launch an affiliate program to reward amazing past clients for sending referrals, especially after their businesses had grown so much after working with BrandWell. However, with such a busy year full of client work and team expansion, it wasn’t the right time to take on the additional workload of launching and managing an affiliate program. These setbacks led Victoria to pivot her strategy, transforming The Branding Business School into an evergreen course that could be marketed organically through her existing channels.
Rebranding BrandWell & Increasing Prices
In late 2024, BrandWell implemented its biggest price increase to date, moving into a higher-end market segment that required a complete rebrand. Despite the business growing by 30% and performing well, Victoria realized that the existing brand, developed in 2017-2018, needed to evolve to attract and retain clients at their new price point.
Timing the BrandWell Rebrand: Why It Was Essential
The idea for rebranding had been percolating for several years, but Victoria waited for the right moment. She says that she didn’t want to do a knee-jerk reaction and just rebrand for the sake of rebranding. The timing finally felt right in late 2024, with her children in a good routine and the business in a strong position. The announcement of her third pregnancy (surprise!!) further confirmed the need to transition to a lower-volume, higher-touch business model that would better accommodate her growing family.
Behind the Scenes of the Rebranding Process
The rebranding process became a collaborative effort involving BrandWell’s entire team of designers. Following a successful creative workshop at their Nashville retreat, where the team analyzed and reimagined various retail brands they encountered, Victoria invited all designers to participate in creating concepts for the new BrandWell identity. The process began with a comprehensive strategy meeting where the team discussed their evolving target audience, brand personality, and the importance of honoring their existing brand equity while moving upmarket.
Each designer then developed their unique vision for the new BrandWell, resulting in diverse concepts that all captured the essence of the brand in different ways. The final brand identity became a true collaboration, incorporating elements from each designer’s concepts—including Libby’s slanted W to Lauren’s script B, Aviana’s stacked logo, and Lauren McKenzie’s submark. This approach created deeper meaning within the team, as each member could see their contribution to the final product.
Aligning BrandWell’s Rebrand with Business Goals
The rebrand of BrandWell focused on three key requirements: maintaining familiarity with their existing audience, embracing femininity to reflect their all-female team (and mostly female clients), and projecting sophistication to match their new premium positioning. The implementation process was methodical, with Victoria’s team creating a master rebrand checklist and strategically timing the launch to coincide with their December business closure, allowing them a full month to update all marketing materials and touchpoints.
Exciting Plans for 2025
Just sixteen days into 2025, the rebrand’s impact has already been evident in the caliber of incoming inquiries and clients’ readiness to invest in premium services. Victoria plans to take maternity leave in July for the birth of her third daughter, maintaining BrandWell’s commitment to balancing business success with family priorities. The business will continue its transition to a more boutique service model, focusing on delivering exceptional experiences to a select group of clients who align with their elevated brand positioning.
Key Quotes
“I always say if your target audience is women, don't dilute the power of your brand or the effectiveness of your brand to cater to the 10 men that you serve."
Victoria Marcouillier
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