A new look for HoneyBook: why we rebranded

HoneyBook cofounder Oz and Naama under a quote about independent businesses
HoneyBook cofounder Oz and Naama under a quote about independent businesses

HoneyBook was born out of a frustration with the status quo; with the reality of how hard it is to run your own business. Naama, my wife and co-founder, and I were both independent business owners. I ran a bar and she had a web design studio. We loved serving our clients and creating memorable experiences but not all of the admin work that came with it. 

The time wasted writing contracts, sending invoices, and getting lost in endless email back-and-forth. The worrying about overbooking, letting leads slip through cracks, and maintaining a consistent brand. As we talked to other independent business owners, we realized we weren’t alone in our struggle and the friction it created for our clients. 

Independents have such passion for their businesses but are held back by all the admin tasks. There had to be a better way but we couldn’t find a platform that had everything we needed. So we decided to build it ourselves and that’s how HoneyBook was born. 

Business flows your way

Every independent business owner knows how important client relationships are to their success. Whether it’s photography, business consulting, event planning, or graphic design, you’re delivering a personalized service tailored to the needs of your individual client, and you need software that understands that. Our vision was to create a single platform that would enable independents to create efficient processes that power the backend of their business, while also delivering a memorable and delightful experience for their clients. 

Over the next decade, we built tools for business tasks like invoicing, contracts, client communication, etc. But as we learned more about how different independent businesses work, we realized the key to creating great client experiences isn’t mastering a single task, it’s understanding how they all fit together. 

The actions a business owner takes in their workflow impact the quality of the experience they are delivering for their clients. We understood that these seemingly separate parts—the workflow and the client experience—are actually two halves of the same whole. They are interconnected and essential to successfully selling and delivering services to clients. This holistic process is called the clientflow, and HoneyBook has evolved to help independents perfect it. 

It starts from the moment a potential client discovers your business up until their decision to renew or leave a glowing review. To get to this positive endpoint, every stage of the clientflow has to be seamless. Any point of friction can jeopardize the relationship a business owner has worked so hard to build. 

HoneyBook empowers independent businesses to create a frictionless clientflow customized to their unique brand, business, and client needs. From the first inquiry to the final invoice, business flows your way with HoneyBook. 

The new HoneyBook brand

This realization marked a new stage for HoneyBook as a company. We’ve since launched the most substantial update to our core product to date that enables our members to build the processes that best fit their business needs. So it was time to bring our brand into this new era as well. 

We needed a look and logo as bold and fearless as the independents we serve. We also wanted a visual identity that would capture the notion of flow—the seamless business operations and client experience our platform enables. 

I believe our new brand achieves this vision. The yellow, a color we affectionately call “rebel yellow,” anchors the new brand in feelings of courage, creativity, and daring. Characteristics that embody the spirit of independent businesses. All of you charting your own course, saying no to the status quo, and pursuing your passion on your own terms.  

The logo and motifs evoke momentum, a sense of smoothly moving forward toward the new clients, goals, and growth that lay ahead. 

We’re excited to share this new look with you and we hope you love it as much as we do. 

Our commitment

Our mission is to make it easier to run an independent business. We want to eliminate the operational friction that too often stands in the way of someone pursuing their passion. Because everyone should have the opportunity to be successful in business, doing what they love. 

Discovering our category and launching our new brand are important milestones on the path to realizing our mission. With the language to define the way independents work and a look that better reflects their identity in the market, we believe we can be a better partner to our members. But the work doesn’t end there. 

These updates follow the launch of our new pricing plans, designed to make our platform more accessible to businesses in all stages of growth, and a series of product advancements like our new scheduler. Up next we will launch features that enable our members to showcase and book their services instantly, and take control of their finances, from business expenses to taxes. 

We are committed to developing the best tools and resources that power independent business success. I look forward to growing and advancing our platform alongside all of our current and future HoneyBook members. Thank you for sharing your business journey and joining us on ours.

How to use a welcome packet to successfully onboard new clients 

Three people meeting to discuss client onboarding

Learn how to create a client welcome packet that introduces your business, informs your new clients, and adds delight to your client experience!

Three people meeting to discuss client onboarding

Critical files and collateral for independent businesses often include invoices, contracts, sales brochures, and more. But, there’s one tool you might not be using, which can play a big role in creating a great client experience and setting your projects up for success. That tool is a client welcome packet. 

When you start any project or working relationship, it’s always important to get the last pieces of information that you might not have capturing during the booking process. You also want to set expectations with your clients about how you should be working together and communicating. Lastly, you want to create a great impression, and that starts at the very beginning of your relationship with your client onboarding. 

Here’s everything to know about using a welcome packet with your clients and best practices to make sure yours is effective. 

Jump to: 

What should your client welcome packet include?

Your client welcome packet communicates all the important details that you would like to share with a new client. This includes information that can help build your relationship, as well as detailed information about the project. 

You can include everything such as a bio, your client onboarding process, your communication preferences, the project timeline, how the client can track statuses, and more. 

We’ll break it down further below. Keep in mind that your specific welcome packet may vary depending on your client onboarding checklist. For most independent businesses, here’s what your client welcome kit should include:

1. Welcome message and introduction

First, take the time to thank your new client for booking with you. You can include a brief note on the first page of your welcome packet, or save it for the introduction email you send along with your packet. Either way, mention something specific from when you were first talking to them as a lead, and make sure they know how excited you are. 

Even though they probably already know about your business from their own research before booking, give your new clients a refresher about who you are as well as the mission statement behind your business. This is also a great opportunity to introduce them to your team if they’ll be working with others along with you. 

2. Policies

Next, get the serious stuff out of the way. Take the time to remind your clients about some of your policies, which should have also been in your online contract. You don’t have to copy and paste your contract clauses, but it’s a good time to reiterate late payment fees, payment processes, confidentiality agreements, and more. 

3. Communication preferences and information

Be sure to give your clients instructions on how they can communicate with you moving forward. You should also include your office hours so they know when you’ll be able to respond and when you’re offline.

Include your contact information or a link to your scheduling tool so they’ll always be able to get a hold of you. 

4. Login details and tech overview

Different businesses use different technologies, so this section will especially vary, but it’s important to get your clients up to speed as soon as they’re onboarded. 

If you’re a photographer, for example, you might just have a client portal and invoicing software that your clients will need to know how to log into to get their photos and pay their invoices. For other businesses like consultants, you might have more tools like project management software, so you’ll need to include specific instructions for how to log in and use the system. You might also want to leverage part of your onboarding packet as an intake form to ask your clients to share specific documents.

5. FAQs

Are there common questions that you get throughout your projects? This is a great place to address them upfront and give your clients a set place to refer to them throughout the project. These might include how to use your client portal, how to adjust their payment schedule, where to find project updates, and more.

6. Timeline and scope of work

Once you’ve briefed your clients on all the general information about your business and working with you, it’s time to get into the specifics of their project. Lay out the timeline and scope of work that you’ve already agreed on in your contract. 

At a high-level view, it can be great to call out important milestones and key dates that you’ve already set together. 

7. Payment information

The most important part of running your business is getting paid! Don’t forget to reiterate everything your clients need to pay you. You can include their specific payment schedule along with a reminder of how you accept payment (credit card, ACH transfer, etc.). 

8. Next steps

Lastly, you want to include next steps for each client. Will you be working on their project for a few weeks until the next check-in? Will there be a while until they hear from you next? Or, is there anything you need from them? Remind them to send over any important documents and files or send information you might need to get the project started. 

Best practices for your welcome packets

Make sure your client welcome packet is part of your brand

The most important thing about including a welcome packet in your client experience is that it has to be a completely branded package. This means it has to involve more than just shoving your logo into a client welcome packet template, adding text, and calling it “ready to send.”

Your client welcome packet is like holding the front door to your studio wide open to invite potential clients in. It sets the tone for your business. When it’s not cohesively branded or doesn’t fully jive with your website or social media profiles, potential clients notice and can feel the disconnect.

Keep your welcome packet concise and easy to navigate

Though there’s a ton of information to include in your welcome packet, try to keep it as simple as possible. Each section should have its own page that’s easy to navigate through a table of contents. Be sure you’re only providing the information–there’s no need to add paragraphs of text on each page if it’s unnecessary. 

Make your client welcome packet an interactive experience

Want to upgrade your client welcome packet even more? Use a system like HoneyBook to make it interactive. Instead of a stale, static PDF, you can build fully branded, digital files that incorporate your visual brand along with video, photos, and interactive elements like questionnaires. You can provide your information while also giving your clients a professional, immersive onboarding workflow from the start.

Use the right tool to build branded, effective client welcome packets

You can build your welcome packets with a variety of tools, including docs, PDFs, and slideshows. However, you want your packet to be a living, breathing document that your clients can return to over and over again and use to refer back to different parts of your process. 

That’s why it’s best to use a clientflow platform to build your client welcome packet. With a system like HoneyBook, you can build your welcome packet as an interactive template that syncs with other parts of your process. Clients can immediately schedule inside the welcome packet, view an online invoice, refer back to their contract, and more. 

Customize these free brochure templates to send to clients 

Laptop showing free brochure templates

Download two free brochure templates and learn how you can customize your sales brochure to properly showcase your brand and book more clients.

Laptop showing free brochure templates

Ready to send a client or new inquiry your brochure but need the right free brochure templates? Look no further, we have just the thing.

We partnered with Galler.ee to create two high-impact business brochure templates that present your services, pricing, and story in the best possible light. They’re beautifully designed, fully customizable, and 100% free. 

Leverage the templates with these business brochure examples to make sure you’re creating the best sales tool fit for your needs.

Each free brochure templates download includes:

1. Entrepreneur Pricing Templates (PSD Photoshop files), which include individual files you can customize for the following sections in your brochure:

  • Top Header
  • Let’s Get Started
  • My Process
  • Core Values
  • Inspirational Quote
  • Testimonial Quote
  • Pricing and Services
  • Add Ons

2. Storyboard & Proofing brochure templates (PSD Photoshop files), which includes:

  • Top Header
  • Quote Sections
  • My Clients
  • “Customize Your Experience” Header
  • Primary Palette
  • Secondary Palette
  • Moodboard

3. Instruction set for using the templates

What goes into memorable brochure design?

Using a digital brochure is best to showcase your products and services, but it can also showcase your brand. With an eye-catching brochure, leads will form stronger associations with your brand so you’re more likely to convert them into long-term clients. 

You don’t need to have your brochures professionally designed to have a big impact – with the right brochure templates you’ll be able to create brochures and customize them to fit your needs so they look just as professional as if a hired designer created them. 

When customizing your brochure templates, be sure to choose fonts and colors that already match the branding on your website and social profiles. You should also include high-quality images. We recommend adding a headshot of yourself as well as photos or samples of any relevant projects.

Want your brochure to do even more?

The #1 mistake we see independent business owners make with their brochure is not making it easy for clients to book them straight from the brochure. Think about it: If you make your inquiry click out of your brochure to take another step to contact you, request a proposal, or book your services, you’re just adding more steps in between booking with you.

Clients get distracted. Emails get buried. The less friction between your sales process and booking process, the better.

With HoneyBook brochures, customers can book from your brochure with the click of a button.

Interactive sales brochures let clients choose their desired services, and you can even build custom packages using the a la carte feature. On the next page, they’ll see an online invoice with the services they just selected, with the option to pay online immediately. 

Improving your brochure experience

Your brochure doesn’t always have to be a static file. If needed, it can become an interactive step in your booking process to help engage both clients and leads. The trick to improving your brochures is to think of them as part of the experience rather than just another file. 

HoneyBook Pros who specialize in improving your business can work with you to map out the best brochure strategy for your needs. They’ll help you understand when to send your brochure, what information to include, and how to move your clients toward next steps.

If you’re using brochure templates, they can also use their design expertise to make sure your template incorporates your brand throughout. 

How to use an online brochure maker

The easiest way to create a brochure is by using a platform that’s designed for seamless client communication. In HoneyBook, you have full creative control to drop in images, text, questions, and services in a variety of formats. Each element is included to help you move leads forward to clients by offering a single place for them to learn about your services and select their choices. 

To use your free brochure templates with HoneyBook, simply customize the templates using the Photoshop files, then upload them to your HoneyBook account. Within the brochure builder, you can drop in each part of the template as an image, then add other content blocks like questions or services. The drag and drop builder lets you move each element around – and you don’t have to use every file that comes with your free templates. It’s all about creating the brochure that works best for you and your clients’ needs.

Don’t forget to include more information about your company, such as your social media links and some specific project examples. Once you’re finished, you’ll have a stunning and professional brochure that’s fully customizable to your brand. Better yet, you can do it all in little time with our free brochure templates.