How Do I Know When It’s Time to Rebrand My Small Business?
AKA: The signs your DIY brand has officially outgrown its cowgirl boots.
You know that feeling when you look at your website or logo and think… “She’s fine I guess, but she’s just not me anymore”? That quiet little cringe every time you send someone your Instagram handle or open your Canva templates?
Yep, that’s your intuition telling you it’s time to rebrand.
Whether your business has grown faster than you expected, your audience has evolved or changed, or you’ve simply changed as a person since you started your business (because of course you have), a rebrand is your chance to catch everything up and make your business feel like you again.
I’ve worked with more than 50 women-led brands over the past few years, and the signs are always the same. The brand that once felt exciting starts to feel… heavy. Stale. More than a little bit “meh.” And deep down, you know you’re ready for something bolder, more confident, and totally you.
So if you’re wondering whether it’s time to rebrand, saddle up, cowgirl because here are the biggest clues.
1. The Emotional Clue: You’ve Outgrown the Brand You Started With
When you first launched your business, your brand fit like a cute pair of cowgirl boots. It was comfy, familiar, and juuuust right for where you were back then.
But all these years later? You’ve evolved. Your services are stronger, your clients are dreamier, and the brand that once made sense now feels like it belongs to a past version of you. You need some bigger boots.
That disconnect is huge. It’s why you hesitate before posting or second-guess every colour, word, or photo that you share. You’re not uninspired (even if that’s how it feels sometimes) you’re misaligned.
One of my clients, Seana Tomlinson Coaching, came to me feeling exactly like that. She’d grown beyond her counselling roots into midlife coaching, but her visuals were still whispering “therapy,” not “empowerment.” Once we created a brand that reflected the vibrant, grounded coach she’d become, her confidence skyrocketed and so did her client enquiries.
If your brand no longer feels like home, it’s not a failure — it’s a sign you’ve evolved. It’s time to build something that fits the new you.
2. The Visual Clue: Your Branding Feels vague, Inconsistent or Outdated
DIY logos, inconsistent colours, pick ‘n’ mix Canva templates… sounding familiar?
There’s no shame in it, we’ve all been there at some point. Most of my clients start with DIY branding because it’s practical and resourceful (not to mention free which is a total bonus in those early business days). But as your business grows, that doing-your-best DIY look stops feeling enterprising and starts feeling… messy.
If you’re constantly shying away from sharing your homepage, or feeling judged or discounted for your scrappy graphics, it’s a clear sign you’re ready for an upgrade.
When Kate from EduKate Learning first reached out, she had a DIY logo, a tired Wix website, and zero excitement about promoting her business. She wanted something bright, confident, and full of life, a brand that captured her personality. After a full rebrand and brand new website, her business finally reflected the personality she brought into her business: fun, professional, and full of energy.
If your visuals aren’t making you feel proud to show off your business, it’s absolutely time to level up.
3. The Strategy Clue: Your Offers Have evolved, But Your Brand Hasn’t
Your business is constantly growing and evolving, especially in those first few years. And your brand should be, too.
Maybe you’ve raised your prices, shifted your niche, or started offering different services. And now that brand you created on Canva in week one is still out there selling the old you. That mismatch is seriously confusing your audience and keeping you from attracting the clients you actually want.
One of my amazing Rebrand Rodeo clients, Summer from Summer Bradshaw Coaching, had this exact problem. Her DIY branding, which she’d created in Canva in a single evening back in 2020, screamed “beginner coach,” but her expertise had evolved far, far beyond that. Through our one-week brand and website transformation, we repositioned her entire brand to properly reflect her high-end coaching experience through editorial graphics and a sleek Squarespace website. The difference was night and day. The new brand has helped her gain tonnes of higher-ticket clients who are happy to invest in premium coaching services, and her business and reputation has grown as a result.
When your brand and business strategy don’t match, clients can’t see your true value, no matter how good you actually are.
4. The Website Clue: You’re too Embarrassed to Share It, so it never brings in leads
Let’s be real for a sec, if you’re whispering “please don’t judge me” every time you reluctantly send someone your website link, you need to take that as a sign that things need to change.
Your website should be the main online hub of your brand. You should want people to be finding it and looking at it; regularly! If your DIY website is confusing, clunky, or out of date, it’s not going to be doing you any favours when it comes to visibility. I can’t tell you how many clients have told me, “I have barely looked at my website in the last 6 months because it feels overwhelming.”
That’s why I build all my client sites on Squarespace. It’s creates visually stunning websites that are super user-friendly, and it doesn’t require any tech wizardry to use. You can edit pages, update content, or even launch a new offer all by yourself, without tracking down a developer to beg for help.
If your website makes you want to hide your head under the duvet, it’s definitely time for a digital glow-up.
5. The Gut Clue: You’re Bored to death of Your Own Brand
This one’s sneaky. You’ll be doing fine, clients will be happy, the work will be steady, but you’ll be feeling… pretty uninspired. In fact, you’re just straight up bored to death.
That’s often the final sign. The one you absolutely cannot ignore. You’ve lost that creative spark you had for your brand at the beginning, and showing up online now feels like a chore. That’s not laziness, cowgirl, it’s your creative intuition nudging you toward something new.
When my client Lynda rebranded from her old partnership to her first solo business, she told me she felt “re-energised and excited” for the first time in years. That’s because a rebrand isn’t just visual. It’s emotional. Rebranding can reignite your passion for what you do and give you the confidence to show up and sell again.
When you’re proud of how your business looks, everything else feels easier; marketing, selling, even dreaming bigger.
So… Is It Time for you to Rebrand your small business?
If you nodded along to more than one of these 5 signs, chances are your brand has outgrown its old boots.
The good news? You don’t need to burn everything down and start over. A strategic rebrand takes what’s already great about your business, your voice, your values, your vision, and refines it into something that truly reflects the person and professional you’ve become.
It’s not about being new. It’s about being you.
How The Rebrand Rodeo Can Help
If your business has outgrown its original DIY branding, The Rebrand Rodeo is the one-week brand and website glow-up you’ve been desperate for. It’s designed to help you look, feel, and sell like the pro you are.
You’ll walk away with:
A bold new brand identity that feels unapologetically you
A custom Squarespace website that’s easy to manage and built to convert
Clarity, confidence, and a visual identity that finally feels like home
“I am forever grateful to have a unique brand that is no longer built with Canva templates, but is completely our own and something I am proud to share. Thank you so much Naomi for the best experience on the Rebrand Rodeo!”
- Alice, School of mathematic Excellence
Ready for your own Rebrand Rodeo?
I love working with personality-led brands who want to create bold, vibrant graphics & websites.
Sound like a bit of you?
Book your free discovery call now.
