Should you begin your online business with a brand in mind or should you wait and then create a brand later? In this article I am going to show you the best time to create a brand for your own business.The Risk Of Creating A Brand At The StartMany marketers will suggest that if you can start your business and create a brand straight away then you are far better equipped to attract customers and develop customer loyalty.We all know that having some sort of brand or brand values does help with customer loyalty. Therefore it seems to make sense that creating your brand up front will increase your customer retention from the very start.And that is of course appealing!However, what I have found and I know I am not the only one, is that when you first build your online business things develop and change over time.For example, you may discover that you are attracting certain customers with specific needs that initially you hadn’t considered would play such a major part in your services or products.Customer Communication Develops Your BrandAs you begin to listen to your customers and you get a real glimpse of the issues and difficulties that you are being able to solve for them, then you have a fantastic opportunity to use that for your brand message.Branding must state something about your business. It must send a message to your prospects about what to expect.Therefore until you understand exactly what it is your customers value from you, then it is hit and miss as to whether you get the ideal branding specific to you.Effective Branding Happens Along The JourneyIf it takes you 6 months before you fully appreciate what your brand message is then that time is not wasted. It is better to wait and get the right message and brand that truly reflects what you and your business is about than to create one at the start and then realise later that you could have done a better job with a different slant or angle.Businesses Aren’t Instant – They GrowYour online business will grow over time. You don’t wake up one morning and everything is in place and ready to go!You can’t possibly know at the start how your business will stand out from the crowd. You should certainly have ideas and implement them but it is not until you start seeing results and getting feedback that you really know what is making the difference. Then you can use that evidence to create your brand.