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The next chapter: a brand makeover helps move a bookstore's story forward.

Article Excerpt
STRESSED OUT and the owner of a newly diagnosed ulcer, Stephanie Chandler realized that her high-pressure job as a software salesperson wasn't worth sacrificing her health. She had always loved books, so she decided to pursue that passion, launching Book Lovers Bookstore (www.bookloverscafe.com), which specializes in gently used paperbacks, hardcover books and audiobooks, in 2003.

Since the beginning, Chandler, 33, has done things on a shoestring budget, from bribing friends with pizza and beer to help her clean and organize her initial inventory of 23,000 books to designing her own website. Admitting that graphic design isn't her strongest suit, she finally forked over $400 to a professional to create a logo for her store.

"Having never had a logo commissioned before, I didn't know [what] questions to ask," Chandler says. "After spending quite a bit of money on the logo, the results were disappointing."

The logo was not reflective of her store, and her tag line was written in script that could not be read when the logo was used in a small format. Her website was functional, but it didn't reflect the warm, inviting environment of her store. As her Sacramento, California, business continued to grow, Chandler found herself wanting to improve the design of her website and logo. So when Entrepreneur...

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