When Ken and I purchased Mills Rentals from Steve we purchased a great company, some really fantastic properties, and a dated Brand. Since then we have been working hard to bring the brand into the 21st century. We have always had a clear vision of what kind of company we wanted to be. We want to be a Rental Property company that is highly considerate, detail oriented, value centric, and seasoned with our our slightly edgy, skater/rock n roll sensibilities. It turns out that creating a brand identity that incorporates those ideals into a tasteful, modern, and on point identity is very difficult.

We are currently working with a lightning bolt as fun way to express our slightly more punk rock side. We have also decided to drop the “Rentals” in our brand identity for a number of reasons. Namely it makes our mark “MR” which is impossible to make feel unique and not come across as Mr.

Sure we could pay some company to help us figure this out but ultimately the creative work has to be done inside our own hearts and heads. Here is the biggest lesson from this still ongoing experience. Please read and incorporate into your own personal or business life.

• If you want something creative done for yourself or your company that is specific to your tastes and is informed by something you know better than anyone else, YOU are the only person who can truly do that creative work. Yes people can iterate for you but it is wasteful, as ultimately you will have to use that crusty part of your brain that extrudes creativity once you sit down and think long and hard. You CANNOT outsource your own creativity. You are the source and creator of your brand everyday. Take time to curate it and creatively express it or else you might give that right over to someone who doesn’t represent you.