Establishing A New Brand: Logo Needed For Startup

Endless Clients

I am changing careers, being personally mentored by a well-known figure in online marketing. This is my pet project for that mentorship. I'm working to help offline business owners find clients online.

There have been some amazing developments in the last couple years, and after seeing many small businesses struggle, I was struck by how little people know about these new ways to bring in a continuous stream of clients. So, I aim to educate.

I am targeting the owners of small, local businesses. Mainly I'm targeting professional service providers such attorneys and accountants, or plumbers and electricians, though it could include store or restaurant owners. They aren't really looking to 'take their business online' since their clients will always be local. They generally have a website, but it is little more than an online brochure.

Many are young professionals in their 20s looking to establish a client base. The upper range is 40s or 50s, people who have been in business for years, but recognize the need to adapt to the times. They are, on average, not very computer or internet savvy, and many will be in traditionally conservative fields.

So the image I'm going for is simple, clean, friendly, not intimidating. Very Apple-like, with the infinite white background. My site is a place where people who are easily scared-off by tech topics can let their guard down and learn something new, one simple step at a time.

This logo will be used in three places to start: the website, email newsletters, and in a direct mail campaign. It will also be the starting point for designing the private membership area of my site, so I want to get it right.

Text logo. (Endless Clients) Without icon or icon to left side, not above.

Words on single line or split. One idea I'm interested in is the word 'Clients' underneath, offset to the right so the two L's are aligned.

[UPDATE: While I like designs with the two L's aligned, I'm preferring that they stay separated. I'm also interested in seeing some handwriting or italicized fonts so the L's align at an angle. Hope this helps.]

Font: Sans Serif

Style: Balance between suitable for business, and modern rounded corners. Think iPhone/OS X. Many of my clients are professionals, but I'm bringing them to the web, not trying to be square and mimic them.

Colors: I'm open.

VERY IMPORTANT: It needs depth. I'd like it to have either a shadow behind, or a surface reflection (see examples.) It will be used on a clean, white background.

Simplified versions w/o reflection and inverted for black would be nice.

Formats:
Print file format - .ai (CMYK)
Web file format - .jpg and layered .psd (RGB)

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Example 1:
DON'T use this as inspiration for the text, just an example of the shadow.
http://www.thirtydaychallengeplus.c…s/logo.jpg
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Example 2: (I really like the reflection here)
http://nothirst.com/images/ScreenMoneyWell.png