Most small companies spend €120 on a stock logo and then wonder why nobody recognizes their brand. Or they spend €2,000 on a design that looks like everything else on the market. The right path lies between these extremes.
My philosophy: unique, but not eccentric. A good brand is recognizable in 0.5 seconds, works on the web and on a business card, and outlives trends (no 90s gradients in 2027). I create 3 concepts for every logo, you don't get the first idea that comes to mind, but 3 different directions.
Every brand gets a brand manual (PDF, 15-30 pages) with definitions of colors, typography, logo variants, usage and do-not-do rules. So that your identity works even when someone else represents you, a new marketer, an external designer, a print shop.