Are you talking from the view of an individual that is working his brand to make it grow or as a buyer that needs to measure it's value?

my $0.02

In terms of branding from what you described above, in the beginning, I would pay zero. What I would pay attention to from the get-go is what people are saying on the web about my brand, not because I'm concerned if it's tarnished when starting something new, but because I am eager to actively engage ANYONE that is willing to talk about it (negative or positive). Again, just my opinion, and it's from the perspective of starting something new (maybe you have something that has existed for awhile).

Your brand is your essence, your values, YOU on stage in everything you promote, hand out, tell someone, email, or DO.

What is that worth to you? That's the real question. Your brand involves much more than just paying someone to produce (and probably won't nail) some flashy business cards, a website, etc.

I totally agree with Michael in term of the value of a brand, but I think perhaps you are referring purely to the branding collaterals. If this is an effort in doing market research, trying to figure out our willingness to pay for branding collaterals then maybe you can rephrase your question to be more direct.

I personally believe that the brand has to figure out its own message, not using an outside consultant. So as a result, the exercise of producing branding collaterals for that known message is somewhat a commodity service with a rather small value add. So my willingness to pay would be quite low. Unless if I decide to hire a friend because I want to support him/her, I would shop around for a cheap market rate.

One thing I will say about branding is keep it consistent. Define your 'brand' and stick to your guns. Don't introduce variations of logos or color schemes. Stay true to your brand and rarely deviate from your theme. This will continually build brand definition and awareness to the point where a client may be able to recognize your brand merely by the color scheme associated with your company (ie Coca Cola's red theme).

As for the design of your logo, keep it simple. Make it bold, easy to read, identify, and recall. Look at all the major brands: Wal Mart, Pepsi, AT&T, Ford, etc, etc, etc. Not alot of flash in their logo designs.

One thing I've learned in my current business is the importance of building and maintaining a solid brand. It's been our #1 key to success to date. It's allowed us to introduce higher priced products in our market and be wildly successful when our competitors struggle to sell items at lower price points.

So build a solid foundation for your brand and protect it's image like it's your own child.