Advertising is my day job - so I am surrounded by creative types. I had a friend who's an art director design my logo. The things to remember when design your image is
1) Avoid Trends - your image should mature as your business does. Try to avoid a particular style that's hot right now and go with one that will sizzle forever.
2) Build a Brand Not a Logo - a lot of times businesses will go create cool logos that work well on business cards but don't translate to any other mediums. Think "Brand Image" versus cool logo. Does your logo work well across all your advertising media?
3) Look at Your Brand From the Consumers' Eyes - So what your logo excites you - does it excite the consumer? Does the logo communicate who you are what you do to the consumer - immediately? Does it spur consumer action? Remember before you open your mouth to give an estimate on a detail, your brand/logo needs to speak for you. Oh yeah - is it easy to read? Use the billboard rule - can someone read your message going 65 miles an hour at night and still take away your brand messaging?
4) Avoid Cliche - Just because you own a car related business doesn't mean you need to have a car in your logo. I purposely avoid having any VISUAL references to automobiles associated with my branding. It just limits the way folks interprets your brand. I specifically wanted consumers to focus on the script/font presentation of my logo to evoke their own mental images of what my brand could do for them. I want to first sell passion, trust and technology - then auto detailing.