Walk with me

First of all, I’m new here. I’ve been reading articles and the forums on kirupa for a short while now and learning quite a lot. I’ve been a web designer for a while now, but I always felt my graphical talents to be lacking. I use photoshop to design most of my web media, and it’s adequate, but what I want is to take the next step.

I have no doubt I will be able to learn to effectively use the tools (Illustrator, Photoshop, Freehand, or whatever I decide upon). The problem I’m having is getting started. I was hoping some of you could take me through the process as you yourself see it.

What I mean by this is say you are asked to design a logo for a company, please take me through the steps you take. What program do you use? Do you hand sketch it on paper and use a tablet to draw it on your computer? Do you not even use any freehand drawing techniques? What tools do you use? The pen tool? The pencil? shapes?

I realize this is a very newbie-ish question, and as I improved I’ll have to find my own way of doing things, but I believe input from some of the bright people on this forum will give me a push in the right direction. Thanks.