During the early days of the pandemic, when my consulting business had ground nearly to a halt, I got a call from a guy who’d launched a cannabis drink brand. He’d built it himself — logo, packaging, the works — and it looked exactly like what it was: homemade. He needed real branding and he knew it.
He’d already been to a design firm run by a friend of mine. Full positioning and packaging system: $150,000. Way more than he could spend. My friend couldn’t take the smaller job, but told him I could handle the positioning piece more efficiently. So the guy called me.
I listened to what he needed. As the call went on, his list kept growing — more deliverables, more strategy, more everything. By the time we hung up, I’d landed on a number: $50,000. I asked if that worked. He said it did.
