Mane Alchemist
Salon · Chisago Lakes MN
Positioned away from the wellness salon default and toward deliberate luxury.
Everything visual followed that one call. Started with a Sounding.
You are the only one
who knows how it works.
That is not a compliment. It is a structure, and it is the reason you cannot step away from your own business for a week without something breaking. The Build is the work of getting it out of your head and into a shape that runs without you standing in the middle of it.
Brand. Operations. Business development. Every price on this page is published. You will not need a call to see one.
Where this usually starts
Nothing is broken. That is the problem.
The revenue is fine. The clients are happy. The work is good enough that no one has any reason to question the arrangement. And you are the single point of failure in every part of it, which means growth costs you more than it returns.
Most people in this position do not need encouragement. They need someone to look at the whole thing at once and say plainly what is load bearing and what is not.
What it covers
Brand, operations, and business development
-
Brand
What you are, said in a way that a stranger can repeat correctly. Positioning, message, and the language you use everywhere else.
-
Operations
How the work actually moves. Intake, delivery, handoff, and the parts currently held together by you remembering to do them.
-
Business development
Where the next client comes from, on purpose rather than by referral luck. Offer structure, pricing, and the path someone takes to reach you.
Work
Three businesses, three decisions
None of these look like each other, and none of them look like me. That is the point. The positioning came first and the identity followed from it.
SRS Performance
Training · Minneapolis MN
Narrowed from general fitness to former competitive athletes.
The audience decision set the entire register. Started with a Sounding.
SolyRey
Travel
The promise moved from the destination to the logistics being handled.
That is what the whole brand now says. Started with a Sounding.
Phase zero
A Sounding, a $300 business diagnostic
Ninety minutes, and a written page after
Flat$300
One conversation about the whole business. You do not need to come prepared. Ninety minutes is the length, not an estimate, because a conversation with no end does not produce a decision. Afterward you get a written page: what I heard, what is load bearing, and what I would do first. It is yours whether or not we work together again.
Every client on this page started here. Some stopped here, and that was the right answer for them.
What happens after that
The Build, one day or one season
One day
When it needs deciding
Flat$1,500
You know what you are building. You need the positioning, the message, and the language settled so you can go build it.
- 01Audit and discovery
- 02Positioning and message
A season
When it needs building
Starting at$6,000
The gap is not in the words. It is in what happens after the words, and that takes longer than a day.
- 01Audit and discovery
- 02Positioning and message
- 03Operations and delivery
- 04Growth direction and next work
Every engagement is tailored. Some start as a single day and grow into something much bigger. We figure out the right scope together, and it is written down before either of us commits to it.
Production, sold on its own
Website design and content strategy, sold separately
Website
Starting at$4,000
Built in code. Not a template, not a theme, not a page builder, and not a platform subscription you keep paying to rent. It is written for your business and it belongs to you.
Because it is coded rather than assembled, changes come through me. That is the trade. Nothing is limited to what a theme allows, and nothing breaks because a plugin updated overnight.
Care, monthly
From$95per month
A live site needs upkeep for as long as it is live. Every site I build is on one of these.
- $95Essential. Hosting, security, backups, and regular health checks.
- $200Complete. Everything in Essential, plus up to an hour of content updates each month.
- $100Design work, hourly. Anything beyond content updates, as you need it.
Content
Per quarter$3,600
A defined quarter with a defined output. Strategy, calendar, and the writing itself.
One contract
Full brand engagement, starting at $15,000
Foundation, identity, website, content strategy, and the plan for putting it in front of people. One scope, built in sequence.
- Starting at
- $15,000
- Included
- The Build across all three areas. Brand guide and identity, including logo. Website, coded and responsive. Content strategy. Launch plan.
- Not sold apart
- Identity and logo exist only inside this. I do not start with your logo, so I do not sell you one on its own.
What I do not do
Naming this is faster than a discovery call.
- I do not sell a logo on its own. Identity comes after the positioning it is supposed to carry.
- I do not take open ended consulting retainers. Every engagement has a last day written into it. Site care is the one exception, because a live site needs looking after for as long as it is live.
- I do not do coaching. This is business development, and I will tell you what I think rather than ask you what you think.
- I do not promise a number. I will not tell you what your revenue will do, because no one honest can.
Questions people ask
Brand consulting pricing, answered
Every figure below is published here rather than sent after a call. Ten questions, in the order they actually turn up.
The money first, because it is the part you would otherwise have to book a call to hear.
What does a brand and business development engagement cost?
A Sounding is $300. The Build is $1,500 for a single day and starts at $6,000 for a season. A website starts at $4,000, content is $3,600 per quarter, and a full engagement covering all of it starts at $15,000. Every figure is published on this page.
Do I have to book a call before I can see pricing?
No. Every number is on this page. The conversation is for deciding what you actually need, not for finding out what it costs.
Then what the work includes, and the pieces people most often ask to buy on their own.
Do I need to prepare anything for a Sounding?
No. You do not need documents, a deck, or a list of questions. Come as you are and talk. Structuring it is my job.
Can I hire you to design just a logo?
No. Identity is only available inside the full engagement, because a logo made before the positioning is settled has to be remade after.
Is there a monthly fee after the website is built?
Yes. Essential care is $95 per month and covers hosting, security, backups, and regular health checks. Complete is $200 per month and adds up to an hour of content updates. Design work beyond that is $100 per hour. Every site I build is on one of the two.
Can I edit the website myself?
No, and that is deliberate. The site is written in code rather than assembled from a template, so it is not limited by what a theme allows and it does not break when a plugin updates. Content changes come through me, which is what the Complete tier covers.
The rest is how long, from where, and who you are actually hiring.
How long does a season engagement take?
A season, scoped in a written proposal before either of us commits. The exact length depends on how much of the operations work is in play.
Do you work with clients outside Minnesota?
Yes. I am based in Forest Lake, Minnesota and work in person around the Twin Cities and Minneapolis. Everything on this page also runs remotely, and most engagements do.
What is your background?
Fourteen years in corporate marketing before this practice. That is where the diagnostic comes from: I have seen the inside of enough businesses to recognise the pattern quickly.
Is this coaching?
No. This is brand and business development consulting, drawn from fourteen years in corporate marketing. You get a diagnosis and a plan, not a series of open-ended questions.
You already know what is not working.
Ninety minutes, and a page you keep.
Based in Forest Lake, Minnesota. In person around the Twin Cities, remote everywhere else.
Looking for the retreats instead? The retreats are a small group format, capped at fifteen. They book directly, no Sounding required.