My old boss threw me under a bus, but it's not as dramatic as it sounds.

If you're a brand creator, but you still feel like your client is the one steering the project, this one’s for you.

In this episode, I share the catalyst that helped me shape my consultant identity including:

• The impact of bendy boundaries on how clients see you
• The BOLD framework and how you can use it to intentionally develop your own positioning as a consultant

• How your consultant identity affects everything, from marketing and sales calls to your final presentation

Connect with me

Learn Brand Strategy - The Brand Method program Find me on Instagram

Brand Strategy is the real advantage for designers right now, not AI.

But a framework and a template on their own won’t give you what you need to win brand strategy work.

If you’re weighing up a brand strategy course, and want to sort the wheat from the chaff before you invest, this one’s for you.

I dig into the 3 things every brand strategy education program or course should cover, including:

• Why brand strategy is an advantage, not a silver bullet
• The essential process step so many brand strategy courses skip
• The soft skills a six-week course alone can’t give you
• How to get client bums on seats once you’ve learnt the system

Brand strategy isn’t a quick fix. Learn it properly and it becomes an advantage you give yourself for the long haul.

Connect with me:

Learn Brand Strategy - The Brand Method program Find me on Instagram

Andy Starr told me in this podcast he's not a master. He lied. Or at least I disagree.

In this expedition through what's wrong, right, problematic, and possible in the disciplines surrounding branding, Andy shows he is a master challenger, disruptor, and divergent thinker.

Prepare for discussion on:

• The value and purpose of simplifying strategy

• Reasons to embrace messiness and chaos

• How brand strategy has been devalued and where to from here

• What happens when questions don't work

• Creating advantage through difference

...and so much more.

About Any Starr:

Andy is an award-winning brand architect and strategic sparring partner for business leaders.

A musician and recovering law student, he teaches MBA candidates in the EU, is a co-founder of an LA-based public safety tech brand, and splits his time between the US and Austria.

No business-changing whiteboard books. Yet. But he did do a Top-1% TEDx talk, so that has to count for something...

Connect with Andy on LinkedIn Find out more about Critique

Connect with Bec Hughes:

Check out The Brand Method

Find me on Instagram

Maybe there isn't one RIGHT way to do brand strategy. But there is a WRONG way.

In this episode I share 7 things I would never do when creating a brand strategy for a client based on my 25+ years of experience.

Don't take it as criticism. Take it as an opportunity to:

• Deliver more impactful results

• Build stronger client relationships

• Increase your value as a strategic thinker

Connect with me Grow your value and your advantage with Brand Strategy - The Brand Method program Find me on Instagram

People don't pay for what they can't see.

So why do so many designers hide the most valuable thing they do?

If you have a feeling you're giving your thinking work away for free, but you're not sure how to go about charging for it, this episode is for you.

I get into:

• How to turn intuitive thinking into a deliverable that gets noticed • The biggest mistake designers make when they list their services • A simple way to start pricing your thinking, even without a formal process or service • Productising your thinking, and why it instantly raises what you can charge

You don't need a full blown brand strategy process to start charging for the thinking you're already doing.

You just need to make it visible.

Connect with me Grow your value and your advantage with Brand Strategy - The Brand Method program Find me on Instagram

We'd be lying if we said AI isn't making the design industry twitchy, right?

Jacob Cass joins me again to talk about what it takes to become a brand builder AI can't replace, including:

• Which designers should be the most worried about AI • How to collaborate with AI effectively • How and why designers should shift their focus "upstream" • What separates producers and consultants • Asking the right questions for better sales results • Jacob's time management tips and how he stays so consistent • What’s happening at the Brand Builders Summit on 8-11 Sept >>> Get your FREE Summit ticket here

About Jacob Cass:

Jacob Cass is a brand designer, strategist, educator, and business coach, as well as the founder of JUST Creative, a renowned branding and design consultancy that also serves as an industry-leading blog and vibrant community. He is also the brains behind the Brand Builders Summit.

Connect with Jacob on Instagram Download Jacob's Branding Briefcase freebie

Connect with Bec Hughes:

Check out The Brand Method

Find me on Instagram

3 packages on your services page might feel logical and flexible.

It might also be the reason your best prospects always pick the option with no brand strategy, and you're convinced clients don't want strategy.

If you've ever built tiered service packages to feel more affordable, flexible or available, this is for you.

In this episode:

• Why "affordable" packages train clients to shop on price instead of value • Why giving options is costing you sales • How skipping brand strategy in your "low cost" tiers undermines the authority you're trying to build • The 3rd way to replace tiered services or a bespoke quote for every single enquiry

Build an offer you fully believe in, and price it like you mean it.

Connect with me

Learn Brand Strategy - The Brand Method program Find me on Instagram

Every designer is feeling the pressure to be faster and cheaper, especially with AI in the mix. But competing on speed and price isn't a strategy, it's a trap.

If you've ever wondered whether brand in a week offers, selling templates, or rock bottom logo packages are just the new reality, this one's for you.

I tackle why the race to the bottom is hurting us as individual designers and as an industry, including:

• Why positioning on speed and price is a race you'll never win
• The cost of offering brand strategy and pre-made logos in the same breath
• What it actually means to compete on value instead of competing with AI

Position on value, not speed or price, and you'll find yourself in a very different race altogether.

Connect with me

Learn Brand Strategy - The Brand Method program Find me on Instagram