This is for you if you’re interested in learning more about what we’re planning. We’re looking for the first batch of consultants to be part of co-creating this beast of a brand consultancy we’re building. As Founding Member, you will get the best deal, and you’ll have to take a leap of faith, but if you do, I’ll make it so worth it for you…
The leap of faith is to join me and my team even if we don’t have the brand and all the assets built out yet. But we will, in a short amount of time. And we will make it remarkable.
Tobias:)
Global Brand Consulting Collective
Brand consulting can be a dream career, either as a solopreneur or as the owner of a brand consulting agency. If you’re reading this, maybe you agree.
As a brand consultant, you get to combine strategy with creativity in a way that helps companies create a better future.
With 15 years in the game, first building my brand consultancy from unpredictable to a profit-making machine, and later coaching and certifying more than 100 brand consultants, I have developed lots of insights about this industry.
I have learned that there are lots of amazing people around the world that share my passion for brand consulting. Amazing people. Ok, that made me sound like Trump, and I’m not a fan...
Many of these people I am thinking of have gone through my Certified Brand Consultant™ program, and they exit with new mindset, methods, and tools.
Yet, that’s only the beginning, and the majority would need more help to get to their goals faster.
So lately, I’ve been planning a more advanced-level program to support everyone who’s gone through CBC.
It started with me asking the obvious question:
What would it take to make as many as possible as successful as possible.
Forgive me if this sounds a bit over-confident, but the first idea that came to me was that people would probably get better results if I could provide them with all the essentials for building a growing their brand consulting business.
After all, I did it myself.
I mean, people come and build their own offer, then start the work of building everything they need, usually from scratch. That is no easy feat, and it takes time.
Plus, getting your business off the ground is easier if you have the proof already.
What if all that stuff was provided for you?
And what if it was stuff that has been proved with great results?
So I started to ask myself more questions:
What if I could take what worked for me, from business model to productized offerings, to marketing and sales, branding, all of it... and give it to people?
And what if I were to work for you long-term, innovating new offerings, creating a complete offer suite and a system for growing a high-profit consulting business?
What if people could use me as their puppet :)
If all my content (and future content for thios venture) helped them sell more projects?
And I would create a TON more. And hopefully you too.
And..what if my success was dependent on your success? Well, it always is, but I also mean your financial success?
What if I could help you earn significantly more, and what if I could show you how I did everything?
That led me to even bigger ideas.
What if we created a global brand consultancy consisting of entrepreneurs operating under a franchise agreement (or something similar)?
The current market for brand consulting is pretty much dominated by two groups:
1) Agencies selling brand strategy as part of their total offer
2) Solopreneurs and freelancers
The big agencies in this space have a global presence. Interbrand, for example, exists in major hubs around the world (just one example). Then you have the design agencies that pose as brand consultants (but who are mainly in the game of brand design).
Some are great at brand strategy, others are not. But it’s not their core focus. And more importantly, they usually start at 100-500k.
There are lots of great branding and design agencies.
And there are lots of good business consulting firms and business coaching companies.
But to my knowledge, there is no global brand consultancy that is accessible to middle-sized and smaller companies around the world.
I mean, sure, there are a zillion agencies and independent consultants serving them.
But what if we united the strategic and creative genius of talented brand consultants under one brand?
Imagine selling unique services under a unique, global brand.
“Hey...I’m with (Handsome Global Brand Consultant Name), we’re the largest independent brand consultancy in the world. We operate on all continents...we’ve worked for...XYZ..
We have the following resources for you...XYZ”.
Pretty powerful?
What if there was a strong community you could tap into for ongoing support, best-practice, co-operation, opportunities...
And what if you got ongoing support, training, and coaching?
Every week. Every day you need it. From coaches, and from a global community...
What if you could focus only on the things that matters the most?
That would mean LEVERAGE. Which is code for profits...and more time and freedom.
What if we showed you how to make a 40-50% net profit margin on your business, at multiple six or seven figures?
My ambition for this thing is massive.
So, what would the global brand collective offer?
My thinking at this point is that we would first launch a number of productized offerings for the most common needs.
I have a coupled of these offers done already, but they will still be developed and tested with the founding members.
As the goal is to build a global network, there is room for many sub-categories of specialization, and that will present people inside the network with opportunities for collaboration.
Whether the collective should aim for the top brands in the world is questionable. My reasoning is that these companies have the longest, most bureacratic buying processes, and they demand the most flexibility and customization.
Entrepreneurually-led companies, small- and mid-sized companies, however have a few advantages.
First, there is a ton of them.
Second, there is a massive need for differentiation and innovation among them.
Third, they are more local, which fits this strategy better.
And finally, by offering a more productized and standardized approach, we can have higher profitability.
This is not to say we cannot offer “traditional” consulting (find a problem anbd solve it with great methods and tools).
If you were part of this, you would choose what you offer (from a buffet table of great options, all designed, branded to the max, etc.).
I have a blueprint for getting you to a million and beyond in sales.
That blueprint has some productized front-end offers, as well as back-end offers that vary from recurring brand coaching, to other longer-term offers.
Anyone that is accepted into this elite group will be able to design the business they want. If you want to stay solo and enjoy all the benefits from that (perhaps working only online, from wherever, whenever), great.
Anything less than $200k per year is too low, if you ask me. You should be able to make a few hundred thousands with the model and offers I will create, added by the marketing and sales systems and training. This is SOLO.
My goal with anyone who we would accept for this brand consulting collective (and brand), is to make a minimum of 240k per year. That’s the minimum. That’s 20k/month only.
And if you’re open to hiring some help, you could make that $500k or more.
If you want a big agency, awesome. We’ve got the sturdier systems for you, from how to recruit, grow a team, to how to build systems that allow you to remove yourself as the bottleneck and become a true entrepreneur. Oh, and enjoy have fat margins too.
Ok, so what is the cost?
Oh, you must mean the investment?
I have not decided yet, because I still exploring and developing.
The starting point is that this model would have a component of revenue-share and a fixed cost.
The only way it will make sense is if this is a win-win.
My promise is that you will make more money and have more fun as part of this. My other option is to build this from the inside, hiring people, or hiring contractors and keeping a lot more of the profits.
I like the first option better, because we could create more impact by growing faster, and by building something amazing together.
We could literally have 50-100 consultants around the world in a fairly short time, and we could create a brand and offer suite that would be unlike anything out there. And that means we could change the game in the industry, and for clients, and for you.
Back to investment...
As a benchmark, let’s look at how a franchise coaching business works (or any franchise).
1. There is typcially a one-time fee for joining (could be $50-100k). The franchiser does not usually make their profit on this part, it covers costs mostly.
For the Founding Members (I plan on taking on a few founding members who want to co-create this beast), I won’t charge this fee. I will charge it once everything is built, I don’t think it’s fair to charge before we have enough market validation and assets built.
2. The second fee franchises pay are typically some sort of marketing fee, or fees for training, branding, etc. In this case, I am thinking of a fixed yearly fee that could work as a monthly payment. I think around 2k for Founding Members (who then get a lifetime deal on the lowest-ever fees, btw).
3. The third category of fees of franchises are what the franchise makes money on, which is royalties. There is a lot of admin costs, branding, marketing, development and a massive amount of training (weekly), that will eat up the entry fees and monthly fees.
The royalty fee might be in the 10-12% zone, calculated on gross sales. For starters, let’s say it’s 10 for Founding Members.
At 200k, you’d be sharing 44k with us.
Is it a lot? You’d be saving on other stuff, and paying for ongoing business development. But as you grow, that percentage becomes smaller.
At 400k, you’re annual fee (paid monthly) would be 64k, which is 16%
At 1 million, you’d pay 12.4%
(There might be different levels in the future...but you see how there is a fixed and moving part (and how we’re aligned around your growth).
My thinking as of today is that the investment will be paid partly as a fixed fee (monthly or quarterly), and the roaylty (paid monthly) will remove risk and cost in the early days, while reducing your costs as you grow.
None of these numbers are final, and we’ll discuss them separately if you’re intersted in taking this further.
The way I see the win-win here is that me and my team, together with a global community will provide you with significantly more income and fulfilment than going at it alone.
When our motives are fully aligned, we can invest our attention on helping you grow your business, as we’re partners.
No initial investment for the Founding Members.
However, you’d invest now to be part of the first group (and the best deal). Your investment will be used entirely to build the assets, branding, etc. I’m not keeping any of it.
I think that’s a pretty fair deal, don’t you?
And, because I have not created all of the assets yet, I will include a trial period / guarantee / you can decide to get out.
So for you, besides assessing whether you want to do your own thing 100%, and what the value of this kind of collective is for you, you have to ask yourself whether you believe me and my team can bring you more than 20% in sales than you would by yourself.
My conviction is we can more than double your growth, a few times over, and that’s what makes me really excited.
I only want this for you if we can make it work for both parties.
And, I only want this new venture to be for ambitious people who are nice to work with, who love serving clients at the highest level, and who want to have fun in the process.
I see us doing some crazy fun live events every now and then, and working this like a tight community...like a family.
Back to the proposition.
I will be creating everything for you, and we’ll get a super-amazing visual identity, branding, website, social media...all stuff you can use for your growth, and to reduce your work-load.
Here is how I see it.
A big part of the investment is shared risk, meaning you only pay when you bring in money. So without the initial investment, the commitment is significantly smaller. From 2023 I will set it somewhere in the 50k+ range.
You are selling offers that are fully created for you, along with all the materials, workshop materials, videos, anything you need. This alone comes with a big price and time tag.
If me and my team can show you how to make 200, 400, 800, maybe even a few million running your franchise brand consultancy as part of the world’s best (and soon largest) independent brand consultancy....wouldn’t that be pretty cool?
I am speculating, of course. Nothing is out there. Yet.
And because of this, if you’re the right person and want to join, I will bring down the risks for you as close to zero as possible.
In the meanwhille, I will show up and lead from the front, creating content, acting as your branding, marketing, and sales asset, as well as your coach.
Final thoughts.
I am confident about this because I know I am in a pretty unique position. I have validated both my brand consulting methods (both getting results and achieving high margins), and I have access to a great network of people (like you).
So not going for this would feel like a missed opportunity.
I am also fully aware that there is nobody in the industry doing this. No one has the same methods, no one does it as strategically, connecting brand with business the way I have done.
If you don’t know what I mean, I will share more on a “potential founder’s call”.
I believe there is a massive opportunity here.
If you feel the same way, and if you’d like to take a leap of faith with me and be part of the first members (Founding Members), I will select a handful or so, and then we start to build...
I expect us to have a full stack of offers, branding, etc. by January 2023.
But in the spirit of Beta™, we will build this as we go, we will start making money from month one.
Let me know if you want to discuss this with me.
This will only work if this is a fair win-win, and if we’re both 110% committed and excited.
For those wondering about the concept, the brand, client value prop etc. (which are all essential questions), as you might guess…the direction is going to be what I know best (and what works amazingly well)…which is to build this thing around SIMPLICITY.
Simple to use. Simple to buy. Simple to sell. Simple to get results….easier…faster…
The other core values I believe in all are closely linked to the Nordic values I have used in my approach…values such as SUSTAINABILITY (lasting), HUMAN, FUNCTIONAL (must work and be practical), and of course…STYLISH af.
Well, that's a lot to digest for sure :) It sounds amazing Tobias, real big-picture stuff. I love the concept and I know there is still much to iron out. However, I'm on board and happy to play my part if the opportunity arises.
As someone fresh out of the box and with a curious mind, I have a bunch of questions. I don't think this is the forum for them though.
Hi. Sounds interesting, would like to know more :) I have a small agency with many freelance consultants that work in my studio spaces so I’m always seeing how we can collaborate more with others and help bring exciting work in for the team. My website is www. Creativehutch.com.
For those wondering about the concept, the brand, client value prop etc. (which are all essential questions), as you might guess…the direction is going to be what I know best (and what works amazingly well)…which is to build this thing around SIMPLICITY.
Simple to use. Simple to buy. Simple to sell. Simple to get results….easier…faster…
The other core values I believe in all are closely linked to the Nordic values I have used in my approach…values such as SUSTAINABILITY (lasting), HUMAN, FUNCTIONAL (must work and be practical), and of course…STYLISH af.
Love this! I can feel the excitement and the passion for this idea! I would love to talk about if there’s anything I could help you with.
Sounds like an amazing opportunity and one I’d love to be part of!
Bro! the passion in your blog is........
loved it (pink heat emoji)
Well, that's a lot to digest for sure :) It sounds amazing Tobias, real big-picture stuff. I love the concept and I know there is still much to iron out. However, I'm on board and happy to play my part if the opportunity arises.
As someone fresh out of the box and with a curious mind, I have a bunch of questions. I don't think this is the forum for them though.
We’ll be LIVE on a Zoom call this Friday (9th) at 4 pm CET to explain more about this venture.
Hope you can make it! If not, let us know hello[at]thefutureacademy.com
Friday September 9th, 4PM CET
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84431752038?pwd=QVloSm1aWkI3V0lpTUtqcnNndFRJUT09
Meeting ID: 844 3175 2038
Passcode: 604264
Please comment here :)
Hi. Sounds interesting, would like to know more :) I have a small agency with many freelance consultants that work in my studio spaces so I’m always seeing how we can collaborate more with others and help bring exciting work in for the team. My website is www. Creativehutch.com.
Hi, Tobias! This sounds great! How could I join?