We dig through your brand, your demand, your pricing, and your owner-dependence — cite every finding, sit down with you once, and hand you a 90-day punch list. Then you decide if it was worth it.
The Excavation is the dig: we open up the business, find what's actually holding value back, and hand you the plan to fix it. You leave with three documents, two working sessions, and a straight answer on where your business really stands.
The numbers, researched — not guessed. Market size, what it costs to win a customer and what they're worth, where your pricing has room, your current model versus a better one, the automation you're leaving on the table, a three-year projection, and the first hires that pay for themselves. Every figure is cited to a source. If we can't source it, it doesn't go in.
What's working, what's dragging you down, and the direction that fixes it — who you're really for, how to position so price stops being the conversation, the message that lands, and the shape your website should take. This is the direction for the build, in plain language. It is the plan, not the finished brand.
The three highest-value moves, ranked with a dollar figure on each, and the exact scope, priorities, timeline, and price to build them. This is the document that defines the Brand Renovation — nothing gets built until it does.
A 90-Day Punch List of fixes you can start Monday, with or without us. Two live sessions — the strategic interview and the findings readout. And the guarantee: point to three findings you'd pay to fix, or keep the report and pay nothing. You're the judge.
You don't leave with a finished logo, a written brand, a new website, or a marketing system. You leave with something more useful first: proof of what's wrong, in order, with the numbers — and the exact plan, priorities, and price to fix it. The building happens next, in the Brand Renovation, and only after the Scope of Work says what to build.
A structured questionnaire and a document drop. No standing meetings to schedule.
A structured pass across your market, reviews, pricing, and competitors — every finding sourced.
One working session — we pressure-test the findings with the person who actually runs it.
One session where we walk you through what's true, what's dragging value, and why.
A prioritized, plain-English list of fixes your team can start on Monday.
Every Excavation ends in one document that turns the diagnosis into a plan: the Scope of Work. It names exactly what to build, in what order, on what timeline, for what investment.
The final, client-approved Scope of Work determines the exact deliverables, priorities, timeline, and investment for the Brand Renovation. Nothing is built until the Scope of Work defines it.
Your Excavation fee credits 100% toward the Renovation when you start within 30 days of your readout, up to the build price. The diagnostic is free if you build with us — and if you don't, the plan is still yours to take to anyone.
Pick the one that matches where your head is. If you're not sure, the free Index will point you.
No. A chatbot gives you confident guesses with nothing behind them. We run a structured research pass, then a named person reads it, checks the sourcing, and signs every finding. Each claim carries a tag — verified, client-stated, or inferred — with the source right next to it. You also get a live interview and a readout with a human who's accountable for what's in the report.
A valuation gives you a number a buyer might pay. We don't do that — and we're not allowed to imply one. The Excavation tells you what a buyer would see: the brand, demand, pricing, and owner-dependence issues that move that number, plus a punch list to fix them. Use your CPA or appraiser for the figure; use us for what's dragging it down.
Fair ask. The diagnostic ladder is new, so we won't pretend it has ten case studies it doesn't. What we do have is twenty years of shipped brand, drafting, and identity work for builders and trades — see the Work page — and a published verification protocol you can check before spending a dollar. And the guarantee puts the risk on us.
Async intake, a cited research pass, one live strategic interview, one findings readout, and a 90-Day Punch List your team can start on Monday. Every deliverable is yours to keep, guarantee or not.
About three weeks from intake to readout for Core and Growth, and about four weeks for Exit-Ready, which includes a second session and a transferability workplan.
Three findings you'd pay to fix, or keep the report and pay nothing. You're the judge — not us. If it doesn't hand you three things worth fixing, you owe nothing.
The Index tells you which Excavation lane fits — and whether you even need one yet. No dollar figures, no card, no pitch.
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