Kicking-Off with Lantern College Counseling: Balancing Mission + Strategy
Lantern’s Original Logo
Yesterday, I had my official kick-off call with a client who has agreed to let me document the brand development process, so that I can share the journey on my site and socials. Learn More About Lantern College Counseling. [Stay tuned for a newly designed website—by me!—at the end of April.]
The kick-off call was not the beginning of this journey, so let me fill you in on the steps that led us there.
1. Connecting with Betsy
Betsy is a resident of my hometown and posted in our community Facebook page that she and her business partner were seeking brand development help. Many of the other comments tagged agency recommendations or web developers (they also wanted help with their site). I figured I would reach out to explain my situation—I had no personal website to prove my legitimacy at the time, but was willing to discuss with Betsy how I could help based on my experience, and that I could put together a proposal that would give a glimpse into how I work. A few weeks later, Betsy and I got on the phone to discuss what they were looking for. I prepared for that call by digging into their site and brainstorming all the ways their branding and visibility could be improved. The call was positive and fun. Betsy was full of ideas and questions that helped me get a better understanding of the direction they wanted to head in.
2. Making the Proposal
I got to work preparing a deck that would showcase the phases of work that would transform Lantern College Counseling’s branding and web presence, including a research phase, brand development, visual identity, and web build. I knew I wanted to charge a flat project rate for this comprehensive work, but also based my pricing around how long I would likely spend on each phase. I read many useful resources on pricing, as it can be difficult—especially for female business owners—to price themselves.
3. Proposal Presentation
When I sent the proposal over to Betsy and Jennifer (whom I’d never met before) I figured our next call would be my opportunity to walk them through the proposal and provide more details on each phase. Jennifer came prepared with questions about my experience and background, however, and we ended up having a conversation between the three of us for the entirety of the call. I was thrilled to hear that they wanted to work with me. The reason it worked out is because there was total synergy between our missions—me as a young freelancer establishing myself in brand development, and them as two entrepreneurial women who started their own coaching company that supports young people in the shaping of their futures. Their logo was also designed by a young woman, and they told me it aligned with their values to invest in me rather than a large agency. I left the call feeling inspired and grateful for this opportunity.
4. Contract + Invoice
I built my contract using templates I found online and formatted it to my liking. It’s incredible how many resources there are online for building a freelance business. There are instructions for every facet of this process online. I also thoroughly examined my options when it came to invoicing, and realized it’s pretty much impossible to avoid paying around a 3% fee when you are paid for a business service. The only way around the fee seemed to be using PayPal Friends & Family or Venmo, neither of which is technically legal. So, I went with PayPal since it is a trusted service that future clients would recognize. Unfortunately, the funds from the first invoice I sent (for Phase 1) are being withheld and there are many steps to be proving my legitimacy on PayPal, but hopefully this doesn’t prove too difficult.
5. Brand Assessment
My final step before the Kick-Off call was to send a Brand Assessment over to Betsy and Jennifer so that I could get a more in-depth view of their business’ journey, competitors, and goals. I initially wanted to carry this out on Typeform because it has beautiful templates and a smooth UX, but unfortunately it is extremely glitchy on an iPad. I went with JotForm, which is less sexy, but still somewhat customizable and got the job done. I would usually send one Brand Assessment for a company to fill out, but since one of the challenges about this brand development process for Lantern is tying together Jennifer and Betsy’s shared philosophy on the college process while differentiating them as coaches, I had them each fill it out. Their answers were so thorough and insightful, and this set us up for a productive kick-off call. I also threw the descriptors they used to talk about how they wanted their brand to be perceived into a world cloud generator, which I attached in my follow-up email and will use as I develop their messaging later in this process.
Finally: The Kick-Off Call
During the Kick-Off call we spent a long time discussing the details of their target audience. This included differentiation between the parents who seek and pay for a college counselor and the student who works 1:1 with Betsy or Jennifer and who they empower through the process. Of course, the family also benefits in a myriad of ways—the relationship between parents and children is unburdened by these counselors relieving stress from the college process, the parents can be reassured by the expertise of the counselors and have their questions and concerns directly addressed, etc. But what the parents are looking for when hiring a coach — expertise, organization, direction, holding their child accountable, doesn’t necessarily match the empowerment and nurturing guidance that makes Lantern’s process so unique and impactful. So, while the impact or the “Why” for Lantern is about empowering students, their mission statement or brand promise should be catered to what their target audience is looking for.
