Work with me — a letter about how I work

Dear future friend. If you're reading this, someone probably told you we're meant to meet each other. My guess is you're a handy human. Expert in your craft. You got there by spending countless hours behind your working bench. Apparently though, in the world we live in, being good at what you do isn't enough if you can't tell people about it. Everyone who finds you stays. Not enough people can find you. Every version of this comes down to one sentence: "I feel stuck in a position A while I'd love to see myself in a position B." Understanding A, shaping B, and building the bridge that connects the two — that's my craft.

How it runs

1. Sandbox session — 30 minutes. I get to know you, your profession and your market; you get to know me and the way my mind operates. We find out whether we were made for each other.
2. The deep dive — competitive analysis and audience definition. How your industry works, who your audience is, what your competition does, and where possible real feedback from people who've hired you before.
3. The positioning workshop — we go through the journey of finding the exact position you deserve in an oversaturated market. Not a template. One made exactly for you.
4. The papers — the written brand strategy: positioning, audience, competitive landscape, and the verbal identity and naming that come out of it. If the visual side is a match for what I do, we carry on together. If it isn't, I know someone: a portfolio of professionals I trust across design, copywriting, photography, videography and marketing.

What you end up with

Something short to say whenever you introduce yourself, in a way that puts you where you belong in the other person's heart. Papers you can hand to anyone who ever makes anything for you. Brand strategy as therapy — not for you as a person, for you as a professional. By the end you can confidently say you know who you are, where you stand, what you want for your future, and how to get there.

Things I'm not

• Rushed. I'm a strong believer of slow quality work. If you're looking for results within a week, we're not meant for each other.
• Always working. Family comes first. My schedule is strict, with few exceptions.
• Ready to sell anything. I don't work with energy drink companies or anyone who wants help selling trash to kids. If what you do feels gray on ethics, I'm out.

Questions people ask before we start

What is brand strategy, and how is it different from a logo?

A logo is a mark. Brand strategy is the decision the mark is made from: who you're for, what you stand against, what you want the other person to feel and remember. Strategy tells the designer what to draw. Without it, a logo is a guess that costs money. With it, everything after — the mark, the words, the site, the way you answer the phone — points the same direction.

Do I need a rebrand, or just a new logo?

If people find you and stay, but not enough people find you, that's usually positioning, not graphics. A new logo won't fix being described wrong. If your work has genuinely changed and the old name or look now points at something you no longer do, that's a rebrand. The sandbox session is where we find out which one you're in, and I'll tell you if it's neither.

How long does brand strategy take?

Weeks, not days. The deep dive alone takes time, because I'm reading your industry and talking to people who've hired you. I'm a strong believer of slow quality work — if you need results within a week, we're not meant for each other.

Do you do the design too, or just the strategy?

Both, when the visual side is a match for what I do. Twelve years of graphic design sit underneath the strategy, which is why what I hand you is buildable and not theoretical. When it isn't my kind of work, I have a portfolio of professionals I trust — design, copywriting, photography, videography, marketing — and the papers are written so any of them can pick them up and run.

Who do you work with?

Small businesses and independent professionals — people who are genuinely good at a craft and stuck getting found. I love working on projects all over the world, but of course I have a soft spot for Greek craftsmen. Somehow I feel like working with them helps build the society I want my son to grow up in. Not energy drink companies, and not anyone who wants help selling trash to kids.

What do I actually walk away with?

A written brand strategy: your position, your audience, where you stand against your competition, the language to describe yourself, and something short to say whenever you introduce yourself. Papers you hand to anyone who ever makes anything for you.

Where do we start?

A 30-minute sandbox session. No papers, no deck, no charge for finding out whether we were made for each other.

My goal

You don't need to be dancing in front of a camera to put your work out there. You just need to be consistent and precise, so you can find your people and them to find you. If all these made sense to you, hit reply and let's get started. Email leonidas@sampanis.co. Based in Ikaria, Greece; working remotely across Europe.