When Effie Gurmeza The Brand Plan for Round 3, she wasn’t new to business. Her work was excellent, her visuals strong—but there was a disconnect she couldn’t quite name.

“I’m a product photographer. I work with everyday luxury brands, and I help them show up with consistency online and through their visuals.”

“I had all these pieces of a really beautiful brand, but I didn’t know how to pull them together. I knew something was missing, but I didn’t know what it was.”

Even with a strong portfolio and a steady stream of work, Effie felt like her brand wasn’t doing the heavy lifting. Things that used to work weren’t landing anymore, and she found herself burnt out and unsure what to try next.

How were you feeling about your brand and your business before the Brand Plan?

“I was feeling super lost. A lot of the things that had worked in the past weren’t working anymore. Social media wasn’t really working for me either. I just didn’t really know what to do to get out of that rut. And I really needed an outside perspective. I was too close to it.”

She had built a beautiful business—but her brand and her marketing weren’t evolving with her. She was showing up and doing the work, but it wasn’t clicking.

“I was approaching my brand like a personal brand… but I knew that’s not where I wanted to end up. I don’t want to be an educator. And I think that’s how I got to a place where I was so burnt out—like I was just spinning my wheels.”

What stopped you from moving forward before?

Effie had tried other courses before—ones that promised clarity or marketing strategy—but they left her more overwhelmed.

“I’ve done straight-up courses before—impersonal, someone else’s system, no support… maybe a Facebook group, but they check it once a week or forget entirely. The Brand Plan had support built in so flawlessly.”

What made The Brand Plan different?

“I didn’t want a hype girl. I wanted somebody who would actually get in there with me… someone who understood brand photography… and the clarity language in your approach—that’s what I needed. Clarity.”

She wasn’t looking for another set of templates or a surface-level fix. She needed someone to help her see the pieces clearly and make sense of what she had built.

What shifted once you were inside the cohort?

One of the biggest turning points came during the cohort calls, where she could process her thoughts in real-time.

“We were on one of the calls throwing up words for my purpose statement… and I remember being like, okay—this is how. This is what I’ve been trying to find.”

Effie finally had the language and direction she needed to make aligned decisions. No more spiraling. No more second-guessing.

“There are so many voices online telling you how to do it… but none of them actually matched what I wanted to do. I didn’t have any community to bounce things off of. I was so in my own head.”

The big aha: I didn’t need to approach my brand like an educator.

The clarity she found in The Brand Plan shifted everything.

“You told me I didn’t need to approach my brand like an educator. And that was a big moment for me… That totally changed how I approach my marketing.”

“It was so freeing to realize I didn’t have to build my business the way everyone else said I should.”

What did you walk away with?

When asked what she took from the experience, Effie didn’t hesitate.

“Clarity… and the motivation to move forward and get out of the creative rut I was in.”

Not a rebrand. Not a new offer. Just a refined message that sounded like her, supported her growth, and gave her brand the foundation it had been missing.

“It was so freeing to be like—I don’t have to do this. Everyone online says, ‘you have to have an email list, you have to educate…’ But it wasn’t right for my brand. I needed education for me, not at me.”

The Brand Plan helped Effie refine what was already working—and let go of what wasn’t.

And that made space for a brand that finally felt like home.

How is The Brand Plan still impacting you and your business today?

That clarity didn’t just stay on paper—it shaped the next season of her brand in real-time.

“We took everything I put in my final brand plan and handed it to my web designer—and she said, ‘This is so organized. I can actually see the direction you want to take things.’”

Months later, Effie’s site reflects the level of intention and clarity she built inside the program. Her copy sounds like her. Her visuals are aligned. And the people finding her now? They get it right away.

“It’s still the thing I come back to when I need direction. If I feel stuck or unsure, I open my Brand Plan. That hasn’t changed.”

What would you say to someone who is still DIYing things and on the fence about joining the brand plan?

“You can absolutely try… but I really don’t think I could’ve gotten this clarity without someone else in it with me. I needed a guide. I needed someone to say, ‘This is what I’m hearing in your words—does this feel true to you?’”

She had spent too long in her own head. TBP helped her take a step back and see her brand from the outside.

“It’s not just worksheets—it’s feedback, it’s coaching, and it’s a framework that helps you see what’s working. And that’s what makes all the difference.”

Ready for your own ‘everything makes sense now’ moment?

If Effie’s story felt all too familiar, you’re not alone. The Brand Plan was made for creatives who are looking for clarity that makes everything in their brand finally make sense.

When you’re in the middle of doing a lot of the right things–it’s easy to miss the things that make your brand, well your brand.

What’s ordinary to you is extraordinary to someone else. And without slowing down to notice what those things are, you breeze past the depth in your own brand.

In The Brand Plan, we don’t let you keep doing that.

Inside, you’ll get the a proven framework, a supportive cohort, and personalized feedback to finally make your brand clear, give your content a rhythm, and stand taller because you KNOW who you are and how that affects how you show up (no more confusion casting your eyes down.)

• 📣 Clarify your brand message and content strategy
• 💪🏼 Build a brand that reflects your current level
• 🤍 Talk about what you do in a way that makes people care

Your brand already has depth. The Brand Plan helps you put words to it.

→ Learn more about The Brand Plan