Prepared for · Taylored Expressions · Jon Van Bruggen · March 2026

Upgrade your
growth engine
with the power of story.

A clear message every team member believes in.
An invitation into an experience at every step.
And growth that moves at the speed of your vision.

18
Years building your brand
40+
States and countries reached
6
Markets to launch in

What We Heard

You said four things on that call that shaped this entire proposal. Most of them weren't about marketing.

01
"We are here to inject creative value into the lives of our customers."
This isn't a tagline — it's a strategic conviction you've been refining for years, and everything in this proposal starts here. We're not building from funnels or automation. We're building from creative value delivered to real people.
The mission
02
"The conduit for that, I believe, is stories. It's not promotions, it's not a fancier website."
You've been fighting this battle internally for two years. We're not here to teach you story-first marketing. We're here to execute the vision you already have, with a team that actually believes it.
The strategy
03
"How can we make even the shipping email fun and delightful for them?"
Most leaders wouldn't think to ask about the shipping email. You did — and that tells us exactly what kind of partner you're looking for. Not a plan that sits on a shelf, but a team that cares about the experience at the notification level. That's the standard we hold ourselves to, too.
The standard
04
"More caught than taught."
You don't want training programs, you want immersion. That's why this partnership is built around working alongside you, not handing things off. You'll see the belief system in action, and your team will pick it up the same way your customers do — by experiencing it.
The culture
The Vision

Where Taylored Expressions
is going.

Stamp Joy in six markets.
The signature event that built this community, replicated across major cities.
Retail expansion and a national brand.
18 years of customer trust turned into physical presence.
A team that gets it.
Not trained on the philosophy: Immersed in it.
The Diagnosis

Where Taylored Expressions
stands today.

You've built 18 years of customer love and a community that spans 40 states and countries. The story engine is already running. It's just not instrumented for scale yet.

The current friction
The story engine runs, but it isn't amplified.
Lives three times a week, two major virtual events, Stamp Joy conference, and customer stories from 40 states — none of it is being captured and shared in a way that grows the brand.
The team doesn't share the belief.
You've spent two years evangelizing story-first marketing internally, and it hasn't taken hold. The conviction is clear at the top, but the execution team hasn't caught it yet. And you're running out of patience.
A five-year vision without the engine.
The five-year vision is fully formed: six Stamp Joy markets, retail expansion, and a national brand. What's missing is the infrastructure to execute it at the pace your vision demands.
The opportunity we see
Capture and amplify what's already happening.
We're not building a content strategy from scratch. We're instrumenting the events, lives, and community you've already spent 18 years creating so they actually drive growth.
Build the team that believes it — discreetly and deliberately.
We'll build parallel infrastructure before any transitions happen, protecting current operations through every phase.
Move at the pace of your five-year plan.
You've been carrying this five-year vision — six Stamp Joy markets, retail expansion, a national brand — without the team or infrastructure to move on it. That changes here.
Our Approach

The Illuminated Growth Framework
aligns what most growth partners treat separately.

Marketing, sales, and service only go so far on their own. When they operate independently, the insights that drive growth stay trapped in each area. The Illuminated Growth Framework aligns how you engage, close, and delight ideal clients so they work together to drive faster, stronger growth.

Marketing
Marketing
That engages ideal customers
We identify how your marketing attracts the right people, then align your messaging, campaigns, and channels to work together and consistently engage ideal customers.
→
Sales
Sales
That closes consistently
We look at how prospects become customers and build a process that converts the audiences your marketing engages — consistently, not by chance.
→
Service
Service
That delights and fuels growth
We look at the full customer experience — how you engage, retain, and delight your customers after they buy — and make sure that experience is designed to fuel growth, not just maintain it.
How It Unfolds

Three phases.
One commitment.

01
Month 1
Blueprint

The foundation for everything that follows.

02
Month 2
Traction

Strategy meets execution.

03
Months 3+
Full Execution

Your growth engine is running.

Month 1 · Blueprint
The foundation for everything that follows.

We learn everything about your business, your customers, and your goals — then build the roadmap that drives everything that follows.

  • Deep dive into your business goals
  • Survey your customers, team, and leadership
  • Audit your existing marketing, sales, and customer experience
  • Determine the results you need from each area of your growth engine
  • Deliver a custom blueprint report and roadmap to get there
Month 2 · Traction
Strategy meets execution.
Your growth team is formed and hits the ground running.

Your dedicated growth team is in place and executing. Quick wins go live while the longer-term roadmap takes shape.

  • Create and deploy updated StoryBrand messaging for your brand and products
  • Confirm the right data and analytics are captured to measure results
  • Deliver quick wins to start generating results
Months 3+ · Full Execution
Your growth engine is running.
The roadmap guides the path forward.

Continued execution against your roadmap priorities, with clear communication and regular reviews to keep growth on track.

  • Continued implementation of your roadmap priorities
  • Monthly review of results and analysis with your dedicated fractional CMO
  • Clearly communicated priorities, deliverables, and timeline
  • Continued progress towards your growth goals
The Investment

Aligned with your
five-year vision.

The Partnership
$50,000
per month
$300,000 over six months

By partnering with Illuminated, you get an intentionally-designed growth team of experts matched with your goals, industry, and tech stack.

With this tier of growth partnership, your team has the capacity to create meaningful results quickly, not slowly drip value throughout the year.

And with an up-front commitment to a partnership, there's no lag between the completion of your blueprint and forming your growth team.

All In
$75,000
per month
$450,000 over six months

You told us to not shy away from the "big number." With the All In tier, you're maximizing growth over the next six months. You get a larger dedicated team, deeper scope, and more progress in parallel from day one. The distance between strategy and results gets shorter.

This tier moves fast. It creates more change across your organization in a shorter window. Before you commit, make sure you're ready for that pace.

The First 90 Days

What to expect as we get started

You're making a commitment to the path forward.
Here's what that looks like.

Month 1
Month 2
Month 3
Partnership Phase
How it's designed
Blueprint
Execution begins
Full execution
Growth Engine
Building toward your vision.
Create your roadmap
Deliver quick wins
Execute roadmap priorities
Growth Team
Aligned with your vision.
Assemble
Execute
Deliver impact
Your Internal Marketing Team
Making the transition smooth.
Involved (at your discretion)
Knowledge transfer
Hand-off complete
Stability

What we will not
touch for six months.

A new strategy and growth team is change enough.
Here's what will remain the same:

Klaviyo stays.
Your email platform, your list, your data. We build on what's already working. We won't disrupt 18 years of customer relationships by switching platforms.
Events continue unchanged.
Your live streams, virtual events, and Stamp Joy all continue exactly as scheduled. We come alongside to capture and amplify, not to restructure.
Customer service philosophy.
The delight-at-every-touchpoint approach that built this community stays fully intact. We amplify it without ever stripping away the character.
Discretion. Always.
Team transitions require care. We'll follow your lead on timing, communication, and who's involved at every stage.
Your vision leads.
You know where the business needs to go. We build the roadmap and the team to get you there.
The community heartbeat.
Your Facebook community, your Stamp Joy regulars, and more. The relationships you've built are the real assets. They stay exactly as you built them.

What Our Clients Say

"We didn't just get great work. We got a world-class experience. They brought clarity, confidence, and world-class service every step of the way. We didn't just walk away with an amazing website and marketing — we walked away with momentum."

Kevin J.
Business Coach · Personal Brand Strategist · Virtual CMO

"Illuminated took the time to really learn about our business. From start to finish, we could tell they cared and were committed to getting the project done right. We thoroughly enjoyed the process and love our outcome."

Katrina L.
Chief Retail Officer

"Illuminated designed and implemented a system that reflects how our team actually operates, with automation, visibility, and structure tailored to our real-world process. The result is a more efficient process and a team that has everything they need at their fingertips."

Brooke K.
Sales and Service Team Lead
The Plan

Here's how we get started.

01

Pick Your Path

We align on scope, timeline, and team. Once that's aligned, we schedule your kick-off.

Next step
02

Start with Strategy

We deep dive into your marketing, sales, and service. While your blueprint takes shape, we start building your growth team in parallel.

Month 1
03

Scale with Confidence

Your growth team is in place, executing the blueprint roadmap alongside you — with both the strategy and execution needed to move toward your five-year vision.

Months 2–6+
The Next Step

Your vision doesn't have
to wait any longer.
Let's make it a reality.

DJ Soults
DJ Soults
Founder & CEO
Michael Bartos
Michael Bartos
Director of Growth
Katelyn Soults
Katelyn Soults
Chief Experience Officer
Certified & Partnered
StoryBrand Agency · Unreasonable Hospitality Certified