QUESTIONS · ALL SYSTEMS
QUESTIONS
FOUNDERS ASK.
Everything below actually gets asked — on calls, in email, mid-decision. Questions specific to one system live on that system’s page.
01
THE DIAGNOSTIC
IS THIS A SALES CALL?
No. It’s a paid Diagnostic. I tell you what I see, what I think the real problem is, and what I’d fix first. If a Build makes sense, I say that. If hiring, pausing, or doing nothing makes more sense, I say that instead.
WHY PAY FOR A DIAGNOSTIC WHEN AGENCIES GIVE AWAY AUDITS?
A free audit is a sales document. Its job is to find problems the agency’s services happen to solve. This one is paid so the recommendation can be to hire someone else, fix it internally, or do nothing — and sometimes that’s the answer. You’re paying for a read with no thumb on the scale.
WHY DOES THE DIAGNOSTIC RANGE FROM $750 TO $2,500?
The range covers three scope patterns. A Focused Diagnostic ($750) reads one known bottleneck. A Systems Diagnostic ($1,500) traces a break across connected parts of the business when the starting point is unclear. A Strategic Diagnostic ($2,500) reads the whole business before a major decision. You do not choose the level yourself. The intake determines which applies, and before payment, you receive the exact call length, fee, materials requested, and delivery date in writing.
DO I NEED TO KNOW WHAT’S WRONG BEFORE BOOKING?
No. That’s the point. If the real problem were obvious, it would probably already be fixed.
HOW IS THE EXACT DIAGNOSTIC FEE SET?
You answer six intake questions and send any links or materials worth reviewing. I use that to determine whether the right scope is a Focused Diagnostic, Systems Diagnostic, or Strategic Diagnostic, then confirm the call length, exact fee, materials requested, and delivery date in writing before you pay or schedule. If you approve, you choose a call time. The fee is fixed from there — it does not change after the call.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I START?
You submit the intake. I confirm the scope, fee, and timing. You approve it, pay, and choose a call time. After the call, I send the written read by the date already confirmed.
CAN I SHARE PRIVATE MATERIALS?
Yes. Send only what you’re comfortable sharing. Anything reviewed for the Diagnostic stays confidential. If you need an NDA in place first, say so before booking.
CAN I STOP AFTER THE DIAGNOSTIC?
Yes. It stands on its own. You leave with a written read and a clear next move whether or not we build anything together.
IS THE FEE CREDITED TOWARD THE WORK?
Yes. The full Diagnostic fee is credited toward a Build or Direction engagement started within 90 days of the Diagnostic call.
WHAT IF THE DIAGNOSTIC SAYS THE THING I CAME IN FOR IS FINE?
Then you keep it. You spent $750–$2,500 finding out — cheaper than the rebuild you didn’t need, and now you know the thing is a system rather than a lucky streak. “Fine” is a real verdict here. The read names whatever actually is broken instead. If the next move is a Build or Direction engagement, the fee is still credited toward it.
DO YOU GUARANTEE REVENUE OUTCOMES?
No. I don’t control your market, your offer, your sales process, or your follow-through. I guarantee a serious diagnosis, clear scope, professional execution, and deliverables your team can use.
02
SEQUENCE AND FIT
WHICH SYSTEM DO I NEED FIRST?
The numbers are labels, not steps. You may need one system, several, or none. The usual dependency is position before identity, then the systems that repeat, publish, automate, or sell it. But the Diagnostic decides the actual order. Sometimes the drag is operational and everything upstream is fine. The site is the exception worth knowing: a homepage exposes the position, identity, offer, and conversion path at once, which can make it the fastest read in the Diagnostic.
DO YOU WORK WITH PRE-REVENUE BUSINESSES?
Not usually. This work multiplies a real offer; it can’t invent one. Six-Based is built for founder-led businesses, typically $500K–$3M, where the product is real and the system around it isn’t.
CAN YOU DO A LOGO, A WEBSITE, SOCIAL, OR ADS?
Yes, when the diagnosis points there. Those are delivery surfaces and I work on them. What I don’t do is run them month to month — I build the structure underneath: message, proof, workflow, decision rules, handoff. If the job is really ongoing execution rather than building the thing that makes execution repeatable, I’ll tell you and point you to someone who does it well.
03
THE BUILD
HOW LONG DOES A BUILD TAKE?
A Build runs two to twelve weeks after the Diagnostic, milestone-based and depending on scope. A contained bottleneck lands at the short end; one primary system with adjacent pieces lands in the middle; several dependent systems land at the long end. The pace comes from working-session cadence, not skipped steps.
WHAT DOES MY TEAM ACTUALLY RECEIVE?
You receive what the written scope names, in the formats your team will actually use. The artifacts vary by system; the handoff does not: working files, decision rules, named owners, a team walkthrough, and the 30 / 60 / 90-day rollout plan. Designed so your team can own it and keep it moving after handoff.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER DELIVERY?
The rollout plan covers the first ninety days, and the system is built for your team to run without me. If the work needs ongoing senior judgment after handoff, Direction is available month-to-month.
CAN A TEAM OF TWO ACTUALLY RUN THIS?
Yes. The scope is built around the team you have, not a department you may hire later. Every Build names the decisions, owners, and next actions required to run what ships, then the walkthrough and rollout plan put that responsibility in the right hands. It is designed to reduce improvisation, not create a second job.
04
DIRECTION
WHAT IS DIRECTION?
Direction is ongoing senior judgment for a system your team already runs. I review the work, make decisions, and keep it aligned while your team executes.
DO I NEED A BUILD FIRST?
No. Direction can follow a Build or start after the Diagnostic when the parts already exist. If the system itself is missing, a Build comes first.
DOES DIRECTION INCLUDE EXECUTION?
Not by default. Direction covers review, priorities, decisions, and correction. New production is scoped separately as a Build.
HOW DOES THE ENGAGEMENT WORK?
From $4,500/mo, month-to-month. Stay while the judgment is useful; stop when the system can run cleanly without it.
That’s every question I get before someone books.
The one I can’t answer from a page is what’s actually wrong with your business.