07/07/2025
𝗜 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘁𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿...
and it reminded me of how I started.
No brand.
No identity.
No “David Gladness.”
Just raw skill and willingness to outdo myself.
And that experience? It was humbling. Let me tell you why👇🏽
I came across a client who needed a manipulation design, one that required me to place objects into an environment realistically, like they were actually there.
Now, I’ve done manipulation jobs before, but not like this one. This particular request felt crazy, but exciting.
It wasn’t even about the money. In fact, I didn’t mind doing it for free. I just wanted to challenge myself, to see if I could pull it off.
But here’s where it gets interesting…
I didn’t approach the client as David Gladness.
I wanted an honest experience. I wanted to know what it feels like to apply for a job without my reputation.
So I cold-DM’d the client with zero trace of who I was.
No portfolio. No name. Just the idea of a guy who could do the job.
And yes, the job was approved.
But… whew. That’s when the stress started.
✅ The client kept changing the project description.
✅ What we initially agreed on wasn’t what we worked on eventually.
✅ He kept demanding more.
It was annoying, but I kept working. Why? Because the real reason I took the job was to outdo myself.
I charged ₦5,000 for that project.
Mind you, I haven’t charged that low in years.
But I did it just to give some sense of value to my effort.
Yet the client still complained about the ₦5,000.
He said, “I have someone who usually does this for ₦3,000.”
And at that point, I had to tell him to go ahead and pay the person.
Because truth be told, ₦5,000 wasn’t even worth my time.
I only took that job because I was interested. I wanted to try something new, something hard.
But then I realized:
👉🏽 The only reason this client felt bold enough to downplay my rate was because he didn’t know who I was.
If I had come as “David Gladness” the same me who gets paid six figures for projects — he probably wouldn’t have tried it.
And that taught me something again…
Your branding changes everything.
💡 People don’t just pay for your work.
They pay for your reputation.
They pay for your positioning.
They pay for the “you” that your brand reflects.
See, before now, the clients I work with rarely stress me out.
They know my worth. They value my time. They pay well and on time.
But this one? The only reason he acted like that was because there was no brand identity in front of him.
He saw me as just another random graphic designer.
And this reminded me of how I started years ago — getting underpaid, dealing with disrespectful clients, doing endless corrections, and still feeling unseen.
But that’s the power of brand positioning.
That’s the difference between being perceived as valuable, and being treated like everyone else.
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So here’s what I learned:
🔹 Never trade your value for validation.
Even when I was offered ₦3,000, I refused to lower my price.
I knew my worth. I stood by it.
The next day, the client came back, saying he was “drunk” the previous day. I still told him, “It’s not too late to go back to the person you said would do it cheaper.”
Because even though I took the job out of passion, I made sure I preserved my value.
🔹 People don’t just pay for quality — they pay for perception.
And how you’re perceived is determined by how you’ve positioned yourself.
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So if you’re a creative or business owner reading this:
👉🏽 Don’t just focus on your product.
👉🏽 Don’t just hope people will “see” your talent.
👉🏽 Build a brand that speaks before you do.
Because without proper branding, even the best of us can get priced like we’re average.
This experience reminded me where I started.
But it also reminded me why I’ll never go back there.
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Have you ever accepted a job that made you question your value?
Let’s talk in the comments 👇🏽
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