--- title: "How we work — X Gravity" description: "One senior lead, one project at a time, an honest estimate and one flat monthly rate from $8,000. No change orders." url: https://xgravity.co/approach.html --- # Senior thinking stays close to the work. You work with the person making the decisions, not an account manager. Specialists join as the project needs them, and one accountable lead stays with you from first call to launch. ## Who we work with We help growing businesses look the part and run better. ### Startups going from zero You've got the idea and the drive. We give you the brand, website and story that make people take you seriously from day one. Brand identity · Website · Launch film ### SMBs ready for a rebrand You've been at it a few years and the work is great, but the brand still looks homemade. We bring your look up to the level of what you do. Rebrand · New website · Content ### Businesses ready to work smarter Too much copy-paste, too many spreadsheets. We build custom tools and automations that take the busywork off your plate. Custom tools · Automation · Internal apps Scopes can't predict the best ideas. We'd rather follow them than invoice for them. Every project changes once it starts. A customer interview shifts the positioning. A prototype shows half the features don't matter. In a fixed scope, each of those becomes a change order and an argument. In ours, it's just the work. - ### A budget you can plan around Same amount every month. No surprise invoices when the project gets better halfway through. - ### No change orders When a better idea shows up, we follow it. That's the whole point. - ### Your project has our focus One project at a time means we're not splitting attention across your brand, your site and your app at once. - ### Early warnings, not late surprises If it's going to run long, you hear it weeks ahead, with the reason and the options. ## How an engagement works From $8,000 per month, on a dated plan Need a brand fast? The [Brand Sprint](https://xgravity.co/brand.html#sprint) is our express lane: strategy and a full core identity in under a month, $12,000. Smaller project, like a landing page or a video series? [Tell us about it](https://xgravity.co/contact.html?interest=small) and we'll quote it flat. 1. 01 ### Intro call A short, free call. Tell us what you need and what's getting in the way, and we'll tell you honestly whether we're the right fit. 2. 02 ### Mapping Session A one-day working session where we map everything you need (brand, website, tools) and what comes first. You leave with a written plan: what we'll make, in what order, with a target date for every milestone, and an honest estimate. **$1,000, paid up front. Start within 60 days and it comes off your first month.** 3. 03 ### One flat monthly rate The same amount every month while we work through that plan, one project at a time, until it's delivered. 4. 04 ### No surprises A written update every week. When plans change we adjust without change orders, and any new dates are agreed in writing. 5. 05 ### Looked after After launch, we can keep it running, updated and fixed for a monthly fee based on what it needs. Or take it in-house: it's yours either way. [See the whole map](https://xgravity.co/approach/map): an interactive map of how an X Gravity project really runs, using a fictional company. **Example engagement.** Example: an established business that needs a brand refresh, a new website and a quoting tool. - **Brand refresh**, weeks 1–5: Discovery and strategy (1 wk), Identity design (2 wks 1 day), Refinement and guidelines (1 wk), Assets and rollout (4 days) - **Website**, weeks 6–11: Site map and content (1 wk), Design (2 wks), Build (2 wks), Test and launch (1 wk) - **Quoting tool**, weeks 12–17: Map the process (1 wk), Prototype you can click (1 wk), Build (3 wks), Test and train your team (1 wk) Estimate: about 4 months, about $32,000, paid as $8,000 a month. If it's going to run long, you hear it early, not on an invoice. ## It runs on a dated plan, in writing The monthly rate pays for a plan with dates on it, not open-ended time. Here is what you can hold us to. - ### A date on every milestone Each stage of the work has a target date, set before month one starts. You always know what's due and when. - ### A written update every week What got done, what's next and anything at risk. You never have to chase us to find out where things stand. - ### Every change on the record If the plan changes, the new scope and dates are written down and agreed before we act on them. - ### If we're running late, you hear it first As soon as a date is at risk, you get it in writing: the reason, the new date and your options. Then it's your call. ## Fair questions How many hours do I get for $8,000? We don't sell hours, because the moment you buy hours you start counting them, and we start defending them. Some weeks are heads-down sprints. Others are review weeks while you test or gather feedback. The project never stalls: keeping it moving is our job, not yours. Is there a timeline, or do you work on it whenever? There's a timeline. The Mapping Session plan puts a target date on every milestone before month one starts, and that's what we work to and what you can hold us to. You get a written update every week. If a date is at risk, you hear it as soon as we know, in writing, with the reason, the new date and your options. Every change to the plan is written down, so there's always a record of what was agreed. What if the project takes longer than the estimate? You'll hear it early, with the reason and the options: trim something, swap something, or keep going. Most overruns come from good ideas found halfway through, and you decide whether they're worth it. Can I stop? Yes. It's month to month, and you pay for a full month at a time. Tell us before your next month starts and we'll wrap up at the end of the current one. A month that's already started isn't refunded, and whatever we've made is yours. What's the Mapping Session, and why is it paid? It's a full day working through everything your business needs (brand, website, tools) and the order to do it in. You leave with a written plan and an honest estimate that's yours to keep, whoever builds it. It's $1,000, paid up front. If you start the project within 60 days, the $1,000 comes off your first month: on an $8,000 month, your first invoice is $7,000. Do you take smaller projects? Yes. A landing page, a video series, a single campaign: tell us about it and we'll quote it flat, with part paid up front. Plenty of our longer engagements started that way. Who actually does the work? One senior lead runs your project from the first call to launch. When a stage needs a specialist, say a mobile app designer, a senior one joins for that stage. Because we work on one project at a time, it's one specialist at a time, and the monthly rate doesn't change. Do I own what you build? Yes. The code, the designs and the accounts are yours. After launch you can run it yourself, hand it to another team, or have us look after it. Why is the Brand Sprint more than a month of the monthly rate? Because it's the fast lane. A Sprint jumps the queue and delivers strategy and a full core identity in under a month, with our full attention. Do you run ads or manage social media? No. We make the content. For posting and ads we bring in trusted marketing partners and keep feeding them the work.