THE MOMENT
"HELLO! Welcome! Welcome, how can I help you?" Jason was on his feet the instant he heard the jingling bell on the door. His office wasn't very large, it consisted of a small commercial space in a mostly abandoned strip mall. If he'd been looking up, he would've seen the gentleman in a blue suit before he opened the door; but, he was reading instead. He'd been open for several months already, although, he was on his first month at the new, scaled-down location. There hadn't been as much interest in his services as he would've liked, so anyone walking in was a hopeful surprise. "My name's Jason," he said and greeted the man with a handshake.
"Orion, it's a pleasure," he nodded and sat in the chair directly in front of the desk. "Glory Rose sent me," he added.
"Oh, she's an absolute treasure, isn't she?" Jason chuckled with a nod. He'd spent possibly too much time in Glory's diner expounding on his business troubles. But, he was glad to see it finally paid off. He had a lead now, and he planned to see it through. "So, tell me about yourself, Orion. What kind of abilities do you have?"
"I'm able to Traverse between universes, and I can produce beams of stellar plasma from my hands," Orion replied with an amused expression. Jason's eyes went wide.
"You think that's trash tier? You're practically an Estrella!" he said. "I don't know what kind of luck you've had so far, but I guarantee it'll be pretty simple to rebrand. Heck, if we get you some of those glasses to see people's Auras we can probably pass you off as an actual Estrella," he said as he started brainstorming ideas.
"Well, about that," Orion grinned. "I actually am. I represent Chroma Corp., I'm not here for a rebrand myself." Jason physically leaned back in his folding chair. Chroma Corp. essentially owned the Earth. If they were coming to him, that was like landing the President as a client. A wide smile spread across his face.
"Sorry, I just realized how that could be misinterpreted," Orion shook his head. "To be clear, I'm not here to hire you for a Chroma rebrand. Glory was concerned about your business and she asked me to give you a few tips."
"Oh...," Jason's smile vanished instantly. "So, you're not a client?" he asked.
"No, but with a few changes, I think you might be on your way to getting some. You could become a Chroma Corp. affiliate, but, we'd need to change quite a bit for that. If you want to remain independent, I'll be glad to give you some pointers," he said. Jason sighed.
"Is this something you do often? Visit people at work and tell them how to do their job?" he asked. He knew he needed help; but, it was still a bitter pill to swallow. It was definitely easier knowing Glory Rose was involved. Although, he needed to make an extra effort to accept the help and the comment was him letting out some of that frustration.
"Actually, yes," Orion nodded with a smirk. "But, this isn't an official job, just some friendly help that you're not obligated to take at all. If you like, our conversation could be over as soon as now," he said and made himself ready to stand.
"You're already here," Jason nodded. He hoped he was about to get his first customer. It was why he was in the strip mall now. He started out in a big office space, wanting to seem official; but, he soon realized his savings wouldn't last if he didn't land any clients and relocated. If another month went by without a client, he'd have to start working from home. "I'm all ears," he said.
"You seem personable and professional and professional. I've got no complaints there. Honestly, it's rather apparent that your trouble is getting people to visit your business at all. So, we should look at your advertising," he said.
"I can't really afford commercials anymore, but I've got a couple of billboards, and I post on social media regularly," Jason said.
"I've seen them," Orion nodded. "And, I can tell you why they're not very effective. I had a sense even before I visited, the ads are a bit...," he hesitated as if searching for the right word. "...offputting we'll say."
"What? Why?" Jason asked. He'd put some actual thought into the design of his advertisements and he believed they were quite nice. "What's wrong with the designs?" he asked.
"Nothing at all," Orion smiled. "The designs work, it's your tagline that's the real issue. Your tagline actually works against you in this line of business."
"We'll rebrand your trash powers into powerful assets...?" Jason restated it in the form of a question simply to hear himself say it. It still made perfect sense to him.
"That's the one," Orion said.
"You're saying that's why I'm not getting any customers? Super powers are super common, I assumed there'd be a big market for a personal rebrand."
"Oh, it's definitely there. I'm sure you researched enough to know you're not the only business offering similar services. It's a world of super powers after all," Orion replied. "The reason, as I see it, is quite simple. People read that tagline and realize they're put off, which completely goes against the nature of your business. If you can't advertise yourself, why would anyone trust you to manage them?"
"I don't understand... what's the problem exactly?" Jason asked. He understood the logic of Orion's point, but it seemed like a perfectly good line to him.
"You're kicking people before they even come in your door," Orion chuckled. "It's a wonderous, power-filled world out there. But, no matter what they can do, very very few people appreciate having their powers referred to as 'Trash-tier'. And, if you haven't figured that out, they probably don't want you planning their personal brand."