Craftworks LLC — Strategy you can act on.

About Craftworks LLC

Strategy you can act on.

We don't just advise — we build. Websites, pitch materials, financial models, sales playbooks, and go-to-market plans. Everything an emerging brand needs to get channel-ready and scale.

Most small brands have a great product. What they're missing is the tools and infrastructure that real scale demands — the market analysis that points to the right channel, the pitch deck that speaks a buyer's language, the unit economics that make a partnership viable, the operational setup that turns a great conversation into a signed agreement and an open purchase order.

That's exactly what Craftworks delivers. We bring the analytical depth of a top-tier firm and the hands-on partnership of someone who has sat across the table from some of the largest buyers in the consumer industry. For some clients, the route is national retail. For others, it's B2B, DTC, marketplace, or a deliberate mix. The analysis decides — not a predetermined destination.

Every engagement ends with decisions you can make and actions you can take — the day you leave our call.

25+

Years in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry

Big Box

Experience across apparel, packaged goods & consumer durables

End-to-End

From brand assessment to buyer-ready pitch materials

Who We Serve

Built for brands on their way up.

We work with founders and business owners who have a proven product and a clear ambition — and need the infrastructure to match.

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Emerging Brands

You're on Shopify, at farmers markets, on Etsy, or in a few local accounts. You know you can scale — you need a path and a plan.

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Small Manufacturers

You make a great product and you're ready for bigger distribution. Is it national retail? B2B? Marketplace? Or a channel you haven't considered yet?

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Solopreneurs

You're running the whole operation yourself. You need a strategic partner who brings the expertise you don't have time to build.

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Mid-Market Growth

You've got traction in one or two channels and are ready to scale to the next. The next step requires a different level of preparation.

What We Do

The full commercialization stack.

Every Craftworks engagement begins with analysis, ends with execution, and covers everything in between. The services below are productized — named scopes with clear deliverables — so you know what you're getting and what it costs.

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Market & Channel Assessment

The analytical foundation of every engagement. We study the category, the competition, and the economics of every candidate route to market — and document an explicit channel recommendation. This is the pivot point: every downstream deliverable flows from this decision.

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Channel Readiness Assessment

A gap analysis against the specific requirements of the channel we chose in Stage 2. Scored across eight universal dimensions plus a channel-specific module — retail, B2B, or DTC/marketplace — so you know exactly what has to change before you pitch.

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90-Day Strategic Roadmap

A sequenced 90-day plan built around your readiness gaps. Every milestone has an owner, a deadline, and a cost estimate. No vague "next steps" — a real plan you can execute, with the priority work front-loaded so you see momentum fast.

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Pitch Kit (Retail or B2B)

Buyer decks, sell sheets, line sheets, and capabilities one-pagers built to channel-specific standards and branded to your business — not ours. We know what buyers look for because we've been in those meetings on both sides of the table.

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Sales Playbook & GTM Resourcing

The "who actually sells this?" answer. We evaluate seven go-to-market models — in-house hire, rep agency, broker, distributor, fractional sales leader, marketing agency, founder-led — and recommend the path that fits your channel, stage, and capital. Includes agreements, outreach sequences, and a target account list.

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Financial Model & Capital Strategy

Three-scenario financial model (downside / base / upside) plus a written memo evaluating six capital paths — bootstrapping, debt, equity, venture, revenue-based financing, strategic partner financing. We answer the two questions every founder asks: can this work, and how do we fund it?

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Website & Ecommerce Package

Website structure, page copy, marketplace listings, and platform setup — all in your brand, not ours. Interested buyers and customers will Google you before they engage. Your web presence is part of your pitch.

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Intelligent Tools

We build agentic AI tools customized to how your business actually operates — giving you superpowers tailored to your workflow. A team of virtual employees handles the research, drafting, analysis, and monitoring work that would otherwise bog you down or go undone. We build the tools, train them on your data, and hand them over. The force multiplier stays with you.

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Optional Retainer

Ongoing advisory after the initial engagement closes. Three tiers — Essential, Growth, Embedded — each with bi-weekly intelligence briefings, live advisory sessions, and agent-augmented execution. Month-to-month after the initial term, cancel with 30 days notice.

Our Engagement Process

Seven stages. One pivot point.

Every Craftworks engagement moves through the same seven stages. Stage 2 — the Market & Channel Assessment — is the pivot point where channel strategy is chosen. Everything before it is channel-agnostic. Everything after it is channel-specific. No surprises — steady, visible progress with a documented decision at every gate.

Discovery Call

A conversation — no pitch, no obligation. Don learns about your business, your product, and where you want to go. We assess fit honestly and tell you straight whether Craftworks is the right partner for your goals.

No charge · 45–60 minutes

Market & Channel Assessment

The analytical foundation. We study the category, the competition, and the economics of every candidate route to market — retail, B2B, DTC, marketplace, wholesale, foodservice, subscription. The deliverable concludes with an explicit, owned channel recommendation. We let the analysis decide, not a predetermined destination.

Deliverable: Market & Channel Assessment + Executive Decision Memo

Channel Readiness Assessment

A rigorous gap analysis against the specific requirements of the channel chosen in Stage 2. Scored across eight universal dimensions plus a channel-specific module for retail, B2B, or DTC/marketplace. You get a clear written report with prioritized recommendations, cost estimates per gap, and a sales resourcing gap memo.

Deliverable: Channel Readiness Assessment Report

90-Day Strategic Roadmap

A 90-day action plan built around your readiness gaps. Sequenced milestones, owners, cost estimates, and dependencies — broken into 30/60/90-day blocks with the priority work front-loaded. You'll know exactly what to do, in what order, and what it takes.

Deliverable: 90-Day Strategic Roadmap

Build Phase

We execute the roadmap together. Pitch kits, sales playbook & GTM resourcing, financial model and capital strategy, website and ecommerce package — whatever your roadmap identified as priority. Client-usable materials ship in your brand, not ours. This is where most consultants hand you a deck and leave. We stay and build with you.

Deliverables: Build Phase packages, all branded to your business

Handover & Training

You receive every deliverable fully documented, every platform credential transferred, and a 90-minute training session on how to use AI tools for ongoing research, drafting, and analysis. The goal is your independence — you should be able to update, refine, and operate everything we've built without needing to call us.

Deliverables: Consolidated archive + live training

Optional Retainer

For clients who want ongoing support after the initial engagement closes. Three tiers — Essential, Growth, Embedded — with bi-weekly intelligence briefings, live advisory, and agent-augmented execution. Month-to-month after the initial term. You choose the level of partnership that fits.

Optional · Monthly · Three tiers

Our Principal

Meet Don Jones.

Don Jones

Principal & Founder
Craftworks LLC

National Account Director since 2011
25+ years in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry
Well known brands Don has represented: Maybelline, Hanes, Champion, ArmorAll, STP, Tuff Stuff, Arctic Freeze, AC Pro, Juicebox and others
Retailer accounts managed: Walmart, Costco, Home Depot, Best Buy, Dollar General, AutoZone, Tractor Supply, Publix, Harris Teeter
Direct-to-consumer(DTC) & Amazon/Marketplace channel management

A National Account Director since 2011, Don has spent the last 20 years managing large consumer retail accounts across apparel, packaged goods, and consumer durables for both large and small North American brands. He has negotiated, managed, and grown accounts at the highest level — and he has watched hundreds of emerging brands try to break into those same channels, most of them unprepared for what the process actually requires.

That experience is what Craftworks is built on. Don knows exactly what a Walmart buyer needs to see in a pitch deck, what unit economics look like to a major retail category manager, how to manage the intricacies of doing business with an auto OEM, and what operational questions will end a conversation before it gets started. He also knows when retail is not the right answer — when a brand is better served by DTC, marketplace, B2B, or a deliberate mix — and has the discipline to recommend the channel the analysis supports rather than the one he knows best. He brings that knowledge to every engagement — not as abstract advice, but as concrete, actionable guidance.

Craftworks was founded to give small and mid-market brands access to the same quality of strategic thinking that large CPG companies take for granted — without the agency overhead, the junior team doing the work, or the 90-page report that sits on a shelf. You get Don's experience, directly, on your business.

Get In Touch

Let's start a conversation.

The Discovery Call is free, no-obligation, and focused entirely on your business. By the end of it, you'll have a clearer picture of where you stand, what you need, and whether Craftworks is the right partner to help you get there.

No pitch. No hard sell. Just a straight conversation with someone who has spent 25+ years in the room you're trying to get into.

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craftworksllc.com

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Pick a time that works for you — no obligation, just a conversation.

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