What’s Your Cardboard Jet Pack?

October always reminds me that sameness is convenient and delight is a choice. You can buy a costume off the rack (brownie points for showing up!), or you can add that cardboard jet pack and make the neighborhood smile.

Business can feel the same. Templates, marketplaces, and AI give us serious scale on demand, but any spark we feel still comes from the little human choices we refuse to outsource. And in some ways, globalization has put a Spirit Halloween on every corner of commerce: everything’s available, instantly. Useful, yes. The magic is still in how you wear it. The costume is easy. The character is work.

After 20+ years building brands, I’ve learned that staying true doesn’t mean staying small. It means knowing your non-negotiables and letting them travel. Keep the stitch that’s uniquely yours, the greeting only your team says, the packaging ritual people look forward to. Ship efficiently, absolutely, but let your fingerprints show. That’s how difference becomes durable.

If you think about the brands you love most, why do they resonate? Maybe globalization is part of their story and it’s working beautifully. Nike is a household name precisely because it scaled a clear point of view: performance, belief, motion. The lesson here is to “scale your clarity.” 

When reach grows faster than brand identity, you get a loud echo. When identity grows with reach, you get a chorus.

So as kids hot-glue costumes at kitchen tables everywhere, here’s the simple practice I’m proposing today: add one unmistakable touch to every deliverable this month. Even a simple thank-you that sounds like you. Choose those little human details, consistently, and growth becomes a magnifier—not a mask.

If this resonates, come build alongside JHD! Join us at the Nexus, our collaborative space for business owners and creators, where we swap ideas and turn signature touches into systems that scale.

Visit The Nexus — 461 Sandy Creek Rd, Suite 4109, Fayetteville, GA

Learn more about joining the workspace: thenexus.community

P.S. Join us for Artisans at the Avenue, a Pop-Up Holiday Market Powered by Night Market!

Every Weekend from October–December 2025 • Peachtree City, GA

Fridays 4:00–8:00, Saturdays 10:00–8:00, Sundays 12:00–8:00

Learn more: artisansattheavenue.com