When Your First Client Says “How Soon Can You Start?”

Max Juster did not leave his job with a polished brand, a website, or even a company name. He left because an opportunity appeared sooner than expected, and he trusted himself enough to take it. That decision set the tone for everything that followed.

From early on, Max knew he wanted to do his own thing. He imagined selling a product one day, something tangible, rather than selling his own time and expertise. For years, that idea stayed abstract while he built a career inside the consumer packaged goods world. He developed a deep, specific understanding of route to market strategy, particularly within regulated beverage distribution, an area most people never touch deeply enough to master.

While working at Suntory, Max began asking questions of a colleague who ran his own consulting firm. He was curious about how someone actually made the leap. In his mind, going out on your own came after years of senior titles and broad recognition. The response he got challenged that assumption. His colleague told him he was already senior enough, already niche enough, to do it now.

That conversation stayed with him. Not long after, Max called a friend and mentioned he was thinking about going out on his own. The response surprised him. His friend asked how soon he could start. There was already a three year strategy project that needed help.

That was the moment Max realized the hardest part of entrepreneurship had just been handed to him. He had a first client.

He left Suntory and jumped straight into the work. At the beginning, nothing was formal. There was no company infrastructure. He did not even have a company email. Everything ran through his personal Gmail. Friends teased him about how bare bones it was, but his client understood exactly what he was getting. While delivering real work, Max built Juster Solutions in the background.

He officially started full time in May. The early months moved fast. Max stayed busy without having to make a single cold call. Every project came through his existing network. That experience reinforced something he did not fully appreciate before. Relationships compound quietly over time, and when you finally need them, they show up.

Juster Solutions focuses on route to market strategy, particularly in the alcohol and beverage space where legal distribution requirements shape everything. Brands are required to work through licensed distributors, and choosing the wrong partner can stall growth for years. Max helps companies identify the right distributors, structure contracts thoughtfully, and build working relationships that benefit both sides. His work sits at the intersection of strategy, operations, and real world execution.

The transition to independent work brought a new kind of pressure. Max describes it less as stress and more as a constant awareness. In a traditional role, a paycheck arrives every two weeks. In consulting, work is often structured in eight week projects. Each engagement comes with an unspoken countdown. There are always a few months to figure out where the next paycheck will come from.

That uncertainty is not for everyone. For Max, it is balanced by freedom. He does not have a boss. He sets his own schedule. He chooses the projects he works on. If something does not interest him, he can say no. That autonomy reshaped how he thinks about work and effort.

Early on, Max learned to be resourceful. One project required building detailed route cards for roughly one hundred sales representatives. Each card needed multiple tabs and precise data pulled from a large database. Doing it manually would have taken weeks and risked errors. Instead, Max turned to ChatGPT. He uploaded a template, explained the structure, and let the system generate the remaining cards. What would have taken a week was completed in about twenty minutes, followed by careful review. The result was accurate and efficient, reinforcing his belief that computers often handle repetitive precision better than humans.

Max is realistic about his long term vision. He’s open to building a product one day, but he is not forcing it. Every idea he considers gets tested rigorously, and he is quick to identify flaws. For now, consulting makes sense. The beverage industry is in the middle of significant transition, particularly across distribution networks. Smaller companies cannot justify hiring full time executives for specialized strategy roles. Fractional support fills that gap.

Max sees Juster Solutions as a way to give companies access to high level expertise without the overhead of full time leadership. As long as the industry continues to evolve, there will be meaningful work to do.

When speaking to people considering entrepreneurship, Max emphasizes two ideas. First, do not sell yourself short. Independent advisory work does not require executive titles. It requires a clear understanding of what you do exceptionally well that others cannot. Second, reach out to people who have done it before. Many are willing to help. Max benefited from mentors who walked him through practical details like setting up an LLC and structuring early decisions. He now tries to offer the same support to others reaching out.

Looking ahead, Max’s immediate focus is stability. He enters the coming year heavily booked for the first quarter. The next step is shifting from short term projects to longer engagements and retainers. Predictability matters. Being embedded as an ongoing advisor allows him to contribute more deeply while easing the constant pressure of finding the next project.

One of the most rewarding moments since starting came through a consulting network. Max was invited to pitch for a project, only to discover the client was someone he had worked with years earlier at McCain Foods. That person actively sought him out based on past experience. The moment reinforced a powerful lesson. The quality of your work matters long after the project ends. Your network is larger and more supportive than you think.

The best advice Max ever received came from the same colleague who encouraged him to go out on his own. Titles do not matter. Expertise does. Knowing exactly what you do better than most people, and trusting that value, changes everything. That advice gave Max permission to move forward before he felt fully ready.

Today, Juster Solutions reflects that mindset. It is built on trust, specificity, and confidence earned through experience. Max helps companies place real products on real shelves, guiding decisions most consumers never see. When he walks into a convenience store and sees brands he has helped expand, the work feels tangible. That visibility reminds him why he took the leap in the first place.

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