Transcript
Speaker: And I think an important thing as a business owner, if you're not thinking about how can I make this easier for my clients, you need to start thinking about that because they're busy, they run a business.
Speaker: And so your systems is not only about you, it's also about them.
Speaker: Welcome to the She Can't Systemize podcast, where we are helping business owners like you learn to love and implement systems in their business.
Speaker: From conversations about CRM tools like Dubsado or automating the ish out of your business to helping your system match the level of detail your business does.
Speaker: My name is Taryn Rochelle, your girlfriend with a plan, CEO and founder of The Socialized Style Co.
Speaker: and someone who's just a little systems obsessed.
Speaker: I'm about to help make your life and business way more systemized so you can live a social lifestyle you love.
Speaker: Welcome to She Can Systemize.
Speaker: Hey guys, welcome to week one of the series, How to Use Systems to Stand Out in a Saturated Industry.
Speaker: I'm your host, Taryn Rochelle, and I am joined by Courtney Marie, who is someone that I met in the online space, and I am so glad I did.
Speaker: Courtney is the founder of Courtney Marie & Co., a design studio specializing in branding, web design, and marketing.
Speaker: that helps entrepreneurs increase their revenue and impact online.
Speaker: She's a multi-passionate entrepreneur whose mission is to help others improve their businesses, personalize, and everything in between through speaking, trainings, and coaching.
Speaker: So thank you so much for joining me, Courtney.
Speaker: I'm excited to have you here.
Speaker: Yeah, thank you for having me and so good to see you again.
Speaker: I know it's been a little while and I am so glad that we are going to be chatting on the podcast today.
Speaker: If you are listening to this during June, it is my birthday month and I thought why not create this amazing series for you guys today.
Speaker: When this airs, I will be 10 days out from my birthday and probably packing for Cabo, which I cannot wait to spend my dirty 30 there.
Speaker: I know I'm so excited.
Speaker: But so yeah, when this episode airs, I will be packing and counting down the seconds until I get to Mexico.
Speaker: So I
Speaker: I cannot wait to be there.
Speaker: That would be so fun.
Speaker: I know.
Speaker: Me and my husband have not gone anywhere internationally or any big trips really since our honeymoon.
Speaker: We've gone little things here and there, but we thought, why not go somewhere really fun?
Speaker: We live in Arizona now, so it's not like we're going somewhere warm.
Speaker: We're in the heat pretty much 24-7.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: but just somewhere kid-free and somewhere where I can just really celebrate being 30.
Speaker: And I'm actually really excited for my 30s.
Speaker: So I can't wait.
Speaker: It's amazing.
Speaker: I love 30s are the best.
Speaker: I cannot wait.
Speaker: I'm actually like really looking forward to it.
Speaker: For this first week of the series, me and Courtney are going to be talking about something that is so important for your business, which is creating a seamless experience for your leads and clients.
Speaker: And with Courtney being in the website industry and with branding and then me and systems, I thought what better dynamic duo than the two of us to chat with you guys about this, because I'm sure Courtney will say, you know, this is something that is super crucial, especially when it comes to your website and that experience for clients.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And especially like as an Enneagram one, not only am I a designer, but I'm also a one, which is very systems and details.
Speaker: And so systems has always been something like, how can I do better?
Speaker: What can I improve to make things easier or more efficient for me and clients?
Speaker: And I think an important thing as a business owner is
Speaker: If you're not thinking about how can I make this easier for my clients, you need to start thinking about that because they're busy, they run a business.
Speaker: And so your systems is not only about you, it's also about them.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And I think that's something that I've always really admired from when me and you first met.
Speaker: And I've always seen that you are always evolving what you are doing in your business for your clients, but also making it, you know, fit around your personal life and stuff too.
Speaker: And I think Courtney does a really great job about this of like showing those aspects of her life as well and showing how she's able to, you know, build her business around her life.
Speaker: and not the other way around, which is something that we are really about here at The Socialized Cell Co.
Speaker: And that is where systems come into play.
Speaker: But always refining, always fine tuning, making sure that we are elevating that experience for your clients.
Speaker: so that they're feeling great.
Speaker: Because that's when you can raise your prices.
Speaker: That's when you can, you know, start to build a team.
Speaker: Like there's so many things that come with that.
Speaker: When you start to think about your clients, think about building your business around your life and creating a system that allows you to do that.
Speaker: When you see people and you're auditing their websites, or you're working with clients, like what are some things that you see people going wrong with
Speaker: when it comes to that leading client experience through their website?
Speaker: Yeah, so I'll kind of keep it general for all different industries.
Speaker: But the biggest thing is
Speaker: navigation menu, all of these websites that are trying to be creative and fluffy and like, Ooh, let me try to be different and have a completely different navigation menu, which can work depending on your target audience.
Speaker: If you have an older demographic, you need to stick to a basic navigation menu because that is what they're used to.
Speaker: That is, that's ingrained in their mind.
Speaker: And so when they're trying to be on your website and look for things that
Speaker: that's where they're going to lean towards.
Speaker: But if you have a navigation menu that's hidden, no one can find it unless they scroll and they get frustrated.
Speaker: I don't know if you've been on websites like that, but I'm just like, can you just make this simple for me?
Speaker: Because I don't want to have to think.
Speaker: I make so many other decisions.
Speaker: I want this to be an easy process.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: If I can't find something in like a couple seconds, like you've lost me.
Speaker: Like I...
Speaker: I don't have time for it.
Speaker: Like you said, I'm making so many decisions in the day, especially as a mom.
Speaker: And if I can't find something quickly and the amount of time that I have, then I'm gone and I will go to another website that's easier to navigate.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: It's like when we first started, I don't know if you remember this, but when you first start, like you want your bio to be this, like, I want to be different and I want to be sound smart and I want it to be fluffy.
Speaker: But you realize no one understands what you're talking about.
Speaker: And so you have to cut the fluff and keep it simple.
Speaker: And simple is scalable.
Speaker: Go back to the basics because the basics work.
Speaker: I think another big thing is having somewhere where people can contact you.
Speaker: So again, a contact page, I still think they are very necessary.
Speaker: Some designers might tell you different, like, oh, you can just have it in the bottom page.
Speaker: on your homepage.
Speaker: But again, it goes back to user experience and what we've been trained to look for.
Speaker: And that's what I always think of like, okay, yeah, we don't have to put it at the top, but I still think you need a contact page and you can put it in the footer.
Speaker: That way they have somewhere to get in touch with you for questions, collaborations, partnerships, whatever it may be.
Speaker: Like you need somewhere where they can get in touch with you personally.
Speaker: If you have a website and you sell your services and there's no support email, like no way to get in touch with you, that might be a red flag.
Speaker: That's a red flag to me.
Speaker: Like, what if I run into issues?
Speaker: Who am I talking to?
Speaker: Are you going to support me?
Speaker: That's why I like on a lot of platforms, Kajabi or ShowIt, you look for the chat feature.
Speaker: Do I have the support when I need it?
Speaker: Follow-up question for you on that.
Speaker: When you're talking about the contact form, this is different than like an inquiry form.
Speaker: So like the form that I would embed from Dubsado of, you know, inquiring about services.
Speaker: Is this a separate area or separate form where it's like more general, just like get in contact with me?
Speaker: Or do you see people kind of like combining the two?
Speaker: Yeah, that's a good question.
Speaker: So it depends on the goal of the website.
Speaker: But if you had two different forms, I would try to keep it as simple as possible.
Speaker: Because if you have like two different forms, then someone's going to go to your website and be like, well, I don't know which one to fill out.
Speaker: And then you might lose them.
Speaker: So anytime that you have multiple options, think of how you can simplify it for
Speaker: client for the viewer.
Speaker: So for me, I have my contact page and I think it says, I'll have to look again, but I'm pretty sure it says for inquiries, click here.
Speaker: For anything else, please email me at support at my email.
Speaker: So that's like a simple, you're telling them what to do, where to go.
Speaker: That makes total sense.
Speaker: And I think just that verbiage of like making it so crystal clear, like for inquiries, click here.
Speaker: Like
Speaker: you know, for support.
Speaker: So then that way, if I'm, you know, if I am a lead and I am inquiring, I'm like, okay, perfect.
Speaker: Like she's showing me this, she's showing me exactly where to go.
Speaker: You're taking the work from the person that's inquiring off of them because then they're not having to look for all these things and getting confused.
Speaker: And you're making it a seamless experience for them.
Speaker: Because I always say a confused mind rarely converts.
Speaker: And if someone is confused or they can't figure out how to get somewhere, they're
Speaker: you're going to lose them.
Speaker: And when someone is inquiring on your services and they're trying to look for that contact page, like this is a warm lead.
Speaker: This is someone like once they get into your CRM, like this is a hot lead.
Speaker: They are ready to go.
Speaker: They are inquiring on your services and we don't want them to be confused.
Speaker: And it could be, you know, someone that isn't a lead for your service.
Speaker: And maybe it's someone that's looking to book you for guest speaking or
Speaker: or someone that has like a question on something, it's really important to have those areas where people can get in contact with you and not just say, Oh, my DMS are always open and then never respond to your DMS.
Speaker: Or, you know, you don't have an easy way for someone to get in contact with you if they don't even use Instagram.
Speaker: And you're like, Oh, just DM me on Instagram.
Speaker: And they may be like, well, I don't have an Instagram.
Speaker: Like maybe like Courtney said, you have an older demographic and
Speaker: And they don't use social media platforms like that.
Speaker: And they're finding you through your amazing SEO and your website on Google.
Speaker: And then they want to get in contact with you.
Speaker: And you're telling them to go over to Instagram, like, just make sure like whoever your ideal audiences that you're making that experience, like make sense for them, and really making it an easy and seamless experience.
Speaker: You see like that happen often where like, people will put either like,
Speaker: completely different ways to get in contact with someone that just doesn't make sense for their ideal audience.
Speaker: I'm more so see like just trying to be creative or a lot, even like goes to a lot of copy less is more when it comes to your website.
Speaker: And so again, you want to basically tell them this is for you if blank and this is what I do.
Speaker: This is who I work with.
Speaker: This is where to go to work with me.
Speaker: And I know it sounds like super simple, but
Speaker: But that's what a website is supposed to do is to take the thinking out of it and just guide them through the journey where you want them to go, whether that's a contact form or a freebie or to apply with you.
Speaker: I think a lot of I see a lot of people try to add so much content where it's like, let's take that out.
Speaker: And really, like less is so much more.
Speaker: It really is.
Speaker: And that that kind of leads into what we wanted to talk about of like, really sharing the value and education through other areas too.
Speaker: Because this is something that me and Courtney both strongly believe in.
Speaker: And it is not like
Speaker: gatekeeping all your information behind paid doors and really helping to build that like known trust factor and all of that extra fluff and copy and all that kind of stuff that you want to put in all this information that you want to have on your website like
Speaker: Build that value through other avenues of your website, like a blog or on your social media content or through a podcast.
Speaker: Find ways to really showcase that value and that knowledge and that education without over-fluffing one area of your business.
Speaker: What are some of your favorite ways that like you have found when building your business, Courtney, of really educating your ideal clients and your community so then that way they're also like prepared to work with you?
Speaker: Yeah, I think when I went into design, yes, I'm always thinking about systems, but I'm also thinking about, okay, how can I support our clients more than just a brand or a website?
Speaker: And I think that's where my content comes in.
Speaker: I don't do a lot of coaching.
Speaker: I do help like some designers or with social media and like consulting.
Speaker: But I was like, okay, I have all this knowledge that I've learned in the past five, six years, probably even more.
Speaker: I don't know anymore.
Speaker: But I want to still be able to help people and still help our clients even before or after they get done working with us.
Speaker: But how do I do that in a way that
Speaker: I don't offer a coaching program or group coaching.
Speaker: And so for us, I like to do that through the podcast and Instagram.
Speaker: So I love having, you know, you have your content pillars, which I kind of redid all this yesterday and I'm so excited, like a new social media strategy, but I
Speaker: A lot of those pillars is, okay, talking about how can you improve your website?
Speaker: What can you do after?
Speaker: Or making updates to it every year.
Speaker: Or how to drive traffic to your website.
Speaker: Maybe it's like sales tips.
Speaker: Or I did a post today like how to price your services.
Speaker: Helping them beyond.
Speaker: And I don't put any of that on my own website.
Speaker: It's just through social media.
Speaker: And I believe that if you provide value and you're truly in it to help people, then they'll see that and they'll be like,
Speaker: oh yeah, I need a website.
Speaker: I think of her, I'm going to go to her because I got value from that.
Speaker: Exactly.
Speaker: And you're building that like, known, trust factor.
Speaker: You're stepping into your leadership role and really showing yourself as an industry leader and someone that people are going to remember when maybe when they first come and find your website or they first come and find an Instagram post.
Speaker: They may not be ready for a website, but when they are, they're going to think of Courtney.
Speaker: They're going to think of the person that they have been benching that content, that they have been building that like-known trust factor with, that that person has been giving that value and isn't just like, buy my services.
Speaker: Every single post is like, here's my services.
Speaker: Here's my availability.
Speaker: I need to know more about what you do and how you can help me.
Speaker: But also like for me, I want to like know who this person is like as a person.
Speaker: I mean, yeah, right.
Speaker: Like, I mean, I want to like make sure I like know who they are.
Speaker: and what they have going on because I want to make sure that I vibe with that person because I want to make sure that they will understand my brand, that they will understand my vision for things and that it'll be fun working together.
Speaker: That's why for me, like I go through like an application process for our services because I want to make sure that this person is right for this service and that we will also have a good time together in the few weeks that we are working on, you know, creating their systems.
Speaker: And I think when you are creating that value on social media, it still ties into, you know, creating this seamless experience for your leads and for your clients, because you're putting them through like this content loop, like you're putting them through where they are always getting you throughout everything that they're doing.
Speaker: You know, they're on your newsletter, they're getting your email, like they're scrolling through Instagram, they see your posts and
Speaker: They find a blog post of yours.
Speaker: They hear you on a podcast.
Speaker: You are always saying front of mind.
Speaker: And then it creates this easy experience for them for when they're ready for what you have to offer that you are front of mind.
Speaker: And then this is how you do stand out in
Speaker: a saturated, and this is an audio podcast, you can't see my air quotes, but saturated market, because it's a phrase we hear a lot, but it's, you know, you have to stand out.
Speaker: Every market has a lot of people.
Speaker: There's no market out there that has like two people working in it.
Speaker: And so you're going to have a lot of other people that are in your industry, but there are ways to stand out for your clients and for your leads to have you be an easy yes.
Speaker: What's your experience with that in the website industry and especially with branding and stuff too?
Speaker: Because there are obviously a lot of website designers, a lot of brand strategists.
Speaker: What's your experience been being in a, quote, saturated market?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Before I answer that, one thing that I thought of was if you're like an online coach and trying to figure out, well, I don't want to share too much content or too much free value.
Speaker: It's all on the internet.
Speaker: So just know that it's already out there.
Speaker: If someone really wanted to figure it out, they could go to chat GPT and literally figure it out.
Speaker: But you still want to provide value and like they'll see that as you wanting to help them and they're going to pay you for your coaching specifically.
Speaker: That's how you stand out is by being you.
Speaker: And just like you said, you have to vibe with them.
Speaker: You have to get along with them.
Speaker: And so I think that ties into what makes me different as a designer is I come with the design background, the marketing background and building two different businesses that I can share more advice than just web design.
Speaker: Like, because I know that I can create a killer website for someone, but if they can't send people to it, it does no good just sitting there.
Speaker: And so I think that's the biggest thing.
Speaker: And just also knowing that, like, if you're not good for us, we're not good for you.
Speaker: Like, cool.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: no harm done.
Speaker: Like there's another designer that will be good for you.
Speaker: And there will be another client that will be good for us.
Speaker: I think in the beginning, you have to work with everyone to find out who you want to work with and who you don't want to work with.
Speaker: Because in the beginning, like, yes, there were times where I think I had to fire...
Speaker: two clients out of the whole four years of doing this, but there will be times where you're like, this client is so hard to work with that you have to push through it because what you're doing is you're gathering data and like just looking at, okay, Oh, I don't really like that.
Speaker: I really love this.
Speaker: And just take note of how you're feeling in your projects or you're coaching your clients and
Speaker: I really love working with this type of person.
Speaker: And so how do I find more of those people?
Speaker: Is it through like asking them?
Speaker: A great option is to simply ask them, hey, I loved working with you.
Speaker: Who do you know that is just like you that I can help?
Speaker: That was a perfect question that you can like tap into that.
Speaker: I know I just did this recently because we've been wanting to, at the time of recording this in April,
Speaker: someone in or a kind of business in the wedding and event industry that we haven't tapped into are like dessert carts, like those like fun, like the ice cream carts, like stuff like that.
Speaker: Like I've been wanting to do a setup for something like that.
Speaker: And I haven't had someone in the wedding and event industry in that specific niche.
Speaker: And so I reached out to some of my past clients that have been like some of my favorite clients and
Speaker: And they are in the wedding and event industry.
Speaker: So they know a lot of people in the wedding and event industry to give me some referrals of people that like have the same kind of like vibe as them, but have that beverage cart, dessert cart industry and niche that they could recommend for me to work with.
Speaker: And I got some great recommendations, some amazing people that I can get in contact with.
Speaker: But that came from, you know, knowing that I love these clients that I worked with and reaching out to them and not just like stopping that relationship, like the projects done and then like never speaking to them again.
Speaker: Like a lot of my clients become back to us for more services because we keep that relationship.
Speaker: We keep that door open.
Speaker: And we still keep it professional.
Speaker: There are clients that become friends of mine and that's totally okay.
Speaker: But we still know that it's like a business to a business.
Speaker: We keep those boundaries in place, but I'm able to go to them and they're able to come to me when we have questions on certain things, like that example of asking for referrals of anyone that I really like that client and I want more people just like them.
Speaker: And for me at the beginning, when it came to systems, I didn't niche down to
Speaker: the wedding and event industry for a while.
Speaker: And that took from working with, like, I tried to make it a mission to work with someone in every different kind of industry, coaches,
Speaker: website designers, branding, copywriters, photographers, event planners.
Speaker: Like I worked with every kind of person.
Speaker: I worked with female entrepreneurs.
Speaker: I worked with male owned businesses.
Speaker: Like I wanted to see what I liked and what I didn't like and pull that data to really know, like, I love working with female owned wedding and event industry companies, including photographers.
Speaker: So it's
Speaker: anyone that falls under that umbrella.
Speaker: But then again, I still do my vibe checks because just because they fall under that umbrella doesn't mean that it's going to be a yes.
Speaker: And like Courtney is saying, sometimes you have to say no to leads and that is okay.
Speaker: And when you get to that point of you've already worked with, you know, a lot of people, you know who you want to work with, you know, who you vibe with, you know, who you don't vibe with.
Speaker: Saying no is only going to better your business because you're not taking up space or letting a lead take up space in your calendar that someone who is your ideal client could have filled.
Speaker: But now that spot is filled on your calendar by someone that you don't vibe with, that you just took them just to take them.
Speaker: Before we go any further in this week's episode, I want to see if you've ever had this thought.
Speaker: I need to show my team how to do this task, but it'll take me longer to explain it than to just do it myself.
Speaker: Well, I want to officially invite you to remove that limiting belief from your headspace, especially because our friends at Tango make creating and sharing SOPs as easy as clicking one button.
Speaker: Use Tango to capture your process and share with your team and clients, especially for all those frequently asked questions we get as service providers.
Speaker: And because we love you guys, you can use code systems 20 for a free month of their pro version.
Speaker: See Tango in action on our Instagram and look in the show notes for a link to try out Tango for yourself.
Speaker: Now let's get back to this week's episode.
Speaker: That's something that I've been way more intentional with
Speaker: since the start of this year or like booking projects for this year and increasing our rates has helped a lot.
Speaker: Like we used to serve, when I say this number, I really am like shocked, but I think the most clients we've worked with in one month was like 12 to 15 clients.
Speaker: And like to think of that now, my head is spinning because now we only work with four to six clients a month and it feels so
Speaker: much better because I have more time to be able to like sit back and like truly provide a VIP experience and like not be so hung up on like, we got to finish this project because the next one starts next week on Monday.
Speaker: And like, we got to rush through it or not rush through it.
Speaker: But like, I didn't have the extra time if a client had a question to be able to sit and be like, yeah, no problem.
Speaker: I'll go in and do that for you.
Speaker: I love being able to have that time.
Speaker: And like it,
Speaker: your hour makes a huge difference in their lives.
Speaker: And so I think that in the beginning, you have to go through some bit of a hustle to find out all those things, prices, what you like, what you don't like, what works, what doesn't work, all the fun stuff.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And that goes all into creating that seamless experience because when you feel like you are rushed or you feel like you're like, okay, we have the next client coming up, you also, one, can't have a personal life.
Speaker: So your cup
Speaker: is getting completely emptied.
Speaker: And then you're then going right into a next project.
Speaker: So then it's like already on E, like the tank is on E and we are still trying to like chug along in the car.
Speaker: And then you're not able to give that kind of experience to the next client.
Speaker: And it all just becomes this like on the hamster wheel of doing this over and over and over.
Speaker: And then you just feel like
Speaker: so burnt out.
Speaker: And this is where a lot of people then are like, oh, like my business, I just don't want to do it anymore.
Speaker: Or like, this just like, isn't for me.
Speaker: And yeah, Courtney's raising her hand.
Speaker: I hope burnout hard, guys.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Burnout is real.
Speaker: And it is something that can happen, especially when you don't create these systems in place and you don't think of
Speaker: the client experience, but also like your experience through the project and what that looks like or your experience through the event.
Speaker: If you guys are in the wedding and event industry, like what does that experience look like for your couples, but then also for you and your team, if you have a team.
Speaker: And I know for you, Courtney, like you have a team and how have you like navigated into that aspect of your business, but then still feeling or having your clients feel like they still get you.
Speaker: Because when I see your stuff on social media, like I can just tell like you are so infused in every project that you do.
Speaker: but you still have a team to support you.
Speaker: So like, how has that process been of like delegating and things like that so that your clients still feel like they're getting like the Courtney Marie experience, even if you have a team helping you?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: The, my team has evolved so much since I first started.
Speaker: I think the biggest thing is finding the right people on your team to create that experience.
Speaker: Because even within that, like finding certain team members, that was really hard for me because it's like, how do I let go of me not designing, but also having control and wanting it to, because my name is on everything.
Speaker: And so I can't just sit back and be like, cool guys, like going to send it off without looking at it.
Speaker: And I think we finally got to a point where I have full trust in my team, my designers, and
Speaker: where I can give the creative direction like here's my idea, here's the client's idea, how can we pull this together?
Speaker: One of the projects, I could not have asked for a better collab.
Speaker: Like it was so perfect.
Speaker: I gave an overview.
Speaker: This is what we want.
Speaker: This is what the client wants.
Speaker: And our designer like executed so well.
Speaker: And there were very minor changes, like minimal changes.
Speaker: And so with that, we had our systems in place, but it's also hiring the right people for you to be able to step back
Speaker: and let them take over.
Speaker: I think you have to have that trust with the right people.
Speaker: But for me, how do I stay in it or like be Courtney Marie of the design or whatever?
Speaker: It's really setting that intention from the start of the project.
Speaker: And then for every piece of the project, I'm approving looking over before it moves to the next step.
Speaker: So wherever you're, whatever industry you're in, you still have to be involved in your projects or in your business, but it's more from an overview or from a creative director standpoint.
Speaker: And just, you have to also learn how to manage.
Speaker: You have to, now you have to step out a designer and you have to learn managing.
Speaker: You have to learn how to give feedback yourself.
Speaker: And it's a whole different process, which,
Speaker: There's so much I've learned through all of it.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And I think for like the biggest thing is just like remembering that you have to like give, like let go of the reins a little bit.
Speaker: And it's so hard to do it at the beginning because, you know, you've worked so hard at building this business and building this brand and
Speaker: building this reputation of people knowing you and your industry.
Speaker: And, you know, we don't want to let go of that.
Speaker: You know, we don't want to like give it away to someone else to do, but in order for your business to evolve and to scale, it's not sustainable for you to do everything yourself in your business.
Speaker: Like you will hit burnout, uh,
Speaker: You won't have a life like it just is what it is like there.
Speaker: There's no way to scale your business with you doing absolutely everything.
Speaker: And in the beginning, that could look like setting up automations in your business to help you with these tasks.
Speaker: If you aren't ready to bring on a team member.
Speaker: Look at what you're doing day to day, week to week, month to month for your clients, for your business, and look at a tool like Zapier and see, you know, can I make this automated?
Speaker: Look at the system tools you're already using.
Speaker: Is this something that can happen automatically in Dubsado or in ClickUp without me having to do it myself or have a team member do it?
Speaker: So if you're at like a starting point in your business, we're at like a tipping point where you're not quite ready to have a team yet.
Speaker: but you're trying to figure out how this all works.
Speaker: Look at automations.
Speaker: And even while you have a team, I am always going to say to any little tasks that should be automated, do not give this to your VA to do manually still.
Speaker: Make that automated so then you can still have your VA, still have your team member doing other tasks that are more important and something that can't be automated or shouldn't be automated.
Speaker: So then you're having a greater return on investment of having that assistant.
Speaker: And then you're also having a great experience for them, for you and for your clients, because every little thing that you can take off your plate,
Speaker: allows you to show up better for you, for yourself, for your business, for your clients.
Speaker: And so remembering that too, of like, you know, your automations can be your assistant for a little while before you bring in that team, but you still have to give away the reins.
Speaker: And if you are automating, you still have to be able to let go.
Speaker: Yeah, we've downsized our team because there's so many automations.
Speaker: So not only does it help you with time, it helps you save so much money.
Speaker: So I second that.
Speaker: Before you even hire someone, automate as much as you can with systems and then fill in the gaps with people who need to come in and do it manually.
Speaker: You'd be surprised automatically.
Speaker: like how much money you can save.
Speaker: And I think another thing, like going back to having a team is letting go control and also realizing that
Speaker: Every person has different strengths and weaknesses.
Speaker: And so if you can see where your weaknesses are, then you can find people to hire to fill in those gaps and they can do it better than you.
Speaker: I know, yes, I can create a killer brand, but I also know that there's a designer that I can bring in that can create a brand way better than I can, like execute with my direction, partner together.
Speaker: We can create something even better.
Speaker: And so I think looking at it from that standpoint, maybe your zone is web design.
Speaker: Bring in a brand designer and a copywriter, and now you have a full suite of packages.
Speaker: Or if you're a coach, maybe you need a co-coach or whatever it may be, realizing that there could be someone else that does it better to provide a better outcome for your clients.
Speaker: Exactly.
Speaker: And that is where, you know, really knowing what you want that experience to be for your clients is so important.
Speaker: And so really mapping out what you want that ideal client journey to look like with you and pinpointing those areas of your strengths and of your weaknesses and seeing where you can, you know, evolve your weaknesses.
Speaker: And that may be to one, get education on what that is.
Speaker: If you're not able to hire someone to help you right now,
Speaker: or bring in someone, automate it, figure that out.
Speaker: So then that way you have a really clear client experience and it just feels so much better for you and it feels so much better for your clients.
Speaker: And this is where, you know, people are going to be referring you.
Speaker: This is where people are going to be sending in testimonials.
Speaker: I mean, Courtney knows, like I've tagged her in so many things of people needing someone to help them in, in show it or anything.
Speaker: And I'm always tagging her in things because
Speaker: She is someone that I see her work.
Speaker: I see what the experience is.
Speaker: And I don't just refer like just anyone.
Speaker: And I want to make sure that like, you know, I am, I'm putting my name on this referral.
Speaker: And so I don't want to send them to someone that like, isn't giving a killer experience because I am all about client experience.
Speaker: But if you are giving that and providing that,
Speaker: People are seeing, you know, whether they have, I haven't personally worked with Courtney as my website designer, but I see her work.
Speaker: I see her experience.
Speaker: I see what's happening through social media, through, you know, what her clients are saying.
Speaker: I follow some of her clients on social media.
Speaker: So I see their websites in action.
Speaker: And so I see this experience happening and I know
Speaker: that anyone that I refer to her is going to have that kind of experience.
Speaker: But that wouldn't be possible if Courtney hadn't looked at things, see where she could involve things, see where she could bring in people to help and build this business and this brand to where it is now.
Speaker: And I think that all goes into really thinking about what you want that experience to be and making it seamless and easy for your leads and clients to go through.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Oh my gosh.
Speaker: All the words of affirmation.
Speaker: Thank you.
Speaker: You're welcome.
Speaker: You know, I love you.
Speaker: This has been so good, Courtney.
Speaker: And I know it's going to be so helpful for so many people, especially when they're thinking about that journey that they are wanting for their leads, their clients to have.
Speaker: with them through their website.
Speaker: But I feel like we just, we talked about this more of like a well-rounded aspect of like just the experience in general, because like you said, like it doesn't matter how many eyes like you get over to there or like having this website experience where like we got to get people there and then we also have to then convert them.
Speaker: And so the experience has to be well-rounded through your marketing, through your website, through your systems, through your CRM, your project management, like everything needs to have a killer experience.
Speaker: So then people are wanting to come back for more in referring you.
Speaker: So thank you so much, Courtney.
Speaker: I know people are going to want to get in touch with you to learn more about what you do.
Speaker: So where can people do so?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Um, you can find me on Instagram, Courtney Marie dot me, send me a DM.
Speaker: Uh, I will get back to you, uh, or you can find the podcast coffee with Courtney.
Speaker: You can also find our episode on there.
Speaker: And then the website is Courtney, www.courtneymarieco.com.
Speaker: Awesome.
Speaker: And I'll make sure all of that is linked in the show notes, including our episode on Courtney's podcast, um, which was so good.
Speaker: But thank you so much, Courtney, for joining me and being our guest for week one of the series, how to use systems to stand out in a saturated industry.
Speaker: And we will see you guys on next week's episode and be ready for week two because it's a good one.
Speaker: Thanks so much, Courtney.
Speaker: Thank you.
Speaker: And I'll just say happy birthday now.
Speaker: Thank you so much.
Speaker: I'll be celebrating in Guavo on the beach soon.
Speaker: So can't wait.
Speaker: I love it.
