Behind the Design

Today's episode we have the conversation about the challenges and triumphs of balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship. Laura and I swap our personal experience and practical advice on managing energy, work-life harmony, and the power of personal branding in businesses. Both know that despite trials, it’s entirely possible to have the best of both worlds – motherhood and entrepreneurship – and it’s important to find your unique path without comparing it to anyone else's. This is a very candid conversation with two moms and businesses owners who are in different stages of life. I hope you enjoy!

https://www.laura-sinclair.com/

In this heartfelt podcast episode, I am opening up about my personal experience as a new mom and what the journey over the last 8 months has looked like for me. Emphasizing the importance of inner work, support, and healing modalities like inner child healing, I discuss my evolution as what it's like being a business owner and new mom overcoming postpartum anxiety and perfectionism to now seeking harmony between business and personal life. I want to open up the conversation on these topics and set the tone for this new era of Behind the Design Podcast by continuing to inspire our community who may be going through similar phases of reinvention.

The phrase "ideal clients" is tossed around a lot in the business space, along with niching down, client red flags and other ways to identify and create boundaries around working with people you actually like. It's YOUR business and the projects you work on and the clients you work with should make you excited to sit at your desk every day, but unfortunately this is not always the case. Every so often you have those clients that are tough, rude and just plain hard to work with that have you questioning whether you're even good at what you do. I know this feeling all too well, but have honed in my expectations and made clearer boundaries, so that these types of clients are few and far between. In today's episode we're going over how to vet clients before you even onboard them, client red flags to watch out for and, if it comes down to it, how to eloquently break up with bad clients.

byoliviaaustin.com/designed-to-scale

byoliviaaustin.com/shop (code BTD10 for 10% off!)

Income report for July 2023 - If you're not measuring what you're doing each month, it makes it difficult to make insightful decisions in the business, know what to change or know what to focus on the next month. Each month I go over my business revenue for Design and Coaching, expenses in the business, KPI's and some wins/loses in hopes to help you in your business.

byoliviaaustin.com/shop

INCOME REPORT - If you're not measuring what you're doing each month, it makes it difficult to make insightful decisions in the business, know what to change or know what to focus on the next month. Each month I go over my business revenue for Design and Coaching, expenses in the business, KPI's and some wins/loses in hopes to help you in your business.

Are you chasing clients down to pay their invoices every month? Do you feel like your finances are all over the place and it's hard to predict your monthly revenue? Or do you just want a simpler way to get paid every single month without any hassle. Over the years of running my Current, I've tried multiple different payment methods. Split payments when project phases are completed, monthly installments whatever date the client started working with us, the list goes on! Some of those worked, but most of them didn't because they weren't scalable and left a big question mark on what my revenue would look like for months ahead. In today's episode I'm sharing the super simple payment structure I have setup in my business that makes invoicing stress-free, no matter how many clients we have at once, and ensures we always get paid on time.

LINKS:

https://byoliviaaustin.com/designed-to-scale

https://www.instagram.com/byoliviaaustin

TRY CLICKUP FOR FREE → http://clickup.com?fpr=olivia31

I spent a majority of last year overhauling our entire internal processes. This was a huge project that I knew would change the way my business was run for a more streamlined client experience for our clients and team. Since implementing these new processes, profit margins have gone up, client projects get completed quicker and there is basically no overwhelm when it comes to big projects. To do this massive system setup, I worked with Ellie Rogers who is our guest today! After an international corporate career and realising that employed life wasn’t for Ellie- She set up an online business built around the simple concept of systems and strategies for entrepreneurs. Ellie is a lover of all thing business operations and works with clients both on her educational platform and her agency supporting them in setting up a business that works for them and not the other way around! I've personally had the opportunity to work with ellie and she is the genius behind bringing my crazy system and processes ideas to life with ClickUp and Dubsado. She is the best at what she does and in today's episode we are talking about:

• Why having processes in your business, no matter how big or small you are is the key to success
• How to audit your existing processes to determine where there are flaws and how you can update
• How to achieve huge profit margins in your business and scale while staying lean.

I am so so excited about this episode, because you guys know I LOVE all things systems and really put a lot of emphasis on this when you want to grow your business. This is such a good episode (we are already planning pt. 2), so make sure you have your notes out. Let's get into it!

Not quite fitting into a single title, Jill Wise is a business and marketing problem solver. She pushes through the noise of the online world and the "rules" of what you're supposed to do, instead guiding her clients to show up authentically as they build, grow, and scale businesses that feel good to them. BUT, if you need a title for her, you can say she's a brand and marketing strategist, conversion copywriter and business coach. Jill has been a great friend and amazing client over the years and in today's episode we are diving into some of my favorite topics.

• The importance of personal branding and why she decided to pivot her business to more lifestyle entrepreneur
• What it looks like to work 15 hour work weeks, without sacrificing the growth of your business and productivity hacks for you to do the same
• Managing your time, team and household as an entrepreneur and mother

itsjillwise.com

@itsjillwise

Looking back at how I went from charging $5k to $15k, it was not a quick journey or easy journey. I think there's a common misconception that deciding to increase your pricing it's straightforward and happens overnight - this is absolutely not true. In this episode, I'm getting vulnerable and sharing the evolution of pricing our main offer, why we increased it and the 3 key elements you need to consider when increasing your prices.

byoliviaaustin.com/shop

@byoliviaaustin

Since the beginning of this year I've really dived into self-development and steppi ng into the next version of myself.. Approaching this year, I knew it was/is going to be a big year for me. Turning 30 and having a baby just felt like a really big deal and after feeling a little stagnant for months, I was ready for change. I've been reading/listening to some of the best high-performers and what they all have in common is talking about how it's what you do DAILY that will help you reach your goals and get you to your next level self. Whether your goals are in business, family, money, life, career - whatever they are and however big they are, it all comes down to your daily habits.In today's episode we're going to have a candid chat about what this looks like for entrepreneurs and 3 ways you can start to enhance your daily habits that will help you achieve your goals.

byoliviaaustin.com

@byoliviaaustin

A majority of my podcast episodes are business focused and trainings, but I wanted this episode to be different. The most meaningful conversations I have with you are ones when I share real bts and real lessons I’m learning in life. I’m in such a different season of life right now, one that is so precious and slow and hard and very very different than anything I’m used to. 

In just 4 short weeks my life and perspective has changed a lot and  want to share my experience in hopes to inspire and empower you.

As entrepreneurs we are constantly go go go. 

Comparing ourselves to others and told to hustle in order to reach our goals. And while Ill be the first one to say I love setting and achieving goals, when it comes down to it that is not what life is about.

Today I’m getting personal and sharing my birth story, things that are going well and not so well in my first month of maternity leave and some tips for slowing down if you’re someone who is constantly on the move. 

@byoliviaaustin

byoliviaaustin.com/shop

Monthly Recurring Revenue is something that's talked about often in entrepreneurship  because of the security it brings in an otherwise unstable space. While courses and memberships are great ways to bring in that type of income, as a creative service-provider it might not feel like that's not the route you want to take your business. Monthly recurring revenue is often interchanged with ongoing or retainer work in the design world and today I'm sitting down with a client and friend, Brooke Molinari of Nari Creative whose design studio is mostly based on retainer work and where she has more than 20 clients each month on this type of service.

Brooke Molinari has been leading her design studio since 2017 after working in corporate design for many years. She has found her niche working with brands and influencers, and with her talented team of designers, Nari Creative generates graphic designs across vast visual mediums such as newsletters, Instagram stories, blog collages, and more, adding up to hundreds of deliverables every week.

There is no one I know that is running a design studio at this high caliber, pushing out as many high-end deliverables for their clients, so I'm excited to dive into this episode as I know it will bring so much value to you.

naricreative.com

@naricreative

Income report for February 2023 - If you're not measuring what you're doing each month, it makes it difficult to make insightful decisions in the business, know what to change or know what to focus on the next month. Each month I go over my business revenue for Design and Coaching, expenses in the business, KPI's and some wins/loses in hopes to help you in your business.

When you've poured everything into building your business it's scary to think about what happens when you start a family. What does time off as a female business owner look like? Do I have to sacrifice business for motherhood? How will I make money? What if I lose everything I've built up to now? These are all questions we as female business owners have, and to be honest there is not a lot of information out there to have them answered.

For me, I was terrified that everything I've built over the last 5 years would be jeopardized when starting a family, but over the last year I've been able to plan, pivot and grow my business in a direction that will not only allow me to take a true maternity leave without my businesses take a huge hit, but also head into motherhood less overwhelmed with a business and that feels aligned with my new life.

In today's episode I'm talking about my business pivot and my personal mindset on entrepreneurship and motherhood and then we're diving deep into steps to start preparing your business for maternity leave, whether you're expecting now or in the future.

This is such an important conversation and I'm honored to have it with you. I hope you like this episode as much as I liked creating it!

byoliviaaustin.com/shop

I wish I was one of those people who bulk recorded podcast episodes, but I'm just not. I have them all outlined already, but I usually record that week and honestly it's because I like to make sure it's relevant and something I actually care about that will help YOU in your business. This week I'm so glad I didn't record this episode early because something really unexpected happened that aligns so perfectly with the theme of this episode.

Obv, the title of this episode is "How to Recession Proof Your Small Business", which we are going to dive into 5 ways for you to do that, but the underlying theme is how to prepare your small business for the unexpected.

If you've been in my circle even for a short time, you know my main mission is to help you build a sustainable, long-lasting business. I don't help with quick fixes or play into hustle culture, we are building businesses to LAST and that work with you and your lifestyle.

Shit happens. Life happens. Things rarely go according to plan. So if you can set yourself up and your business up in a way where it works with the ebbs and flows of life -- you will no doubt be successful and run a thriving business (which most small business owners don't get to).

So, in today's episode we're diving into personal story on my terrible first week of 2023 and the business lessons this taught me and then dive into 5 ways to Recession Proof Your Small Business (AKA run a thriving, profitable business no matter what happens!).

Monica Denais is a Latinx Licensed Professional Counselor and Mindset Coach in Dallas, Texas.  Monica helps ambitious women and entrepreneurs overcome anxiety, perfectionism, and burnout so they can feel confident in both life and business. Monica has been featured in Women's Health Magazine, Verywell Mind, and Insider Magazine.  Monica is also the host of the Café with Monica podcast, where she brings amazing entrepreneurs to cover all things life, mental health, and entrepreneurship.

https://www.instagram.com/cafewithmonica/

Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/monicadenais

In this episode, I’m going to go through my beginning years to the toughest year of business and everything in between.

Increase client retention with a luxury Client Experience

Here's the thing, you're the expert. Clients are coming to you because you are an expert in what you do and they cannot produce the same outcome on their own - so charge accordingly. As you continue working with clients, your process, skills, team and everything you're doing is being refined and you will be better by the next time you start working with a new client, so it's important to increase your prices as your skill increases. In today's episode I'm sharing why you should increase your prices, when the "right time" to increase your prices is and answer how the best way to do it is.

Here's the thing, you're the expert. Clients are coming to you because you are an expert in what you do and they cannot produce the same outcome on their own - so charge accordingly. As you continue working with clients, your process, skills, team and everything you're doing is being refined and you will be better by the next time you start working with a new client, so it's important to increase your prices as your skill increases. In today's episode I'm sharing why you should increase your prices, when the "right time" to increase your prices is and answer how the best way to do it is.

Liz Spears is a marketing coach and consultant teaching purpose-led women how to promote their business online with authenticity, magic and magnetism. In this episode, we chat about omnipresent marketing strategies, how to easily create content that converts and implementing a seamless strategy that doesn't make you want to pull your hair out. Liz and I connected on Instagram and now have followed each other's journey's, so I'm so excited to have her on the podcast!

Links:

https://lizspearsmarketing.com/

https://www.instagram.com/lizspearsmarketing/

Growing up is not a right, it's a privilege. And every single day you spend on this earth is a gift and should be treated that way. I love clean slates and although I love a good new years resolution, I prefer to use my birthday as the marker for setting new intentions and celebrating another year of being alive. Amidst a global pandemic, 27 was the biggest year of my life with really really huge life and business milestones along with some tough, but loving lessons I learned. As I look forward to a new year, I thought I'd share the top lessons I learned this past year, what I'm looking forward to this year and some tips on how to set intentions for a fresh start.

Links mentioned:

https://currentdesignstudio.com/designed-to-scale

https://currentdesignstudio.com/design-biz-accelerator

You know that feeling when you get off a discovery call and that client just "felt right"? You chatted easily and are both as equally as excited to work with each other - we love those clients and there's no reason that every single discovery call shouldn't be just like that. I believe that no matter what stage of business you're in, it's important to know everything and anything about the client's you're serving + constantly elevating that clientele as you uplevel your business. In today's episode, I'm going over how to know someone is a "hell yes" client, how to find this ideal client in different stages of your biz + establishing a marketing strategy to connect with those clients.

Want to stop getting on discovery calls with people who think you're too expensive and actually work with clients who hurl their credit cards at you? I've got ya.

When your brand is misaligned you can feel like...

👉🏼You're getting on discovery calls with less-than-ideal clients.

👉🏼Your content is more "inspirational" than high-converting

👉🏼You're confused on how to streamline your message to connect with your audience

...and don't even get started on your website

The root of this frustration stems from speaking to too broad of an audience of not the exact right people - that's where defining your niche comes in. I know, I know, this is a buzzword in the business world that comes up often, but it's the key to going from hot mess online to THE aligned goddess in your space. I personally have niched down to a specific market, and in this episode, we're chatting the importance to defining your niche and how to do it.

Jill Wise is a Brand Strategist, copywriter, business advisor + fellow wine lover who believes everyone should wake up every day doing what they love. In this episode we chat about mindset shifts + practices for high-level entrepreneurs, internal business strategies that helped her go from freelancer to business owner + productivity hacks to focus on scaling your business. We also chat about why and how Jill will retire her husband (a topic I love to chat about) and how she manifested her dream home. This interview is probably one of my favorites to date and I think it will be yours too.

This is definitely the top question that I get from you guys, so I thought it deserved it’s own podcast episode. When it comes to putting prices on your website, there are two different views on it and in today’s episode I’m sharing those two very different views and my personal opinion on this topic that I think will have you making a change to your website immediately.

50 episodes!! Woo hoo! Recording these episodes up to now has been so much fun and to celebrate you and this amazing community I thought it’d be fun to do a Q&A. The questions that you sent in are so good and I’m so excited to dive into them. From business to finances to relationships, we’re getting into it today.

Linsey Levine is the founder and CEO of Lindsey Shae Consulting, a legal consultant for small business owners. She knows that as a small business, conventional legal services can be expensive and aren't necessarily crafted to our needs. With this, she has created services that are made to protect small businesses and allow them to continue to grow their businesses.

In today's episode, I interview Linsey asking her all of the absolute must-knows that small businesses need to know when it comes to anything legal.

We cover:

• Why you needed to implement a contract, like yesterday + what should be on there.
  The first steps to take to protect your small business legally + avoid big conflict.
  Whether or not to trademark your business.
  The biggest mistakes small business owners are making with their legals + how to avoid them.

BONUS EPISODE! January 2021 was my best month in business to date and I thought, “why not celebrate with you?”. In this episode I’m sharing how to turn what seems like a slow month into your best month ever, happenings with the Current team, a behind the scenes look at our new rebrand and other random woo-woo things I did this month. I’ll be doing these episodes at the end of every month as a sort of recap and inspiration to help you with whatever you’re working on!

Over the last few years, trailblazers in the wellness space have innovated the way the population views health and have continued to expand healthcare access to people everywhere, increasing the Health and Wellness industry by 6% at least every year making it now a $4.2 trillion market. Now, these growing trends have boomed exponentially and are predicted to not only stay, but are changing the way wellness-focused businesses provide their services.

Fitness studios, gyms, doctors and healers alike got creative in how they’re servicing the high-demand of their customers who are stuck at home and wanting to take control of their health. We saw affordable on-demand workouts everywhere, online counseling sessions become more accessible and people influenced by trendsetters to prioritize living well every day.

So what does this mean for you, wellness entrepreneur? As the appeal for your consumers to take charge of their health continues to increase, it’s important to innovate the way you offer your services to meet them where they’re at. A lot of the routines accumulated over this last year are here to stay and can be built upon to expand your business.

In this episode, I'm sharing health and wellness industry trends to watch in 2021 for wellness entrepreneurs.

I think it's safe to say that 2020 was a year no one was expecting. And while everyone has their qualms with last year and reasons to be excited for a quote-on-quote "fresh start", this was a different new year than most. Typically, I'm super excited for a new year. After a few weeks off from the holidays, there's nothing I love more than walking into my office with new projects and new goals.

This year was different. I planned differently. I started differently. I feel differently. And in the first episode of 2021, I'm sharing random thoughts on the new year, deep reflections from 2020 and manifestations I'm hoping to continue to work on.

Gabrielle Laura is a online business coach and podcast host who specializes in helping aspiring entrepreneurs build the confidence and business game plan they need to break free from their 9-5’s. After getting laid off in the middle of a pandemic after working miserably in corporate America for 5 years, she had no choice but to make her online business work. She now has a deep passion for helping people add more control and freedom to their lives. You're going to love this insightful, inspiring, and fun conversation with Gabby!

Refining my client process is the reason I was able to scale to a multiple six-figure online business. In part one, I talked about onboarding, brand direction, and logo design. Today, we're talking about collateral (including a brand guide!), web design, and offboarding. Be sure to take notes and massive action, as you're going to learn a lot in part two.

Running an agency is unlike any business model out there. There are hours of client work, tons of moving parts to every project, design files, revisions, and there's all the normal business stuff like marketing, contracts, and invoices. So how can you do it all while offering a seamless experience for your clients?

A better client process creates stronger boundaries with clients and helps you more easily delegate tasks to different team members. In this episode, I’m sharing exactly what our process looks like at Current Design Studio and the different tools and resources I use to help with project management. Whether you’re building an agency or not, this episode will be super valuable (so much so that it’s split into two episodes)!