How to Get Organized with a Project Management Tool

A project management system is THE most powerful backend tool in your business. 

It is the CORE hub of your business...and it’s where you must run your ship from. Everything you do has to be mapped and tracked inside that hub.

With the right project management system you will have:

• Better planning and scheduling of products, programs, and launches

• Improved collaboration with team members 

• Effective delegation of tasks

• A central place to share files and other media

• A flawless means of training for new team members

• Overall increased productivity for you and each team member

And even if you’re the only one on your team, for now, you can (and SHOULD) build into the vision you ultimately have for your business. By beginning to build the foundation of a project management system, you’ll get used to using the tool, stay organized and easily build this hub for seamless integration of new team members as you scale and grow. 

Whether you choose to use Asana, ClickUp, Trello, Notion, or another project management tool of your preference, the most important part is getting it set up in a way that makes it insanely easy to run your business, from anywhere at any time. 

Below, you’ll find some of the tips and tricks that I recommend to all business owners, whether you are just starting out, or bringing in 6-figures or more. 

Your New Headquarters

Create sections for each part of your business so you can easily and quickly find any task, any procedure, any training, or upcoming plans in one place.

A good list to start with is:

• Business Plan
  If you are releasing a new program or product...or are planning a full-blown launch...you’ll want to know what pieces you need to put into place - before going out to build them - so you miss no email or call-to-action or or or.
  
  Because, as you know, when you are releasing anything out into the world, there are tons of moving parts that need to be taken care of; so mapping that out ahead of time is important to make sure you give yourself enough time to get everything done. 

• Operations/Admin
  Unload all of your operations and admin duties inside your project management tool and free up your brain space for the more important tasks you need to do.
  
  Set up a place to organize your daily backend tasks, such as managing your inbox, managing/communicating with clients, creating newsletters, SOPs for all tasks, and even new team member onboarding.
  
  Because really utilizing your project management tool is like having an assistant that is always on duty. 

• Clients
  How many clients are you trying to keep up with? How many tasks for each client do you need to keep sorted? How do you know what’s due next and what you’ve already completed? What can you set up as a recurring task each week/month?
  
  By allowing your right hand, your project management tool, keep track of it all for you! See how AMAZING it is to have that tech at your fingertips to help you show up like a boss??
  

• Courses & Programs
  As a business owner, you likely provide courses, programs, and/or services. And a project management tool is a MUST-HAVE to help you get those out into the world with as few hiccups as possible, as quickly as possible.

  Create a spot to map out upcoming launches, as well as your evergreen programs and any tasks that take place on a daily, weekly, monthly time frame.
  

• Marketing
  And finally, use your project management tool to help you maintain a system that streamlines content creation and distribution so you don’t get bogged down in the “I don’t know what to post” that keeps so many business owners STUCK.
  
  I also highly recommend a tool like Airtable to store all your content, but you can map out your marketing plan and needs through your PM tool.  

These are my suggestions. Of course, you can adjust as you grow or as you note your own needs.

Make It Easy to Repeat

You have things that you do every single day, every single week, and every single month. Put all recurring tasks into your PM system, as this will make sure nothing is forgotten, even if you *think* it’s something you will always remember.

Because as you grow and expand, those things will become harder to remember, and why not free up some brain space with those recurring tasks to make room for more creativity. Now, the next step, once you get all those recurring tasks assigned in your PM tool, would be to hire an assistant to manage them all for you! 

Standardize It All

Your new besties, templates & SOPs, will help you streamline project and team management. And you can create a template to help make it easy to get new projects underway.

You get access to 5 Asana templates in my course Pocket OBM for projects that you’ll repeat often, such as a masterclass or workshop or course or program launch template.  So you can easily duplicate these templates, saving you time and brain space for each launch. In each template you can pre-assign each task to the person who will be responsible (i.e. your copywriter to write sales page copy for your new program), and add any details you can ahead of time to the description (i.e. locations in the drive for your programs, SOPs for how to create a new product, etc). 

Time Management On Steroids

Manage team deadlines and workloads with ease. Without a ton of back and forth emails, you can easily communicate about projects and questions inside each task. It’s also a great way to check on each team member’s tasks to make sure they’re hitting their deadlines or to make sure they don’t have too much on their plate at once. Boss of the Year awards coming your way!

There is NO time like the present to prepare for the tons of success you crave. And having a project management system as the HUB of your business is exactly what you need to help you create the revenue you want with repeatable systems and documented training that makes life and business smooth sailing.

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Katelyn Hamilton is an Online Business Manager and Get Your Sh!t Together Strategist. She helps busy entrepreneurs organize, strategize and prioritize their business to go from overwhelmed to out-in-front.

After spending 6 years in the corporate world working with multimillion dollar companies, top-rated chefs and celebrities, she launched her own business to find more flexibility and freedom. She matched her corporate salary in just one year of starting her business.

Katelyn is also a wife, stepmom, dog mama of three furry friends, fitness lover, sports fanatic (Go Dawgs) and dreams of living at the beach.

Click here to book a free call to talk more about your business goals and to see if hiring an OBM is the right fit for you.

How to Use Systems to Scale your Business

When you first started your business, you probably wore many hats - the content creator, the accountant, the tech person, the website editor, the social media manager, etc. This can feel overwhelming. As you have grown, you’ve more than likely hired on some team members for support, but have you put in place any systems?

And even if you’re just starting out,  you need to be able to streamline BEFORE getting to that bend-or-break point. Systems are how you do that. Systems make fast work of many, many tasks that would otherwise bog down the new or seasoned entrepreneur. 

“You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems” - James Clear, Atomic Habits 

I’m sharing with you my top recommended systems that EVERY level of business should have in place.

ORGANIZATION

Without an organizational system in place, you can spend HOURS looking for things that should be readily and easily accessible. Google Drive gets my top recommendation because it’s so much easier to collaborate and navigate than, say, DropBox or other file storage systems that require download/upload steps, and has a pretty low storage capacity for the free version.

In your Drive, set up a new folder for each client or program. Then think about the other elements of your business. Do you need a business finances folder to house invoices and receipts? What about a marketing folder for content and copy? Do you have a podcast? Create a parent podcast folder, then include subfolders for each episode to house graphics, transcriptions, social copy, audiograms, etc. in one place for easy access. The key is uniform organization all the way through, though. What you do for one, you want to do for all. 

SOPs & TEMPLATES

SOPs, or Standard Operating Procedures, and templates make life and business SO easy! They help you make fast work of repetitive tasks by removing your need to overthink and get lost in minutiae each time you go to do something. 

As you create a new system or a new task or even launch a new program or product, TRACK exactly what you do, write it all down, tweak it and turn it into an SOP that explains everything you need to do and when. 

SOPs help you stay focused and on track, as well as serve as a guide for you and your team to get big projects done without a lot of back and forth in emails or wasted time in procrastination. 

House your SOPs in your project management tool and then use them to train your team as you onboard support, or repurpose it for your next launch, and so forth. 

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

One word. Asana. Organize your Asana space by project/program, or client, but don’t forget to create an HQ box. You’ll want to store everything in Asana, including all SOPs, links to where your stuff is for each part of your business in your (newly organized) Google Drive, and any tasks/to do’s for yourself and your team  

Then, make sure you assign all tasks to yourself, as well as assigning team tasks to the proper members and don’t forget to SET A DUE DATE so you can keep track of what’s completed and what’s off track 

This will track workloads for yourself and your team, keep all your ideas and processes in one spot and make sure critical things aren’t forgotten about. Here is an example of how I would organize a client’s Asana:

• HQ Team with the following projects: Business Plan, Meet the Team, Admin/Operations. 

• Content Planning Team with the following projects: (Month of) Content, Podcast, (Insert Name) August Masterclass, Content Template, Masterclass Template

• Courses & Programs Team with the following projects: Program #1, Program #2, Launch Template  

Whether you choose Asana or another software, an efficient project management tool is CRUCIAL to scale because too much can be lost when you rely on pen and paper...or your head.

AUTOMATIONS

Automate everything!! (If you know me, you know this is my most favorite phrase EVER! I even have a course titled it! ;)) Use automation features like workflows in Dubsado, Automations in ActiveCampaign or FloDesk for email marketing, or Zapier to connect two software together. 

Whatever you can automate to take you or someone else manually out of the process…DO IT!

Things you may want to automate right away: 

• Appointment scheduling 

• Client Onboarding 

• Client Gifting

• Testimonial Requests

• Social Media Scheduling

• Lead Capturing

• Payment and Course access 

• Email Marketing 

• Billing

• Bookkeeping.

There’s more, but this is a good solid list to start with. 

Likewise, if you can’t see where you can automate, then get your systems and processes assessed by a professional (hi, it’s me!) to uncover places you could be automating instead of putting your hands on more than you have to. 

Running a successful business takes systems, especially if you have plans to scale and scale quickly. Get organized, communicate what needs to be done, manage your team and your time, and automate as much as possible and you’ll be left with time to actually focus on your clients and the work you love!

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Katelyn Hamilton is an Online Business Manager and Get Your Sh!t Together Strategist. She helps busy entrepreneurs organize, strategize and prioritize their business to go from overwhelmed to out-in-front.

After spending 6 years in the corporate world working with multimillion dollar companies, top-rated chefs and celebrities, she launched her own business to find more flexibility and freedom. She matched her corporate salary in just one year of starting her business.

Katelyn is also a wife, stepmom, dog mama of three furry friends, fitness lover, sports fanatic (Go Dawgs) and dreams of living at the beach.

Click here to book a free call to talk more about your business goals and to see if hiring an OBM is the right fit for you.

How to Use Acuity to Scale Your Business

If you’re looking for a quick and easy system to set up for your business that will truly transform it, look no further than Acuity. It will drastically increase your efficiency, automate more in your business and change the way you work. What is Acuity? It’s a scheduling tool that functions as your personal assistant to book appointments, and packages with ease.

One reason why I love Acuity is that the learning curve is small. It’s really pretty self-explanatory and it will save you SO much time in your business. You’d be surprised how much time you waste with the back and forth of trying to book a call with someone and not to mention the potential lost business from someone looking for your services if you don’t have an easy way for them to connect with you.

Here are 5 features of Acuity that will help you to scale your business:

1. Automatic Appointment Scheduling

This takes away the back-and-forth “what’s your availability next week?” followed by “what time zone are you in?” emails that then can take days to actually get an appointment scheduled, in which your schedule may have changed. This cuts down on potentially missed leads, delayed meetings and time/frustration for both parties involved. You can embed your scheduling link on your website, and/or share the links on social media, via emails or DMs, etc. It simplifies everything to just send a link and say “here’s my calendar link, book at a time that will work for you!” You can go in and set your availability, block off days/times that don’t work for you, so it will automatically give your best availability in THEIR time zone and then the call will be automatically added to your calendar.

2. Pre-Screen Calls with Forms

The number one concern people have with having their scheduling link publicly on their website is the ability to “screen” calls before hopping on them. I get it, your time is precious - I feel the exact same way. That’s the benefit to using forms to screen your calls for you. You don’t have to use these for every type of call option you have, but if you have a link for someone to book a discovery call with you on your website, you can absolutely add questions that they have to fill out prior to being able to book the appointment. This way, you’ll weed out people who don’t feel like filling out the form to get on the phone with you and just want the “free call” and it’s here you can ask the right questions to make sure it’s a good fit for both parties.

The questions you ask can also give you better insights into who you’re getting on the phone with, their pain points and how you can serve them. This makes for a more productive call for BOTH parties. 

3. Multiple Appointment types (WITH CUSTOMIZATION)

This is a huge benefit compared to other scheduling platforms. You can create as many different appointment types as you want within Acuity - and you can customize the links. You can create a link for free discovery calls, coaching calls, paid one-off calls, etc. and link different forms (or no form) to each appointment type. You can also set a different schedule of availability for different appointment types. For example, maybe you only want to take potential new client calls on Mondays, and then client calls only Tuesdays and Thursdays - it’s super easy to set up these boundaries for each call type.

4. Reminders & follow up emails

You can easily set up reminder emails to go out automatically to reduce the likelihood of no-shows and missed appointments. You can set up email reminders and/or text reminders before your scheduled appointment. Similarly, you can send automatic follow-up reminders if you want to request feedback or send additional info about your services. These automations save time, and a delay in making sure you’re collecting or sending the right information to potential new clients.

5. Selling Paid Services or Packages 

Acuity makes it really easy to sell paid services or packages. You can set a price for a single appointment type, or you can create a package which is a series of calls someone can redeem with that package option. The benefit? It tracks all the calls in that package for you for each client. It also connects with both Stripe and PayPal, making it easy for clients to pay you.

Truly there are SO many customizations you can make within Acuity and that flexibility is so helpful and what makes it a superior platform compared to other scheduling tools out there. Added bonus - it syncs with your iCal, Google calendars, Outlook calendars, etc. so there’s no “double bookings'' on your calendar either. I have used many other scheduling platforms out there with clients and every time I switch them over to Acuity because it’s just THAT much better.

The only negative thing I’ll say about Acuity is that they recently changed their affiliate program and they say due to “tax laws” they can no longer pay people in more than half of the US - which is unfortunate since I literally sing this platform’s praises every day… but here I am still sharing and promoting it - so you know it’s gotta be good!

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Katelyn Hamilton is an Online Business Manager and Get Your Sh!t Together Strategist. She helps busy entrepreneurs organize, strategize and prioritize their business to go from overwhelmed to out-in-front.

After spending 6 years in the corporate world working with multimillion dollar companies, top-rated chefs and celebrities, she launched her own business to find more flexibility and freedom. She matched her corporate salary in just one year of starting her business.

Katelyn is also a wife, stepmom, dog mama of three furry friends, fitness lover, sports fanatic (Go Dawgs) and dreams of living at the beach.

Click here to book a free call to talk more about your business goals and to see if hiring an OBM is the right fit for you.

4 Must Do Things in Your Business Before 2021

At the end of every year, I always take time to reflect on my business. It’s important to celebrate all the success that year brought, as well as analyze what went well and what didn’t for the year. I set goals, the really big and scary goals, for what I want the next year to look like and figure out what kind of support I’ll need along the way to do just that.

We all look at the new year as a “fresh start” or “new beginning,” which it certainly is, but it’s important that we don’t write off the end of the year, and instead use this time to get organized and put some things in place that will set you up for success in the new year. 

I don’t think 2020 looked like any of us thought it would, but with the unexpected also came so many blessings and things to be grateful for. I’ve never been more grateful to run my own business. Even if I lost my entire business tomorrow, I’m confident that I could restart and get new clients in the door pretty quick. That’s a testament to how far I’ve come over the last three years. So instead of being wary about what 2021 will bring from a business perspective, I’m excited to invest in myself and my business in new ways in order to grow.

So what can you be doing with the last couple of weeks of the year to generate momentum going into 2021? Here are 4 things to do before the year’s up.

1. Get systems set up in the backend of your business

Before you dive into everything you want to accomplish in 2021, make sure those systems are set up, now. This means evaluating your business now and seeing what you can automate, and how you can be more efficient. What are the things you’re still doing manually? Is there a tool out there that can do it for you? (Hint: there probably is) If you have no clue what you can automate or how you can systemize your business, snag one of my last 2 spots for Dec with my Systems with Speed intensive. I’ll help you strategize what you can automate and what that would look like, then I’ll do the heavy lifting for you to get it all set up. Learn more here.

2. Evaluate Your Business from 2020

Have you taken a step back to look at the goals you set for 2020 and evaluated how far you’ve come? Those goals may have shifted as you pivoted in March/April when COVID hit, but what did you accomplish? Before you move forward, you must take a few moments to look back. See what went well, see what you could use improvement on. From there, use this info to guide your 2021 strategy. Some things to consider when you analyze: financial goals, client/service offerings, mental health goals, boundaries and time management, team hires/growth.

3. Create a sales strategy for Q1 & Q2

Now that you’ve evaluated your success and learning opportunities for 2020, it’s time to create a 2021 sales plan. Set those big goals, then go bigger. Then decide what you’re going to sell in the first 2 quarters. Which of your products or services are you going to focus on? I’m a huge proponent of focusing on just a couple offerings and then having the “supplemental” services. It keeps things really CLEAR for your audience as to what you’re an expert on. You can always offer the other services as an upsell, or another way to work with you in your funnel, but clearly identify those main service offerings to direct your time, focus and energy.

4. Hire support NOW

Support is critical for growth and success. If you want to be at that next level, it’s going to take more of YOU and you’re going to need to outsource some of what you’re currently doing to a team for support. So if you don’t feel ready, do it anyways. You can have a surplus of time or money, but often not both. Give yourself some time back by outsourcing the things that either a. you’re not good at or b. are repetitive in nature that someone else can do for you. Also, consider hiring someone who can help guide you to that next level. Hiring a business coach was the BEST thing I ever could have done to uplevel my business. It’s always nice to have someone who’s been there before, and gone through it to fast-track your results. If you are looking for 1:1 support, I am taking on 6-month clients right now and would love to support you. Learn more here.

If you focus on these things to wrap up the year, I promise you’ll feel organized and aligned in your business -- and there’s no better feeling than that going into a new year!

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Katelyn Hamilton is an Online Business Manager and Get Your Sh!t Together Strategist. She helps busy entrepreneurs organize, strategize and prioritize their business to go from overwhelmed to out-in-front.

After spending 6 years in the corporate world working with multimillion dollar companies, top-rated chefs and celebrities, she launched her own business to find more flexibility and freedom. She matched her corporate salary in just one year of starting her business.

Katelyn is also a wife, stepmom, dog mama of three furry friends, fitness lover, sports fanatic (Go Dawgs) and dreams of living at the beach.

Click here to book a free call to talk more about your business goals and to see if hiring an OBM is the right fit for you.

Scaling your Business with Dubsado Workflows

Dubsado is hands down my favorite platform. Okay that’s a lie, I love Acuity. And Asana. Dang it, I just freaking LOVE systems!! You’ve heard me say it before, but I’ll say it again, systems are what scale your business. Without them, you’re doing a ton of manual work, wasting man-power when a robot can do the same thing, much quicker, and without wasting any brain-power!

One of my favorite things about Dubsado in particular is their Workflow feature. It truly is what sets it apart from other systems. Workflows have the power to automate your entire client process. You can automatically send forms, contracts, invoices, emails, calendar invites, etc. to your clients. You can simply walk a client through their first contact with you as a lead, through a successful on-boarding process, all the way until you off-board them as a client.

I’m going to walk you through all the parts of the process of setting up a simple workflow in Dubsado.

Lead Capture Forms

Lead forms are such a time saver. Think of this in the same way you’d think of an email capture form for your email list. The difference is, these lead forms are specific for people wanting to work with you, join your program, buy your product, etc. For example, say you’re launching a new group program. You can embed a lead capture form on your landing/sales page. A person who’s interested in your program will fill out the form (I usually keep it simple - name, email). This will bring them in as a “new lead” in Dubsado and label them whatever you choose (i.e. New Lead - XYZ Program). Now, the cool thing about lead forms is, they can trigger a workflow to start. So when that lead comes in, a workflow can be triggered to automatically send that person a personalized email, contract, and/or invoice for your program.

Choosing an Action in a Workflow

Actions are what you want the workflow to do. For example, you can send an email, send a contract, create an invoice, create a form, schedule a call, etc. From here, you have the ability to decide how that action is “triggered”. Maybe it’s when the workflow starts, or maybe it’s once the contract is signed by the client. If you want to send a client an invoice for your new group coaching program once they sign the contract, you would select “after contract is signed by client.” You can specify if you want this to be sent right away, or if you’d prefer a time delay.

Pausing / Approving / Automation for a Workflow

The great thing about workflows is the automation element. Once you hit start you can simply rest easy knowing that everything is being taken care of automatically. BUT, if you wanted to set everything up but set an “approval” action along the way, you could do that too. For instance, if you send a client your scheduler to book a call in one step, the rest of your workflow may be set up assuming that they say yes to working with you (I’m all about the added confidence here). You can add in an “approve first” for the next step in a workflow - say sending an invoice or contract for example. All you would need to do is press the approve button in the workflow and it would continue down its course.

Triggers in a Workflow

There are many different triggers that can start the next action in the workflow. For example, once a contract is signed, once an appointment has been made, once an invoice has been paid, etc.. This can be extremely helpful if you want to give clients access to say book a 1:1 call with you, or give access to the online portal or email them with next steps, but don’t want to do this until you’re certain they’ve made payment. You can trigger the next step once they’ve done the said action that you’d like them to make. 

Canned Emails

Canned emails are a lifesaver/timesaver. If you find yourself sending the same welcome email to a client with each new client you onboard, do yourself a favor and set up a canned email. But Katelyn, what if I personalize all my welcome emails? Girl, you’re wasting some serious time. There are still ways to personalize with automation and canned emails, but in order to reduce your overall time, generalize as much as you can and find ways to add the personalization later (maybe sending a welcome gift, or sending them a note after they fill out their onboarding questionnaire relating to something they shared, etc.). Examples of canned emails include: getting started/welcome email, contract, and invoice, booking an appointment, the process for your work together, etc). 

PREP your Workflows 

What do I mean by PREP? Get all the things you need ready before you start the workflow. This means, set up all those canned emails, set up your packages, set up your payment plans, add in all your relevant forms (think contracts, questionnaires, lead forms, etc.). Otherwise, you won’t get very far when starting to put together your workflow. You need all of these “set up” pieces in place and done first and then putting together your workflow should be a breeze.

Write Out Your Process First

When I do my “pre-intensive” call prep one of the first things we do is write out the flow of how they want things to go from start to finish. It’s here you typically realize you’re missing a step, or need to iron out a piece of your process. It’s better to do this up-front than mid-workflow. Trust me, a lot less frustration and time spent “redoing” or reorganizing your workflow. Think through every single step you want your client, or potential client, to take and what’s needed for that (forms, questions, copy, graphics, links, etc). 

Once you go through all the steps and set your workflow up, make sure you test it out! 9 times out of 10 I find an error in the workflow trigger or have something that needs to be adjusted, added or removed. I set myself up as a test client and run through the entire process just as a client would. Then you can be confident in your process and your client’s experience. Workflows are such an amazing way to create efficiencies in your business. While they do tend to take a few hours to set up, they will ultimately save you so much time and frustration. 

If you need additional support in setting up your Dubsado account, check out my Dubsado mini-course, Automate Everything, where I take you through setting up your entire Dubsado account. Click here to access and enter the code COVID19 to get 50% off! If you’d prefer more 1:1 support, I do offer a done-for-you intensive called Systems With Speed where I can set up your account for you in just 4-hours. Learn more here. If you’re new to Dubsado, get 20% off (either your first month or a full year purchase) using this link and the code katelynhamilton at checkout.

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Katelyn Hamilton is an Online Business Manager and Get Your Sh!t Together Strategist. She helps busy entrepreneurs organize, strategize and prioritize their business to go from overwhelmed to out-in-front.

After spending 6 years in the corporate world working with multimillion dollar companies, top-rated chefs and celebrities, she launched her own business to find more flexibility and freedom. She matched her corporate salary in just one year of starting her business.

Katelyn is also a wife, stepmom, dog mama of three furry friends, fitness lover, sports fanatic (Go Dawgs) and dreams of living at the beach.

Click here to book a free call to talk more about your business goals and to see if hiring an OBM is the right fit for you.

There IS a right time to take that next step… here’s HOW

Starting a business seemed SO overwhelming and scary. Where do you start? How do you just start a business? What do I need to know or do? It seemed like so many things that I didn’t know how was I ever going to actually get started?

I leaned on others who HAD started businesses and guided me through the steps to help me get up and running. Here’s the thing. You can’t screw it up.

As your business grows there comes new anxieties, worries, frustrations that arise and maybe you find yourself feeling some of those same emotions you felt when you started your business. What’s next? How do I get to that next level? While I still believe you truly can’t screw it up no matter what you do because every step you take is a learning experience in and of itself, I think there can be a right time to take the next leap.

Here are some things to consider when you’re looking to take your business to the next level:

1. Time
   

Do you constantly feel like you don’t have enough hours in the day to get everything done? Or maybe your to-do list keeps spilling over day-to-day with more things constantly added. Evaluate your time. Track it. What are you spending most of your time on and does it move your business forward? Time is one of the MOST VALUABLE, if not THE MOST valuable asset you have in your business. So if you’re finding yourself spending most of your time on activities that do not drive your business forward, I’d say it’s time to outsource those activities.

2. Money

Everyone values money differently. What value do you place on money and is your relationship with money positive or negative? In my opinion, money is energy. And where you put your money your energy flows. We all could find so many reasons NOT to invest or take that next step in your business, but when it comes to money, you have to truly BELIEVE in what you’re spending your money on or investing in. You can always make more money and if you let your fear of making a bad investment stop you from taking that next step in your business then you’ll always be stuck right where you are. Because let’s face it… in order to take that next step and grow, there will likely be some sort of cost associated with it. But instead, think of what you will get in RETURN - more time? Less frustration? More accomplished in a day? While money should absolutely be a consideration as you make that next step in your business, it shouldn’t be the only consideration or thing that is holding you back.

3. Knowledge

Will this investment give me more knowledge to help me better serve my clients or run my business? If you’re looking to become more knowledgeable about a particular subject or learn a new skill or tool for your business - by all means invest in that course, program or coach to do so. BUT I challenge you to also ask yourself if it’s truly knowledge you NEED or can benefit from fully in the long run, vs. outsourcing to someone else who has that knowledge already. The other question to ask yourself is, is this something you WANT to know how to do? Sometimes I think we feel obligated to learn something because it’s what “everyone else in the industry is doing” when maybe we don’t really have any interest in it at all. Knowledge isn’t always power if you don’t DO anything with that knowledge.

4. ROI

Before you make any sort of investment, think about the return that will come from that investment. Maybe you don’t know to what extent that return will be, or how fast - but those are the questions you should be asking. Is this investment, or the next step a short-term gain or long-term gain? For instance, I believe my 5-hour intensives are a huge short-term gain if you’re in need of getting some systems set up in your business to increase your efficiencies on the backend of your biz. On the other hand, if you’re looking to invest in public relations to get your name out there and hopefully score some press coverage, that is absolutely a long-term gain and strategy. Those results cannot happen in 5-hours or 5 days. So you have to be aware of the type of return you’re going to get from your investment and be clear on the timetable and decide if that feels good to you.

5. Efficiencies

Will this investment create greater efficiencies in your business? Y’all know I am ALL about being efficient. I hate wasting time on things that don’t matter. I don’t create shortcuts, I create efficiencies. Being efficient means that you’re “achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense.” So will this investment help you be more productive with less wasted effort or expense? Remember this includes time too because time is money.

6. Support

Do I need more support right now? Will this investment and next step make me feel more supported in my business? How will more support give me the ability to grow my business? Having the right support team is crucial for long-standing success as an entrepreneur. This journey is full of ups and downs and sometimes those next steps are scary and the right support team will help you to feel empowered to do more and show up as your next level self. Whether it’s support from a coach, VA, OBM, project manager, bookkeeper, etc. what support is important when taking the next step in your biz.

7. Priorities

Evaluate your business and life priorities. What is at the top of your list. Does this next step/investment in your biz align with your current priorities? For example, for me this fall I’ve had this nudge to hire a business coach to help me take my business to that next level. Someone to support me, brainstorm with me, give constructive criticism, work with me on mindset, etc. but I decided to wait until December/January to move forward with that decision. Why? Because I’ve had a lot on my plate this year especially planning a wedding and I knew I couldn’t show up the way I want to when I hire a coach. I knew I didn’t have the extra time and attention needed to drive my business to that next level currently. And guess what, that’s okay!! I am so proud of and happy with my business and where I’m at currently and the clients I get to serve and once my priorities shift a little bit here soon, I’ll be able to take that next step.

8. Goals

What are both your short and long term business goals? Will this next step and investment get you closer to those goals? How? Be specific! Always keep your goals in mind when you decide to take the next step in your business. Maybe it’s a certain type of lifestyle you want to achieve? Maybe it’s hitting a certain income level or doing something you’ve always wanted to do. There are so many different types of goals, but just make sure your next step aligns with at least one of them.

As you evaluate your next investment, think through this list. I think that will let you know if now is the right time to take that next step for that specific investment you want to make… or maybe it’s enlightened you to take a different approach or step first.

Let me know if this was helpful as you look to grow your own business and share this post with a friend!

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Katelyn Hamilton is an Online Business Manager and Get Your Sh!t Together Strategist. She helps busy entrepreneurs organize, strategize and prioritize their business to go from overwhelmed to out-in-front.

After spending 6 years in the corporate world working with multimillion dollar companies, top-rated chefs and celebrities, she launched her own business to find more flexibility and freedom. She matched her corporate salary in just one year of starting her business.

Katelyn is also a soon-to-be wife, stepmom, dog mama of two furry friends, fitness lover, sports fanatic (Go Dawgs) and dreams of living at the beach.

Click here to book a free call to talk more about your business goals and to see if hiring an OBM is the right fit for you.

Systems for Success: How to Save Time and Grow Your Business

Setting up systems in your business is a step that so many entrepreneurs find overwhelming! Where to start, what to set up, how to work them, etc. It can be exhausting and lead you to just continue to push off setting them up.

Here’s the deal though, if you don’t have any systems in place in your business, you’re actually wasting valuable time and stunting your business growth. While you’re spending time creating, revising and sending contracts and invoices, what else could you be doing? Or maybe you’re bogged down in the back and forth of finding a time to set up a meeting with a potential client that you never actually get that meeting set up? Or maybe you’re missing a valuable opportunity to convert someone into a client with a killer freebie.

Systems don’t need to be overly complicated or overwhelming. In fact, every industry or profession has systems in place in order to create a successful business. Restaurants, stores, large corporations, etc. all have systems in place so that the business runs smoother, is more streamlined and productive, therefore more profitable.

Want to save time and grow your business? Of course you do! Implement these 4 steps to create systems in your business:

1. Write down your business activities

Do you even know what all you do in your business? Would you consider yourself proactive, or reactive? Sometimes we get into this cycle of just reacting to what needs to be done vs. truly realizing all of the things that are going on in our business month-to-month. Take inventory of your business activities such as writing content, scheduling email newsletters, creating proposals or invoices, scheduling calls, business planning, project management, meetings, website updates, creating funnels for launches, paying team members/tracking biz expenses, etc. There are so many backend activities that you need to get organized in even understanding what all you do to determine where to start putting systems in place.

2. Determine what you could automate

Start by writing out your process for each of the business activities that you listed. Note any tools or systems that you use already to help you do the task at hand. Then determine if there is a way to take yourself out of the equation. Could you set something up one time and then repurpose it each time you need to do the task? For example, do you offer the same service at the same price to where you could simply automate your onboarding experience for new clients? Or maybe instead of having potential clients email you to set up calls you put an automatic scheduler on your website with pre-call questions to help make it easier for people to access you and not miss out on any potential opportunities. So many times we think we need to be involved in every step of the process, but once we write it down we realize that if we just set it up, it can truly be duplicated without us. As humans we like to overcomplicate things, when really we can always simplify the process.

3. Research tools 

There is truly a tool or platform for EVERYTHING. I’m all about simplification though, so I am not recommending you try ALL THE TOOLS, but I am suggesting that you look into what would be the most helpful for you. There are a lot of platforms that can do multiple things for you, such as Kajabi (lead pages, email marketing, webinars, course hub). It really just depends where you’re at in your business, what you need right now and what you want to pay for. If you’re just starting out there are a ton of free or low cost options that you can set up that actually can talk to each other. For example, I link Acuity to zoom for meetings and to my email list. There’s definitely tools out there for everything. I list out some of my favorites in another blog post here.

4. Evaluate

Take some time to see if these new systems work, give them a month or two. Refine the processes to make them work better for you along the way. If you find a particular tool, system or process just doesn’t make sense, change it! There will be a learning curve to some degree, but if you find it’s causing you more frustration than help, find another way. And at the end of the day, you can always outsource!!

Once you implement these things and put those systems in place, your business will run much smoother and you’ll have created time and space in your business to continue to grow!

If you’re still overwhelmed thinking about implementing systems in your business, schedule a discovery call and we can chat about my 5-hour systems intensives where I help you identify what systems to put into place, set them up for you and teach you how to manage them. 

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Katelyn Hamilton is an Online Business Manager and Get Your Sh!t Together Strategist. She helps busy entrepreneurs organize, strategize and prioritize their business to go from overwhelmed to out-in-front.

After spending 6 years in the corporate world working with multimillion dollar companies, top-rated chefs and celebrities, she launched her own business to find more flexibility and freedom. She matched her corporate salary in just one year of starting her business.

Katelyn is also a soon-to-be wife, stepmom, dog mama of two furry friends, fitness lover, sports fanatic (Go Dawgs) and dreams of living at the beach.

Click here to book a free call to talk more about your business goals and to see if hiring an OBM is the right fit for you.

Efficiencies, Not Shortcuts

I was on vacation the other week with my fiance and his family and the amount of times we had to go to the grocery store drove me bananas. I am a very efficient person by nature. So the idea of going to the grocery store every single day to get food for dinner KILLED ME. By the third day I finally said to my future FIL, why don’t we just plan meals for the week and buy everything we need now? He apparently likes to grocery shop and wants to decide day of what to eat #retiredlife, but it just seemed SO inefficient.

But you see I do that with EVERYTHING in life. I try to find ways to be more efficient with my work, workouts, finances, meals, where my time is spent with people, etc. because this season of life is BUSY for me, as I know it likely is for you too.

That being said, there is a difference between creating efficiencies and taking shortcuts.

Defined:

Shortcut: “an accelerated way of doing or achieving something.” 

Efficiency: “achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense.”

While they seem fairly similar, I want to point out three key differences.

Difference #1: Fast doesn’t always been more productive

Just because you take a shortcut and do something FASTER it does not mean that you are being efficient and creating more productivity. Take weight loss for example. Sure you can follow a diet for 3 weeks and lose 10-15 lbs  - that’s a shortcut to weight loss, but will you keep that weight off is the question? Most of the time, the answer is no. If you follow a fad diet it’s more than likely going to come right back once you allow yourself the foods you restricted again. So what’s more efficient you may ask? Follow a plan consistently over time that includes eating healthy foods MOST of the time mixed in with some fun, less nutritious foods some of the time, coupled with exercise for the least wasted effort and maximum success.

Or maybe that example doesn’t necessarily relate to you, so let’s talk business again. A shortcut may be doing a project yourself really quickly just to get it done, when it likely would have been a better use of your time to outsource it to someone else who has more knowledge in that area than you do.

Difference #2: Eliminating a step does not make it more efficient

Sometimes there are certain steps you just can’t cut. While I am all about streamlining things to reduce the number of programs being used or steps in a process, it has to be done strategically. You can’t just take a step out of a process without understanding the consequences of doing so. For example, some of my clients create custom proposals instead of having a fixed number of services that are applicable to everyone. From an efficiency standpoint it is easier to set up workflows in the system I use, Dubsado, if they have specific contracts for their services + consistent price points. But that being said, some people just don’t. So I can’t just cut out the step of manually inputting contracts/proposals for each client and automating it as that would not make sense for their clients. But what I can do is look at how they are currently writing, sending and communicating with potential clients and optimize those steps by putting everything in one platform, creating templates to work from, etc. 

Difference #3: Delegating EVERYTHING

So all of us want to work less and make more, right? I mean that is the end goal. I am all for delegation, but there is a thing as TOO MUCH delegation. In theory, delegation should give you more time back. But if you start to delegate everything in your business in order to get quickly to that end goal of more time, more money, two things could actually happen. It ends up COSTING you money because you over delegated without enough income or jobs coming in, or you over delegated work that people truly hired YOU for. It’s important to note that there is a difference.

First, if you over delegate just to have more time back but you’re not bringing in enough money to pay the people who you hired to do the work for you + pay yourself, you might as well have not taken on the clients to begin with. Or, for example, if you market yourself as a business strategist but you have someone else writing strategies for you, then people aren’t really getting YOU, they’re getting someone else. Now, if you hired someone to edit/review your written strategies, or to help execute those strategies that’s different. That is being efficient, but you have to show up and actually do the work too.

 Shortcuts HURT your business. Efficiencies HELP your business. Learning the difference between the two can save you time, stress, money and results! Think about what could help you save time, reduce stress, increase profits and then think about what the things that cause you to waste the most time, cause you the most stress and eat your profits. That’s where you can begin in terms of finding efficiencies in your business. Remember the differences noted here and you’ll be on your way to creating a more efficient, profitable business.

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Katelyn Hamilton is an Online Business Manager and Get Your Sh!t Together Strategist. She helps busy entrepreneurs organize, strategize and prioritize their business to go from overwhelmed to out-in-front.

After spending 6 years in the corporate world working with multimillion dollar companies, top-rated chefs and celebrities, she launched her own business to find more flexibility and freedom. She matched her corporate salary in just one year of starting her business.

Katelyn is also a soon-to-be wife, stepmom, dog mama of two furry friends, fitness lover, sports fanatic (Go Dawgs) and dreams of living at the beach.

Click here to book a free call to talk more about your business goals and to see if hiring an OBM is the right fit for you.

All things email sequences and automations

What happens to your business if Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. all were to shut down tomorrow? Would your business survive? Do you have another way to reach your audience?

The truth is, we don’t own anything we put out on social media. The individual platforms do. So they can shut down your account at any time, and you’d lose access to your entire audience. But the one thing you actually OWN is your EMAIL LIST. I am a huge proponent of email lists for a few reasons but really at the end of the day it’s because it gives you DIRECT access to your target audience - right in their inbox. With social media algorithms you can’t guarantee your target audience will see your posts (less than 5% of your followers actually see your posts unless you have a crazy high engagement rate). With email you KNOW they’re receiving the email, and you can actually see WHO is opening and clicking through your emails as well. It’s an extremely valuable tool to shape your marketing and grow your business.

So my first question for you is, do you have an email list? If not, none to worry! I’m going to share a few tips about email lists and automations you can put into action now!

1. Selecting an email platform.

   There are so many platforms out there to choose from that selecting an email platform can seem overwhelming at first. But in my opinion there are 3 truly to choose from based on your business type and current status of your biz. If you are an eCommerce brand for instance, I would recommend Klaviyo. It integrates nicely with Shopify and there are a ton of automations that are automatically created for you use as cart abandonment, thank you emails, reengagement and more.

   If you’re a service based business just starting out I’d recommend either MailChimp or ActiveCampaign. MailChimp is free for up to your first 2,000 subscribers, and ActiveCampaign I believe is $25/mo. I currently have my list in MailChimp, but I prefer the automation sequence and all the advanced features in ActiveCampaign so it’s on my list to switch over to soon. It’s kind of a toss up to me which one you choose to start out with, but if you just want to get started and don’t want to do a ton with your list at first except slowly build the contacts, then I think MailChimp is a great place to start.
   

2. Create a freebie to grow your list.

   Freebies, or downloadables are really great ways to grow your list. Create something of value to people that would make them want to input their email address. Because come on, we all know that if you share your email address you’re likely going to get promotional emails for the rest of your life now ;). So this has to be GOOD. For example, I created my Get Your SH!T Together Strategy Guide. I walk you through the exact process I take my clients through to help you organize, strategize and prioritize your business (get yours here). It’s a 13 page workbook that has questions to walk you through each step of my process.

   Now you may be wondering, WHY would you want to give away such valuable content if that’s what you do with your clients? Here’s the thing. You want to give value to people so they learn to know, like and trust you and want to come to you for more. Sure, that process is extremely helpful - IF YOU ACTUALLY DO THE WORKBOOK :) BUT, the secret sauce is ME. Likely people will find some clarity in what you provide but then want to hire you to help them continue to solve their problem(s) and help them even more. So think about what you could create that would provide value to people so they WANT to keep reading more from you, with the goal to eventually hire you.
   

3. Set-up a welcome automation sequence.

Welcome people to your email list! Once they download that freebie, welcome them to your list and create a few follow up emails that give value, but also showcase some of your services and more about YOU. Follow up to offer help for whatever your freebie was helping them solve. Maybe offer them a discount for your services/products, give additional value, etc.

Personally, I don’t like when people spam my inbox every single day once I’ve signed up for their list, so I would suggest a follow up maybe a few days later, then another week later, and maybe one more a week after that? Nurture them. Don’t hard sell to them immediately, but showcase your value and expertise. Automations really make life easier overall because you literally set it up ONCE and then let it work FOR you. So every time someone downloads your freebie, or signs up for your list the automation sequence starts and value-added content is delivered straight to your potential customers inbox and you didn’t have to do a thing. Outside of a welcome sequence, you can also set up other automations for specific events, launches, etc.

4. What Should I send to my list?

Ah the golden question right? What should I send to my list? My clients often tell me “I don’t have anything to send them, so why have a list?”. But you see, that’s where they’re wrong :). I try as much as possible to repurpose my content. So, for example, this blog post is on my website, and also broken down into bite sized bits spread across my social media channels, and it’s also sent out to me email list with a teaser and then “read more” directing people back to my site. This ONE blog post is used to reach people in SO many different ways.

I help my clients find a way to repurpose their content too that they’re already sharing other places and an easy way to do that is through your email list. You can share a killer social post that got high engagement, a blog post, a themed weekly or bi-weekly newsletter with a variety of content, course or webinar launch details, a specific series ONLY for your email list members, exclusive content, etc. Email is a great way to integrate a variety of marketing tactics to reach your target audience, grow your list and increase business and therefore revenue.

5. Other ways to use your list based on your business type.

There are SO many ways you can use email lists. It really is dependent on your business. If you’re an eCommerce biz you will likely rely a lot more on your email marketing to not only reach new and potential customers, but also to re-engage your current customers to create repeat buyers, obtain reviews and pass info along to friends and family. If you’re a service based business, you likely will use this for building that know ,like and trust factor, offering value, sharing info about upcoming launches or new services, exclusive discounts, etc.

Email lists are SO important and such a powerful tool in your business. Remember, you OWN your email list. These are people who have clearly expressed an interest in what you do -  they are your WARM leads. Pay attention and give love to this list and grow it. I promise it’s worth your time, energy and effort, in that it WILL pay off.

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Katelyn Hamilton is an Online Business Manager and Get Your Sh!t Together Strategist. She helps busy entrepreneurs organize, strategize and prioritize their business to go from overwhelmed to out-in-front.

After spending 6 years in the corporate world working with multimillion dollar companies, top-rated chefs and celebrities, she launched her own business to find more flexibility and freedom. She matched her corporate salary in just one year of starting her business.

Katelyn is also a soon-to-be wife, stepmom, dog mama of two furry friends, fitness lover, sports fanatic (Go Dawgs) and dreams of living at the beach.

Click here to book a free call to talk more about your business goals and to see if hiring an OBM is the right fit for you.

Overcoming Business Overwhelm

Being a business owner can be super overwhelming. There have definitely been more than a few days where I just feel paralyzed in my business because I am so overwhelmed with everything I have to do. Whether this was when I was just starting out and didn’t know what I didn’t know, feeling like I needed to be networking and building relationships more (I still struggle with this), or overloaded with a heavy week of client work, or just coming off of taking a few days off -- the struggle can be SO REAL.

So how do you move past that? That feeling is oftentimes when SO many business owners quit. You have to find a way to overcome that overwhelm. Here are three things I do when I feel overwhelmed to reduce my stress and anxiety, and keep my business moving forward.

1. Take care of myself FIRST

You can’t pour from an empty cup. I always make sure that no matter how long my to-do list is or seems, or how overwhelmed I am with everything that needs to get done, I cannot pour from an empty cup. It may seem counter intuitive, but the days where I have the MOST to do, I make it a priority to get in a workout that morning, do my daily devotional, journal, listen to or read personal development and eat a good breakfast. You have to take care of yourself first because you cannot be the best version of yourself otherwise. This will spill over into your relationships and your work. You have to make that time for you so that you feel a little more relaxed and in control of your day.

2.BRAIN DUMP everything & Use a project management tool

Just make a big ole list. On your phone. On pen and paper. In Asana or a project management tool you use. Then organize it. Figure out what is truly a priority to get to TODAY and then make sure you’ve accounted for the rest and schedule it into your week. Sometimes we feel like we have to do everything RIGHT NOW, when in reality we’re just anxious and overwhelmed with all the things we THINK we need to do. Getting everything out on paper will really help you to see what truly is important. It also clears space in your brain to focus on those important things now that the rest is written down.

3. Start with something small that will create a “win”

Give yourself a small victory. Maybe that’s throwing in a load of laundry or doing the dishes. Just do a small task that makes you feel productive. Sometimes we have to trick our brains into thinking we’re crossing things off our list and getting things done to start to feel less overwhelmed and more motivated to accomplish the rest of our to-do list. Now, that being said, don’t fill your day with all the little things, because you’ll still feel overwhelmed with all of the big things on your plate left to do, so be mindful of that. This goes back to the prioritized list I mentioned before, just suggesting starting with one small thing to get you going.

Next time you’re feeling overwhelmed, give these tips a try and let me know if they help! Do you have any other tips or suggestions when that feeling of overwhelm washes over you?

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Katelyn Hamilton is an Online Business Manager and Get Your Sh!t Together Strategist. She helps busy entrepreneurs organize, strategize and prioritize their business to go from overwhelmed to out-in-front.

After spending 6 years in the corporate world working with multimillion dollar companies, top-rated chefs and celebrities, she launched her own business to find more flexibility and freedom. She matched her corporate salary in just one year of starting her business.

Katelyn is also a soon-to-be wife, stepmom, dog mama of two furry friends, fitness lover, sports fanatic (Go Dawgs) and dreams of living at the beach.

Click here to book a free call to talk more about your business goals and to see if hiring an OBM is the right fit for you.