Client Story: Dubsado for The Content Creator
I’m switching things up today.
Instead of hearing from me bang on (again) about how great Dubsado is, I’m handing the reins over to one of my clients so you can hear the real truth about the difference Dubsado makes in an actual real-life business.
So, without further ado, take the stage, Liane!
Hello 👋 I’m Liane, aka The Content Creator
Hi there, friends-of-Harriet! I’m Liane, otherwise known as The Content Creator, and I’m here to spew a few words about how freakin’ great Dubsado has been since the lovely Harriet set it up for me a couple of months ago.
A little bit of background about me and my business so you know whose inner-most thoughts you’re about to be treated to…
I’m a copywriter, content writer and SEO-er (that’s not the official term for ‘being a person who does SEO’ but it’s much snappier than the other options)
I went full-time in my business back in March 2021 (yes, I was one of those freaks who quit a secure, well-paying job in the middle of a pandemic)
I’d been dabbling in social media management and blog writing for a couple of years before then, alongside working in marketing - but took the leap in 2021 after picking up a new client who covered my then-salary
I work with anyone and everyone, as long as they love what they do, respect what I do, and have a vaguely interesting business… I've worked with lots of psychologists, coaches, nutritionists - basically people who do fairly complex/complicated things that need copy or content that doesn’t scare people off with boring-as-shit jargon
And if you can’t be bothered to read all that, the three most important things to know about me are: I’m an absolute goofball who laughs at dad jokes, I swear a fair amount (even with clients), and I’m a typical millennial crazy-dog-mum to the laziest dog in the world, Zuko.
Why Dubsado?
So here’s the thing. Dubsado wasn’t entirely new to me before Harriet worked her magic.
But it was entirely a mystery.
I joined Dubsado many moons ago, back when I was only dabbling in doing a tiny bit of freelance work outside of my full-time job (I’m talking one client, paying me £200 per month - really early days!). I thought it looked like something a ‘proper’ business owner would use and, because I desperately wanted to be a proper business owner and escape the 9-5, I therefore jumped at it.
But as soon as I did, I realised that it was overwhelming AF. Honestly, so confusing. I had no idea what I was doing and no idea what it could do.
I ended up using it for that one client, solely for sending repeating invoices. That was it.
So when I found Harriet a few months ago, I wasn’t entirely new to Dubsado. But (and Harriet will probably agree) I was thoroughly unconvinced that Dubsado would work for me. I’d tried it already, after all - it didn’t work for me then, so why would it work for me now?
But the next few times I onboarded a new client, that niggling thought about Dubsado kept rearing its head again. And eventually, I listened to it and gave Dubsado another shot.
Life before Dubsado
Let’s get into the nitty gritty!
Before Dubsado, here’s how a new enquiry would turn into a client (either a project client, for website copywriting and SEO work, or a retained client, for content writing):
🥴 new client would fill in a form on my website (which I used Active Campaign for)
🥴 I’d get an email with the client’s details - but wouldn’t know which package they wanted, what their budget was, or anything at all useful about them
🥴 that email would sit in my inbox for way longer than it should (because my brain can’t handle more than one thing at a time, and client work always came first, DUH)
🥴 when I finally found the time, I’d email the new client and send them a link to book a discovery call into my calendar (I used Chili Piper for scheduling)
🥴 I’d use the call to get as much info as possible from the new client
🥴 after the call (again, an embarrassingly long time period often passed between call and this stage, because LIFE) I’d head into Canva to put together a proposal PDF - I had a template deck, but it would need tweaking every time for every client
🥴 I’d send that PDF to the client and one of two things would happen: either they’d get back to me pretty quickly and we’d move to the next stage of onboarding OR I’d never hear from them again and it wouldn’t even cross my mind to follow up with them
🥴 if the client wants to go ahead, the next step is for me to send an invoice (through Xero), a contract (edited in InDesign for every client, exported as an interactive PDF) and my Welcome Guide (a Canva-created PDF) - again, this stage might be instant, or it might also take me multiple days to get back to it between client work
🥴 client would send back contract via email, I’d need to check Xero multiple times to see if the invoice had been paid, and then I’d set up their Google Drive folder, add them to Slack and send them a Spill Ya Guts questionnaire before the work begins
And that’s just before any writing even happens… For project clients, I’d then have more invoices to set up and send in Xero after the project wraps up. For retainer clients, I’d set up recurring invoices in Xero and rely on the automated reminder emails to get paid on time.
In short? A big old shambles.
It took so much of my time and, even worse than that, made clients feel like they didn’t really matter that much because it took me so long to get them what they needed to actually work with me. And I never had enough time to really think about the process and actually make it better - because, ironically, I was too busy doing the shambolic process I already had.
A catch-22 if ever there was one.
And then Harriet came along and waved her magic-Dubsado-wand over everything
Much like a Fairy Godmother, Harriet turned my mouldy pumpkin of a ‘process’ (if we can even call it that) into a sparkling golden carriage, taking my prospective clients on a journey that they actually enjoyed AND MADE ME LOOK LIKE A PROPER BUSINESS OWNER!
First of all, almost everything is now automated. Things happen without me lifting a finger. Potential clients feel cared for, rather than ignored. I don’t have to faff around in InDesign or scramble to find the right Chili Piper link to send to someone. I can be curled up on the sofa watching The Crown and feeling sorry for myself (true story, the Autumn virus caught me) and Dubsado would be doing my entire onboarding process for me.
Perhaps more importantly than that though, Harriet forced me (in the friendliest, gentlest way possible) to think about every single thing I was doing and why I was doing it. I didn’t really need to have a discovery call with every potential client, but I was doing it anyway because I hadn’t even considered the alternative. I was only collecting potential clients’ name and email address because I didn’t want to put them off with more questions, but then I was asking them hundreds of things on a discovery call instead. I was creating a new contract for every single client, even for clients on the exact same package. Why?!
Armed with a new streamlined workflow we mapped out together, Harriet set to work creating pure technological magic for me. I threw all my branding, my contracts, my Welcome Guide, my invoice terms, my payment plans, my everything at her, and she beavered away changing my damn life.
Life with Dubsado by my side
Remember that incredibly long list of things I had to do to turn an enquiry into a new client? It got chucked in the bin the moment Harriet handed Dubsado over to me.
Now, that list looks a little like this:
🤩 client fills in an enquiry form on my website that actually gives me the info I need
🤩 Dubsado tells me about a new enquiry - and I press one button to confirm whether I want to proceed to the next stage or not. (AND if the enquiry isn’t a good fit, Dubsado sends an email to let them know, rather than just ghosting them)
🤩 if I approved it, Dubsado sends a canned email with a link to book a call
🤩 I turn up to the call, chat about what I can help them with, and keep notes in a Dubsado form
🤩 I press another single button after the call and the client gets a proposal, contract and invoice in one fell swoop
🤩 the client accepts the proposal, signs the contract and pays the invoice - while I walk the dog
🤩 I press one button to activate the client’s Dubsado portal and add in a link to their Google Drive folder, while the client gets an email with their portal link, their Spill Ya Guts onboarding questionnaire, and a link to book their kick off call into my calendar
🤩 I add the client to Slack and BOOM, we’re ready to work
And out of that whole list, all that I need to do is press 3 buttons at various times, run a discovery call, set up a Google Drive folder and add a client to Slack. Besides the discovery call, that’s a grand total of 5 minutes of my time - versus what was probably nearing an hour before Dubsado.
The real impact of Dubsado
Besides the fact that I have more time in my life (time that, let’s face it, should be going on client work but usually goes on scroll-holes and staring into the middle distance in a daze), the real impact of Dubsado for me has been confidence.
I know I’m pretty good at what I do despite what the imposter syndrome devil tries to convince me), but the real struggle before Dubsado was feeling confident in promoting myself. Dubsado doesn’t do my marketing for me, but it does make me feel like marketing is actually worth it now.
Before, I was hesitant in pushing my business out too much - because I knew that if enquiries did come in, I was too busy to handle them. I ended up in this constant cycle of being too busy to promote myself, then desperately promoting myself because I had no clients at all.
Now that I know enquiries are handled by Dubsado when they come in, I’m finding a rhythm with my marketing and promotion that will (hopefully) make sure there aren’t such highs-and-lows in terms of busy-ness. It’s early days, but I already feel way more confident telling people my availability and how they can work with me, because I know exactly what will happen if they do enquire.
And I know that they won’t be left hanging or judge me for how long it takes me to reply to them or feel even a little bit like they’ve made a mistake in reaching out to me.
A HUGE thank you to Liane for sharing her experience with Dubsado with us! If you can relate to her story and want to claw back your time, confidence and freedom, take a look at my Dubsado Setup package for your very own transformation!