3 Tips for Scaling a Small Business with Kate Gremillion
Branding with Friends | Episode 2
Featuring Expert Guest: Kate Gremillion of Work Well With Kate
Watch or listen to the video interview below or scroll down to read the transcription.
Meet Meet Kate Gremillion, an expert on scaling with systems
My guest today is the very strategic and amazing Kate Gremilion. Kate is a business and system strategist and the owner of Work Well with Kate. After building and selling her first company Mavenly + Co, she realized that the key to a successful business is having the right systems and processes in place to be able to scale without that constant stress.
Kate has worked with hundreds of service-based business owners across the country through group workshops, training, and private coaching to equip them with the resources and the mindset they need to grow their businesses effectively.
She's the host of the weekly Women, Work, and Worth podcast on iTunes. And her insight and advice has been featured in Forbes, Fortune, Business Insider, and Real Simple. A few of those you might have heard of.
Kate, welcome to Branding with Friends. I'm so glad you're here.
Kate: Thank you, Annie. I am so thrilled to be here. I’m such a fan of your work and can't wait to chat about all things business and all things branding,
Annie: So Kate, I know we're talking about your wheelhouse today, which is really scaling with systems. And you're going to be sharing your top three tips on how small business owners like those who are watching today can smartly grow their business using systems to grow to six figures. We're going to share those first tips, right as we're kicking off in the episode. But always remember at Branding with Friends, we're going to do that last third tip at the end of the episode. So make sure you listen all the way through to get as much value as you can. So as we're gearing up to sort of share that first tip, Kate, could you tell us a little bit about how you came to this passion for scaling systems? Like we know you're awesome, and you're in Real Simple, but how did you arrive at this moment in your career?
Kate: I'm so glad you asked because I think people assume that because I do systems, I've always been like an operations or systems oriented person. And it's actually the exact opposite. So when I started my first business now, seven years ago, I was throwing spaghetti at the wall. I had no idea what I was doing. I thought eventually I would just tinker enough and then eventually become like Sara Blakely.
I just thought like, eventually it was bound to happen, right? You open an LLC, and then you just wait for that huge paycheck and that didn't work out as well as you'd imagine. So I started really studying business. I mean, that's all I had really done my whole life, I'd been a student my whole life. And so I started studying other businesses, people that were really successful in business that I wanted to emulate.
I realized the differentiating factor between super successful scalable businesses and ones that maybe were making money but weren't so successful, were having the right systems in place, so they could really detach their time from their money. And I realized that was a huge thing, even for service based businesses, but business owners. There are ways to put systems in place that allow you to step away from your business and I know you know this super well, where you can put systems in place, whether it's a marketing system, sales system or service system, so that you can regain some of your time and ultimately be more profitable without being more busy.
So once I figured that out, I became obsessed. I started like, this is my ministry. This is my mission. What I’m meant to do because I realized so many women were spinning their wheels, working crazy hours and doing so many things to try and make their business work. And it wasn't that they didn't have value to add, it wasn't that they didn't have something great to offer, it is that they didn't have the right systems in place to allow them to be profitable without being super busy and on the edge of burnout constantly.
So I became obsessed, did it for free for a long time. And finally, a mentor was like, maybe you should be charging for this. And, you know, we're all guilty of not charging for things that we feel come naturally to us. But yeah, eventually started Work Well with Kate and have been thrilled to help women be thriving in their business ever since.
Annie: Amazing. That's amazing. And I think that that's something that we've really bonded over because any of you who know me or are getting to know me through Branding with Friends know that I am a huge fan of systems, but I was very reluctant to put them into my businesses like I don't want to be tied into all these things. And it just makes your business run so much more smoothly, so much more profitably. And I know you're going to share some excellent gems today. Because I know what those gems are. So with this being your key expertise and your ministry, I love that can tell us your first most important tip about how to scale your business using systems.
#1 Action TIP
Focus on Your Marketing System
Kate: Yeah, absolutely. The first is really focused on your marketing system. And this is something that I see so many people, especially on social media are guilty of is that they're kind of operating their business, I like to joke, like a Cheesecake Factory menu, where they're trying to offer everything to everyone. And because they can do things, they do them.
I think that leads to a Cheesecake Factory menu where it's really diluting your brand and diluting your mission. And it dilutes the brand association because people don't associate you with your expertise. They associate you with doing everything.
So you're like an Italian restaurant serving sushi and meatloaf. It's like, you're not doing something. Right? Like Chick Fil A. When we think of Chick Fil A, we think of chicken and if we're craving chicken, that's something that's going to raise to the top in our minds and we're going to go to that place because of that brand association and that awareness.
So the first thing I tell people when they're building a marketing system and kind of the fatal flaw is doing the Cheesecake Factory model.
You need to solve one problem for one person with one process, do that really, really well. And I think frequently I'll have people come back and like, well, I see this person maybe it's like Jeff Bezos, he's selling a bunch of things. First, he sold books. And he got that right and he did it perfectly. And then was able to scale.
So I think we get distracted by this shiny object syndrome thinking, Okay, we're going to build out all these different products, all these different offers all do all these different things. And really, all you need to do to be able to scale in the beginning is just solve that one problem. For that one audience member, that one person, with one process and do it over and over and over again until people know you for that thing.
Like people know Branding with Annie, that's what you want to get to, instead of trying to do thing all at once, which so many of us are guilty of because we're getting those little small revenue wins a month on the table. But you're not going to scale that way, you're just going to keep chasing those little wins and ultimately you're going to be more burnt out than you ever would be with that one process.
Annie: I run into that so much with my branding clients because I really think it's sort of an abundance versus scarcity mindset. Well I can do all these things and I don't want to turn people away. Or I love working with everyone and that's fabulous. And I think I think something you might agree is that you are always the pilot of your business.
So if somebody comes along with a completely different opportunity, and wants to work with you, you get to say yes if you want to. I don't use the Cheesecake analogy but I do use a restaurant analogy where I say it's like you don't want to be the person that walks into the restaurant and they go well, we can make anything. No, I don't know what I want. I don't know what I want.
You want to be the five star menu that has curated. This is what we're known for. This is what we're great at. We don't make hamburgers. You don't want hamburgers from us. You want a hamburger go get In and Out.
It's so tied into that, but it is, you know, I think there's also an emphasis on, if you build it all they will come. But it's like if you build it all, they will be confused. Once you're there for, but it's eye opening to think that that is tied into your profit, it is tied into the system to use to free up your time. So if you are trying to be all things to all people, you're ending up nothing to nobody in the process.
Kate: Absolutely. And I'm so glad you brought up the piece about people coming to you and maybe asking for something that's not on your “menu”. Because yes, you have the opportunity to say yes, but so frequently, we don't think about the systems we have in place and the time we have. And so we just say yes, to get that quick buck, but then you're working five times as long as you would have offering something that you actually do every single day day in and day out. So you're making it harder for yourself and then most times ends up not even being worth the money that's being.
Annie: And I do that. I think for me, it's a form of permission to give people to say it's okay to niche because I used to be very reluctant to do it as well. Because you think that's going to really limit my client pool. It just gives them enough push but it's a good it is a good boundary to understand that saying yes to everything can be a very expensive word for you because if you take on more things that you don't have systems to support, you know, clients, you're constantly reinventing the wheel, then you're not getting paid for that time and often you're not making the profit that you should be if you had a repeatable process.
And my theory is is that if we can get people to brand themselves really well and do this thing that you're talking about, where you're simplifying what you offer and being really clear in your marketing, then you do the piece that you are so great at, then they're going to be so happy and full of clients that they're not going to want to take the the people that will give them random things.
I look back and I was that person because we all start with as that. We can do many things. I know you've done branding in the past, you've done all these wonderful things, just because you're good at it, you shouldn't be doing it. If you want to make more than just that quick buck, if you want to be in this for the long term, and really scale a business, o actually becomes a very valuable word.
Kate: So literally, and I think we don't think too often to about our client experience. And our client experience becomes so much better when it's something that you've done over and over and over again, because it's proven results. If you're coming to me for something that I know I can do, but I don't have proven results. I don't have a proven system, it's probably not going to be as great as like going to Annie for branding, and she has all of these pre made value driven and result driven items that she can give you to make sure that it's moving the needle as opposed to me making it up on the fly because someone just offered me you know how to do this.
Annie: it's a different it's a totally different mindset and it feels scary, but I hope by the end of this episode, you're gonna feel really empowered to think a little bit differently about this and to be willing to take those risks because they're not actually there.
It's more risky to do it the other way is hopefully what you'll learn from us today. And I think that leads perfectly into the next thing I know you wanted to share with us the second tip, so if we're talking about, one system, one solution, really one service that you're really focused on making your signature what you are known for, what is the next thing that somebody can do?
#2 ACTION TIP
Be Priced for Profit
Kate: Yeah, great question. Because I think when you have a signature product, a signature offering, then what you're able to do is charge a premium price because you become the expert and the authority in that space.
And the fatal flaw I see with sales is I constantly see clients guessing what their clients can afford. Looking at other people in the business, looking at competitors, seeing what their pricing is copy and pasting their pricing and their deliverables which is a huge no no.
Be your own business, be your own brand, your brand deserves it. And I also see people that just have fear around pricing. There's lots of emotional work, there's lots of guess work. Because we don't know what we should be charging and because of that most times we charge not enough. And so and I see all the time, especially with new business owners, especially with women business owners, I say for women business owners, absolutely.
It's unreal and and I even look back to the beginning of my business and I'm like, I did what for how much money? I like cannot believe I'm like, I basically paid them. And so one thing that I always tell clients, because I think there's this conversation about like charging what you're worth, but still really like, what does that really mean?
How much am I worth? How do I quantify that? And so one exercise I've been doing with my clients is showing them that if they can charge a price that their client will get three to five times that value within 90 days. That's a really great price.
There's a couple of reasons for that one, you can prove the return on investment and so if someone's may be paying $$5000 for your service, but they can make 25,000 a month. 90 days, that's a no brainer. And it's totally worth it.
And so I always try to get people to quantify that value, what is the value worth to that person? Because ultimately they decide what it's worth. I can think I'm worth a million dollars and think that my business is amazing, but what result? Can I get you that has the value of three to five times of whatever you're paying it. That's kind of my goal.
I think people don't think about scaling systems, expenses, taxes, how much marketing costs. And so I'll do a profit plan or a profit system for a client and they'll say, “okay, I want to make $100,000.” So here's my price of, you know, $10K for each of my services. I just need 10 of these and I'm good.
Well, you haven't accounted for 30% for Uncle Sam, you haven't accounted for expenses. Are you traveling to them? You need a website. You need all of these things and make it so that you have to charge more. You have to increase your prices, because it's required to keep going.
And so I know that's something you do super well as you think about the things you want in your business, I want to take a month off, I want to do this, I want to do that I want to be able to offer this as a gift to my clients. So we have to build that into the price as well. So it becomes less of this emotional guesswork and more of this very clear equation of like, I want to make this much. I'm spending this much and expenses. I work backwards. I have a price.
Annie: Absolutely. And I think that you've done such a great job of demystify, and I love the phrase being priced for profit.
Kate: That does take the emotion out of it. Right?
Annie: Totally. Because I think so often we're like, I want to be a six figure business. So I'm just going to charge what I think will be enough for that. And so often when you actually write it down or go to an Excel sheet and say, okay, let's say I worked with 12 people this year and I charged X amount. Maybe that doesn't even get me to half of my goal, but we're not thinking about that.
We're so focused on the emotional peace between our client and what they think is too much, too little, all of these things, when really so much of it just comes to, am I going to add value? Do I have confidence that I'm able to get that return on investment? And if you say things competently to your client, not as a like person that's lifting yourself up, but if you actually believe you can get that result, it's amazing how responsive clients can be if you are confident in the value that you're offering.
The first tip, what you're talking about really being strategic in your marketing, then hopefully, the people you're starting to talk to you are people who can afford your services, right?
And then people forget this about ideal clients, that part of being an ideal client means they can afford you. Yes, every price you're at, because there are people who will pay.
Let's use logos, right? People pay $50 for a logo, they pay $5,000 for a logo $50,000, a million dollars. It depends on what the business is, who it is, what you're doing, and what you get out of it. Because sometimes a logo is not a logo, right? It's not just an Apple.
If you go on Facebook, and you say I need a logo. Before you know it, there's 40 comments, and it's a race to the bottom of oh, hey, I'll pay you. I don't play those games because I'm not trying to get every client in the world. And I think that's something that service based business owners really forget, when it comes to this pricing question. They're trying to price for the average Jade, or average Joe. And that may not be who your client is, they might not be able to afford you. And that's okay. You have to go find them.
Kate: Absolutely. And the validation that comes with getting those numbers on paper and then realizing I need 10 of these people. Yeah, there are 1000 of them in the world. And so if you only need 10 there's so much more confidence in saying no or you're not my person, when you know your numbers.
And that's why the systems and understanding your ideal client with your branding is essential. Because there are people that will fill out an application for me and you're someone who taught me this. It's like you felt that application that detailed and you're like, wait, we don't even need to go on the phone.
Like, I can send you 20 names of people that will do this for $5. That's my favorite thing is clients come in, they're like, I know someone that can do this for $5. And I'm like, I know people that will pay me $5000. So great, I'm going to work with them, you go work with them in six months, when that's not what you want, you can come back and also make that $5,000 investment.
And that happens so much more than not. And so I think so many of us we ask the wrong people. We ask like our friend or boyfriend or husband, we're like, what do you think about this price? They see no value in it. My fiance doesn't have a business. He doesn't care. He was like, I would pay zero dollars for that. So why am I getting feedback from people that don't see the value in the thing I'm providing? So don't let people talk you down in your price who aren't your ideal customer.
Annie: I've had people laugh at my pricing. I remember I helped somebody. I used to do resume work. So I was telling your story and every aspect of your life, and I helped somebody with their admissions letter to get into school. So I helped them polish it. I didn't write it for them, of course, but helping them polish it. I probably put it to three hours of work in and my expertise. And I went back and said, oh, f I had charged you, what would you have paid? She's like, I don't know, like $10. Like, dollars, like, thanks for the tip. You know, they'll cover Starbucks, right?
And I think that's a great point about sort of who is your ideal client. Be mindful of who you're asking feedback from. And is it somebody that would be a fit for you on the price, not that it's a good idea to get feedback on pricing. And if no one is taking your offer, then there may be things to tweak. It may be too high. But that's really to me, it's ever been the case. And one of the things I tell a lot of people and one of things I make with my own businesses, you have to recognize that there's going to be with every business there's someone's going to have a knock on it.
There's going to be at least one knock on your business, as in hey, this is what people always say. So like one of the things I know, locally, as I've heard,, some people say that my business is expensive, but what they also say is that it's worth it. And it's like if all the things that I could be known for, I may be a disadvantage, or a reason that somebody might not work with me, which is totally fine. Everybody's at a different budget level. So, I'd rather they not say that I'm unprofessional, that I don't do great work, that it isn't worth it, that she's overpriced.
There's a big difference between being overpriced and someone who is more expensive than other branding people. And it's like, well, yeah, because I've branded over 60 business or 90 businesses, and I've done I have a client experience, I have systems that are gonna make your experience really different than the person who's going to do your logo for $50. Right? So and that you won't have to redo it in three weeks, or and it will get done not in six months, but on a timeline and, and all of these things.
So I think getting comfortable with the idea that you know, your business doesn't have to be the perfect choice for everybody. And there may be something that people have to overcome about it like pricing, or a wait list. Of things that we worry about I gotta be available, and I gotta be the cheapest, I gotta be the immediate. Yes, like, well, not always, because you have to have your boundaries, and you have to have your, like, I take December off every year, like I have to have those things. And that doesn't work for everybody. And that's part of why you're in business in the first place, though
Kate: Absolutely. And I think that's such an important point is realizing that if I do this for cheaper, what's being sacrificed, and most times it's the most important things, most valuable things you your time, your energy, your relationships, your money, all of that is being sacrificed. Because if I want to hit that six figure goal, and I'm charging $500 per branding package, I have to work with a lot more people and spend a lot more time I can't take that month off. I can't spend time with my family, I can't travel. And so you're really saying no to yourself when you're saying yes to the wrong client, and it's only going to lead you to burnout and like you said, if if you're in it for the long term, you know that you have to price yourself for the lifestyle that you want as a business owner.
Annie: Yeah. And that's part of the trade off, right? You can't go so far in that you are dying for your clients, because oftentimes we don't even realize that.
One of the best things like with my December sabbatical is that I've had clients who then are like, I want to know how to do that. And I want to take December off, and they'll defend me to they're like, why isn't she working on your website? It's like, that is Annie’s sabbatical. To take one, you know, and so that's, that's where it leads to, it's actually sort of a lot of what we're talking about today is very, feels very counter-intuitive. But when you get inside of it, and you and I both have, you know, built profitable, successful, passionate businesses, by following these things, but we also had to be brave a little bit to do that.
And in essence, it is Branding with Friends. And before we get to that last tip, I did want to ask you,, you also have a background in building tremendous brands like Mavenly + Co, which I know is about multi six figure coaching business. You have built the podcast brand, you know for you as well. And you've helped other clients do this too. So we're sort of birds of a feather in that way. Now that you're working on systems and helping people scale with, say marketing systems, profit systems, sale systems, client experience, how critical do you think branding is to your clients? So when you get a new client, how important is it that they have a brand that they have, say their brand identity that they know what they want to be known for those sorts of things?
Kate: It is absolutely essential. Like I can't emphasize enough how important branding is because to me, branding isn't just a logo or a tagline. Branding is behavior. Branding is how you put yourself into the world.
And that could be visually, that could be written word, that can be spoken word, that could be video, but I think so often, if you just go into your business thinking I want to make a million dollars or I don't want to work very hard, you're not going to see results.
It doesn’t matter how great your systems are, I can give you the best system in the whole world, if you are not branding yourself and acting like the brand that you're either aspiring to be or that you are, systems will not make a difference. And so branding is absolutely essential.
That's why I think we had this conversation earlier, you know, marketing system, sale system, service systems, all of those are so interwoven with your brand. And if you're not walking the walk, and you don't have an understanding of who you want to be, and how you want to show up, your systems aren't going to help you.
So a lot of times, that's kind of the feedback I give people most often is, it's not even that they can't afford me. It's not because there are different ways that people can work with me, but like through the same process, but it's really that like you're not at the right stage of business, maybe to put those systems in place because you don't know what you want to accomplish with them. And so I think that, to me, branding is so much just understanding who you want to be in the world and behaving in that way accordingly. And so I think that systems are something that come once you're ready to start with that, but you have to have an understanding of what you want to grow and why you want to grow to be right.
Annie: You have to have the seed for the plant to exist.
Kate: And we're often trying to be like, but what do I do with this plant? It's like you don't have a plant, you need to start with a seed. And then all these things like these systems can help grow this seed, but it has to start somewhere. And I think you said branding is behavior and I think branding is also strategy.
So a strategy is having a plan, knowing what you want to be known for being really intentional about things and then the tactics or how you take action on that. Now we've all get so focused on that, you know, I say a lot the tactic tornado.
Annie: Systems, think can be a tactic tornado that gets you down the rabbit hole. But one of the reasons I love Work Well with Kate and Kate Vermillion is because she understands this, and she's going to tell you the true story. If you go and talk to Kate after this. She's going to tell you if she feels like you're branded enough to go into the system space, because what she's doing is also extremely strategic. You could be like, you know, you need this app, right? Like, that's not what you do. That's what the $5 per system person does is get this app totally, without a plan means nothing to you.
Kate: It's a waste. I joke that it's like a Frankenstein in business, you've like taken all these separate pieces, you merge them together, and you're trying to get this crazy robot to work. But none of these pieces are supposed to be together. And so I'll frequently have people and maybe it's someone who has the money to invest with me, and they'll say, I need a sale system.
I'll ask them details about what they're selling. They're not even sure, we can't put a system in place to sell something that doesn't exist. And so I think there's so many pieces beforehand, like you said, systems are amazing. They can amplify and transform your business. But you have to have an understanding of what your business is before you're able to transform it.
Annie: I think maybe it's human nature. Because we're focused on the more sexy thing, which is making sales and the sale, I know I need a sale system. And I know I need SEO. And one of the things we're learning so much doing it with friends is this notion of it all comes back to the seat, it all becomes back to strategy, it all comes back to being the doing what some may say, is the boring work of figuring it out before you can play and try things and make the sale.
But if you do that it's going to pay off exponentially, right?
Well, this has been such a great conversation and I know you're going to share that third and final tip with us at the end of the episode. But before we get there, I want to make sure people know how to talk to you because I'm sure we've piqued their interest scaling the six figures I think is one of those sexy things that people really want to know how to do as a small business owner. So how can our audience connect more with you?
Kate: Yeah, absolutely. So social media wise. Again, I'm like a systems person. I focus my lane. I'm an Instagram person. That's where I go. That's where I kind of exist in the social media world. So if you want to connect with me there I'm @workwellwithkate on Instagram.
And then if you want to connect with me personally, I have my website workwellwithkate.com where you can find out more about me and my services.
I actually have a free training there too, which I'm sure we'll talk a little bit about. But you can also just email me. I'm a big fan of connecting with people in the written form. kate@workwellwithkate.com, I answer every email myself. So yeah, shoot me a message.
Annie: I hope you will get some people following you, I'm pretty sure you will know that we've piqued their interest and explain that systems are more than just an app. Right? So talk to me a little bit more, we want to make sure they everybody knows that you brought them a special gift, which is this free training that you have. So tell us a little bit about that.
Don’t miss this special opportunity for “Branding with Friends” fans…
Grab Kate’s Free Training That Shows Her Real Systems for Her Six Figure Business
Kate: Yeah, absolutely. So frequently, I think about what are the steps that we actually take to scale to that sexy stuff? Like how do we get to that sexy stuff?
And so I kept having the same conversation over and over again and privately with clients. And so I thought, okay, if there are people that are interested in this, let's give them the pieces, the main building blocks, of what things we need to focus on to make six figures.
And so this free training is my story of how I got from where I was completely broke, hustling, constantly spinning my wheels, to a scalable six figure business where I'm able to take time off travel and really run my business in the way that I think most of us want to.
And so the training is 45 minutes. And really, I think if you're a business owner, the best use of your time is to think about the things that might be counter-intuitive from the kind of noise that we see everyday, but are the things that I know that work and have driven results for me and my clients.
So that's what I'm most interested in is what moves the needle, what's actually working, because I think there's so much noise and minutia and things that we get distracted by and so I really wanted to put something together that was like, I know you're hearing this often. Here's the truth and here screenshots like I'm pulling back the curtain It's like my actual bank account screenshots, like my actual business that you're seeing behind the scenes because I think we hear these sexy words but what do they mean and what do they look like by seem so I'm getting kind of naked in my business for you, retraining, and so if you're even if you're just nosy and want to know how much money I make, you can find out.
Annie: That's confidence, right? Who doesn't want that kind of confidence? Look at what I make. I'm not going to just make it look impressive, I'm going to show you.
Workwellwithkate.com/free-training
I have so much fun following her and she has really great nuggets like many of what she shared today, so I can't thank you enough for being here. We did promise you that third tip so here we go. We had that first one which was focused on: one system, one audience, one really key offer. That second tip right being price for profit. What is the third and final word you want to share with us about how we can scale our businesses?
#3 Action Tip
Create A Signature Framework That Gets Results And Can Be Replicated
Kate: Yeah, absolutely. So this final tip kind of brings it all together.
At the beginning, we talked about not recreating the wheel, but also detaching our time for our money. And the way to do that is with an amazing service system.
And I think so often we're focused on the sales and marketing, but how are we actually working with clients? Because now thankfully, about 80% of my business is referral and it's because of my service system.
So I want to make sure that that is the exact same framework, not the exact same results because everyone's super different, or the exact same like pieces. I'm not cookie cutter, but it's a general framework that I know drives results.
And when you put that together, that is the game changer in your business. What is your secret sauce? So I know you have this, I have this as well. It's like form inquiry when you're talking to you for the very first time, to when you're writing me that raving testimonial because I've gotten you exact results or better of what you wanted.
What are those steps specifically? And how can I do that over and over over again? Because that is the way to win with both your client in yourself. When you have what you need to do every day, you spend less time guessing, stalking other people's businesses trying to figure out what they're doing, you can just focus on yourself, get your work done. That's how I have four hour work days. That's how I'm able to take time off, because I'm doing the same thing every day, not in a robotic way, but solving the same problem every day with the same process. And so my clients love it. Because it's clear that I'm an authority in the space, I know what I'm doing. And it's already been pre made.
You're like, oh, this is something that has clearly worked for other people. I want the same results. So I want that same process. So if you feel like every time you get a new client, you're like, back to a blank page. And you're like, what are we going to do? We need to figure out what actually works and follow that system every time so that the person you're trying to attract knows that it works for them. And then it's so much less work that you can either automate pieces of it, outsource pieces of it, or just have pieces that are so automatic for you that you're wasting less time. So that service system is what's going to elevate your business to the next level.
Annie: I love that. And I think that's such a great note to end on today because it is really bringing everything together, right? And if you walked into this thinking, gosh, you know, systems, I don't know if that's for me, you know, and then it's kind of scary. We've talked about being brave that this is the benefit. I love that you've described it.
It's not just something you do for your clients, which obviously is very valuable to you, but it's really like a gift you give yourself. And that's something I wished I'd known. Because I was very, very, like even just putting in things like my having office hours in an email signature is a system and it is a way of communicating a boundary. And, and I used to be so reluctant to do that.
It was a tremendous gift because I don't get client calls at 10 o'clock at night or on the weekend. Or I might get an email the weekend says, don't worry, I know you're not gonna reply till Monday. Fabulous. Everybody's cool. And suddenly it makes your life so much easier. So I think you've done an eloquent job of telling us sort of what the benefits are across the board and they are measurable.
Kate: Absolutely the way I like to think about it, and really the way we can kind of sum it up is I think branding plus systems equals freedom. That's what it is when you're able to get those things. I think all we really want in our life is control over our circumstances and freedom to live the life that we really want to live. So if you've branded yourself appropriately, and you know ultimately the result you want to give people and the result you want to get, and then you put systems in place to make that happen. You can do anything, absolutely anything in your business.
We hope you guys enjoyed another episode of Branding With Friends. Huge thanks to my special guest again Kate Vermillion of Work Well with Kate. I hope you will tune in next time when we tackle yet another topic that meets branding and business. Until then, I'm Annie Franceschi of Greatest Story Creative. Find all our episodes, branding resources, and more at our website GreateStstoryCreative.com. Have a good one!
“Branding with Friends” Episode 2
Show Notes + Resources
Here are 3 key tips scaling with systems to grow your service business:
Focus on your marketing system
Be priced for profit
Create a signature framework that gets results and can be replicated
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