There is a special freedom and flexibility that comes with owning your own business and being your own boss.
Not to mention, doing the thing that brings you joy and satisfaction and serves others. (Full disclosure – this article contains affiliate links – however, I never recommend a tool that I don’t love myself!)
You had an idea that you were going to be doing what you loved and sharing your talent with the world, creating designs, branding, capturing those special moments with your camera – all the things that inspired you to take the leap into entrepreneurship.
I am sure as your business grew you really started paying attention to all the hats that you were wearing.
You may have noticed that you were now spending less and less time doing what you love to do. Your time was being eaten up with administrative work.
Creating invoices for your clients, scheduling 1:1 time for a coaching session, answering emails all while making sure that the back end of your own business was taken care of.
When you have more tasks than time, you really need to take a look at where you are investing your time.
According to a 2017 report, Canadian small business owners spend nearly 100 days a year on administrative tasks and I am sure that is NOT where you thought you would be spending your time when you first launched. (And keep in mind that this report is from 2017 – pre-COVID!)
So, if you are looking for a way to close the gap between how much you spend on those administrative tasks versus doing the work you love, I would recommend using a tool like Dubsado.
Dubsado is a CRM (Customer Relationship Management tool) that allows you to send contracts proposals and invoices to clients in one go.
You can all kinds of forms and questionnaires that you might need for your client processes and create a lead capture form that you can embed on your website that will start an automated process that your clients can move along, without having to constantly touch what’s happening.
Here are some of the reasons I love using Dubsado:
Their Customer Service is AMAZING.
If you have a question, they will have the answer. There are a number of ways that you can communicate with their support team but the HELP DOCS are a great place to start. I have never seen a more extensive collection of help files in any other company.
They have an amazing chat feature and if that isn’t for you, you can always email them a question specific to your account.
Another great place to go and get support is the Facebook Group. It is an incredibly helpful group and someone ALWAYS has an answer for you.
Oh, and when I signed up, I got an actual letter from the owners with a Dubsado sticker. It’s those little things that really mean a lot.
No Clutter!
One place to keep all your client information in a central location. Every form, proposal, email, invoice and contract that you send through your projects are kept with that client.
If you have a lead form embedded on your website, Dubsado will create a project for that individual and all your communication will be stored with that client.
You also have the ability to give each client their own portal, which is great if you do a lot of back and forth with your clients and tend to have (pre-Dubsado) files in different locations.
I am all for anything that makes things easier for my clients.
VIP Treatment
Already have a CRM but want to move over… Dubsado will transfer your records over for you with their “White Glove Migration Service” – free of charge.
They will also create your first 10 forms, so if you have any forms that you want to upload, they will assist you to do that.
Once you sign up for your own paid Dubsado account, you fill out the form and they’ll help you with next steps.
Your Own Branding
You have taken a lot of time to create a visual identity for your brand so being able to customize your branding to Dubsado is another reason it is my favourite.
You can add your logo, customize your colours and build out beautiful client-facing forms and questionnaires.
What a way to provide a cohesive and VIP client experience for someone.
Automation
No, you can’t automate everything, and nor should you. There are processes in your business that require YOUR touch.
Maybe you need to customize your proposal to the client’s needs or perhaps you want to add a personal welcome message into your welcome package when a client first signs up with you. But, you can automate a LOT.
This not only helps you get out of the admin, it also creates a superior, streamlined process for ALL your clients as they can go through an automated process where you aren’t forgetting to send something or dropping the ball.
My advice, sign up for the free trial.
You can take an unlimited amount of time to try it out with 3 clients and you have access to all the features.
That will likely be enough time for you to fall in love with what it can do for you, your time, your clients and your business.
Use the code mlr20 to sign up for your free trial and let me know what you think!!!
Knowing how to create workflows in Dubsado can be confusing and stressful. Find the starting point with this Free download.
Click HERE for your Guide to Creating Workflows in Dubsado.