Hi Reader,

Last week I mentioned building a fence for Luna, our ~80lb coonhound dog. Yesterday, we were putting the stakes in along the new fence line, which help hold the wired fencing down to the ground & keep 'critters' from trying to bend it upward & get in or out. Luna's not motivated to do that herself, thankfully, but we do have wildlife in the area, including a few black bears, moose, skunks, raccoons, foxes, gophers, deer, etc. and today I think I even saw a beaver in the field behind our house, –so anyway, it seemed like that might not be a bad idea. 😂

Hammer in hand, my husband & I were each hammering the stakes into the ground at even intervals along the new fence line. We were almost done, when I began to hammer in the last stake in my pile, and I suddenly smelled dog shit pretty strongly. I thought, 'huh, she must be using this side of the yard already!' and got up when I was done, –only to realize I'd actually just stepped in a fresh pile that had blended in with the fallen leaves, right where I was putting in the last stake. 🫠

There's no lesson here; it's just kinda funny. Sometimes life just gives ya 'shit' and the best way to move on is to laugh & find humor in it where ya can, clean it off, and move on. 😉😆 Though, I do think that mentality applies to business as well!

After all, I'd much rather have Luna in our lives, even if every now & then having a dog can make things... well, shitty. 🤭

🙌 Our financial survey CLOSED

The results are in! We got 151 total submissions ––YAY! That's definitely nowhere near our 'best' goal of 1,000 but we did hit our 'good' goal of 150 and I'll take it! Given it's the first year we ran the survey, we started it in March (not Dec/Jan), and were both not promoting it as much as we'd have liked, given time constraints, ––I'm pretty happy with that! Next year we'll run it earlier & promote it better. Excited to see how the answers begin to stack up year over year!

On that note, Diane & I are set to begin working on the report starting this week, so I'm VERY excited to see what the data says. Will definitely keep you posted & I plan to share the free report here in an upcoming newsletter when it's ready!
​

📊 Last week's poll results:

I was surprised to see the most votes went to the SEO spreadsheet for live/migrated site redesigns! Some of you picked AND also hit reply to tell me you wanted to vote for the whole list, too. ☝🏼 Noted! 😂

I've added them all to my to-do list, but will probably add these lessons in order by votes – so it looks like the next update to the Ultimate Client Portal System course, will be the SEO template tracker, per your request! 🙌

One topic I didn't include in the poll (because apparently Kit's polls can only have 6 options), was how I use my CRM alongside Kitchen*. That one might need to be a blog post/video, because I bet you're not the only one with that question, Jordin! 🤭😃 ✔️ *Adding it to the list, now.* Thanks for asking!

This week, I'm sharing my AI-journey, from skeptic to power user. 😂 Why I thought AI tools sucked, which ones I've tried, which ones I'm using now that I understand how to use it to my advantage, and specifically what types of tasks I'm using AI for. You might be surprised!

​How I use AI in my web design business​ Tired of AI hype? I was too, –until I found tools that actually work. Here's 5 ways I use AI to save time & be more productive in my business. Find Out Now →

​

6 gems and a win:

⏯️ $0-$100k Checklist Deya's YT videos are always packed with info & this one has a free checklist IF you pass the pop quiz, first! 🤭 So make sure ya pay attention!​

📣 Web Designer's Playbook™️ Christy Price is running a surprise flash sale on her popular course for web designers through 12am CT/1am ET this Friday, May 2nd! Save $500 with coupon code PLAYBOOKFLASH. Learn more* →

👩🏼‍🏫 Launch Out Loud™️ Summit Kate Scott's free summit for Course Creators is TODAY through Friday, May 2nd. I just signed up myself out of curiosity & her first training is titled "10 Essential Elements of a Sales Page That Converts Visitors Into Customers". 🎉 Grab my free ticket →

⏯️ Improve SEO with AI Christy made this short video showing how to use a new FREE Squarespace feature. Ya gotta see how it works! 🤯👇🏼

⏯️ Sqsp Color Themes PRO TIP! 10 to 1, I bet you're setting up your color palette WRONG & your Color Themes are chaos as a result. 😬 Let's fix it! 👇🏼

🎁 Canva Vision Board Template In this week's Monday Mindset post in the Club, I shared a cool graphic that shows what progress looks like daily vs all year ––and I ended up sharing a free vision board template in the comments. 😄 Grab it here.

🤩 Tally's* form submission summaries make it so easy to see all of your "Ah-HA!" moments in your reviews. These are all reviews for the Ultimate Client Portal System course and the Web Design Starter Kit template. 👇🏼

Next week, I'm sharing my thoughts on how to pick 'the perfect' (for you) project management tool, because an all-to-common question is, "Should" I use Asana, ClickUp, Trello, Notion, etc.? 🤔

If you're new(er) around here, –I've tried a literal host of PM tools over the years, and what I'm learned is that NONE of them are actually perfect, but the most perfect one for YOU is the one you'll actually use.

SO... how do you know which one that is?? Hopefully next week's video will help you figure that out! 🤓

That's all for this week. See ya next time!

Katelyn Web Designer & Educator ​Thrivin' on coffee, community, cursing & carefully laid plans!