Hi Reader,
For the first few years of my freelance business, my freelance client processes felt like they were held together with the digital equivalent of duct tape.
In the very beginning (~2015), I was sending invoices via PayPal & I didn't use a contract—didn't know I needed one!
Later, I started using a CRM, but content collection forms were either in Dubsado or Google Docs.
And if my client uploaded files to Dubsado's forms back then, we could only upload OR download one file at a time to those forms... so it took forever (and a few extra years—jk!) to download logos, stock images, product photos, etc before I could even start working on the design edits... 🤦🏻♀️
I saved & delivered my project files in Dropbox (my preference over Google Drive), and I'd have to invite the client to the folder to upload there if they had a bunch of files to share—but of course not everyone uses Dropbox.
Our internet royally sucked back then, so video calls were not possible yet, which meant client communications mostly happened via email, text, phone calls, or DMs on social media... 😵💫 To track down what he/she said & where... let me tell you exactly how excruciatingly stupid that was for a part-time side hustle. 😂
And don't forget the graveyard of 'project management' tools I went through, trying to find one that both my client & I liked using efficiently. At best, they used it for me without complaint, and at worst, they were confused & asking a lot of questions or 'surprisingly' quiet in the tool. 🫠 #notgreat
I mean... I guess you could say it worked ...technically?
It was a lot of manual labor to keep up with everything between platforms, AND I still had a full-time job during those years. Frankly, it also made me a little resentful of work that I actually loved, and added more stress and time to the project.
I kept stressing over thoughts like:
...What am I forgetting?
...Where did [Client] tell me [something specific] again?
...Did I forget to do [current task] for [Other Client]?
🫣
Smarter-than-me-people said I could set up email templates to say or respond to things I answered a lot, but how do you USE those when you're communicating outside of email? (calls, texts, DMs, etc.)
Thankfully in the very beginning you don't usually have a bucketload of clients adding more stress to this shit pile..., but the more I thought about how I NEEDED more client work in order to leave my 9-5 job, the more stressed I felt at my current chaotic systems possible expansion.
Of course, these days I run things very differently! 😄
And I'm ridiculously excited to share exactly why I changed things up (& how) at the Square Design Summit in a couple weeks! 👇🏼
It's a free 3-day virtual event created specifically for Squarespace designers.
I'm beyond honored to be one of 30 REALLY KICK-ASS speakers sharing what actually works for us!
✴️ The most
important info:
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- The Summit is August 17–19th
- Each day’s session recordings are available @ 10am EST & are available for 24 hours
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Each day has a focus:
- 1) day one: design skills,
- 2) day two: business systems,
- 3) day three: marketing
- 30 speakers in 3 days, —including meeee!
- A pop-up Facebook group to ask the speakers questions & share your takeaways
- Completely free to attend!
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ℹ️ Speakers include LOTS of familiar faces & names!
- Christy Price, topic: "More Profit, Less Time: Rethinking Services"
- Will Myers, topic: "Beyond the Builder: An Intro to APIs for Squarespace & What They Can Do"
- Kadie Smith, topic: "5 Branding Mistakes Squarespace Designers Make Every Day"
- Rache de Luna, topic: "Reclaim Your Creative Time: AI for Squarespace Designers"
- Nick Ippolito (SquareKicker), topic: "Composing Creative Tools for Designers in the Age of AI"
- Krishna Solanki, topic: "Build a Referral Engine for Your Design Business"
- Sam Crawford, topic: "Top Client Acquisition Strategies"
- Becca Harpain, topic: "Podcasting as a Marketing Strategy: Turning Chaos Into Actionable Growth"
- Whitney Rose, topic: "The One Week Web Design Method"
- Emilie Nutley, topic: "Predictable Pay for Designers"
- Helen Rajan, topic: "You Can't Get Referrals Without Clients (& Other Lies I've Loved)"
- And so many more!
Day 2 | My Session Topic
How I Use A Client Portal To Collect Content & Manage Projects Without Losing My Mind (Or Overwhelming My Clients)
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If you've ever felt overwhelmed while collecting your client's content on time, or felt stressed because you couldn't find what you needed when you needed it during a project—my session is for you! 🤭
Can't join us during the summit but don't want to miss anything?
There will also be an option to upgrade your free ticket to an All-Access Pass for lifetime access plus $1,000+ in bonus courses, templates, and tools from the speaker lineup. More on that soon!
Will I see you there? 😃
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Katelyn
Web Designer & Educator
Thrivin' on coffee, community, cursing & carefully laid plans!
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