Business-First Creatives: Client Experience & Systems for Service Providers

I gave three talks in three groups on three consecutive days this week, and in the last one I made an announcement I need to make here too: Systems in Session is no longer Dubsado-or-HoneyBook-pick-your-poison.

I'll now build your client experience inside any of the five CRMs I actually recommend — Dubsado, HoneyBook, 17hats, Sprout Studio, or VSCO Workspace (formerly Táve). Because you were never paying me to teach you how to...

What if the marketing strategy you've been treating like an optional task is actually the one thing that could create a more sustainable business? In this episode, I sit down with Kara to talk about one of my favorite topics: outsourcing your blogging. If you've been relying heavily on social media to attract leads, this conversation might completely change how you think about your marketing strategy.

We dig into the difference betw...

I got myself in a little pickle this week — three presentations, three days in a row. And the one I'm most fired up about is tomorrow's.

Here's why: the number one objection I get when I start talking about automating your client experience is that you don't want it to feel automated for your clients.

So in this episode I'm walking through the three kinds of systems you can build and why you get to decide at every single stage...

If you think you don’t have enough clients to need systems in your business, this episode might completely change your mind. Whether you’re balancing a business with a full-time job or running a part-time side-hustle, you don’t have less need for systems—you have less time to operate without them.

In this episode, I’m chatting with my client Jess Hoffman, a Florida-based pet photographer who runs her ph...

I recorded this one live on the last day of week two of my birthday sabbatical, and it published about ten minutes after I stopped talking. Because I spent the last seven days — on roughly four hours of sleep a night — building a custom client portal that replaced Airtable, Fillout, Notion, Google Docs, and Google Sheets in my business.

What started as "let me move my AI assistants out of ChatGPT" turned into a full app ...

Have you ever wondered why some stories feel effortless to tell while others never seem to land? In this episode, I'm sitting down with Breanna Owen to explore how Human Design can completely change the way we approach storytelling in our businesses.

Instead of trying to tell every story or following someone else's content formula, we're diving into how your Human Design can help you identify the stories you're naturally meant to te...

Most business owners think they need a dramatic transformation story to connect with their audience. In this episode, I sit down with Megan Yelaney to unpack one of the most overlooked pieces of effective marketing: your origin story. We explore why so many entrepreneurs struggle to tell their story, how to identify the version that's most relevant to your current audience, and why authenticity will always outperform trying to soun...

Hey y'all, it's Colie. I'm popping back in after two weeks of guest episodes to talk about something that's been shifting in my business — and honestly, in how I think about systems altogether.

I recently noticed a real shift in who's showing up to work with me, and it sent me down a rabbit hole of rethinking how I talk about automation, personalization, and what I actually deliver for clients. That rethink turned into a new f...

What if giving away something for free was actually the smartest marketing move you could make? In this episode, I'm joined by David Enloe, who shares how a simple idea born during the uncertainty of COVID transformed into one of the most effective marketing strategies I've heard for photographers. What started as a way to meet people in a brand-new city has grown into a long-term client acquisition system that continues to generat...

What if the systems slowing down your business aren't your workflows, but the software you're forcing yourself to use?

In this episode, I'm joined by Notion consultant and workflow strategist Ania Ha to pull back the curtain on the custom Notion workspace she built for my business. We talk about everything from team management and automations to the growing conversation around replacing traditional CRMs with personalized systems bui...

What do you do when the strategies that used to work… suddenly don't? In our Q3 Business Bestie Chat, Sabrina and I are getting real about what it looks like to navigate a season of uncertainty in business—even after years of experience. We're sharing an honest conversation about shifting markets, changing client behavior, and why staying grounded is so important.

With nearly 29 years of combined entrepreneurial experie...

If you've been telling yourself you're not "ready" for better systems yet, this one's for you. In this episode, Colie talks directly to the newer photographers and service providers in her audience — the ones with fewer clients, hesitant to raise their prices, and using a CRM that just isn't built for automation yet.

She breaks down exactly what The Experience Edit is, who it's actually for (spoiler: you don't need a specific ...

What if the best systems in your business didn't make your client experience feel more automated, but actually made it feel more personal?

In this episode, I'm sitting down with Xan Heller, who has gone through both Systems in Session and The Experience Edit, to talk about what happened when she stopped trying to figure out her CRM on her own and finally built systems that supported the custom, high-touch experience she wanted every...

Is your idea of a luxury client experience one where you're the one showing up for every part of it? This episode is for the concierge-level service providers out there — the ones who don't want automation replacing the calls, the in-person consultations, or the hands-on parts of the process.

I'm walking through why you still need systems (just not the kind I usually talk about), how to stay consistent without burning yourself...

What if your next great offer isn't something you build alone? In this episode, I sit down with website copywriter Caitie Cupples to explore the power of collaboration and how partnering with complementary experts can create a better client experience—and a stronger offer.

Caitie shares the story behind Signed, Sealed, Subscribed, a collaborative VIP Week she built alongside a designer and a naming expert to help business owne...

Email Like You Mean It is no more, y'all. I rebranded it — again — and this time I actually love the name I landed on: The Experience Edit.

In this episode, I'm walking you through why I made the change, what's different now that it's gone from a 5-day sprint to a full 10 days, and why I finally split it into two clear goals: mapping your client journey in week one, then writing your entire client communication library i...

So it's been a hot minute since I ranted about client communication, y'all. In this replay of episode 204, I'm breaking down the three things every single client email needs — automated or not — to actually get read: purpose, personality, and preview.

I'll walk you through how to title your email templates by purpose (hint: your clients never see the title, so make it work for you), why a Schitt's Creek GIF might be doin...

What if the biggest benefit of better systems wasn't saving time, but finally trusting your business to run without you? In this episode, I sit down with Danielle Kent, a birth photographer, doula, and educator who joined Systems in Session after already investing in a professionally built Dubsado setup.

Her systems worked, but she still felt disconnected from them. She wanted the confidence to understand, customize, and expand her ...

Y'all know I love a good automated follow-up sequence — but automation only works when a lead is still warm. This episode is about what to do three to six months later, when it's time to personally re-engage the people who went quiet.

I'm walking you through the four buckets of people who belong on your re-engagement list (including some you might not have thought of), where to reach out based on where you last connected, and ...