BIRD WILLIAMS: You're listening to Bird Means Business Episode 78.

Hello, Hello! And thank you for tuning into Bird Means Business podcast. I am your host, Bird Williams. And y'all I am so glad to be back on the show. We took a month off for summer break and my maternity leave. And we are back for a full month of incredible guest episodes. I am super duper pumped to share wisdom from some powerful entrepreneurs all month long. So you're gonna want to buckle up because this is gonna be so much fun. We're kicking things off with the lovely Brittany Keeling. She is schooling us on the five systems to take us from scattered to scaling. Yes. And yes. I would like a lot less scattered and a lot more scale in my business for sure. 

Brittany is the CEO of Be Elevated and a business operations and launch expert. Her knack for systems and strategy was the silver lining to a major loss in her life, which you're going to hear her share more about in our conversation. Y'all, this episode is full of gold. So you're going to want to make sure that you're taking notes. All right? Let's dive in. 

Brittany, I'm so glad to have you on the show. Thank you for being here. 

BRITTANY KEELING: Yeah, I'm so excited. Thanks so much for having me. 

BIRD: This is gonna be a lot of fun. I know that my listeners are going to glean so much from all of your experience. And I kind of refer to you as the systems queen. This is going to be really, really helpful for those who are listening. And you know, I don't remember exactly how or why I started following you on Instagram. But I really resonate with your content. Then I recently heard you speak at a conference and I really connected to your story even more deeply. I'd love for you to share with my listeners about your entrepreneurial journey, and how you got to where you are today. 

BRITTANY: Yeah, I so appreciate that. And I'm super glad that we were able to connect. It's always so much fun talking to you. So I have a really, I think kind of unique story of how I got into all the things that I do. I've been a bit of a serial entrepreneur since I graduated high school. I went to like a year of community college and then dropped out. You know how it goes. But at the end of 2018, I really just decided I didn't love what I was doing. I'd kind of fallen into it. But I was like, "Okay, I want to work for myself, but I have no idea what I want to do." So I started asking people I knew like, what do you think of when you think about me? What are my strengths? What are my weaknesses? Everyone came back and was like, you're really detail-oriented, you're type A, you're great at helping people reach their goals. They're like, really productive. And I'm like, oh, yeah, these are all true things. I just never realized that because they're my natural gifts. And so heading into 2019, I had decided to do something with that. I was just like, I'm going to help people be more productive. I don't know how or why or what I'm just gonna figure it out. 

But right at the beginning of 2019, in February, my dad, who was an entrepreneur, passed away unexpectedly. And so somebody had to take over his business, and I volunteered. So literally, the day after he died, I rolled up to his office and took over. And mind you, he was an accountant. He had an accounting firm. And it was mid-February. So. Fun. And I'm so bad with numbers. I literally didn't even go to college. You know, I'm like, I am no accountant. But my mom and my brother knew nothing about business. And I knew enough about business that I was like, I can figure this out enough to get us through the tax season and be able to like sell this, do something with it and not have to just close the doors and like have it all go to waste. So that's exactly what I did. I struggled through four months of figuring it out. And thankfully, we were able to sell the assets of the business and be done with that. And then at that point in time, you know, I was a month out from moving across the country. And I was like, I have no money. I have no clients. I have no income. I have no business. Like oh my gosh. 

And so you know, in running my dad's business. He, unfortunately, didn't really have anything documented or a process. I mean, he didn't have a second in command. It was just all in his head. And so we ran into a lot of really, really difficult conversations with clients literally just having to tell them like we don't have an answer. People were pissed. So I was like, you know. I remember I told someone one time, "Sorry, I can't just pull my Weegee board out and ask my dead dad like what he did with your tax return. You know? Like, it was crazy. It was crazy.

BIRD: You're going through this process while you're mourning. Oh my gosh.

BRITTANY: I do not recommend it. But it was very pivotal in why I do what I do now. Like it was a really big moment in my life because I realized nobody builds a business, just to have it crumble the minute they're not there. And I believe so passionately that we all will step away from our business. You know, it doesn't have to be something tragic like death. It could be, maybe you were going on vacation, or maybe you are sick, or maybe you do have a family emergency. But we need to be able to step away and do something else and have things still run. And nobody works as hard as they do to have that not happen. 

So I decided I was going to become an online business manager and I invested the last bit of money I had and went all in. And I was like, I'm going to be an OBM. And I'm going to do it like my life depends on it because I felt like it did. And so I did that. And it grew really quickly. I had an agency. And I think at our peak, we had eight team members. They were all contractors. And then over the year that I did that, I signed my first client. We had a client in August of 2019. So I did that for a year. And then in probably July-ish, something like that, I realized I had created a monster. I had created this business that was doing for me the opposite of what I was trying to do for other people. And frankly, I was really miserable. My mental health was in a bad place. I was working 14 hour days. I was spending so much money on contractors. It was rough. I was like, I can't scale this. Like, I can only do so much. And so I've had a true come to Jesus moment where I called my husband, who was my fiance at the time, and I said, "I'm gonna let all my clients go. Are you gonna be okay with me potentially not making money for I don't know how long?" He said, "Okay, I trust you. Do what you have to do." 

BIRD: That's awesome. It's incredible to have that support. 

BRITTANY: It was such a blessing because I really would not be where I am today had I not just done it. You know, I was grateful for all those clients, but I just couldn't continue operating like that. So I gave them like a six weeks notice and helped find new people to help them. And we let go of all of our retainer clients, and then totally restructured. I mean, absolutely everything. And launched what we do now, which is you know, business operations, and that is in the form of like, ClickUp VIP Day, stuff like that. Or which you know, is kind of what we're more known for is seven-day launch support packages. So we have streamlined, you know, two to three months of work for launches into a seven-day package. And it takes a very large level of intentionality and having streamlined processes to make that happen. And so you know, had I not spent so much time working on creating systems and processes, that never would have been possible to create something that disrupted the industry, and is now like, so much fun, and like really changing the way that so many other people are doing business. 

BIRD: And allowing you to have a business that doesn't run you. That you run, right? So that you really enjoy it. Unlike how it was before. That's incredible. 

BRITTANY: Yeah, that's probably the biggest part.

BIRD: Right, right. Awesome! Well, you know, what really stuck out to me? Aside from the fact that you were able to take something that was really tragic and hard in your life and turn it into something so powerful in terms of what you do now. But you also mentioned, "My dad kept everything in his head." And it reminded me of actually my experience helping my dad. So, my dad, he's awesome, I love him. We're super close. He's ex-Marine. But he has all these rental properties, residential and commercial. And when I moved back from New York, I started helping him with all these finances, trying to figure things out, because I could tell it was all a mess. And Brittany, he was going tenant to tenant every month collecting physical checks and then taking them to the bank.

BRITTANY: Oh my God!

BIRD: You know? it was just a whole... I'm like, "Dad, this is a mess." And he was really hesitant and resistant with just basic direct deposit. Right? And I think it was really that he hesitated most because it was just something that was different. He was having to change. And he'd done this for years. And so, in light of that, before we get into these five systems, which I'm so excited to talk about. I know that some of the entrepreneurs listening might also feel hesitant to kind of change what they're currently doing, or start something new and make that leap. So how would you encourage them to really open up and start implementing some of these systemic changes in their businesses? 

BRITTANY: That's a really great question. And like such a good point, as well. Like change can be really intimidating and overwhelming. So I would say two things. One, when you look at the bigger picture, does it feel like what you're currently doing will support you in getting there? And if that answer is like, a no. Or maybe like kind of lukewarm maybe. Then that's probably a sign that you need to try something new. And new doesn't have to be overwhelming, right? You don't have to do it all at once. 

So the second thing I would say is just start small. Start with one thing. We're going to talk about five systems today. But you don't have to go do them all tomorrow. You can start dabbling in system one, and taking baby steps. And it really is the small daily actions that add up over time that are going to make the biggest difference in your business. So don't be afraid to take it slow.

BIRD: 1,000%! That is so good. And that speaks to someone who's like me. Because I'm the kind of person who will listen to an episode like this and be like, I'm doing all the things today, you know? But that's not how you should approach these kinds of things, because it can feel a little overwhelming. Baby steps and going from there. I love that so much. 

All right. Well, let's jump in. I'm really excited. We're going to talk about five systems to take you from scattered to scaling. On that point of scattered, I thought about where I was before I started implementing systems in my business. And I too, had stuff just everywhere, like digitally scattered. My dad, I imagine your dad, had stuff physically scattered everywhere, right? Papers and ... 

BRITTANY: Oh, my God. You should have seen it. His desk looked like a tornado threw up papers on it. We always always gave him a hard time for that, because it was just constant nonstop. He couldn't find something that he just had two minutes ago. 

BIRD: Exactly. My dad has these random bags full of papers. And he doesn't really know. Anyway, so they have physically scattered stuff. But we can have digitally scattered stuff in Google Drive and Notes and voice notes all over the place. So I'm really excited to get into this episode. So what is the first system?

BRITTANY: The first system speaks to exactly what you're saying. And so the first system is a task management and project management system. Because literally exactly like you're saying, the example I always tell people is like, you've got stuff everywhere, right? Like you're trying to keep your thoughts, your ideas, and your to-do's. And like anything else that pops into your brain. Your brain dumps. Like everything in 100 different places. Like you're writing on sticky notes. You're writing in a journal. You're putting it in the notes in your phone. You're in a Google Doc. Maybe in a Trello board. You're just like all over the place. And so what ends up happening is like, how do you know where anything is? Like, you are gonna lose track of things. Things are gonna slip through the cracks. And maybe you wrote down a really important task that you needed to get done. But then maybe you put it in the notes in your phone, but when you went to go work, you looked at your Trello board. And so you forgot it was there. You didn't do it. 

It just leads to so much brain clutter, honestly. Like just being able to free up your brain space is so valuable. So I always recommend that people get into ClickUp. That's like my preferred platform for so much of what we're going to talk about today. You can do so much in there. And something I hear a lot from people is, "Uh, I just can't deal with another place to look." And so I would encourage all of your listeners to instead of thinking of it as another place to look. Think of it as the only place. The point is to set up your ClickUp and use only your ClickUp. Use it for your brain dumps. Use it for your ideas. Use it for your tasks. Use it for your personal to-do's. Like, absolutely everything. And stop using the notes on your phone, your handwritten stuff, because it needs to all be in one place so that every time you look, it's there. And you're not having to think about, "Oh, dang it, I forgot to do X, Y, or Z. I need to remember to do that tomorrow." You just type it in and forget it exists. And when you log in in the morning, it's there. 

BIRD: Yeah. Oh, that's amazing. I use Asana, which is another type of project management system. But I can still get into the bad habit of going to my voice notes or going to my notes on my phone. And so I guess you could create a system around making sure that if that happens, because like sometimes I'm driving and can't type, right, so I'll just do a voice note. I have a system that makes sure that I consolidate any of those notes into a system like ClickUp or Asana. That's really, really huge. I know that when I started implementing that, in my business, it was a game-changer. So I love that you're sharing that. 

BRITTANY: Yeah, I love that you mentioned having a system for if you do put it somewhere else, getting it to the right place, because that's what makes all the difference. It really does. 

BIRD: Right. Right. Yeah. Okay, what's this system number two, I'm excited. 

BRITTANY: Yeah, so system number two is going to sound a little boring, but I swear it is crucial. So it's an SOP creation system. Here we are. Sounds so corporate, right? 

But I don't have a corporate background at all, which is funny because I think a lot of people who do have corporate backgrounds are familiar with the term SOP, which stands for standard operating procedure. But if you're like me and you never heard this term or abbreviation until you got into this space, you might be a little confused or overwhelmed or don't even know what it is. 

And really what I like to explain this as is like, your SOP is just how you do things. It's your way of working. So you should have lots of SOPs built out. But what I'm saying here is you need a system for creating those SOPs. Because when you go, "Okay, I'm going to create an SOP." It's like, where do I start? 

So two huge hacks that you can do for yourself is, one, have a template. So the template should detail like, go back to elementary school, who, what, when, where, why. Right? Like, who's doing this? What are they doing? When are they doing it? Why are they doing it? What's the purpose? All of that. 

Then you break down the process and the procedure. So the process is kind of like an outline, here's what we're doing start to finish. But the procedure is where you break down every single little tiny baby detail of like, go to this website, login, click this button. You know, really, really detailed. The idea is that hopefully, anyone could look at that SOP and accomplish whatever that task is, to be that detailed and thorough. 

But what ends up happening so often is like, we do these things all the time. So we forget what the steps even are. So the second thing that I always recommend is starting with a video. I use Loom. It's a great screen recording software. Just start with a video. Just screen record what you're doing. Talk through, okay, here's why I'm doing this. Explain it that way. Either you can take the video and then repurpose it and plug it into the template. Or if you have an assistant or any team member who you feel like you could give that to and have them do it. That's also an amazing option. And then anybody who needs to utilize your SOP, regardless of what way they learn, they have options. We have the written. We have the video. We have the audio.

BIRD: I love that so much because I've only ever done it with video where I go into Loom and I'll link the Loom video into my project management system. So that on that task that recurs every week, there's a link there to remind them if they need to go refer to it. 

But the idea of having it written is so great, too, because someone might just want to not have to watch a video and want to just go through it written. I love that. And for those listening in, SOP is going to be for anything in your business that you do repeatedly. So that's a lot of what you do in your business. So I have SOPs for all the tasks around my podcast, for example, social media content, all kinds of things. So I love that you brought that up. And these are the kinds of things that it might take some work on the front end. And it might feel like okay, this is a lot. But it's gonna save your butt when you hire someone onto your team. Or if you need someone else to do something like she said, so that you can walk away from your business, whether it's maternity leave, or you want to take a vacation or you're sick, and not feel like the business has to stop because you're not there. Right? So I love that you brought that one up.

BRITTANY: Yeah, such good points. I love that. Also, if this is feeling overwhelming for anyone, it's like, just start with videos only. Just start with the videos, because it can feel like, well don't even know what to record. Just anytime you go to do a task, record what you're doing. Create a little bank of videos for yourself. And then when it comes time to have a team member on board, you at least have something to pull from and aren't starting from zero. 

BIRD: 1,000%. This whole SOP process is a part of my business plan development process in the operation section. I think it is that important. Even when you're a solopreneur to get used to doing these kinds of things for your business because it's going to set you up to win. I love it. Okay, what is system number three?

BRITTANY: So system number three is going to be relevant for all of us. And it's having a content planning, creation, and repurposing system. So, you know, we're pretty much I would gather that if you're listening, you probably are a content creator in some way, right? Like most of us use our social platforms for a lot of our marketing material. And so what I tend to find happens is in the earlier stages of business. And I did this myself, so I say this without any judgement. But we tend to post a lot in real-time, kind of wait for that like strike of inspiration. And then we're like, oh, I'm posting. 

But what happens when your business picks up and you get busy? Or if something else happens, right? You have to step away for whatever reason. Then your content just stops as well. So it's really important that you actually have a plan, and then have a way to a system around planning, creation, automation, and then also repurposing. I'll give you an example of how we are currently doing this. And this is gonna sound really complicated, but we have changed this so many times over the years. So something beautiful to remember is like you're not stuck in a system. You can tweak it, evolve, completely trash it and do something new at any time. 

BIRD: 1,000% yes! 

BRITTANY: Yeah. But what we're doing right now is I was personally handling all of the planning and content creation, because I'm a little bit meticulous about our marketing material. I'm not a copywriter. So I don't write our sales pages or anything like that. But you know, it's really important to me to have a consistent brand voice. And so I've done that, but I am a busy CEO, and I do not have time to handle all that anymore. So what we have done so that it's less on my plate, but I'm still integrated and involved in the process, is my executive assistant and I start in a Google Doc, and kind of go back and forth of like, here are some topics. And then we just like go deeper into that topic. And deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole until we're like, okay, here are some really good like actual topics to use. 

Then she goes in and in ClickUp, we have a content planning section. She will map out for the month topics and plug them in for where they need to go based on like, our promotional schedule and stuff like that. Then we have different statuses. So basically, she just moves the status to say ready to be outlined. Then I get notified. I go in there. And for each topic, I just write down bullet points. Or if I'm like, Oh, I did a live video on this, I link it. Or if I'm like, oh, I did a blog. Anything that I've already created that will be relevant I include. Then we send it to, currently, we're using our copywriting intern to write all the social posts. Then they come back to me for revisions. I edit and approve. And then our executive assistant schedules them. It sounds really complicated. But like if you're a solopreneur, you can do this by yourself still. The first week of the month, you're planning out topics. The second week, you're outlining everything. The third week, you're actually writing. And the fourth week you're scheduling. 

BIRD: Yes. And it's beautiful. You talked about inspiration. When you batch content like this, you can really get into the mode, and you can really get into a good flow. So that's a difference from every Monday, when you want to do a post on Monday, sitting down feeling like I don't know what I'm going to talk about. The difference between that and maybe the first week of every month, you sit down and you really just write out some ideas for what your captions might be. Like you said, stage it over the whole month to where now you're a month ahead, and you're good. And you got that out of you when you were in a good flow and in a good headspace. As opposed to like, you might not feel good that morning. Or you might have an emergency pop up, right? And you're not able to get that post out and you feel guilty and all that. So I love this idea around having a content planning and repurposing the system. And batching it. That's really huge.

BRITTANY: Yeah, it gives you so much freedom and flexibility, right? If you're tired, you're gonna write your caption in the morning. And it's like, you know, I need to sleep in a little bit. Well, instead of then sacrificing, not having that content go out. I can't tell you how nice it is, for me to just like wake up and go about my day and get the notification of ‘your post is ready to go up’. I'm like, oh, I forgot I even had that. Great. It goes up and like, I don't have to think about it. Because I'm already in the process of creating content for the following month, or it's already created. It's so freeing.

BIRD: Yes. And then on the point of repurposing, do you want to talk a little bit about that? Like how you use one piece of content for multiple platforms? Or how that works? 

BRITTANY: Yeah, absolutely. So there's so many ways to go about repurposing. But a really good practice that I have used many a time, both with myself as well as with clients when I was doing general OBM work, is sort of picking one medium that you really enjoy showing up for. So let's just say I love going live in a Facebook group. Or maybe I love recording for YouTube. Ideally, some sort of recording if possible, just because nobody else can repurpose your face. So if you're recording anything that has to be you. So if you can record something, you can have a process where that is then taken, let's just call it a Facebook Live, okay. You can then download that video. You can upload it to YouTube. You can take snippets of it and make it a Reel. You can make it an IGTV. You can repurpose the training topics into new like story trainings that you'll do. You can create probably multiple social posts. You can create a blog post. And you can probably create maybe an email or a couple emails. 

BIRD: Absolutely. It's amazing because it extends the footprint of the work you're putting so much into. It's not just one blog post or one podcast episode or one Facebook Live. You can repurpose it and take that content. So I love that you shared that as well.

BRITTANY: Yeah, and there's that fear of being redundant. But always a good reminder is like, one people are not seeing every piece of content you put out into the world. And two, even if they are, they're probably not going to think, oh, I've already seen or heard something similar from you before. People need to see, hear, experience something, how many times? It's like the statistic is always changing. But it's like 10 times. Something like that.

BIRD: I know what you're talking about. I was gonna bring that up. And I'm glad you mentioned it because that was something that was hard for me. When I first started, like, my online business is like, feeling what that was redundant. But then I'd run into clients or someone who I engaged with a lot on social and they would be like, "What? You did a podcast on that? I didn't even know." I'm like, I talked about it so much, you know?

BRITTANY: Right! And I feel like we think, "Oh my gosh. In all my stories all day, I'm already talking about this. Like, people are gonna get so annoyed with me." But it's like, you probably have a handful, like a small group of like raving, you know, quote, raving fans, if you will, of like that love everything and like are going to check your story religiously. But I can't tell you how often, as somebody who does launches all day, every day for clients, and does launches for myself. It's like, we are like, we're everywhere with our launch strategy. Like we're showing up everywhere. I can't tell you how many times people I'm like close with. I'm like, oh, you just now watched? I didn't see anything. You know, there's algorithms. And we're also like, inundated with content, and we're busy. So the more we can talk about things, the better. 

BIRD: Yes, girl! Yes and yes. I'm so glad we're having this conversation. Okay, what is system number four?

BRITTANY: This is one of my favorite ones because I think a lot of people can feel overwhelmed by this. And I know that if you own a business, this is relevant to you. The fourth system is client management. If you have a business, you've got clients or customers. Those are the facts. Like we all know this to be true. 

So if you have clients, you may be currently manually doing all the stuff for them. And you're probably keeping it in your head, right? Somebody is like, I'm ready to sign up. Okay, great. Let me remember. Okay, I need to get their contract. I need to get their invoice. And then you send it out and you're like, oh, dang, I forgot their questionnaire and their scheduler or whatever. And then let's also say, I always use this to gauge where people are at. I always ask, if you had 10 clients that were ready to roll, wanting to onboard tomorrow, would you be ready to take them? And most people are like, no. It's a really good way to gauge things. Because if you're like, no, I would have to like throw my whole day away to try to like onboard everybody. And then you're onboarding 10 people. And you call Susie Rebecca. And like making mistakes. There's so much human error that could happen. It's like one - waste of time; two - non efficient; three - sending a bad first impression. And it just kind of sucks on all ends, right? Like it doesn't feel good. And so if you're not in the place to get in a platform like Dubsado, or Honeybook, or something like that. It doesn't mean the world is going to end if you can't automate all of it. If you're ready, and you can, I obviously advocate for that. 

But there's still a way you can create systems around your manual onboarding. And that's by writing it down, creating your SOP. And then also having really thorough templates. Maybe your welcome. email template is like something and it says, Hi, (first name) and first name is highlighted in yellow so that you never forget to change it. 

Just the little things like that, instead of going back to the last onboarding email you sent and copy pasting it and forgetting to change the name, right? You know, and like, we all know this happens. And it sends you in your little shame spiral. And like, it just doesn't feel good. And so whether you can automate or not, just create some processes around what you do. That way, maybe it is manually being done. But you can still step away and have somebody else do it, because you've got all of your SOPs in place.

BIRD: Exactly. I'm glad you brought that up, because I use and love Dubsado. I've talked about it a lot on the podcast and to clients. And I was talking with a client in my Prove It Plan course recently who had called Dubsado and was trying to figure it out. But for some really strange reason that's really unique to her business, it didn't work. I explained exactly what you just said. You could still have a system. It's more manual, but there can still be a system with templates and on and on. And you can still step away from it if you have an SOP. Or someone can come in and take over it. So when it comes to all of these, I always try to remind my listeners that I'm not saying this is right, and this is wrong, you should do this or that. It's like, this is what's worked for me. This is what I could see helping you in your business. But you know, you want to make sure to like be agile and adaptable for what works best for you. So I'm just loving all of this. This is great.

BRITTANY: Every business is so different. These are not hard and fast rules. They're just best practices, options for you to choose from. I just think regardless of what you do, being able to have it down to, "No, this is our system. This is our process. This is how we do whatever thing", is the most important piece. Whatever is going to work best for you to stick to consistently is what I always recommend. 

BIRD: Yes and yes. And I have found, I don't know about you when it comes to Dubsado being good with like kind of housing each client. I know they do it in projects. But how do you use that? Because it doesn't seem to work as well, for me, with the projects in Dubsado for like keeping up with clients and leads and that sort of thing.

BRITTANY: Yeah, so we personally use Dubsado for client onboarding, as well as lead capture forms, applications, and then also like call schedulers. However, I have been, in the back end of Dubsado a lot over the past like year and a half. And it definitely has its quirks. And there are a lot of things that I don't love about it. So I personally don't bill through Dubsado ever. I use ThriveCart. But I still link it in my email in Dubsado. So that's how I do that. 

Outside of those things, we don't use Dubsado. We keep everything in ClickUp. So we do all of our lead tracking. It's just so much more efficient, because again, that's where we go everyday to look at our tasks. We basically have like every lead is a, quote, task. And then we have certain custom fields. So we put in there, you know, like where are they at? Have they inquired? Have we sent a call scheduler? Have they booked? Have we sent a proposal? So on and so forth. We have like last contacted date. We have a follow up date. So when I change the follow up date, we have an automation in place to create a task for me on that date to send the follow up. So it's really streamlined. And there we do connect with Zapier from platform to platform to just kind of track things. But my main point for the whole, like lead tracking and management and just kind of housing all of that is in ClickUp. And once they become a client, we also continue to track that in ClickUp and we will input you know some of their client information. We'll input all these different things. 

But you know, ClickUp doesn't do the whole automated onboarding: sending the contract and having it be legally binding; And when they sign, sending the invoice. That's not a function in there. So that's how we use the two platforms together. 

BIRD: I love that. That's very helpful. And I'm glad we're pointing that out for anyone who gets into Dubsado to also think about using their project management system like ClickUp for their actual lead tracking. Great point. What is the final system?

BRITTANY: The final system is an email marketing system. I know early in business, a lot of us don't have email platforms really. Or maybe you have a platform, you just don't have a list or not much of a list. But it's really important, no matter if you have five contacts or 5000+, to make sure you're showing up there. I think in the early stages of business, email can be a bit underrated. And it's a really powerful tool when it's used consistently. And one of the biggest issues I see is people taking an Instagram post and copy pasting verbatim into their email and sending it out to their list. And I get it. I've done it. So again, I say this humbly, I have done it. But we have to keep in mind of like, what the person on the other end is experiencing. If we're sending them emails that they've already seen on social media, what we're training them to do, subconsciously is to not open our emails, and to delete them. Because if I get an email from so and so. And I know that the last five emails I got from them I saw on social beforehand, I'm just gonna delete it, before I even open it. I'm probably gonna unsubscribe, you know? 

I would say you can still repurpose by using your emails, but start with the email. Or if you're starting with a blog post, send that out to your list. Don't post on social and then repurpose to email. Start with the email because that needs to be exclusive because they have raised their hand and opted in. And so having that system of you know whether you're going to send it once a month, or every week, whatever works best. Just having a system in place to again, plan out what the topics are gonna be. right the content, schedule the emails, and then repurpose them into whatever you want.

BIRD: Yes, that's so good. I love that you're bringing up email marketing, because I actually have a podcast that's like asking, is your whole marketing strategy, just social media? And a lot of entrepreneurs will come to me and say, "Bird, I have this idea. I'm so excited about it. I'm launching this business. And here's my Instagram handle." I'm like, that's awesome. But there's so many other ways to market your business. So email marketing is huge. And you said what you're training them to do. And I like that you said that because again, for someone to subscribe to your emails, you want to give them the most love and attention and make it exclusive. Right? So you don't want to be saying oh, I'm just seeing exactly what you just posted on social media. Totally fine to be talking about the same thing. But maybe you add more value, give more examples in an email than you would maybe on social media. Jazz it up a little bit. So great point. And do you have any tips on email marketing platforms?

BRITTANY: Oh, do I?

BIRD: I know you do. I know you do.

BRITTANY: You know I do. I cannot shut up about ActiveCampaign. I have converted everybody that knows me into the platform. I just love it. And like I mentioned, we do a lot of launches, a lot of funnels. And so I've worked in a lot of different platforms. And I will say, like ActiveCampaign truly has the most robust automation options you can find. However, they also have a really, really, really low investment tier for if you're just starting out. So it's really reasonably priced. And I think there's a misconception that, like, you need to start in a different platform and more beginner friendly. I don't, I don't know. But starting there, and then eventually move to another platform. We do so many migrations, I'm like, you' have no idea how it's just such a waste of time and energy to have to do that. So better to start in the platform, if you can, or migrate earlier. At some point, you're likely going to hit that wall of what your platform can or cannot do for you, if you're looking to have certain automations and stuff in place.

BIRD: That's why I'm so glad to have you on because like you said, you've been doing this for a while now. And you've tried so many different platforms. And you found that this one is really great. Girl, I have been through MailerLite. I have been through ConvertKit. I'm on Kajabi now. And when I saw your posts about ActiveCampaign, I was like, maybe I should consider a look into that, right? Because I am finding limitations everywhere I go. So I'm very glad that you shared that. I'm going to look into it. And it is a whole thing to like revamp everything. But if it's what's going to be best for me in the long run, it's something I'm definitely going to consider and look into. So anyone listening, if you find yourself in the same place, like I just switched to a different system. I'm not saying go to ActiveCampaign for sure. Although Brittany might be I might be her next friend that she converts. But it's something you might want to consider and look into.

BRITTANY: I'm here for anybody who is considering it and has questions. I'm such a diehard fan. It's just ridiculous. I just love it. It's been a very long time since we've had a client in a different platform, because they're always like, what platform should I use? And I'm like, "Get an Active Campaign immediately."

BIRD: I love it. That's awesome. These systems are so foundational and so important. And you mentioned, I know with the SOPs, this might not sound fun, or sexy. But that's what a lot of business is. I think there's a misconception that business is like super sexy, hashtag ...

BRITTANY: In your bikini, making a trillion dollars, drinking your mojito.

BIRD: Actually, I'm pretty SOPs over here, but it's gonna take me to where I need to go. So I love that you brought all of them up. And I'm going to just summarize real quick for anyone listening and taking notes. 

The first system is having a task management and project management system, something like ClickUp which Brittany knows tons about. And you could totally work with her to get your ClickUp set up. 

And the second system is creating SOPs, your standard operating procedures. Whether it's just video, video, audio, and written. Some way of really standardizing what you do, as you're running your business. All the things that you're doing repeatedly need to have an SOP. 

Number three is a content planning and repurposing system. This applies to like almost all of us if you're on social or if you even have email marketing or kind of original content that you put out regularly. Having a system around how that's planned and executed is huge. Batching is huge there as well. 

And then number four is having a client management system, so that you're making sure that you're staying on top of where your clients are, and even where your leads are, too. I messed up big time with leads when I first launched, not following up regularly and all of that. So a client management system will help there. 

And then finally, an email marketing system. This has been really really, really good. I'm so glad I was able to have you on the show. And I know that there is a resource you want to promo. So tell us a little bit about it. 

BRITTANY: Yeah, so I actually have a guide. It's called shocker, "The Five Systems to Take You From Scattered to Scaling" guide. It details everything we've just talked about. But it also includes a link to a spreadsheet that you could use for content planning if maybe you aren't in ClickUp. And it includes my very own SOP template for you to use as well. I have a plethora of free resources. So if you're ever looking and you can't find something that you need, my DMs are open. Just let me know what you're looking for. There's a really good chance I have something for you.

BIRD: Awesome! That is super helpful. I love having that template and that spreadsheet. It's really huge to just help you get started. So I'll make sure to link that resource in the show notes. And I want to ask you one final question to kind of close everything up. What is one thing that you're doing this week to be the best version of yourself? And I ask guests this question, because I think that as entrepreneurs, you know, we're thinking big strategy, long term. And they have all these goals and vision. And that's great, right? But what's also great is like kind of what you said. What are you doing in the consistent moments in the every day? So when you think about who you really want to be, the best version of yourself, and how you want to show up to the world. What is something that you're doing this day, this week, to make sure you show up that way?

BRITTANY: I gotta be honest, I'm really good at showing up for my business and not always as good at showing up for myself. So earlier this week, I took sort of a me day, actually yesterday. And I did things for myself that I loved. And I went to my first acupuncture appointment. I'm starting to do regular acupuncture. I have just like some autoimmune stuff. And like my hormones are out of whack. So I'm really excited. I've been kind of on a journey with various aspects of my health over the past eight months. And I'm really excited to continue that and be able to lean into like holistic methods of letting my body do what it's meant to do, and regulate itself. So yeah, that's what I did this week. And I'm definitely excited. 

BIRD: That's beautiful, Brittany. I too have struggled with autoimmune issues in the past and started seeing a holistic doctor a few years ago. And it's been a game changer, girl in so many ways. So I love that you're taking care of yourself. And you're not the only one that just focuses on, you know, it's easier to justify time in your business than it is for you personally. Like I had to redefine productivity when I had my first baby because he just wanted me to lay there with him. And I was like, we're not getting enough done. Like we gotta make moves around here, people. And I'd say maybe this is productive. It looks different. But bonding with my newborn is pretty important. So I'm glad to hear that you're doing that and taking care of yourself. 

Now, how can those listening connect with you online? I know that they are just like they have pages full of notes, and they're so excited to be able to connect with you. So where can they find you?

BRITTANY: Yeah, so I've got a few options. So on Instagram, I'm very active on Instagram. You can find me @brittanyannette. We also have a business page @beelevatedinc. And then our website is beelevatedinc.com. So if you're curious about our services, we also have like courses and stuff on there that help with systems. And then like I mentioned tons and tons of free resources as well as if you're interested in any of the platforms we've talked about. I have all of my affiliate links on there. So like some of them give you a special discount or free trial, stuff like that. And then we actually just recently launched a YouTube channel, which has been an adventure. So you can just search Brittany Keeling. That's my last name. K-E-E-L-I-N-G. I hopefully should pop up. Clearly, I'm new to our YouTube channel. But I would say Instagram is always a safe bet. And everything is probably linked in our bio anyway. 

BIRD: Perfect. That's awesome. And I'm actually going to link each of the things that you mentioned in the show notes. If you're listening, you can just scroll right on down to the episode description and click right there to connect with Brittany further. 

Thank you, girl. I really appreciate having you on the show. You are such a light. I'm really grateful to have connected with you and to be able to share this space today.

BRITTANY: Yeah, this is so fun. I'm also just like really grateful that we were able to have this conversation. And I'm excited for everything that's like in the works. And hopefully all of your listeners get so much out of this.

BIRD: Wasn't that so good? I just love what Brittany said. "Nobody builds a business just to have it crumble the minute they're not there." My friend, you may feel like this entrepreneurial journey is demanding a lot from you. That even getting started with some of these systems that we've talked about, honestly feels a bit daunting. Just know this. There's purpose in it. There is going to be good fruit produced from the hard work that you're going to put in on the front end. You're building a better brand, a solid business that's going to give you the freedom, flexibility and fulfillment you so desire. So let that motivate you to put in the work now. You can do this. And your girl, Bird, is forever cheering you on. 

Now during our conversation I mentioned my business plan development course. It's called Prove It Plan. And it's a self paced online course for developing a strategic business plan. You're going to learn business fundamentals in these four pillars: foundation, financial, operations, and marketing. And if this sounds like something you need, you can learn more at birdwilliams.com/proveitplan. 

Now I hope to see you in the members area. And I hope to see you during our monthly live coaching sessions, as well. That's something that's exclusive for those in Prove It Plan. And I look forward to that. 

As always, thank you so much for tuning into Bird Means Business podcast, for subscribing on Apple Podcasts, and for following us on Spotify. If you know an entrepreneur who needs to tune into this episode, make sure you share it with them so that they too can go from scattered to scaling.

Alrighty, talk to y'all next week.