Our fourth year was the most transformative in our business. We took the most risks – and we reaped the biggest rewards! We sat down at the beginning of 2020 and decided this was the year we were going to really dive headfirst into the biz and grow. 

But first, we need to rewind a little. In late 2019, we decided to write down our goals individually over the Christmas break, then come together and compare in the new year.

And what did we find when we looked at each other’s lists? Surprise, surprise… They were identical.

• Goal 1: Invest in a mastermind or community.
• Goal 2: Outsource our admin tasks.
• Goal 3: Hire some Freelancers to create more capacity for client work.
• Goal 4: Invest in tools to automate all the icky stuff.

So how did we go achieving all of that? Well, we don’t mean to brag. But we smashed it. Out. Of. The. Park. (I mean, it only took us 3 years HAHA). But we did learn some very valuable lessons during this process, so here we are. Keep scrolling and learn the easy way.

Goal 1: Invest in a Mastermind or Community

This was a NO BRAINER. We’d been following The Founders Team for years, and had MAJOR FOMO. We’d see their events and say to each other “we need to do that”. And this was the year that we decided to commit. We wanted accountability to hit our goals, we wanted the community aspect and we wanted to be surrounded by like-minded people who just *GOT* us. And we haven’t looked back.

In 2020 we won Cheerleaders of the year. And by 2022 we’re now in the Mindmasters, because we’ve grown with TFT helping us along the way. And we’re bloody proud of that.

Signing up with TFT was one of the best investments we ever made. If you’d like to join The Fam, we’d highly recommend signing up here. And if you’re not sure which Membership is the best for you, have a chat with Leanne or Emily and they’ll set you on the right path.

P.s. After years of spruiking The Founders Team we finally joined their affiliate program, so we may earn a little commish when you purchase a template through one of the links above or use our code. As always, we only recommend things that we genuinely know and love X

Goal 2: Outsource our Admin Tasks

The next big step we took for 2020 was outsourcing our admin. It was easily another one of the best investments we were making in our business at the time. We’re very lucky to now have Erin looking after this side of the biz, but at the time we were DROWNING in emails. We were stressed. Overworked. Trying to do ALL THE THINGS. 

By having help from magicians like Jess Howell, we were able to pass over some of the things we didn’t want to do, to make time for the things we needed to be doing (hello personal development and spending more time strategising for clients).

Goal 3: Hiring Freelancers

So with all of these new processes and investments in our biz, so too came the flood of enquiries. We were getting out and about. Meeting new people. And our inboxes were getting out of control (even more so). So we started reaching out to Freelancers and friends of ours who owned complementary businesses to see if they could whitelabel.

At the time, it was the best path forward. 

However, looking back, if we’d known how much of a dream it would be to actually hire our own staff (thanks to the team at Davy Partners – formerly Club Sandwich HR) we would have done that much sooner. But hiring isn’t for everyone. You really need to look at your own goals, the time you have available and the goals for business growth too!

At the time we had NO desire to become an agency with staff. Once we decided to hire, well, I mean the proof is in the pudding. We haven’t looked back.

If you do decide to hire a Freelancer, check out Foundd Legal’s templates or enquire with the team to get some advice. We personally used their Independent Contractor Agreement and it made the process so easy!

Make sure you use the code OHMYDIGITAL at checkout for 15% off any templates.

P.s. After years of spruiking Foundd Legal’s templates we finally joined their affiliate program, so we may earn a little commish when you purchase a template through one of the links above or use our code. As always, we only recommend things that we genuinely know and love X

Goal 4: Invest in tools to automate all the icky stuff

OKAY so we talk about our best investments and BOY did we make some big (and FANTASTIC ones in 2020). But this one was a TOTAL game-changer for us. We signed up for Dubsado, off the back of a suggestion from one of our Founders Team Mastermind teammates.

About a month before COVID-19, we managed to automate our entire sales process, down to our onboarding process. It honestly rocked our world, because we were fully prepared for what the world was about to throw at us…

At the time, we were getting maybe 2-3 enquiries on our website each week. We were pretty chuffed with that, and it was manageable. Then COVID hit. In the first 24 hours, we lost a third of our monthly client work. Bummer. But then? Over the next week… We tripled our client load again. Businesses started to realise the importance of their digital footprint, and how much their marketing needed to seriously step up in the social department. Suddenly we went from 2-3 enquiries a week….to 2-3 A DAY!!

It was insane. And it just goes to show that your business could skyrocket at any time, so make sure you’re prepared to ride the wave!

Here’s what we automated:

• An online booking form that could be accessed via a link. With limited spots to book a call (which we had to seriously reduce as soon as COVID-19 hit.
• Emails that went out once the call was booked in, with a calendar invite, sent directly to us (to decide who would take the call) and to the potential client to pop in their diary.
• Reminder emails to the potential client that send them our service guide, links to postpone or cancel their appointments, both 24 hours prior and 1 hour prior.
• Directly linking our Project Management system with our CRM so that all of our leads are neatly populated into one list and we could keep track of them.
• Our proposal system. So that we could just copy each proposal and change the package details, which directly sent the proposal to the client, along with the service agreement and testimonials.
• Our onboarding process. So that the client would receive their first deposit to lock in our services and the online onboarding form that electronically saves and submits when they’re ready.
• Automation of new clients into project management tool directly into our work in progress 

Pretty cool, huh?

Well, the massive lesson we learnt from doing this was – don’t do it yourself! We have MAJOR regrets doing it ourselves. We would highly recommend reaching out to someone like Charlotte Isaac who can take all of the ick out for you.

If you want to automate your sales and onboarding processes, we’d highly recommend checking out Dubsado. You’ll get 20% off your first month or year!

P.s. We may earn a little commish when you purchase a subscription above. As always, we only recommend things that we genuinely know and love X

These were the biggest lessons we learned in 2020. We really hope these tips help you avoid learning these lessons the hard way! Stay tuned for next week for our last birthday confession…