Guest Blog: 3 reasons your creative business needs Dubsado, by Charlotte Isaac
This guest blog is written by the very talented Charlotte Isaac. Charlotte is a Dubsado Strategist, Business Operations Consultant and lifelong ease-seeker. She works with small creative businesses and entrepreneurs who want to automate their client services and find the freedom to grow. - Maxene
Struggling to keep up with your business? Feel like you’re drowning in admin, spending all your time keeping the wheels on instead of making progress on the things that’ll actually move you forward?
Let me introduce you to the small business owner’s secret weapon: Dubsado.
If you’ve heard this name thrown around the online business community in hushed and awed tones, you might be wondering what it is, and why you need it.
Well, Dubsado is a client management tool designed to help you look after your clients from start to finish. It can manage your leads, proposals, contracts, invoices and a whole lot more. In short, it’s job is to make looking after your clients easier. Much, much easier. So, why do I think Dubsado is an integral part of any service-based business owners arsenal?
#1 Dubsado will save you time
Here’s the thing they don’t tell you about starting your business: there’s a whole lot of admin involved.
Replying to enquiries. (And following up). Scheduling meetings. Creating proposals. (And following up!) I could go on and on, but I have a feeling your inbox knows what I’m talking about.
Dubsado has a huge feature list, the most game-changing of which is Workflows. Workflows are essentially the automation force behind Dubsado. Once you have them set up, there’s no end to the work they can take off your plate, including:
Responding to new enquiries, inviting them to book a discovery call using your online scheduler
Following up if they don’t book that meeting
Sending proposals, with a contract and invoice attached — so your clients can say yes and sort ‘the paperwork’ in one sitting
Onboard your clients as soon as their deposit comes through, setting them up with everything they need on your shiny client portal
Send payment reminders throughout a project, so you’re always paid on time
Ask for feedback and testimonials at the end of a project
You might be wondering what kind of time savings we’re talking…
Imagine cutting the time it takes you to send a proposal from 4 hours to 12 minutes. Or saving 15 hours a week, by automating your entire client process.
These are real numbers, and they could be yours when you use Dubsado.
#2 A better client experience (with less fuss)
If we only had one client, we’d treat them like absolute gold. The reality is, most of us want more than one client on the books — and we’re trying to look after our own projects too. It’s all too easy to drop the ball somewhere.
But what if you could create an intentional, repeatable experience for every each and every client? Dubsado can help you do just that.
How?
When you set up your Dubsado account, I always recommend starting by planning your Workflows. Think about:
How you can make your process as easy as possible for your clients
What challenges or questions you can anticipate
‘Delight checkpoints’ you can sprinkle in — this could be as simple as a handwritten thank-you note when you finish a project, or an email letting them know you’re still there for them
By taking the time to create intentional client processes before you even touch Dubsado, you can be certain that you’re building yourself a “client-care VA” who’s trained to treat your clients exactly how you’d look after them in that perfect one-client world.
Better yet, your new “VA” shows up every day, on time, and never forgets to do something.
Cue glowing testimonials and referrals hitting your inbox
#3 Dubsado can help you grow your income
Okay, let’s talk money.
I don’t hear many people talk about how Dubsado can help boost your bank balance, but it certainly can. And it all comes down to automating consistency. (Y’know, that thing most of us creatives struggle with!?) Dubsado won’t find you new clients, but it will help you:
Follow up with leads consistently
Offer additional services to existing clients
Nurture your past clients, and even invite them to work with you again
Beyond these, Dubsado can also track where your enquiries are coming from so you can keep focusing your efforts on the things that are actually working for you.
So there you have it — have I convinced you that Dubsado is in your future? My door’s open on Instagram if you want to chat about whether it’s the right fit for you.