Small Business Savvy | Web Design, Systems, and Marketing

183. The Client Onboarding System That Actually Works

• Kristen Doyle, web design and business strategy

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 19:20

In this episode, I break down the client onboarding system that actually works and how it supports smarter decisions and sustainable small business growth.

Most service providers start their onboarding process by cobbling together a few basics: a contract here, a welcome email there, and maybe a checklist or two. It gets the job done…sort of. But as your small business grows, relying on memories or patchwork steps can lead to missed details, wasted hours, and confused clients. This week, I’m sharing the five essential pieces you need to build a solid client onboarding system that doesn’t just run, but runs itself. That means more consistency for your client experience without burning you out.

We’ll talk through what goes into a streamlined onboarding workflow, from automated welcome messages to clear expectations and gathering client information (without overwhelming them from the get-go). I’ll show you how small tweaks, like building process pages or using smart business systems, can eliminate client confusion and uncertainty. Most importantly, you’ll leave with practical steps to map out and automate your onboarding, plug the gaps where clients are left waiting, and set yourself up for smooth, sustainable growth.

00:00 – The pitfalls of a pieced-together onboarding process

02:39 – The five essential parts of a smooth and effective onboarding system

03:54 – Setting client expectations and why concise forms convert better

11:01 – Creating clear timelines and responsibilities to avoid client confusion

14:43 – Action steps to automate and fix gaps in your onboarding process

Links & Resources:

Show Notes: https://kristendoyle.co/episode183 

Send us a text! (If you'd like a reply, please share your # in the message)

Stop managing your WordPress website and let us handle it! Learn more about our WordPress Careplan at kristendoyle.co/care.

Book your FREE Website Gameplan Call: https://kristendoyle.co/gameplan

Learn more about my WordPress CarePlan: https://kristendoyle.co/wordpress-care-plan/

Heidi:

This is episode 253 of Teacher Approved.

Emily:

Hey there. Thanks for joining us. We are so busy right now wrapping up edits to our upcoming book, Structure and Spark, that's coming out this summer.

Heidi:

And we are getting so close, hopefully, hopefully by the time you hear this, we will be done.

Emily:

Yeah, if not, the publisher is going to be very unhappy with us.

Heidi:

Yeah, a little bit. But I think we can do it, right, Emily?

Emily:

We can, we can. But that is why we did not have time to get you a new episode this week. But we don't want to leave you hanging without our company for a whole week.

Heidi:

No, we could never do that to you.

Emily:

No, we could never. So we are sharing one of our most timely episodes, how to add movement to your lessons.

Heidi:

This is so important in spring, when your students energy is at its highest and your energy is quickly receding, like the tide on the beach. The more you can do to productively channel your students overflowing enthusiasm, the happier everyone will be.

Emily:

Oh yes, so let's dive in.

Heidi:

You're listening to Teacher Approved, the podcast helping educators elevate what matters and simplify the rest. I'm Heidi.

Emily:

And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story Window, where we give research based and teacher approved strategies that make teaching less stressful and more effective. You can check out the show notes and resources from each episode at secondstorywindow.net.

Heidi:

We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to the show.

Emily:

Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today's episode, we're sharing five simple ways to add movement to your lessons without losing instructional time, and a teacher approved tip for managing wiggly students right before lunch.

Heidi:

Let's start with a try it tomorrow, where we share a quick win that you can try in your classroom right away. Emily, what is our prompt for this week?

Emily:

This week, try adding sparkle fingers to your transition routine.

Heidi:

I love this so much.

Emily:

I know. Okay. So when you need students to stop what they're doing and listen for directions, have them raise their hands and wiggle their fingers silently while they wait for everyone to get ready.

Heidi:

This is so fun. It's so cute. It gives those fidgety bodies something to do with their hands without making noise. And bonus, you can easily see who's ready. And when all of those little fingers are wiggling in the air, it actually creates a pretty magical moment in your classroom.

Emily:

I can picture it right now. It's so cute. If you like this idea, or anything else we share here on the podcast, would you take a second and give us a five star rating on Apple podcasts? Ratings and reviews are one way that new listeners find us. So every rating and review really is a huge help to us.

Heidi:

All right, Emily, why do we need to talk about movement in the classroom?

Emily:

Well, think about how you feel after sitting through a long staff meeting. I can hear the groans. Your back starts to ache, your mind wanders, and you're counting down the minutes until you can get up and move around and get the heck out of there, right?

Heidi:

Exactly. And now imagine being seven years old and trying to sit still for hours at a time. The reality is that kids are designed to move. Their growing bodies actually need movement, not just for physical development, but for cognitive development too.

Emily:

Yeah, because movement increases blood flow to the brain, which means more oxygen and nutrients are getting delivered to those adorable little brain cells, and that translates to better focus, improved learning and, dare I say it, fewer behavior issues.

Heidi:

But I know, I know the resistance that teachers have to this. I know you're thinking, I have standards to cover and not enough time as it is. How am I supposed to add movement without falling even more behind?

Emily:

So that's the beauty of what we're sharing today. These are not separate activities that take time away from your curriculum. We're going to share some ways to integrate movement into your existing lessons.

Heidi:

So this isn't about choosing between movement or instruction. You're enhancing your instruction with movement. And you know, for those of you teaching upper elementary, don't click away.

Emily:

No, these strategies work for big kids too. They might roll their eyes at first, but trust me, they need the movement just as much as the little ones, though you might have to work really hard to get them on board with the sparkle fingers idea, just saying.

Heidi:

But it would be worth it.

Emily:

Yes, if you could do it, I'd love to see a picture.

Heidi:

All right, let's jump into our five ways to add movement to your lessons. Strategy number one is act it out. Can you tell us about this one, Emily?

Emily:

When your students can become the learning, they're going to remember it so much better. This works especially well in subjects like reading, science, and social studies. It's about getting their whole bodies involved in understanding a concept.

Heidi:

I used to do this with vocabulary words all the time. If we were learning a word like collapse, I'd have the kids stand up and, you know, literally collapse to the floor like a pile of blocks, and then we'd use it in a sentence as we stood back up.

Emily:

I love that because you know they never forgot that word after doing it like that. Our brains are wired to remember things that involve movement and emotion, so this strategy really locks in the learning, which is our goal, right?

Heidi:

And this strategy works for sequencing too. If you're teaching the water cycle, for example, you can have your kids move around the room pretending to be water droplets. They evaporate by rising on their toes, condense by huddling together, and fall down as precipitation.

Emily:

Oh, it's so cute. And you'll hear some giggles, for sure, but you'll also see the learning in action. I have found this approach particularly powerful for visual and kinesthetic learners who might struggle with just hearing or reading information.

Heidi:

And the great thing about acting it out is that it creates these strong mental images that students can recall later. When test time comes and they are trying to remember the water cycle, they'll easily remember physically moving through it.

Emily:

Exactly. So you can create movement anchors for almost any subject. Just think about the key vocabulary or concepts you want students to remember and brainstorm some simple movements to go with them.

Heidi:

All right, let's move on to strategy number two, stand if statements.

Emily:

I love this. It's such a simple way to get kids moving and get some sneaky checks for understanding at the same time. So you make a statement and students stand if it applies to them.

Heidi:

So for example, in a science lesson about habitats, you might say, stand if a fish would live in the desert. Then students have to process that information and decide to stand or, you know, stay seated.

Emily:

Or in math, you could say stand if seven times eight is greater than 50. Or in reading, you could try stand if you think the main character made a good decision in chapter three.

Heidi:

What I love about this strategy is that it gives you, as the teacher, immediate visual feedback about student understanding. You know, if half of your class is standing when they shouldn't be, you know you need to revisit a concept.

Emily:

And it gives every student a chance to respond, not just the one who raised their hand, plus that simple act of standing and sitting is enough movement to help reset focus.

Heidi:

Just keep in mind that these movement-based checks are maybe not always reliable for deep assessment. Your students that are unsure will often look around and copy what their classmates are doing. So these type of strategies are best used for engagement and quick informal checks rather than truly measuring mastery.

Emily:

Yeah, that's a really good point. I always treated these as temperature checks. They give you a general sense of the room, but not precise data on each student. If I saw a lot of confusion, I'd follow up with more individual assessment later.

Heidi:

And building on this idea, we can also use movement to show understanding in other ways. This works great for true false questions, multiple choice, or even just, you know, general comprehension checks.

Emily:

For example, you might say, if the sentence is a statement, touch your head. If it's a question, touch your toes, or show me a right angle with your arms, or even hop once for each syllable in this word.

Heidi:

I like to think of these as human whiteboards. Instead of writing their answers, the students showed it with their body. It kept everyone engaged, and it, you know, gave me a fast way to kind of see who was getting it.

Emily:

For a little extra fun, you can mix in some personal stand if statements too. This would be really fun at morning meeting. You could do, stand if you have a pet, stand if you like pizza. It builds classroom community while giving kids more chances to move.

Heidi:

Now, let's talk about movement strategy number three, learning stations or rotations.

Emily:

Oh, yeah, moving between stations is such a natural way to incorporate movement. Instead of doing all your math activities at their desks, set up three to four different stations around the room and have students rotate around every 10 to 15 minutes.

Heidi:

Even just that short walk between stations gives kids a chance to move their bodies, and it naturally breaks up the learning into more manageable chunks.

Emily:

And remember, your stations don't have to be elaborate. One station might be a worksheet at their desks. Another might be a math game at the back table, and a third could be a problem solving activity on the carpet.

Heidi:

Or you could even designate different parts of the room for different types of thinking. Maybe the front carpet is for collaborative discussion and desks are for independent work, and you know, save the back table for your teacher led instruction.

Emily:

The beauty of this approach is that you're not adding any new activities to your day. You're just changing where students do the activities you've already planned.

Heidi:

And if you are worried about transitions, which can be tricky with this type of setting, we have got lots of tips for that. Go back and check out episodes 48, 49 and 50, where we deep dive into making transitions smoother.

Emily:

Yes, and there's great ideas in there for incorporating movement into the way you do your transitions. So that's a great series to check out if you haven't listened to it yet. Okay, now, strategy number four is one of my favorites. So tell us about this, Heidi, it's academic movement games.

Heidi:

I love using games to teach. So this is where you take a familiar game or activity and adapt it to reinforce academic content. These are so great to use near the end of the day, you know when the kids energy is maybe starting to fade a little bit.

Emily:

Yeah. So one example is sight word freeze dance. So you can play music and have students dance, and when the music stops, you hold up a sight word card, and then students have to read it correctly before the dancing continues.

Heidi:

Another fun one is vocabulary charades, where students act out vocabulary words while others guess. This was always a hit with my second graders when learning about science terminology.

Emily:

Or even something as simple as equation scavenger hunt. You can hide index cards with math problems around the room, and students find a card, solve the problem and bring it to you to check before finding another one.

Heidi:

Having kids hunt for their own work to do will get them to do way more work than just having a worksheet will.

Emily:

Ah, true story.

Heidi:

Another way to pair learning and movement is to just use the walls in your classroom. If your students are stuck in their seats, try turning your classroom into an interactive space. Post questions, vocabulary cards, math facts or even sentence strips around the room, if you still have sentence strips, and have your students walk around and respond.

Emily:

And we love to do this with an end of your cumulative review that we just call an around the room review activity, and we just stick up the questions around the room, and they walk around with clipboards and answer the questions, and suddenly, the exact same questions that they would groan through at their desk become an exciting adventure, because they got to stand up and use clipboards.

Heidi:

A similar idea is to do four corners questions. You label each corner of the room with a multiple choice answer, A, B, C and D, and then you have students walk to their answer. It's a quick way to gauge understanding and get some movement in. And it's even more fun if your question has more than one possible correct answer. So then you can have some discussion about why they chose corner A and why those kids chose corner C, and their different reasoning behind it.

Emily:

Yeah, that way you don't also have a stampede of all the kids just running to one corner.

Heidi:

Yes, also that.

Emily:

What's great about these games is that they don't feel like work to students. The movement makes the learning more engaging and memorable.

Heidi:

And they are perfect for those times when energy is low, you know, like after lunch or toward the end of the day. Instead of fighting the wiggles, you are channeling them into learning.

Emily:

Our fifth and final strategy is probably the simplest, use intentional brain breaks.

Heidi:

Brain breaks are short movement activities, usually one to three minutes that give students a chance to move, stretch and reset their focus. In my class, we needed these after any focused work, probably longer than about 20 minutes.

Emily:

Yep. And the key to making these brain breaks intentional is that, instead of waiting until the kids are climbing the walls, you plan for these brain breaks at natural transition points in your day.

Heidi:

Maybe that's between subjects, or after a time of focused work, or, you know, when you notice engagement starting to dip a little bit. This way you are being proactive instead of reactive.

Emily:

And as you know, there are tons of brain break ideas out there. You could do stretches or a quick game of Simon Says or follow along with a Go Noodle video.

Heidi:

And we actually have our own set of printable brain breaks if you want something that doesn't require technology, which sometimes can be a real hassle if you're in a tight bind. Our brain breaks are print and go cards with three different types of activity styles to match whatever your class needs in the moment.

Emily:

Yep, we've got recharge activities for when kids need to get the wiggles out, refocus activities that help students calm down and prepare to concentrate again, and refresh activities that engage their minds in fun ways. You can find the brain breaks in our shop, and we will put a link to them in the show notes.

Heidi:

What I love about brain breaks is that they actually save you time in the long run. Yes, you know, you're spending a minute on movement, but you're gaining several minutes of improved focus afterward.

Emily:

It's like paying interest on an investment that one minute brings returns in the form of better behavior and more efficient learning, and it prevents that cycle where kids get wiggly, behavior deteriorates, you have to stop and redirect, and suddenly you've lost five minutes anyway.

Heidi:

It is definitely better to give them one minute of structured movement than to lose five minutes in the chaos. When I was a brand new baby teacher, I was really reluctant to waste time on something that felt as frivolous as movement.

Emily:

Oh, me too. I just thought movement was something extra, something I could only do if we had time. But now I can see that it's an essential part of effective teaching.

Heidi:

Movement isn't a distraction from learning. It's a catalyst for learning. When we work with children's natural need for movement instead of against it, everyone wins.

Emily:

Okay, so let's quickly recap our strategies for adding movement to your lessons. First, act it out. Out let students physically become the learning. Second, stand if statements. Get kids up and down while checking understanding. Third, learning stations or rotations. Change where students do their work. Fourth, academic movement games. Turn review into an active game. And finally, fifth, intentional brain breaks. Plan short movement activities between learning segments.

Heidi:

And remember you don't have to implement all of these at once. Please don't feel like that. Even adding one movement strategy to your day can make a big difference for your wiggly little learners.

Emily:

We'd love to hear which of these strategies you try in your classroom. Come join the conversation in our Teacher Approved Facebook group. Now let's talk about this week's teacher approved tip. Each week we leave you with a small actionable tip that you can apply in your classroom today. This week's teacher approved tip is manage those pre-lunch wiggles. Tell us about this one, Heidi.

Heidi:

Well we all know that right before lunch can be one of the wiggliest times of the day. Kids are hungry, they've been working hard all morning, and their focus is waning.

Emily:

Oh yes, I used to dread that 15 minutes right before lunch, because it was like herding cats no matter what.

Heidi:

So instead of fighting those wiggles, one thing you can try is a standing station for the last 10 minutes or so before lunch. Designate a few areas in your room where students can stand to complete their work.

Emily:

Okay, I love that idea. What does a standing station look like?

Heidi:

Well, it's really just anywhere kids can stand. It might be a counter or a shelf at standing height, or really even just a clipboard that they can use while standing at the wall. And then when you notice the wiggles are starting to ramp up before lunch, offer the option to move to a standing station to finish their work.

Emily:

Oh, this is brilliant, because it gives kids the movement they need without disrupting the flow of your lesson. And for some kids, standing actually helps them focus better than sitting.

Heidi:

Oh, exactly. And the beauty is that you don't need anything special or any extra planning. It's just offering an alternative workspace, assuming that you give them the consequence that if they can't handle making that choice, you'll have to choose where they stand or have to go back to their desks.

Emily:

Oh, for sure. This is an option that you would want to introduce with some expectations and practicing how they should behave there and letting them know what the consequences are if they don't follow those expectations, or this could turn into a nightmare.

Heidi:

Yeah, being clear about expectations is going to make or break this. Be clear that standing work is still work time. It's not a social break or a time to wander around the room and try out all of the different spots.

Emily:

Yeah, and you probably want to start small with this idea, with maybe just three to four standing spots at first, and then you could use a rotation system if lots of kids want to try it. And then if you find that it's popular and it's helping your students and you've established good expectations for it, it could become a more regular option in your classroom. But for sure, some kids are probably never going to want to stand there, and some will probably want to stand there a lot, because it helps them focus better. It just depends on the kids.

Heidi:

And really, this is such a simple adjustment, but it can make a big difference in managing that challenging time before lunch. To wrap up the show, we are sharing what we're giving extra credit to this week. Emily, what gets your extra credit?

Emily:

I'm giving extra credit to the TV show The Pit on Max. When this first came out, I didn't pay any attention to it, because I don't generally watch hospital things. I mean, okay, I was very into Grey's Anatomy in the original, in the original first few seasons, when it was so good. And I did watch the original seasons of ER as well, which also had Noah Wiley in it, who is in The Pit, yes. But somebody was raving enough about it that I'm like, I'll just give it a try. And guys, it is so good. It is set in this Pittsburgh ER, and each episode is one hour of one day, so the whole season is just like, one shift on one day. And it is so well done. Now, I will say, because it's on Max instead of like on NBC, there is a lot more gore. So just being prepared for that, I am a pro from my years of watching Grey's Anatomy, of just knowing when to look away. Or mute the squishy sounds. So I do tend to watch this when I'm doing something else, so that I can just look away when I don't want to watch what's going on. But like, the stories and the format is so interesting in the way that these stories build from episode to episode, since it's all in the same day, you're seeing patients over several hours, and I have just found it to be super captivating. I've totally binged it. There's like, one more episode coming out this week, and then I'm gonna be sad. But there is already a season two confirmed. So if you start this, you can know it's not going to disappear. You can it's worth committing to.

Heidi:

That's good. There's nothing worse than getting attached to a show only to have it cut and axed from your life.

Emily:

I know. So if you watch this, let me know what you think. Not you, Heidi, I mean you too, if you want to, not that I don't want your opinion, but I know you won't watch it. But if somebody else watches it, come and talk to me about it. What are you giving extra credit to, Heidi?

Heidi:

Well, how's this for a segue? I'm giving extra credit to magnesium threonate, because it did, it has saved my life. So like back in the fall, my doctor suggested I switch to that rather than whatever I was taking, citrate, whatever form of magnesium I was taking, because threonate crosses the blood brain barrier. That's a thing, right?

Emily:

So smart, you're so smart.

Heidi:

I know, I could work on that show, that medical show.

Emily:

You totally could.

Heidi:

And so I switched over, and I thought, like, I mean, yeah, I guess it seems fine. I'm not really noticing any, like, I didn't get any superpowers. I'm sure it's great, but it is a little bit expensive. I mean, it's not crazy, it's, you know, 30 bucks for a month. It's not crazy, but when you could get magnesium a lot cheaper, it just seemed like someplace I could save money. So early in March, sorry, this is turning into story. Early in March, I just went back to the other magnesium I was using, and then I didn't notice that my restless legs started to ramp up, and then suddenly I was like up for hours and hours every night, and I couldn't figure out what's going on until I remembered that I had just switched over the magnesium. So I'm saying all that to say, if you also deal with restless legs, trying out magnesium threonate could be a game changer, because once I got back on that, it took a couple nights, but I have not had this problem since.

Emily:

Well, now you've done a perfect case study of one that this works great for restless legs. So if that applies to you out there, you should try it too.

Heidi:

And if you have been there, you know how desperate you are to try anything. I've tried it all because it's the worst feeling to just like be laying there and having your legs go on an adventure without you when you're trying sleep.

Emily:

And I've been taking this. I don't have restless legs, but I have been taking this, and I feel like I've been sleeping better too. But I don't have a perfect example like yours. It's one of those like, Well, I think I'll just keep taking it, because I think it's doing something. I guess if I wanted a case study of one for me, I could stop taking it. But I don't want to do that.

Heidi:

Because I didn't even think it was doing anything, because it took so, you know, it took a while, a couple weeks, probably, to kick in. And so I didn't make the connection. I just was like, Well, yeah, that problem suddenly fixed. I don't know what I did, but yay me. I learned, I love that stuff, now I've got bottles and bottles of it in my bathroom cabinet.

Emily:

We will link to it in the show notes.

Heidi:

That is it for today's episode. Remember adding movement to your lessons doesn't have to be complicated. Try one of our five strategies and see how your students respond.

Emily:

And don't forget our teacher approved tip for managing those pre-lunch wiggles with standing stations. Sometimes the simplest solutions make the biggest difference.

Heidi:

Thanks for listening to the Teacher Approved podcast. If you found this helpful, please share it with a teacher friend who might need these ideas too. We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I'm Heidi.

Emily:

And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an episode.

Heidi:

You can connect with us and other teachers in the Teacher Approved Facebook group, we'll see you here next week. Bye for now.

Emily:

Bye.