Systems for Creatives with Amy Pearson

EP. 11 Stop Believing You're Disorganized: It's Your Systems That Need Fixing

• Amy Pearson • Season 2 • Episode 11

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Ever caught yourself thinking "I'm just disorganized" or "I'm bad at follow-through" in your creative business? That negative self-talk stops today. As a client experience strategist who once believed those same lies about myself, I'm here to reveal the game-changing truth: it's not you—it's your systems.

Creative entrepreneurs everywhere are burning out trying to manually manage every aspect of their client experience. You're writing the same emails from scratch, losing track of where clients are in your process, and feeling that constant anxiety of potentially dropping the ball. The mental load is crushing, but it's not because you're failing at business. It's because you're trying to use your brain as your entire business management system, and that's a recipe for overwhelm.

The transformative power of even simple systems cannot be overstated. When you implement automated workflows for inquiry responses and client communications, everything changes. Not only does quick follow-up dramatically increase your booking rates (most leads contact multiple service providers simultaneously!), but automated systems also free your mental bandwidth for the creative work you actually love. I recently spoke with a wedding stationer who thought they had workable systems until we discovered they were managing their entire revision process through disorganized email threads—a liability nightmare waiting to happen. This isn't disorganization; it's simply outgrowing makeshift systems that no longer serve your growing business.

Ready to stop the cycle of self-blame and build systems that actually support you? Head to amysgould.com/book-a-call for a free 15-minute discovery call, and let's get your systems working for you—so you can work less, make more, and wow your clients at every step.

Other Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Lead Managment Magic: https://amysgould.com/lead-management-magic

Stay in Touch with Us

Book a Free 15 Minute Discovery Call to Learn How I Can Help You Work Less, Make More & WOW Clients: www.amysgould.com/book-a-call

Website: www.amysgould.com

Watch me on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SystemsforCreatives

Share your take-aways by email: amy@amysgould.com

Connect with us on Instagram: amyspearson_


Speaker 1:

Hey, hey, welcome back to the podcast. I'm Amy, your client experience and systems strategist, and today we're talking about a belief that way too many creative entrepreneurs are carrying around that you're just disorganized, you're bad at business and must be wrong with you because you're always behind. I used to believe that, too, until I realized it wasn't me, it was my systems, or rather my lack of systems. So in this episode, we're busting the myth that you're the problem and replacing it with something way more helpful and way more true. If you've ever felt overwhelmed, frazzled or like you're constantly chasing your tail, this one's for you. Let's dig in. If you've ever told yourself I'm just disorganized or I suck at follow through, this episode is for you.

Speaker 1:

I honestly have felt this so much in my business and it doesn't go away, but I feel like once I started building the systems to support it, it was something that I really experienced a lot less and, ironically, the thing that people tell me the most now is that I am so incredibly organized and, honestly, that didn't used to be the case. I used to feel like I was constantly chasing my tail. I couldn't keep up with inquiries. I was embarrassed when I would realize that someone had inquired and I sent a proposal and weeks had gone by and I hadn't followed up on the inquiry. And then I'd send a follow up and just be like, hey, just checking in on that proposal. The whole time I was thinking I probably missed the boat on this one. I felt like everyone else had it figured out and I was just behind. Honestly, it felt like trying to push a giant rock uphill through mud. I was constantly reinventing the wheel, writing every email from scratch, writing the same email over and over from scratch and feeling like I just didn't have a handle on things in my business. And if this is you, I want to tell you that you're not disorganized, you're not lazy. You just don't have systems that support you the way you best.

Speaker 1:

Most creative entrepreneurs are trying to juggle everything manually Leads, contracts, payments, emails, timelines and if you're falling behind and losing track of things or feeling completely overwhelmed because you're constantly trying to keep track of when this needs to happen in your business, or when you need to send galleries to your clients or when you need to send the previews, it's not you. It's the lack of structure. The good thing is, when you build simple systems around your business, everything changes. You can feel organized, you can respond to leads quickly. You can get things done on time. Even if you're naturally more of a go-with-the-flow type of person that used to be me I realized the power of systems and how just having simple systems in place in your business that help support you and tell you what to do when you're not sure what happens next, they make all the difference in the world.

Speaker 1:

And what I love about building systems in business is that you don't have to know everything that you need right up front. You can just start to put things in place and organize things, and the more you do that, the more you'll find ways to add to it and take work off your plate. It's so freeing when you have systems that are automated and send those lead follow-up emails exactly when you wanted them sent and you don't have to worry about it. Every single lead can get the same exact follow-up email. You don't have to rewrite the whole thing every single time. Now, if you want to put in some opportunities to customize those emails, by all means do that, but at least some of them need to be automated so that you're not trying to do every single thing. If they're not automated and you want to customize it. You need to put a reminder in your automation to tell you to do it, so you don't have to think oh my gosh, that call was five days ago and I meant to send a follow-up three days ago. That won't happen, because your system will tell you to do it.

Speaker 1:

Now let's talk about something most creative entrepreneurs underestimate the power of quick follow-up. Here's the truth. Most of your leads aren't waiting around. If you take too long to respond, they're likely to move on. Most people who are inquiring for services are applying to multiple people at the same time. So the faster you can respond, the more likely they are to work with you. And if you take too long, they're likely to move on, not because they didn't love your work, but because someone else got back to them faster. Most of the time when people are reaching out to service-based entrepreneurs, they are looking to solve a specific problem and they want to solve it right now. So if you can respond the fastest, that helps build trust. It shows that you're organized, reliable and care about their experience.

Speaker 1:

But here's the thing doing it manually is exhausting. There's so much mental load with having to keep track of every single inquiry and remembering if you sent that follow-up, did they get back to you? Did they take the next step? All of that weighs on your mind and it's overwhelming, especially if you have more than one inquiry at a time. That's why follow up with leads is one of the first things that I automate for my clients. So leads feel taken care of instantly without them doing a thing, and it's incredible to see the difference that makes for them in their business and their overall mental health. It really does make a huge difference because they're not having to worry about the leads and if they followed up with them in time.

Speaker 1:

I always say if your response time is faster than your competition, you've already made a great first impression. So how do you know if it's a systems issue and not just a you issue? Ask yourself are you rewriting the same emails over and over again? Are you copying and pasting from a Google Doc just to respond to inquiries or follow up on proposals or move your client through your process? Are you forgetting where each client is in their process? Getting where each client is in their process? Do you drop the ball on sending galleries, timelines or invoices? These are all signs that your system isn't supporting you and, spoiler alert, most creatives are doing way too much manually. I see it so often, in fact.

Speaker 1:

I just got off a discovery call with a wedding stationer. They thought they had systems that were at least semi-working. We were discussing how I could help them streamline their systems and make their tech tools work better together, and the more we dug into it, the more I uncovered that they were juggling the. They were trying to remember the deadlines for the key points in their process and sending emails by hand. Their entire process for editing and making changes to their stationery was in their email inbox, which, honestly to me, is terrifying because Google makes things disappear from my inbox all the time. I can not imagine how they're keeping track of the conversation and where they are with the decisions that the client's making and the edits that the client is making.

Speaker 1:

There are so many moving pieces there and there never was a final. This is what I'm approving and I'm signing off on it. They had no sub-agreement for that, just their email inbox, and we talked about how that could be a potential disaster for them. A client could say I never approved that, whereas if you have a signed sub-agreement that says this is the final version that I'm approving. These are the deliverables that I want. Go ahead and invoice me for the end result Just having that piece of paper there and being able to look at it and go this is what they approved, this is what they signed off on. Okay, let's get this all put together for them, instead of scrolling through the inbox and going well, they said this here, and then they said that, and then we sent this back and then they said, well, can you add this and this? How do you know what? The final is there.

Speaker 1:

It leaves a lot open to interpretation and leaves your backside a bit exposed. I honestly think and that's where having a system just around that would make a huge difference, not to mention automating payment reminders and follow-ups and things like that there's so much that you can do with systems to help kind of poke yourself and remind yourself to do certain things at, let's say, 90 days before their wedding date or five months before their wedding date, and you don't have to have all of that rambling around in your head constantly keeping you up at night. That discovery call really reminded me. So many of us are making things harder than they really need to be. It's not that we're bad at business, it's that we're trying to do everything from memory or with tools that just weren't designed to manage all the moving pieces, and that's the real problem. We're relying on duct tape systems and willpower instead of building real support into the back end of our businesses. So if that story feels uncomfortably familiar, you're not alone.

Speaker 1:

Let's talk about what to do next and listen. That doesn't mean you're failing or there's anything wrong with you and the way you're running your business. It just means you've outgrown the systems that you were currently using. I'm sure at some point these systems were working for you, but as you grow, you need to take a look at your systems and reevaluate them. This is exactly why I created my done-for-you system setup to help creative entrepreneurs go from overwhelmed to organized without having to become systems experts. We start with a strategy session to map everything out, and then I build the automations, templates and work clothes for you. So your client experience runs in the background while you do your thing, and when a lead replies with thanks for being so, on top of it, even though your system sent the email, that's magic.

Speaker 1:

If this sounds like the kind of support you've been missing, let's talk. Head to amysgouldcom backslash book-a-call to grab a free 15-minute discovery call and we'll map out where your systems are breaking down and how to fix them. Or if you're not ready for a full setup but want a quick win, grab my lead capture and follow-up template pack. It's the perfect first step to stop dropping leads and start booking dream clients. All right, friend, if you've been nodding along, feeling like I just described your business backend, take this as your sign. You're not lazy, you're not a hot mess. You just need systems that support the way you work best. Let's get your systems working for you so you can work less, make more and wow your clients every step of the way. See you next time.