Systems for Creatives with Amy Pearson

EP 13: From Frazzled Freelancer to Calm CEO: Why a Done‑For‑You CRM Before the Holidays Changes Everything

• Amy Pearson

Share episode

Send us a text

The leaves didn’t show up for our annual color ride, and that strange, seasonless moment became the perfect mirror for what so many creatives feel right now: the holidays are sprinting toward us, and the business isn’t ready. We talk candidly about what “not ready” really looks like—manual replies, scattered notes, contract chasing, late‑night admin—and why the real cost isn’t just time, but the energy and confidence you forfeit week after week.

I share the shift I see when creatives move from panic to process with a done‑for‑you CRM setup in Dubsado or HoneyBook: warm instant replies, streamlined proposals and contracts, automatic invoices and reminders, and a client journey that feels intentional at every step. You’ll hear a detailed case study from a wedding photographer who went from sticky notes and burnout to doubling revenue, adding new offers, and actually enjoying weekends again. We also get practical about fit—who’s ready for a full build, who should start simpler—and we tackle the big objections: not being “techie,” fear of upkeep, and whether the investment pays off. Spoiler: one solid workflow and one or two extra bookings can change everything.

If you’re booking clients but living in your inbox, this conversation is your permission to stop duct taping and start designing how your business runs. The goal isn’t more hustle; it’s a system that remembers for you so you can lead, create, and live with more space. I’m holding just a couple of Done‑For‑You Dubsado setup spots before November 1 so we can both enjoy the holidays and you can start the new year with momentum. Ready to breathe again? Book your free discovery call at amiesgould.com/book-a-call, then subscribe, share this with a creative friend who needs it, and leave a quick review to help more people find the show.

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_00:

So this weekend, Terry and I went on what's usually one of my favorite fall traditions, a motorcycle color tour. Except here's the thing: the colors weren't there. Normally by October in Michigan, you expect those fiery reds and golds, especially when we're a week or so into the October month. But because it's been 80 degrees and sunny, which don't get me wrong, I am so grateful for. I don't like the cold. I'm not ready for fall. I'm so not ready for winter. But it felt more like late summer than fall. The upside was it was a perfect weather for a long ride. The downside, everywhere I looked, there were pumpkins, skeletons, and Halloween decorations. And I had that reminder that the holidays are coming super fast. Whether I feel ready for them or not. And honestly, that not ready feeling is exactly what I hear from so many of you in business too. Just like I'm not ready for Halloween, a lot of creative business owners that I've been talking with feel like they never are really ready for what's coming next in their business. You're duct taping things together, juggling inquiries manually, and constantly in reactive mode. The seasons just keep rolling on and your stock playing catch up. And that's why in today's episode, I want to talk about how a done-for-you CRM setup doesn't just save you time, it gives you that breathing room, that sense of being prepared, so you can finally shift from frazzled to confident CEO and be ready for all of those holidays that are coming. And speaking of holidays, seeing all those Halloween decorations on our ride made me realize how quickly this season sneaks off. Oh my god. We go from pumpkins to Christmas lights in what feels like a blink. And for so many creatives, that means wrapping up client work, trying to book next year's projects, and juggling personal life, buying Christmas presents and wrapping Christmas presents all at the same time. And here's the thing: if you don't have your systems in place now, the end of the year can feel like pure survival mode. And then January rolls around, and instead of starting fresh, you're still playing catch up. You haven't even had a chance to goal plan for the year ahead, make a vision board, or do any of those things that everybody's talking about on Instagram in January. I don't know about you, but if I haven't done all of that by the time I get to January, it feels like I'm so behind. This is actually one of the reasons I don't take on new done for you setups after November 1st. My clients want to go into the new year already set up, already supported, and ready to hit the ground running, not duct taping their way through yet another season. Before we get into all that, in case you're new here, I'm Amy Pearson, and for years I was the queen of duct taping my business together. I know how overwhelming it feels to be stuck in your inbox, worried about missing client details, and never quite feeling like you've got it together. That's why I started building Done For You CRM setups for creatives who are ready to step into that CEO role without burning out. Because you don't have to do this alone or from scratch. Let's dive on into it. Let's be real. Being in a frazzled freelancer mode means you're juggling inquiries manually, keeping track of notes in random Google documents, chasing down contracts, following up on past due payments way too close to the wedding date, and pulling late nights just trying to stay caught up. I hear it all the time from creatives. I just want to finally feel like I can finally breathe in my business. If that's you, I want you to know you're not failing. You're not behind. You just don't have the systems in place to keep up with where your business is at right now. That's the difference between the chaos you're feeling now and the clarity you're craving. And here's the thing a lot of business owners don't think about there's a real cost to staying stuck in duct taped mode. Every time you delay putting a system in place, you're actually losing something. I've had clients come to me after months of losing inquiries because they couldn't respond fast enough. Others spent hours chasing contracts or waiting on late payments, and that time, that's something they'll never get back. And almost all of them were exhausted because instead of serving clients or taking a weekend off, they were stuck in admin land. So if you've been trying to DIY this forever, I want you to ask yourself, how many opportunities are slipping through the cracks while you try to piece it all together alone? Or how much time are you losing that you could be spending doing something you love with someone that means something to you? When you move into CEO mode, everything changes. Instead of running on panic, you run on process. Instead of worrying if you forgot something, your system remembers for you. That's when you start to feel proactive, polished, and confident because your system is no longer running you, you're running your business, and your system is taking care of every little piece of the puzzle that you've put together for it. It's not about working harder, it's about letting your systems carry the weight for you. So you can focus on your craft, your clients, and yes, your actual life outside of work. I want every single person who works with me to be able to enjoy their life because I know the last thing any of us wanted when we picked up a business of our own was to work night and day and never have time off and not be able to ignore our phones or our inboxes. I know that's not what I wanted. When I worked in human resources, I dreamt of being in control of my own schedule and being able to take off as much time as I wanted. Little did I know when I started a business of my own, it would take over so much mental space and keep me up nights and weekends. And I didn't want that when I started my business, and I know you don't either. Now you might be wondering, okay, Amy, is this really for me? A done-for-you setup is perfect for you if you're already booking clients, but wasting too much time on admin, you're copying and pasting the same emails, and stressing about whether contracts got signed or invoices got paid. It's probably not the right step if you're brand new and don't even have your services nailed down yet, or don't really have a basic understanding of your processes. In that case, templates or a simple starter system will serve you better. And I actually have system strategy sessions and a proposal template that you can purchase from me, which would be much more in line and would help you start to build those simple services, which would help you map out those processes that you might be missing now and start to build simple systems inside of your business that will support you as you grow your fledgling business. But if you're ready to feel supported and you want someone to actually build the whole darn thing for you, that's when done for you becomes a game changer. Let me give you an example. One of my clients came to me feeling like her business was held together with sticky notes and late-night email sessions. She had burned out multiple times and wanted to build a high-touch, incredible client experience for her wedding clients, but she was over it. And she honestly was thinking about getting out of the wedding photography business altogether, which was really sad because she was incredible at what she did. The photographs that she shared with me were amazing, and she really enjoyed wedding days with the clients. It was all the other things that made her want to just quit on herself and on her business. She was also terrified of missing details, but she didn't have the time or energy to fix it on her own. So she decided to come to me and do a done for you devsado setup. After we finished her done for you setup, everything shifted. It was really incredible to watch. Her leads flowed into one place. Couples got an instant warm response. Proposals, contracts, and invoices went out automatically. Payments came in without her having to chase them. And she actually saw an increase in revenue. She doubled her revenue after working with me and found herself saving hours a week. The best part, she told me, I finally feel like I can breathe in my business. I feel like my creative entrepreneur world is about to be blown. And it really was. A year later, she had added revenue streams to her business. She started doing brand photography and started coaching other photographers to build businesses that kept them from burning out. And I'm so proud of her and all of the work that she's done to help other wedding photographers run productive and profitable businesses. That's the kind of transformation I want for every single one of my clients. Not just better systems, but that peace of mind that you're finally in control. Let's tackle the big hesitations I hear most often. The first one, I hear it all the time, but I'm not techie. Great news. You don't have to be. That's why I do it for you. I build all of the systems, I help you translate the way you want your business to run into Dub Sato or Honey Book Automations, and I set up everything the way that it will work with the system that you've chosen. You don't have to guess, you don't have to Google anything, you don't have to spend a bunch of time trying to figure out how to make all the pieces fit together. That's what I'm here for. Not only that, but when we're done, we will walk through your entire workflow together and I'll show you how to use it. I'll give you a recorded walkthrough video as well as lots of tutorials to help you start using your system right away and start getting clients into the system so you can get the most out of what we built together. And you get 30 days of follow-up support to ask all of the questions you have as you're starting to use your system. Now, second, what if I can't keep it up? I get it. But here's the thing: I don't just hand you the keys and disappear. That would be like handing someone the keys to a stick shift car and being like, okay, good luck, have fun driving that. But they don't even know how to drive a stick shift. I've been there. You had to learn how to drive a stick shift. It wasn't fun. I think I stalled it out like a half a dozen times at one stop sign. I guide you step by step as I hand over the system so that you know how to use it, how to drive your stick shift system, which is mostly an automatic, honestly. Because I want to make sure you are comfortable using your system. I don't want you to invest in something that you can't use. So we make sure that you have everything you need to really start to use that system from day one. And the third one, is it really worth the investment? Here's the reality. Most clients recoup their investment in just one or two new bookings or simply in the hours they get back every week. In fact, one of my clients did a time study and found that she was saving 20 hours a week just on all of the things she was doing manually in her business. It was mind-blowing to me. And I've heard it from other clients too, but she's the one that actually sat there and tracked every single thing she was doing, how much time she was saving with Dub Sato. So ask yourself, how much longer can you afford to keep wasting time doing things manually, copying and pasting emails, worrying about if you sent somebody over the questionnaire or not, and if you've dropped some kind of important ball that's going to really critically hinder your ability to deliver the service that your clients are expecting. So if you've been listening today and you're thinking, yes, I'm ready to breathe again in my business. I'm ready to finally feel like the confident CEO instead of the frazzled freelancer, then here's your reminder. I only have a couple of Done For You Dub Sato setup spots left this year. After November 1st, I'm not starting any new projects until 2026. That way both you and I can enjoy the holidays without stressing. And you can start the new year with your systems already running smoothly. And just so you know, I'm not planning a Black Friday discount on setups this year. So if you've been waiting for that, please don't. The best time to book is right now. Imagine going into the holidays with clarity and confidence instead of chaos. If that sounds like what you need, book a free discovery call today at amiesgould.com backslash book dash a dash call. And please don't wait because once those spots are gone, they're gone. Thanks so much for tuning into today's episode, and I'll see you next week.