013: ManyChat, Flodesk, Canva: What’s Actually Working in My Business

Ever feel like you’re doing all the “right” things in your business, but they just feel… wrong? You bought the tool everyone raved about, you’re sticking to a traditional schedule, but instead of thriving, you just feel drained.

You’re in the right place. In our first episode of Season 2, I’m pulling back the curtain on the systems that were supposed to revolutionize my business but ended up feeling totally out of sync with who I am. Consider this your official permission slip to go against the grain and build a business that truly works for you.

In this episode, we get real about:

• The Manychat Myth: Why I finally canceled my subscription to the popular automation tool and what I’m doing instead to create genuine human connection.

• Redefining the Work Week: How a wonderful change in my personal life led me to realize the traditional 5-day work week was crushing my creativity and why I’m reclaiming my Fridays for rest.

• Systems That Actually Spark Joy: A look at the simple, effective tools that are working right now, like the seamless Flodesk + Canva integration for beautiful emails.

• The Power of Imperfect Action: How a fun, low-stakes social media challenge helped me break free from perfectionism and just create.

This conversation is for the solopreneurs, the creatives, and the visionaries who are tired of chasing trends and ready to build a business that feels as good on the inside as it looks on the outside. If you’re ready to trade burnout for balance and authenticity, this episode is for you.

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Music: "Great podcast intro (both short and long version included)" by Lundstroem. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:11

Hello and welcome back to the Flourish Foundry Podcast. I'm so excited for today's episode and the episodes to come this season. I wasn't exactly sure if you're gonna do the whole season's thing with the show, but that's kind of just what's happened, and I'm okay with it. So we took some time off from getting married, the summer, all that good stuff, and now we're here. We're in September. Uh it's a little bit crazy, but we are. We're in September. It's officially, well, I guess not officially fall, but we all have restarted watching Gilmore Girls, so pretty much the same thing. You may as well say it's officially fall. So yeah, season two, here we go. I'll be honest, don't have like a whole calendar of concepts planned out or anything like that. Just the other day, I was like, you know what? I missed the podcast. I've never really, it wasn't some big thing to stop doing it, it just kind of stopped happening. And so I'm excited to bring it back. And I probably won't do as many interviews this season, it'll probably be more about just me chatting about things relating to being a business owner, female business owner, Christian business owner, all those good things. So, yeah, that's a little bit about my art behind it this season. I really just want to be real with you guys and help you get to know me better, produce some more long-form content so that you feel confident in working with me as your brand and web designer. And with that, I'm also a solopreneur, which most of my clients are, and so I feel like I'm in a unique position to help you not only with your branding and web design, but also be a true leader for you as a fellow business owner. So that is a little bit about the show and where my head is at, what I plan on doing. So today I want to chat about some systems that are working in my business and some systems that are not working in my business. And I just want you to consider this episode like your permission slip to go against the grain, to go against what you may feel pressured to do and do what you know you should do. So, with that, I want to start with things that aren't working, um, because that's kind of where this concept for today's episode started from. So the first thing that I want to talk about that's not working in my business as a brand and web designer is many chat. And I know, I know, I know. I feel like even still, even like I'm recording this whole episode, mostly around this main point. I have some other things I've come up with too, and I'm excited to talk about, but this really is like the main one. Um, and I'm kind of nervous to say, mostly because I feel like all of the content that I've seen about Manny Chat is that it's essentially like a foolproof way to make money, and so I feel like by coming out and saying, Hey, Manny Chat isn't working for me, it almost seems like I'm just gonna get met with like, oh, you're doing it wrong. Um, but yeah, after months of paying for Manny Chat and not seeing literally a single dollar come from it, I'm done. And I canceled my membership like an hour before recording this. So yeah, that's where I stand. Listen, y'all, I saw so many posts, blog posts, email sequences, even courses that sold me the idea that Manny Chat would make me rich. And I'll be honest, I didn't exactly buy into that exactly, but I did think Manny Chat would automate my conversations, serve my audience with some convenience, and convert people into amped up clients, ready to get the branding and website of their dreams. And let me tell you, it did not. With so much pressure to be efficient, and so many people using Manny Chat. I mean, people are used to it, and I don't think that necessarily takes away from it working for some people, but people know it's an automation, they know it's not you, right? And I think that makes it even more valuable to have a conversation with a real human being. And with the position that I'm in as a brand and web designer, people come to me because they like my design style, they like my creativity, they want me to do something with their idea that they can't do. If they just wanted it quick and easy and fast, they probably wouldn't be hiring a brand web designer. So, with that, I don't think Manny Chat really is a good fit for me, and I don't think I need to automate all these conversations that I put my pre put pressure on myself to do. Kind of unintentionally. I also restarted my Loom subscription today, which if you don't know what Loom is, it's like a screen recorder, but it also records like you talking. So it's like kind of like if you had a Zoom call and you were sharing your screen, it's like that, but recorded, and then you can just send a link to whoever you want to watch that video. So kind of unintentionally, I also restarted that subscription today, which I feel like is the exact opposite of Manu Chat. So kind of a fun little pivot and coincidence going on, but there's just something about like a quick video explanation that saves me so much time, like actually saves me time, and gives me so much more confidence in my client communication because I'm animated, I talk pretty casual, I use my hands. I'm using my hands right now, and all I'm doing is recording podcasts. So for me, like I love writing, and I can write an email, but there's something about like walking somebody through their project via a Loom video that I just connect with a lot more and I get a better response from that than you know, just text and like a presentation. So, all of that to say, I canceled my Manny Chat subscription, and I'm going away from the call to action of comment XYZ, and I'll send you the link. Whatever. It's not working for me, it didn't bring any revenue in. It did give me email subscribers, and I did book one discovery call that way, so it's not that it didn't do anything for me, it's just not working enough for me in my business, and it doesn't feel authentic. And every time I do that call to action, I don't love it, and so I'm done. I'm done with Manny Chat. If you felt a similar way about Manny Chat or even another like system in your business or in your industry that feels like you should do this, send me an email, comment on the show. Like, I would love to hear your experience with this because for whatever reason this feels like just such a big deal to cancel the subscription, and I can't explain why, and I'm sure it won't feel so major in a few weeks. But right now, I'm like, oh my gosh, am I failing as an online business owner if I don't have Manny Chat? So I would love to hear if you've had an experience similar. On to the next thing that's not working in my business. I'm gonna go ahead and say the five-day work week. This is a huge, huge blessing, a huge update in my personal life. But my husband recently started a new position at his job and now has a five-day a week work schedule instead of shift work. He was working 312s, all kinds of crazy hours, and it was insane, y'all. Like I was in every kind of community group asking for prayer, asking for any kind of help because it was just crazy. But, anyways, we are out of that season, which we are loving this change in our house, and there are so so many things I could say positive about this shift, and things out now are working that may not have been working because of this one simple thing. But I've grown very, very tired very, very quickly, and my weekends now simply just go by the blink of an eye. And I don't know if it's maybe because I'm like hyper focused on our schedule right now or like this new season that we're in of having him working 40 hours a week, it's just different, it's a lot of adjusting. But I spend pretty much all day at our church on Sundays as a volunteer, and I love this because I get to talk to people all day long, and I don't get to do that as a brand and web designer. I do the podcast, but again, that's me talking to a screen, and and when I have client meetings, that's the that's the extent of my social interaction from a work standpoint. Everything else is just email, DM, text messages, like it's all on a screen, it's not a lot of in-person. So for me, I get a lot of fulfillment and joy out of being at church for that long and getting to talk to people all day long. But I am pretty emotionally drained by the end of the day because it is a lot of deep conversations. People walk up to me, sharing their testimony, all kinds of things, you know. So by the end, like I need a good nap. So, with my involvement in the church, Sundays no longer feel restful, and I've noticed I've become a lot more distracted and even like self-critical on Fridays, and I'm just so ready for the weekend and in desperate need of rest. But then Saturdays are jam-packed, like literally for the rest of the year, we have something every Saturday. Like, this is not an exaggeration. So, with that in mind, and I mean we all have to make shifts going into the holiday season. I just think I'm gonna need Fridays away from my desk, and I'm gonna need to take Fridays almost as like my Sabbath just to rest so that I can be energized, creative, productive, engaged, all those good things Monday through Thursday. So that's like tentatively something that I'm planning on shifting. We'll see, it may just be a half day, but I've noticed I just like take a half day as it is, but not in an intentional way, just in a like exhausted way, and I would rather rest from a place of intentionality if that makes sense. Like, I would rather know that this is my time to rest and give myself that permission rather than being so at my end that I feel like I can't work anymore, and then beating myself up for not making it through a five-day work week. Moving on to what is working in my business, and this one's a little bit more practical, not as fluffy, but I am absolutely loving the Flowdesk and Canva integration. And I know this is kind of like old news, but seriously, it has just made it easier than ever to design and send emails without having to download my Canva designs a million times with little tweaks in them because you know that's exactly how it would go for me. And yeah, I'm just loving it. I have all of my email assets like call to actions and little layouts and email headers, all that good stuff in one Canva project or one file, whatever you want to call it. And so then when I'm in Flowdesk and I want to use something, all I have to do is add in an image and then select Canva, and then it's just all on the same project, and I just select whatever number page that file is that design is. So I guess kind of along that same line. Canva now letting you have multiple size artboards, I guess. I don't know what that's called in Canva. Multiple size pages. There you go, they're called pages in the same Canva project or file. It's a game changer because now you can have like if you had an Instagram campaign, you could have the carousel and the stories in one post, and it's all right there. I feel like it makes it so much easier. I think Canva's doing a lot right now to make it your profile a lot more organized, like you can now organize your uploads, even like that's huge. That one's big for me too, because with my branding projects, I design all of their branding assets in Illustrator and Photoshop, all that good stuff. But a lot of times I do their branding guidelines in Canva, and so having everybody's assets like all my uploads folder is so obnoxious. So I'm very excited to get in there and organize all of my client files and get them all situated. The last win, last thing that is working in my business that I want to talk about on today's episode is the social media challenge with Rally. So this is my third week in this social media challenge with my online networking group for Christian female entrepreneurs. It's called Rally, and I'm actually sticking with it, which is crazy. I've never seen a challenge done this way before, and I'm loving it, and I'm actually doing it. Like, I'm not one to stick with it, to be honest. Like, I love signing up for the freebie, but I don't actually do the workbook. You know what I mean? So, especially since this is like an Instagram one, and that's not my favorite platform to show up on, to create and post content for, like, it's actually wild that I'm sticking with it. So, let me tell you a little bit about it because maybe you'll get some inspo from it. But the challenge is to post five times a week for one month. Like I said, I'm on week three, staying strong, so I'm like halfway done. That in itself isn't too exciting or unique. But what's unique about the challenge is that there was a $20 buy-in, okay? And then everyone who completes the challenge splits the pot. So we have a shared tracker, and we have to check off our boxes when we post. And so if you don't do your five times a week, like you're out of the game, like you just lost $20. And that's not a lot of money, but I've never gambled a day in my life. So this has been a really fun challenge to be a part of, and it's pushed me out of my comfort zone to post content before it feels finished, before it feels perfect. Like, I physically don't have time to curate five perfect, perfect posts each week, and I'm pretty sure you don't either. So this has been a super fun way to go into the fall and just experiment with social media instead of taking it so seriously. But not only that, I'm also super inspired by the framework that they did this challenge in. Like, I think it's just so fun and interactive, and I love the idea of like just a really small buy-in for a challenge so that you stay accountable because challenges, community, like those two things, they're really blowing up. That's kind of like I don't want to say the new course, but it kind of is in a way. I think challenges and community groups and networking opportunities will have a little bit of a longer lifespan than the course thing did, but it's like a fad, if that makes sense. Like it's a low low buy-in fad, in my opinion. I don't think that's a bad thing. I feel like I'm saying it kind of negative, but I love it. I love to see it. I'm a part of a lot of it, and I've joined several other challenges where I'm so excited about it, I love what they're doing, and then I literally don't do it. So I think having that low offer buy-in for me, like one, I actually thought about it before I signed up because I was like, do I want to Venmo her $20? I don't know, but then I was like, you know what? Like, what's the best that could happen? Like, I could grow my Instagram a ton, I could gain a lot of confidence in posting on Instagram, I could make some money maybe, I don't know. But yeah, I think this is a really fun structure for if you're thinking about doing a challenge with your audience. Maybe a little low buy-in could make people show up better or show up more. So, between the fun challenge that I've done in Raleigh and other ones that I've been a part of this summer, along with the book that I'm reading right now, all these things have led me to want to host this fun fall challenge, okay? And I'll be honest, I don't have a lot of details, and I feel like I'm probably contradicting myself because this challenge is gonna be free. But I hope that you show up for it. I hope that you have fun with it, and the reason it's free is uh I don't want to charge you to have a good time, and really my heart behind it is just to encourage people, build community, make this walk of business ownership, not feel so alone. It gets lonely out there, you know. Like a lot of us, a lot of my audience at least, we work from home or we're even in an office, but you're just behind a screen all day. And so that is the main goal is just for us to be able to connect with each other, reconnect with our creativity and our passions, and have some fun going into the fall. If you're on my email list, you already know a little bit about what I'm talking about, but essentially I'm hosting a fun challenge, that's literally the name of it right now, super basic in September. Have not announced the dates yet, but what you can expect is just a quick and easy little four-day challenge, okay? And we're gonna do some fun stuff, okay? Whatever that means for you, and also the little task that we've been putting on the back burner. So it's a little bit of a productivity sprint, along with some concepts that I've learned recently about how having more fun can actually increase your productivity. So that is that. If you want more details, go ahead and join my email list. I'll put the link in the show notes for you to stay updated on all of that good stuff, all of that information. It will be there. And also, if you want to follow me on Instagram, I'll post more about it there. But you're one of the first to know about it if you're hearing the show because it's only been sent out through the email list. Join the wait list, get some info because it's gonna be a really good time and you don't want to miss it. So, thank you so much for taking the time to listen to this episode. I hope that it helped you in some way. I hope that you feel less alone, and yeah, I would love to hear your feedback. Go ahead and leave a review for the show or just email me privately. I would love to hear how this show's impacted you, or even just what you want to see in season two. If there are things you loved about season one, things you hated about season one, please tell me. I would love to hear it. That's all for me for now, and I'll see you next week.