This time two years ago, I hit a sudden surge of growth I wasn't expecting. I got a lotta new clients, fast! Exciting! It took me a year too long to accept that I also needed to grow my team to take on the projects I was booking. I felt the quality of my work slip and my stress level rise as I attempted to meet the demands of the work I had booked for myself. I knew I could take on fewer projects, but to be honest that just DID NOT SEEM FUN! So I had to move to STEP 2 - Get More Team! I now...
7 days ago • 2 min read
This email is specifically for my Dubsado users who are clinging to 2.0. Everyone else can just archive this email and wait patiently for my next one 🙂 (UNLESS! If you are considering Dubsado but aren't sure... reply to this email! I can help you decide.) Ok, just the Dub-heads left? Lessss go. If you have still been using 2.0 (I know! Change is hard!), you may have noticed that logging in now takes you straight to 3.0. Don't freak out!!!!! Yes, it looks a lot different. And YES - 3.0 was...
15 days ago • 2 min read
I talk about onboarding a lot. Like, a lot a lot. I tell myself its because "it's relatable!" Every agency onboards clients, and it looks about the same everywhere: a kickoff call and an onboarding form. I also talk a lot about how its your first impression - dazzle them at the beginning to start things off on the right foot. But I'm rebuilding my own onboarding right now, and I realized there is a deeper reason why Onboarding is CRUCIAL to get right. New here? I'm Devin Lee I optimize your...
15 days ago • 1 min read
I had a call this week with a woman who makes gorgeous handmade + VERY custom client gifts. The gifts are each their own little piece of art. One piece took her six coats of paint and four hours standing in front of a laser cutter, making sure nothing caught fire. She is doing that DEEP WORK 💅🏻 Her project cycle is three months, start to finish. And for those three months, she does not have time to generate new leads. "I can't do the delivery and work on my own business at the same time," she...
29 days ago • 3 min read
I've been doing market research calls with creative agency owners for the past few months. I wanted to know the words they use to describe their work, what they think they're doing really well behind the scenes, and what's actually broken. Basically, I wanted to ask: what's going on with agency owners? Here's what I found! 👇 New here? I'm Devin Lee I optimize your offers by removing you as the bottleneck so you can serve more clients without sacrificing quality. Get a taste of what I do: 📥...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Airtable was recently acquired by Bending Spoons. All signs point to this being VERY BAD for Airtable users, and the clock is now ticking to find a new tool. If you haven't heard about this, Lex Roman wrote a fantastic story HERE on Revenue Rulebreaker. (Be sure to subscribe to Revenue Rulebreaker HERE for more important news on small biz!) Airtable is a BIG part of my business. I lean on it heavily for my internal admin, I build it for almost every client I work with, and my popular...
about 1 month ago • 7 min read
My recent fall into the depths of the Heated Rivalry fandom rabbit hole has me exploring romantic plot lines more closely than I ever have before. Through my very academic studies, I have concluded that many two-people-are-meant-to-be-together-but-get-lost-along-the-way plots are all about both parties missing information and context about each other. If they just KNEW some important information that we, the audience, already have - (I recently learned this is called "Dramatic Irony". It's a...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Last week, a prospect told me about an internal tool she cottage-coded for her team using AI. It was pretty cool - and yet! She hasn't rolled it out to her team yet. She wants to tweak it more - something only she can do with her expertise. OOooh that makes me squeal with joy and relief!!! The more I learn about AI, the more confident I feel about my own job security. New here? I'm Devin Lee I optimize your offers by removing you as the bottleneck so you can serve more clients without...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
After over two years of unemployment (minus a few contracts here and there or odd jobs for some friends), my partner, Rob, FINALLY got a full-time job offer. Yay! We have health insurance again! We had some friends over for dinner last week and they asked him all kinds of things about his new job. He said he loves everything about his new company. He says he loves their mission, his coworkers, and the culture. Win, win, win! He also said "I love that they are so supportive yet they don't...
2 months ago • 2 min read