CEO Becca Bunch on increasing your revenue with intentional client boundaries

Akua: I have said this time and time again, that having boundaries and clear systems is key to creating a sustainable business. And yet nearly 80 percent of entrepreneurs work over 60 hours a week contributing to burnout. Today’s episode, you are going to see how effective it is when you implement boundaries in your business.

Becca Bunch, CEO of Homemade Social, a boutique marketing agency, shares with us the boundaries and systems she implemented to create the business of her dreams. Becca shares with us her story and shows us how decreasing the number of hours her team worked led to more profit in her business. If you are someone who struggles with boundaries and are wanting to learn how systems and boundaries can lead to more revenue in your business, then this is an episode that you definitely want to tune in.

Hey everyone, this is your host, Akua Kanadu, and you’re listening to the Independent Business Podcast. More people than ever are working for themselves and building profitable businesses in the process. So on this show, I get to sit down with some of the most influential authors, entrepreneurs, and creators to break down the science of self made success so that you can achieve it too.

Hello, Becca. How are we doing today? 

Becca: Hi, I’m doing great. How are you? 

Akua: Good. I’m so excited to have you here because I feel like number one, I, I, for I love homemade social and you guys have social media. It is chef’s kiss. So you guys are killing the game, but also too, I’m really excited just to really talking about burnout with you because I feel like as business owners, we hear this all the time as a topic and I feel like it’s become a trending word, self care as well.

But I truly do believe that one of the most successful ways to prevent burnout is having systems in place. And it’s not. Sexy, right? I say this all the time, like systems aren’t sexy, but it truly is the key to really living the life and business, having the life and business of your dreams. Like you can have both and you are somebody that exhibits that.

So I’m really excited to have you here today. 

Becca: I know. I can’t wait to dive in. I feel like I have so much tea to spill. Say less. 

Akua: Spill it. Let’s go. So let’s, let’s talk about it. Where, you know, you have an agency, right? You have a life, like you just said, you just recently got married. So all the things happening.

And I think as independent business owners, we’re always wearing multiple hats. And so I’m really curious to know for you, where in your life were you experiencing burnout? Where did you finally just decide like, okay, like I can’t do this. Like I need to figure this out. Like walk us through that journey for you.

Becca: Yes. Okay. So the most important thing to learn are like to set the precedent here. is I mostly learned a lot about boundaries during 2020. Which, you know, historical context. You guys can maybe figure out where I’m going with 

Akua: this. Yes. 

Becca: But basically what happened in 2020, I was like two years into agency ownership.

And maybe three, four years into like self employment. So I was still kind of new at the, at the game. And when quarantine hit, there was kind of like a, A dipping clients immediately. Like some of our clients were plastic surgery centers. And like, they remember that there was like the no elective surgery role.

So like they literally couldn’t operate. And so like we lost a couple of clients due to the quarantine and everything. And then within a couple of months. We were like the busiest we’ve ever been because quickly, so many people realize that like their traditional marketing dollars that maybe they were previously spending on events on in real life, like on billboards anywhere was no longer.

As useful. And so they were turning to social media. So it was kind of this crazy, like weird dip in business. But what happened was essentially we had. There’s always one client, right? Who like oversteps your boundaries. And I’m forever grateful for working with her because, you know, thankfully I worked with her early enough on where.

My systems were small enough to, to like, they were still really manageable for me to fix, right? And like, kind of like, implement these boundaries around. So, I really was just feeling like, burnout in a couple of ways. Not only especially from like, this client side, but being on social media all the time in an election year.

When, um, algorithms were just like, Kind of toxic at the time. There wasn’t really much else for me to do. Like, I was working from home. I would, you know, be done with work. And you usually want to enjoy social media. And it was just like This never ending feedback cycle for me of just like, I didn’t really have like a work life balance anymore.

And I just knew something had to change. So I kind of started that process in 2020. 

Akua: Yeah, I feel like so many, so many people can relate to it. But I think too, you had a very unique perspective as somebody that works in the social media realm, which I wanted to highlight because in 2020, many photographers, right, that was the event space.

A lot of photographers were put on pause. Yeah. But you, on the other hand, you went on pause shortly, but then immediately your business had skyrocketed. So it’s just really interesting. Just everybody has such a different perspective of how the pandemic truly affected them and their business. And yes, but we learned so many different things within that.

And so obviously you had that one client, which we all have, but what systems did you immediately start implementing into your business? Because my, my thing is, is that, um, We are all business owners. We know that we need to have certain systems in place, right? With like contracts, invoices, all those different types of things.

But I really also want us to talk about the systems that you need to have in place that business owners aren’t even potentially thinking of that can really take, like literally take the work off their plate, because I had this data here, nearly 80 percent of entrepreneurs work over 60 hours per week.

And I’m guilty of that. I definitely was. I know there’s so many of us where, you know, we’re like, Oh yeah, we leave our nine to five because we don’t want to work all the time. But then you end up working 24 seven when you’re an entrepreneur. So I really want to talk about what are some systems that you initially put into place, but also what are some systems that we can have in place that we’re just not even thinking of as business owners.

Becca: Yes. Okay. So the main areas I like put in boundaries, calendar, phone, email, and social media. And I kind of like did little bits here and there. I know you mentioned working 70 hours a week after I implemented these boundaries and started like working through these new systems and better boundaries contractually, um, in 2022, we downsized our hours as an agency from like all across the board.

We worked 40 hours a week and. As of 2022, we are able to work 35 hours a week. And obviously there’s exceptions sometimes like we’re off at noon on Fridays and sometimes you have to wrap up a project or whatever, but. It has allowed us to work less hours. And so like, that’s literally all everyone wants.

Right. So it was really the main motivator. And also like it, well, I think the main motivator was like mental health. And I think a lot of women, especially female entrepreneurs can be like people pleasers because we’re just like, go getters. We’ll figure it out. We’ll make it happen. Um, and that can stem from people pleasing.

And so when you’re working in a service based industry with, with clients, it can be hard to be like, Eh, you can’t do that, but I technically don’t have a rule that says you can’t. Or like I don’t want you to do that. And so it was kind of figuring out like rewriting our contract to Implement the calendar phone email social media boundaries that I wanted so from a social media standpoint I think the biggest thing um from a calendar standpoint was okay So i’m only available nine to five monday through friday and then nine to noon on fridays.

However No, same day client meetings are allowed unless we say it’s an emergency. There’s almost never an emergency, but the way we kind of get around that is we always have like a standing meeting with a client, whether it’s biweekly or monthly, so like it’s easy for us. If a client’s like, Hey, can we talk about this?

I can be like, yes, just added it to our meeting agenda for Thursday. Like it kind of just like helps the client to get in the mindset of like you. Have a meeting with me coming up. Like we will discuss it then. Other things I do for my calendar. I block off an hour for lunch every day. That doesn’t mean I’m like away from work for an hour that day or like at that time eating, it means like, I just don’t have meetings.

In an hour of my day, which is like, sometimes that’s all you need, right? Like, or else my calendar can fill up pretty quickly. And then other rules go like to take it even farther. It’s like, I only take discovery calls on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And I usually, we try and do just internal meetings, Monday, Wednesday.

So just like allows for a little bit of balance. My team knows when they can expect to hear from me or, um, when I’m going to be in meetings. 

Akua: Because you also said too, that you have some of these boundaries implemented into your contracts. 

Becca: Correct. 

Akua: Contracts are great. But when we think of contracts, I always will put like communication preferences, right?

Like you can’t contact me with this time and this time, or the best way to communicate with me the times that I’m available emails. But I’m like, are there anything as well of other things that you implement into those, like those boundaries into your contracts? 

Becca: Kind of another another step to take it could be okay.

Let’s say you say i’m only available via email Which is what we do say. 

Akua: Yeah, 

Becca: um, we also say like you can expect us to reply within 24 business hours So they know that like i’m gonna get back to you really quickly. And so that kind of Negates them to feel pressured to like want to text me or if they’re gonna slide into my DMs to try and find me or whatever like We are available on email like I will get back to you or someone from my team will Other things I do is I include our hours of operation my email signature just has like kind of a friendly reminder and then Out of offices, we make sure to communicate that well in advance to clients.

Same sort of thing. Like there’s verbiage you can put in your contract that like says these are office hours. Um, but obviously, you know, with respect to planned vacation time and 

Akua: whatever. 

Becca: So we also put like out of offices, we’ll anticipate our out of offices and go over them out of offices with each client in their reoccurring meetings.

So they know like, Hey. This is on the docket. In a couple weeks I’m going to be out. Is there anything I can handle for you prior? Just to like, you know, no one wants to email you and just get an unexpected out of office. Other things I have, well like I said, I wrote our half day Fridays into our contract.

So like, That’s, that’s helpful. And then other meeting policies, I think I, I kind of went over. So that’s kind of it for calendar. 

Akua: Yeah, no, but I think that’s great though. I think it really gives business owners an idea of your contracts that you’re laying out, it truly is what you make of it. So there is nothing too big or too small to include into your contract to make sure that your clients are abiding by that.

And especially as you have a team, I mean, the fact that you’re able to get them down from working 40 hours, your whole team down to 35. That’s pretty awesome. And we 

Becca: saw 44 percent growth in revenue. When we did that 

Akua: and 44 percent growth in revenue when you did that all from these simple boundaries of like discovery calls on these specific days, internal meetings on these specific days.

And so I think that’s phenomenal of how much that can really make a big difference in your business. And so for you with having these boundaries in place, how has that really benefited your team and yourself even as a CEO? 

Becca: I would say it allows you to like focus on the work you’re meant to do instead of having to Regroup every time a client asks something that’s like outside of your boundaries and having to Recommunicate like hey, that’s not something that we do like you’re just like explaining yourself and having to like reset these boundaries again and again And so if you like set those relationship expectations from the beginning In your contract.

It just makes it so much easier to like, we are, we can operate really systemically and very like lean because we know like, Hey, this client knows that we are responsible for these deliverables and anything outside of that, we will get their approval on if it’s needed at our hourly rate. So it’s like, You know, we know exactly what we’re responsible for going into the week.

Akua: Yeah. I’m really curious to know too, with how you handle with communication at times as well, when you know that a client isn’t necessarily really sticking to your boundaries or like, how are you, any communication tips for business owners as well? Yes. 

Becca: So I actually, we took a course or like did a consultation with this amazing, another female business owner based in Chicago.

Her, um, business is called Career Civility and same sort of thing. We were running into this issue where we’re like, Okay. The client signed that they agreed to respect these boundaries and then they don’t. And so it’s like, how do we go about replying to them while still knowing we have five months left in this working relationship?

We want it to be, you know, we don’t want to, we don’t want to burn any bridges. And she basically helped us to come up with a series of email templates or like templated phrases that we can use that shows. You know that we are empathetic. We hear what they’re saying per our agreement. I do want to flag we that you know, this is a boundary we have here or like a rule in our contract so I would highly recommend if you’re kind of struggling with communicating that especially via email reach out to jenna at career civility 

Akua: Oh, I love that.

I love for you. Like look I didn’t I wasn’t good at this, but I know somebody yes 

Becca: definitely like you have to be willing to and able to do that like If you implement these boundaries, you’re going to enter this like new level where you will have new problems. They’re going to be better problems, but they’re going to be different problems.

And you can’t be afraid to like, seek help to make them more manageable. 

Akua: Yeah, I, another, thing I’m really curious about too is when you have existing clients, how are you implementing new systems and boundaries with existing clients? I think sometimes we can get so nervous about that, especially whether it’s like, okay, I had a client that I’ve worked with and now I’m raising this rate.

You know what I mean? Just so many different things that we get so nervous about communicating things to our current clients. How are you navigating that? 

Becca: Yes, I was nervous about that too. I didn’t, I haven’t had to do that Like I kind of had to do that once because as we formulated the new contract We made sure immediately like new clients got put on that and so I really only had to email like existing clients once and yes I would say year over year.

We do maybe tweak little things in the agreement But we usually just ask them to like re sign an updated agreement when their term is up for renewal But I remember when we had those new um, like terms come in place I just

We hope that these new systems will allow us to better serve all clients. Because like, from their perspective, they can think of it as like now, they’re know Homemade Social’s other clients aren’t going to be wasting their time asking for X, Y, and Z or pushing these boundaries. And I know they’re really just going to be focused on the work.

So 

Akua: yeah. 

Becca: I 

Akua: love that. And some, uh, Something I want to shift a little bit, because I saw this on your social media page and I thought it was really interesting. Is in terms of you, which I think I was like, I view this as a, as a boundary. And I thought it was a really unique and interesting one. So you charge to onboard your clients.

Which I was like, that’s really interesting. Can you explain why? 

Becca: Yes. Okay. So in the world of social media management, typically you’re on a, a retainer and it’s usually like three, six, 12 months. And I think kind of like industry standard, whether it’s social media or not, you charge like a kind of a flat monthly fee for your deliverables.

Uh, but. If you think about it, the vast majority of your team’s work or your work needs to be done in those initial, like 30 days of your working relationship, because you’re getting up to speed with their brand guide, their brand voice, you are inputting their marketing calendar requests, you’re like basically all getting on the same page and there’s a lot of admin work that is required to do that.

And then we would run into issues where like six months into a relationship, a client would maybe just like stop paying. And if you think about it, if you’re looking at a six month relationship, those first 30 days you’re doing so much more work than say the last 30 days because you’re already up to speed and you have a great idea of their brand voice by month six.

And so you’re getting paid the same each month when the work isn’t necessarily the same, the same heavy lift. And so we decided to, for the first 30 days, there’s like essentially an onboarding fee and then the retainer technically starts like, um, Like month two if you will. 

Akua: I love that though because number one you took the time to really check in with yourself and your business to really see what was working and wasn’t working and Then really charging a fee that like do it making the shift That’s gonna make sense to where you are fairly compensated for your work And so is your team and I think that just goes to show about just you being a CEO I think that’s just so so key of Cause even I used to work in social media management and I never thought of that.

And I’m like, Oh my gosh, yes. That’s so flipping true with all the work that you do at the very beginning, getting acclimated with their brand. Cause you’re making graphics, like all of this amount of work and you have to shift your mindset because you need to sound like them, right? Like people need to be convinced that this is who they are.

And so it does take a lot of work upfront. And so I love that you were like, all right, this isn’t working. Let me just shift here, shift here. And. Make a change with that in a way that really makes sense because now, and I consider that a unique boundary because now you have, has that led to a more higher quality in clients?

Becca: Totally, and it makes them respect our onboarding system more because they’re like we know we’re paying for this, we better get them every asset, every documentation, every login that they could possibly need to succeed. And I think a lot of it kind of like what you said goes into almost self worth, like You know, you’re not born this way, getting ready to like take invoices from people.

Right. And it allows you to kind of sell this more like elevated white glove client experience. We’re like our first 30 days are special. We really dive in and take a deep look at what you’re doing. 

Akua: Oh, I love that. Yes. Like really any ways that you can really elevate that client experience. Do you have any other tips and ways that you really help elevate that really giving that white glove service?

Becca: A lot of our email communication is like a one, like we 10 times out of 10 are going to be more organized as a marketing unit than any of our clients existing marketing units. And like, that’s intentional. Like I want to impress them with. Our system, the way we handle like marketing requests and marketing calendar planning, because I want them to see like.

Wow. I can’t believe we weren’t doing it that way. Like this is so much better. And again, they see the value in it. So there’s like a lot, like, I guess I, that should be my next podcast episode is just like white glove. Um, like tips for working with service based clients. 

Akua: I know. And please share more of these tips.

Becca: You know, 

Akua: we try and send them 

Becca: like a birthday gift. We try, like, you know, we try and pay extra attention from like an account management side, to actually like build a relationship with them. 

Akua: I love that though, but I love how you said even two with email communication, because I think even when a client first inquires, um, the person is more than likely to book with the person who replies the fastest.

So even the fact that you said like email communication is a one, and we really make sure that whether, you know, putting in marketing requests, anything like that, really having those systems in place that really just elevate the experience, because again, even. I, business owners are always so afraid to raise their prices or add an additional rates, but you did that and then you got better quality clients who take you more seriously as an entrepreneur where that they are causing you like no stress, right?

Like I always noticed the clients who aren’t willing to pay are the ones who give, become the most stressful to work with. Um, it’s. Always. 

Becca: Oh, always, 

Akua: always. But the fact that you were like, Hey, we’re going to implement this new feed, the onboarding fee, which is brilliant. We are going to make sure that our email communication is a one from the jump.

We are going to make sure that we have these boundaries in place in our contracts and their boundaries that work for you and your business. That’s what I love is that you have truly customized. Your business to truly work for you and your team, because business is not a one size fit all. And I just love that you have really taken that time.

Um, and I 

Becca: have more in relation to boundaries, but this one’s more on like the personal side. 

Akua: Yeah. 

Becca: I’ll take it away. So take it away, girl. 

Akua: Yes. . 

Becca: Have you heard of the app called Open Phone? 

Akua: No, 

Becca: okay. I’m about to blow your mind. It’s basically um, it’s an app. It’s I think 15 or 16 a month and it allows you to have a phone number associated just with that app for calls and texts and so I give our clients That phone number it’s the only one listed anywhere and keep in mind again our only approved form of communication is email, but you know, there’s always sometimes we’re like maybe I have to call them or Our like two factor authentication like something got sent to their cell.

I just need to like get a code real quick or something This app is amazing because it automatically You can set it up to turn on like, do not disturb hours at 5 PM or like whatever schedule you want. It will automatically send any calls to voicemail. And if someone texts me, I can automatically reply with a text after 5 PM that States like, Hey, you’ve reached me outside of business hours per our contract reminder that we ask all communication happens via email, like that sort of thing.

And it has saved me just like so much of a headache because there can be just like, sometimes clients become friends. Right. And you can kind of get a little bit gray with like, texting or personal time. And so this has just saved me like So much headache when communicating with clients in those situations.

Akua: Oh my gosh, that is brilliant What is it called? Is it open phone? You said 

Becca: open phone? Yes, open phone the next amazing thing They have a an integrated desktop app so like I can have my team like our account manager also has the App on her phone so she can like If she also wanted to text clients, Hey, we just sent you a two factor authentication code.

And then it syncs with Slack. So we have a Slack number or Slack channel that says phone. And so anyone on the team can see like if a two factor authentication is coming through from a client. 

Akua: Oh my gosh, but that is a perfect example of a system, right, that you have implemented that absolutely saves you time.

And I think we just don’t realize how much time really does compound day to day, even a second, that second that you just had to take to respond to somebody, reset 

Becca: that boundary and be like, Oh, do I want to just reply and get it over with, or like, can I help them with this five minute request? Sure. But like, Yeah.

Now I don’t have to worry about it. I’m setting that boundary. I get to them the next morning. 

Akua: Yeah, 1000%. And they feel still very well taken care of. 

Becca: Right. So I’m just ghosting them or yeah. 

Akua: Exactly. I think that’s a huge misconception too with business owners is that we feel that if we are not, you know, replying right away or, you know, going out of our way and in that type of way that we, That they will interpret it that they’re not being well taken care of.

And that is further from the truth. When you give something that’s very streamlined, very professional, they are going to feel very well taken care of. They are going to feel like that you are their only client. And I think that is one of the biggest things as a business owner. Like if you can make that person feel like they’re your only client, even though they obviously aren’t, but it’s that feeling that you’re giving them.

They’re always, always, always going to come back. And so, yes. And like you provide such. Great white glove service. Like even that with an app, like app, like even business owners think of some certain apps that work really well for you. For me personally, I love the app groove. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it, but it is a task management app.

Like it’s a coworking app. So you log into it and you can start a session and three other people will come into the session with you. And you guys all share your goals of what you’re working on for that hour, 50 minutes, and you hit start. And then all of you, you put in your to do list and you guys are all working together for 50 minutes.

And then you regroup and like, how did you do? Did you like, did it work out? Great. And it is such a great way to be more productive where I have it on my phone, but I have everything else on D and D except the groove app. So then it notifies me when to come back. But yeah, I just have it knocked out for my 50 minutes and I do that.

And I’ve also made community members and also other people have helped me like in my business and vice versa. I’ve made really great relationships through that. So again, even business owners like really think about. What are some things that you struggle with as a business owner? I think just creating like even a list of like, here are the things I enjoy doing here, the things I don’t enjoy doing, even in terms of like client work, whatever the things, and what can you delegate or automate period.

And like, what are the apps that can really help like groove when I, my mind is going everywhere and I can’t like. Think like I get overwhelmed. I instantly will make a list and I’m like, all right, we’ll groove. And I just go from there, you know, but I, it’s so smart 

Becca: on Tik TOK or something, but I didn’t know what the app was.

Akua: Yes. It’s fantastic. I mean, I love it. And it’s a great, great app and you, and you meet community people of like all different industries. There’s writers on their professors, you know, so again, like business owners really just think of things that you need to do and like, Explore different apps, explore what you can automate, explore what you can delegate.

And I think you’ve done that just so, so beautifully. And so as somebody who works in social media, I can’t help myself. I was like, you know, you work in social media. So I’m going to, I’m going to ask you, what are some of your hot takes right now on social media? What, what are you seeing? I’m really curious to know.

Becca: Well, okay, I think there’s kind of this thanks to gen z I think uh Brands are allowed to be a lot more casual and personable and witty on social media Whereas like back in even 2016 Brands were kind of still expected to be Corporate and very politically correct isn’t the word because obviously they still need to be politically.

Yes. What do you mean? Like they They they don’t have to be as buttoned up Yes, and I think that that presents brands with really cool opportunities to connect with their consumer but I think that there’s kind of this hesitation coming from like leadership at a lot of these companies where they’re trying to find like the happy medium of connecting with their audience transitioning to this new tone because there’s always like a transition period if you’re changing your Your brand voice or who like you want to who you’re showing up as online.

This would happen for anyone let alone a business there’s always kind of like a catch up period where like brand or your followers kind of have to like re figure out what your Profile and channel is about So I think it’s going to be really cool like I think we’re getting somewhere with this and you’ll see a lot of brands Like who I think of like Kava.

They do an amazing job at this. Yes. And like Duolingo. 

Akua: Yep, of course. Yep. But I think 

Becca: other brands are starting to catch on and they are still playing it. Maybe a little too safe. 

Akua: Too safe. That’s so interesting because we had an episode. Um, earlier this year on unhinged marketing, which is kind of similarly to what you’re talking about and our social media person and also the social media manager, uh, planningly, they both were like, we feel like it’s, it’s more so out, like it’s more so kind of on its way out.

But I personally, right now I’m overseeing LinkedIn and people have gotten witty on LinkedIn, which was so surprising for me, like brands, professional, corporate y brands. Like that wittiness that, you know, a little bit of that unhinged strategy has made its way even to, like, I thought a lot on obviously Instagram, take talk threads, but it is now even made its way to LinkedIn and where I’m like, wow, like people are really letting their hair down and just showing up and being more fun and how to even be more relatable.

So I love that you shared that because I kind of felt like too, I’m like, I don’t. I’m not sure. I don’t think it’s necessarily going anywhere. I think it’s, I think if anything, it’s showing up in different and newer forms. If anything, it’s innovating. I don’t 

Becca: think it’s going anywhere because it really is resonating with Gen Z and they’re the market who’s about to, you know, have more disposable income.

Like they’re, you know, at the beginning stages of kind of entering in as like being a consumer in their own. So, 

Akua: Yeah. 

Becca: I’m going to kind of start to run the show. Two other kind of like phone boundaries I do, I deleted the email app from my phone. Like, I can go to gmail. com if I need to, if it’s an emergency.

But like, like I said, clients know I’ll get back to them within 24 hours. Nothing’s really an emergency. I’m usually at my laptop, uh, during office hours anyways. 

Akua: And 

Becca: then I also use a, um, screen time limiting app called Opal. Have you heard of Opal? Oh, 

Akua: no, I’ve not heard of Opal. It’s 

Becca: similar, it’s kind of like the, X games mode version of like Apple’s, uh, regular screen time limitations.

But this one, my favorite, like limitation I set for it is it kind of has like a doom scroll feature. So if I’m on a single app for more than 15 minutes, it’ll kick me off. That’s a 

Akua: good idea too. And then I have that stuff like 

Becca: Instagram Like, it’s basically like you’re, you’ve been on this app too long consistently, it’ll kick me off.

And it’s usually just like a 15 minute waiting period. To like get back in and I can like override it if I have to but it helps a lot 

Akua: Oh my god, that’s so smart, too And a question i’m really curious about because obviously you work for an agency But I think in terms of like business owners who are solopreneurs As you have even boundaries because I think a lot of it is like Many business owners feel very discouraged of consistently showing up on social media.

And so what systems, even before you had like this agency, maybe like what systems were you implementing to where you were just consistently showing up? Because I think that’s the key, right? Is consistency to be successful on social media, good quality content and consistency. 

Becca: Well, we treat our own social media exactly like we do with clients, same system, same deadlines internally.

So I think it helps that like that has always been in place and obviously like my role now I’m more so just like I have just the final approval On what gets published but back in the day i’d be a little bit more involved like three or four years ago So it’s just like helpful. I think My team knows and appreciates that, like, I kind of let them have creative freedom there as long as certain, like, KPIs are being met and, like, our brand voice is still being addressed and utilized, like, I still want to continue to grow, but I, they’re, they’re in the nitty gritty of it, and they’re, like, on social media, like, Like potentially more than I am.

And so I’m like, yeah, like have fun with it. 

Akua: I love that. I love how you’re giving people their creative freedom and you’re just like, Hey, like, again, that gives people that option to be innovative. And even as a business owner, I think it just goes to the fact of like, if you’re somebody like trying to figure out how to be more consistent of like, this is a really good opportunity to really experiment and see what works for you and see what does, what do you like and what you don’t like.

And we’ve also shared this too, where, you know, think of platforms where that’s kind of more your safe space where like, maybe you don’t have an audience that like, Isn’t very big, like Tiktok. So a lot of people are like, well, I’m not on Tiktok. I’m like, well, that’s the perfect place to go ahead and try different things and see, because nobody’s on there and that’s when you can have fun and feel more comfortable, you know, and then if something works and try it on a platform that you like, you know, that has more weight to it, like, like Instagram, like, or wherever your audience is.

I think that’s just such a great way of like really figuring out what works best for you on social media. So I think it just leads to experimentation. 

Becca: Yeah. And it allows you to maybe like get out of a creative rut too. I think a lot of people feel like. Instagram, like they feel afraid to post. Sometimes.

Akua: Yeah. 

Becca: And so I think that if you’re like, just try a new channel, you might find you like it better. 

Akua: 1000%. Absolutely. And so you just never know, like right now I’ve been leaning more into Pinterest and I love Pinterest, you know, and in this season of my life, Pinterest makes sense for me. Right. And I’m like, can absolutely change later on.

But right now, because I’m like, I decided to redo my whole blogging strategy and all of that. And like Pinterest right now is where I’m at. And I absolutely enjoy it. And I know it’s not, I mean, it’s more of a search engine, of course, but like, again, really thinking about as a business owner, where are you at in your season?

What are the things you need to get done? What are the things you enjoy? Not so much enjoy. What can you automate and just really delegate? And I just love that you have really found systems and tools that have worked really, really, really well for you. So want to ask, are there any other tools or anything that you have seen really just make a big difference for you?

Becca: Oh, I’ll say the last thing I was like, uh, again, an agency owner, a social media agency owner. I have the feature turned off on Instagram where I can’t see Instagram likes. Because I found that if I was like after work hours, I’m scrolling, we obviously, I follow all of our client accounts and I want to support them and see them succeed.

Let’s say it’s like 8 p. m. I’m unplugged for the day, but I’m scrolling for personal enjoyment. I see a client post that flopped immediately. My brain goes into like, how can we fix this? What can I put on my list for tomorrow? Should I archive it? Like it just turns into like, More work for myself. 

Akua: Yeah, and 

Becca: so by turning off Instagram likes it also helps with like comparison Like if you’re looking at a competitor and you’re paying attention to their likes it just kind of like evens the playing field So that’s something that has definitely helped too.

Akua: Oh, I love that I feel like you’ve given like a lot of really great advice on how to create boundaries and stick to them to them and the tools that help you stick to them. And that’s why I think like, again, like your team has been able to make more revenue working less hours. And so that is just so, so key and so beneficial.

So every question that we’d like to end with is, what do you think is the biggest differentiator between the businesses that succeed and the ones that fail? 

Becca: Oh, um, personal development. Like, I think as a CEO, so much of our success is reliant on like my self worth and like, obviously my employees self worth too.

But like, if I decided today that like, this is the biggest I ever want to be, I don’t mind if clients are upset with me or, you know, like so much of your self worth will be reflected in your business. And so the more you can kind of work to uncover what it is that’s maybe like Holding you back or I don’t know if you’re woo woo at all but like sometimes they use the term like your shadow like diving into your shadow and figuring out like What limiting beliefs do you have around growing your business or becoming someone who is successful or becoming someone who has a lot of money or who manages a huge team?

Like those are all huge considerations when you do want to scale and grow business and you kind of like unlock new fears each time you level up. So 

Akua: don’t be 

Becca: afraid to do the inner work and it’ll always pay off. 

Akua: Oh, 1, 000%. I love that so much because that is something that we’ve just heard so many business owners time and time again that come on this show and essentially just say like, it’s really true.

Like what’s between your ears, whether you’re going to have a successful business or not. And I think a lot of the times we consistently are like, I want to have a six figure business and I’m going to work hard to get it, but it’s like, we never anticipate how we’re going to react when a bump, when we hit a bump on the road.

Right. And I think again, it’s like really doing that internal works, really know how you are, what your triggers are. And so that you. When things do come up, you are doing it in a healthy way. That’s not going to completely derail you and your business. And so I love that, that personal development that goes beyond of like, Oh yeah, I’m going to take this course on, you know, how to run Instagram.

It’s like. Are you going to therapy or if you don’t need therapy, like what ways are you taking care of yourself? You know, like any types of ways to where like you’re doing that internal work and I love that you said the shadow work because I’ve definitely have heard about that and I’ve kind of been exploring that more to myself of like, okay, like this is my shadow and this is who I am.

And instead of like repressing it, I’m going to lean more into that because that is my gift. Like, how can I maximize the gifts that I already have and how can I maximize what I’m already good at? 

Becca: And you can find that in different ways, you know, it could be, you know, doing manifestation. It could be joining a mastermind with like minded or similar size business owners.

It could be hiring a life coach. It could be therapy, like, 

Akua: it could be all of the above. All of the above, like whatever it is that you I think I’ve seen 

Becca: all 

Akua: of these at 

Becca: some point or another. 

Akua: But they’ve all had led, they’ve all led to your growth into the business owner that you are now to where you have been able to scale.

You are able to, you don’t have to choose between having successful business and a successful life. You have both. And I think that is the thing that we have to remind independent business owners is that you don’t have to choose. And I know like a lot of us solopreneurs that are in the thick of it right now, but you don’t have to choose.

It’s out there for you. Really take that time to really, again, like I said, automate or delegate. So yes, we 

Becca: need to get in like a part two of you and I booked like three years from now, because I feel like I’m about to embark on like this next chapter where like I just got married and I know that the next chapter for me is starting a family and I’m starting to like nest my business, if that makes sense.

Like I’m starting to try and like look at what systems do I need to automate now to have like a Boundary filled maternity leave. 

Akua: Yes. But I think 

Becca: that’s in like three years, I’ll give you my dips. Yes. 

Akua: But I love that though, right? I think the fact that you’re already thinking about it in your mind of like, what kind of systems can I have in place for this next phase of my life?

So yeah, you’re nesting your business, but then you’re also preparing your life to where like, your business is still able to run even through the most beautiful journey, like beautiful moments of life. And I think that’s such a good, a good key. Like, I think there’s nothing wrong with planning. And of course, life is life.

Like things are going to hit the fan, of course, but you were like, what systems can I have in place just to make things a little bit easier for me in this, in this moment and in this time. And I love that so much. So yeah, we’ll, we’ll get you back here in three years, girl. That sounds great. And Becca, thank you so much for this conversation.

I think it’s just really. It’s been really great just to see somebody who has a successful business. And again, like we hear about systems, we hear about boundaries, but to see somebody that’s implementing it regularly, like you’re like, this is not going to throw me off. I’m going to keep doing this because I have worked too hard for the business that I have, the life that I have.

So like, these are the things that have implemented. And I just love that you have really created a business that genuinely works for you and have customized things that work very well for your team. So where can people connect with you? How can we support you? 

Becca: Thank you so much. So, um, if you head to homemadesocial.

com, you’ll be able to find basically everything from there. But, um, my personal Instagram handle is bbooks, B B O O K S. I just want to say, like, if you hear these boundaries that I’ve talked about and you’re like, Oh, that would be such a pain to implement, or like, I might lose clients, the clients who respect your boundaries will stay.

And that’s all that, not, you don’t want the other clients anyways, and you will be happier and live a You’ll have a more fruitful business because you’re working with clients who respect you and you will therefore be happier and happier to service them. 

Akua: Oh my gosh. I love that you even shared that because I think, um, It’s just so so important because we always view it as like we can have tunnel vision Of like the clients that we have in that scarcity mindset of like, oh my gosh Like they’re not going to want to work with me because you’re implementing something That’s really going to benefit your business and you and benefit your client I think we have to realize that’s 

Becca: you like protecting yourself like that’s you being like I don’t want anyone in my circle who’s not going to Respect these 

Akua: respect.

Yeah, and like if you want to be able to provide the most You White glove best service possible for your clients. You have to be full you have to be able to Uh be your best self so that you can show up your best for your clients And I think again, that’s just such such a key thing. You’ve just given so many good tips now I’m, like i’m gonna go back and review my boundaries and like what else can I implement into my contracts that I didn’t even think 

Becca: I want to go sign up for a group session right after this.

Akua: Do it, do it, do it. Oh my gosh. Yes. And let me know how it goes. And thank you so much again, Becca, for being here until next time. That ends our episode of the Independent Business Podcast. Everything we’ve discussed today can be found at podcast. honeybook. com. Head to our website to access for show notes, relevant links, and all of the resources that you need to level up.

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