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When to Outsource to a Marketing Company – feat. Kierra Conover

Whether you’re a new business or you’ve been in business for a while, managing all of the day-to-day operations in addition to building a solid business and marketing strategy can be overwhelming. That’s why today’s guest, Kierra Conover founded KLC The Studio, a one-stop-shop for marketing solutions for small businesses. In today’s episode, Kierra joins us to share tips to managing your business essentials as a new business, how service-based businesses can build a Pinterest marketing strategy, and what it looks like to outsource your marketing work when you’re ready!

The Branded by Bernel Podcast is brought to you by Bernel Westbrook, lead designer and founder of Branded by Bernel, a design studio dedicated to building strong brands and Showit websites for creative entrepreneurs.

Make sure you’ve hit that follow or subscribe button on your favorite podcast player to get notified each week as we air new episodes!

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Your One-Stop-Shop for Marketing Solutions

While Kierra originally started her business as a consultant, she began to incorporate brand strategy, marketing strategy, and even social media strategy into her business, which ultimately led to KLC The Studio becoming a one-stop-shop for marketing solutions. They primarily work with new, small businesses who are looking for advice and consulting as they await the stage where they’re ready to come back to outsource their marketing.

New businesses deserve luxury too—just because you’re having to take a DIY approach when you’re starting out, that doesn’t mean there aren’t services that can support you.

While all of KLC The Studio’s services are based on the core marketing principals, they all serve a different purpose. The VIP Day that they offer is a done in a day business and marketing strategy. They also offer social media management for their clients to help implement their strategy. The newest service they offer is based on customer experience and elevating that experience for the brand’s customer.

Utilizing Pinterest for Search

In a recent Instagram post, Kierra’s team shared four reason why you should be on Pinterest. One of the reasons was because Pinterest is a search engine, which is often overlooked.

Kierra’s team has revamped their Pinterest strategy to repurpose her content. Kierra is taking her Instagram content, turning it into a blog post, scaling her Instagram graphics for Pinterest, then drives traffic to the blog post. Additionally, she created additional Pinterest graphics with different titles that all link back to that blog post.

Pinterest for Service-Based Businesses

While it may feel like Pinterest is only valuable to product-based businesses, you can take Kierra’s strategy and serve through knowledge-based content. If you’re not entirely sure how to build out your own strategy for Pinterest as a service-based business, KLC The Studio specializes in this space!

Resources for Building a New Business & Marketing Strategy

When Kierra first got started in her business, she knew she couldn’t afford working with a marketing agency, so she used a lot of templates from Creative Market and Etsy. While it didn’t offer the luxury feel she was looking for, her advice to someone who is just starting out is to really save your money and commit to one-on-one services versus spending your money on the smaller items.

Finding Your Aesthetic

If you are purchasing these templates, it’s important to know your aesthetic so you can customize them and actually use them. There are so many things that we’re told in order to find our aesthetic, but what Kierra has found to be the most beneficial is to find your own voice and build a brand that reflects who you are. Don’t spend too much time in market research that will encourage you to simply copy and mimic others in your field.

Roadblocks for New Businesses

As a new business owner, it’s easy to look to others for opinions or guidance on every aspect of your business, but sometimes your brand needs your own opinion and guidance to take it to the level you want it at. While Kierra is a firm believer in investing in your business, she has found herself in situations where she’s over invested in advice because she wanted someone else to give her the answers.

You should have self-trust in yourself for your business. Stop searching for answers before you look inward first.

Continuing to Learn in the Industry

It’s so important to continue to grow as a business owner and your learning doesn’t just stop when you feel successful. A few ways that Kierra has continued to learn is through podcasts and how people run their businesses, business focused audiobooks, and networking.

Be mindful to not take on too much information so that you don’t get analysis paralysis.

Three Actionable Steps to Move Your Business Forward

Now to my favorite question here on the show, I asked Kierra, what are three actionable steps that someone could take today to move their business forward?

  1. Mindset shift: be mentally prepared to make money and lead from boldness.
  2. Strategy: lead from strategy, not just passion.
  3. Operations: be organized and own your business.

Get to Know Kierra

Founded by Kierra Lee Conover, KLC The Studio is a contemporary marketing studio for solopreneurs & small businesses. With close to a decade of corporate merchandising and marketing experience, she dedicated her expertise to creating a luxury studio that merged strategy and Done-for-you services.
She designed a unique business model that takes the best of an agency- a one-stop-shop solution and scaled it to support solopreneurs who need access to resources without the hassle of hiring multiple vendors. Here, you get one dream team that covers it ALL.

Her second focus was to teach small business owners core marketing practices that didn’t require the overuse of social media. The studio’s mission is to teach you sustainable marketing methods so you can grow your brand with simplicity and confidence.

Connect with Kierra

www.klcthestudio.com

https://www.instagram.com/klc.thestudio/

Connect with Bernel

brandedbybernel.com

instagram.com/brandedbybernel

Review the Transcript:

Bernel
Hey, hi. Welcome to the Branded by Bernel podcast. I’m your host Bernel. You may know me as the branding and web designer who obsesses over the details so you don’t have to. We all desire to be great at what we do. Although once we get there, no one seems to talk about the messy middle. This motivated me to set the table and invite industry peers over to share stories about living and working in the creative world. So grab the OJ and champagne, pull up a chair, join the creative community and be prepared to build a brand you fall in love with. This is the Branded by BernelPodcast.

Bernel
Today on the podcast, I am so excited to be joined by Kierra Conover. Kierra Conover is the founder of KLC, the studio, which is a contemporary marketing studio for solopreneurs and small businesses. With close to a decade of corporate merchandising and marketing experience. She’s dedicated her expertise to creating a luxury studio that emerges strategy and done for you services. She’s designed a unique business model that takes the best of an agency, a one stop shop solution and scaled it to support solopreneurs who need access to resources without the hassle of hiring multiple vendors. Here you get one dream team that covers it all.

Bernel
Her second focus was to teach small business owners core marketing practices that didn’t require the overuse of social media. The studio’s mission is to teach you sustainable marketing methods so you can grow your brand with simplicity and confidence. It is going to be such a great show today. Welcome, Kierra. Hi.

Kierra
Thanks for having me. Oh, my God, that was such a good intro. I’m like, Dude, I think I need to like update my website biography to match.

Bernel
Yes. Oh, my goodness, such a good introduction. It’s funny, because I was looking over that prior to our recording today. And I was just like, wow, I need to update like my bio. I know. Yes, yes. I’m excited that you’re here. I actually discovered your work via Instagram. So I think it’s really funny that your agency helps business owners to grow without the overuse of social media. Because I mean, I feel like social media is how we got connected.

Kierra
Yeah. Okay. So you want to know something even funny, or okay, you probably won’t remember is that I have known you since I found you and 2020 because I was working with another business at the time, I was helping my friends with a nonprofit organization. And we were looking for someone to do websites. And at the time, you only did show it. Yeah. And I think you still only do show it and they wanted the website platform to be on Wix. So I had like, messaged you and like loved your stuff. And they were like, eventually, after like we got I downloaded your quotes, like we were gonna set up a time to call you. And then I sent it to the team. And they were like, Oh, we don’t want to learn a whole new platform. He just want to stay on Wix. So I actually, so we went with a different designer. But then I left that business a few months later, and I started my own. And so when you reached out to do this, I was like, oh my god, I remember her from like, two years ago, and I was at a different organization. So that’s so hilarious.

Bernel
Oh, my goodness. Yes. No, that’s so funny. They say usually it’s like, what three points of contact? Right? Yeah. Before they really connect.

Kierra
Yeah,

Bernel
I for you guys listening at home. If you have not seen the website, yes. But also her Instagram is. So on brand. I think the first time I reached out to you, I actually was looking to expand my team, designer, and I was just like, Oh, my goodness, these social media graphics are out of this world. So yeah, so that’s really funny.

Kierra
I can design for myself, just not for others.

Bernel
They’re saying I understand. So I know, we touched on it a little bit in the bio, but tell me what KLC the studio is.

Kierra
It really is a one stop shop for people’s like marketing solutions. I think for me, when I created it, I initially was just a consultant. So I was just focusing on brand strategy, marketing strategy. And then over time, I really started to get clients that were asking for a little bit more. And so then it was like, Okay, well, what are some areas that it isn’t I feel like are one missing in the space? And then how can I also support what it is that my clients are asking for? And so then we kind of went I kind of went from consultant to studio so that I could broaden the services for the solopreneurs who are asking for more support. And yeah, our specific emphasis is on you know, new businesses, small businesses, people who are usually a part Have one or party have two or three, typically anyone that’s like in between like the first one to five years of their business. And they’re just looking for someone that’s going to help give them some marketing consultant advice and an area where they can also come back later when their businesses a little bit more stabilized and also outsource the social media management element of it as well. So that’s kind of what we’re focused on.

Bernel
Yeah. Oh, my goodness, so much good stuff in there. So that kind of leads me into like my next question about what services specifically does your business provide? So I kind of see the overall one stop shop. Yeah, helping those who are newer in their business, but honestly, really desire like a leveled up experience. Your experience is still pretty top notch.

Kierra
Yes, yes. Yeah, the theme with that was really like new businesses deserve luxury, too. And I feel like when I was starting out in business, and this is actually on my website, when I was starting out in business, I wanted that elevated, like creative experience, like I want it to feel, just because you’re new. And just because like, you’re designing your own stuff in Canva. And you’re like slogging it out in Google Forms doesn’t necessarily mean that like, you want to feel that way. You don’t I mean, I don’t know if you’ve ever been someplace and like you’ve, you’ve like, either gotten your nails done, or your hair done, and you just feel fancy, because like, they’re serving you champagne. And they’re just like giving you that money, even though you’re like not there yet in your career. But you feel like fancy just from the ambiance. Like, that’s kind of what it is that I wanted other people to have when it is that they saw the studio. And then in terms of the services, it’s crazy that you mentioned, the experience, because that is a core element of like everything that it is that we do. So I have what it is that I call like, you know, just the main, like, my main Marketing methodology, everything that it is that I put into my teachings is really centered around core marketing principles that are like, you need the three that I always focus on or like you need traffic in a brand, you need brand awareness, you need conversion need, we have assigned clients, and then you need to be able to get people to come back, aka retention, right. And so for me all the services in the studio ladder up directly to that core marketing principle, which is, if you need help with traffic or conversion, there is our VIP day, which is like a done in a day, business and marketing strategy. It’s focused on brand strategy, it’s focused on product strategy and pricing strategy. It includes you know how to break out your CEO day, it includes time management and resources for that it includes you know, how to price your services, all of those things, it rounds out at the end with like marketing and content strategy, where we actually like come up with a method for my clients to be able to easily write their content. So that’s like service number one, that’s VIP day. That’s my baby. That’s my baby. And I’m obsessed with it. It’s so comprehensive. And it’s so much deeper than just, you know how to create a cool social media management page or, or how to create a cool Instagram. So I love how in depth and how comprehensive that that services and that’s for people who like really are struggling with getting a grip on what’s going on with their marketing, like, they’re, they’re new, they’re passionate, but they just like, don’t know how to get the word out there like that is the service for them. And then the second service is social media management. And it’s basically where we own it all for you for Instagram or Pinterest. Yeah, we take it all on for you. And that was actually asked for me to create for my clients because my clients were like, Okay, great. You told me the strategy. But now like, can I just pay you to do it. And sure, so expanded into that. And then our newest service is focused all about customer experience, and that retention element that it is that I was talking to you about in marketing, and it’s called automate and elevate and it’s about setting up your back end systems so that you can operate a smooth service, while also having that’s the Automate portion of it. And then the Elevate part is all about exactly what it says elevating the client experience through like your visuals and what it is that you’re delivering to your clients. So those extra touches and notes in your welcome packets and you know their client materials and if you have slideshows or courses or modules that your clients are going to be watching what are those look like really making sure that everything looks cohesive and that the brand experience is consistent throughout. So um, the Elevate portion comes with us designing custom designing and writing all of your client materials. So if you need a welcome pack gets done. You need offboarding packets, if you have dubsado forms that you want to have customized or coded to be a different color than the typical white or black background. We do all of that in that service. So yeah, those are the that’s the little trifecta.

Bernel
Yeah. Oh, my goodness, I love it. So there really is something for everybody. Yeah, yeah. And I love that at the core, like of your baby service that you call it, the one that has your heart is strategy. That strategy is at the core of that, because so often I feel like people focus on the pretty and not the profitable,

Kierra
yes.

Bernel
speaking my language, cohesive designs, consistent cleaning experience. I mean, definitely things that we see over here. And you know, as everybody knows, my guests on my show are always people who align with those values. Yeah. Super exciting. Um, one of the things that really stood out to me that you mentioned, and your services was helping people really with the writing and like positioning themselves. Yeah, one of the things just going back to your Instagram, I know this episode isn’t about your Instagram. Yeah. You really right scroll stopping things. Oh. I feel like you tell it like it is. Yeah, very much. So like you just a really a straight shooter when it comes to marketing. And I think that’s good, because I really feel like there’s a lot of fluff. Yeah, currently, especially kind of in that like coaching consulting room. There’s just a lot of, yeah, so we all get

Kierra
our faces, but our faces are all typed up. For y’all who are listening.

Bernel
Yes, yes. So it’s just really nice, like to read something. And I’m like, wow, okay, I learned something in four slides. And it was not a lot of fluff in there. One of the things just kind of diverting the conversation a little bit. One of the things you posted a few weeks ago was actually four reasons why you need to get on Pinterest ASAP. Yeah. And I thought that that was such a good post. I’m not going to tell you guys everything that was in it, because I want you guys to go look. But one of the first reasons that you list it is because it is a search engine. Yeah. And I think that that is so often overlooked, because the other social media platforms are not use the search engines really know. Um, you know, they’re used more so for like having conversations with people or posting your finance. And yeah, exactly. But Pinterest, being a search engine is definitely something that I feel like we could all benefit from. I did want to ask you, how are you currently using Pinterest in your business?

Kierra
Yeah, so funny, you asked that we are in the process of redoing my Pinterest strategy, because when I created the service, so I’ll rewind a little bit. So we so when I like first started my business, I knew that like my website was going to be my creme de la creme like that’s my baby. I wanted everything to go there. I had no intentions on ever driving a ton of traffic to my Instagram, I didn’t care about my follower count, I was never going to start a YouTube channel. I’m like late to the podcast train. So I was like website is for me. And so I immediately hired like, within the first like one to three months of being in business, I immediately hired a Pinterest manager. And she like really helped me get my Pinterest off the ground. And then as I was working with her, I was like, You know what, this could be something that it isn’t like I actually learned for myself, and, you know, offer the service later. So I stopped the Service decided to take a whole bunch of courses and classes and like self tight, teach myself how to use Pinterest and then tried to use my account as like a tester. And then as soon as I like got a good groove and I was like oh yeah, I can run my Pinterest and I can run my clients Pinterest and we’re gonna be good. I started selling the service and I started booking clients for it and then I was like, I have no time for me. I was like now I need another Pinterest manager. So I have just decided to outsource it to my team. My studio is going to own my Pinterest management, we kick back up probably at the start of may. But essentially how I use it is I take all of my Instagram content and I expand it into blog posts. And then I take Pinterest I typically take the image that it is that I used on Instagram I scale it to Pinterest size and then I have the Pinterest pin link to my blog post. So that is how I’ll be using it. So for example, four reasons why you need to get on Pinterest ASAP like that would be a blog post that then would be would have, you know, several different pins that would have different titles that would link to my website. So that’s how I use it.

Bernel
Excellent. I love it. I love it. That was a goldmine worth of information, right? Yeah, I’m using Pinterest. So often I talk to service providers, specifically my base business clients love Pinterest, like, yes, they understood it way before everybody. Yes. Yeah, like I have a product. So yes,

Kierra
on Pinterest, and I can link it directly to my product page or my handbag. Yeah,

Bernel
exactly. But for the service based businesses out there, um, I’ve gotten a little resistance when I tell them, hey, you should have a Pinterest and they kind of like, but I’m not selling anything. And I’m like, Well, you are selling something. But it comes more so in the form of knowledge and teaching other people. And so I think that that was key when you said that you link it to your blog? Um, yeah, I think that’s a great idea. So if you are a service based business, listening to this, that is something that you should try to implement. And if you can’t figure it out, now, you know, someone who offers Pinterest. Yes,

Kierra
yes, for sure. And for service based businesses. I’m like, my specialty is not ecommerce. It’s actually service based. So

Bernel
yes. Oh, yes. I was gonna ask you that, because you talked about working with business owners, who are kind of getting started usually like the 123. Team Member Type. Yeah. What industries do you specifically work for? Or work with? Or is it just general?

Kierra
So it’s really interesting, my background and my career is in apparel merchandising, so retail, so fashion, and so my entire career is, is ecommerce. And that’s what my backgrounds in but I really have a passion for service based businesses. It doesn’t really matter what type of coach or consultant or agency you own. I’m not like oh, I’m for mindset coaches, or oh, I’m for wedding photographers or anything like that. I don’t really have like a specific field, but just anybody in that service pro section in terms of my VIP day, and then my social media management services are really available for any type of service based business. So like, a website designer, like yourself, or I have photography clients, I have a travel agent client. Just yeah, yeah. Very diverse. Yeah, I feel like once you know marketing, it really just because it’s really the consistent and the same across every industry once you know how to like position a brand for awareness once you know how to get someone to convert clients, once you know how to get someone to get people to stay on retention. Like it’s it’s really just like, rinse and repeat for pretty much any industry.

Bernel
Yes. Oh, my goodness, I love that. So one of the things you mentioned was just like when you first got started wanting something that gave you the luxury feel, even though you were still doing a lot of it yourself, what were some of those resources that like helped you along the way at that point?

Kierra
Yeah, um, so I couldn’t afford any of the marketing agencies that I wanted to hire any of the luxury people that I wanted to work with, but I did a lot of like, I have a creative eye naturally. And if you give me a base I can build from it. So I used a lot of templates, like I went to Creative Market or Etsy and like would buy Instagram templates, I bought like client workbook templates, I lived for those and then I would just go in and edit them with like my brand colors and stuff like that. And then in terms of like service providers that it is that I may have worked with, um, I always recommend I mean, I didn’t get the luxury feel that it is that I was looking for. But I would say my greatest advice to anyone starting out and trying to like piece their brand together themselves is to really just like save your money and make the commitment to just do one on one services. Um, I like I know the courses are in tight. Like I’ve done them all. I’ve done the webinars. I’ve paid for conferences. I’ve downloaded 1,000,001 digital products, I’ve bought templates I’ve bought. I’ve downloaded apps for like how to the hashtag apps that like help you get better hashtag, I’ve like done everything. I’ve done the courses I’ve done the group programs, nothing helped me as much as one on one coaching. So hire the service pros you need hire a one on one coach for you the specific issue that is that you have save your money. I wouldn’t even bother with the smaller items. I just would rather you save Yeah.

Bernel
So in the shownotes I will actually link to those two sites that yeah, Kara mentioned Creative Market does have so many resources. There’s so good there, and then et Cie as well. But one of the things that really stood out that you mentioned is you had already had like your brand colors, you already knew kind of what your aesthetic was. So it was easy to customize those skins. So even just taking a step, you know, before purchasing the templates, it is really good to kind of narrow down what your aesthetic is going to be. Yeah, and I think that will help a lot, because I feel like a lot of people buy these templates, and then they sit there. Yes.

Kierra
That’s so true. Yeah. How do you find your aesthetic? Okay, so, for me, the I’m gonna tell you what you’re taught to do. And then I’m gonna tell you what it is that I did that I actually found out works better. Okay, so what you’re taught to do is you’re taught to, like, go out in the space, see what other coaches and consultants are doing. See what type of like, content you feel like performs really well from like, all the other people like, oh, this, these types of posts get a lot of likes, or these types of, you know, photos get a lot of engagement, and you’re supposed to like do market research. What I found was that when I did that, I mimicked my brand after those people. And then I didn’t like it because it didn’t look like me. But I thought a coach looked a certain way. So I formulated all my pictures, I have a reel on my Instagram right now that says like what my brand looked like before. And then what it is it looked like after I like, did my own thing and remixed it. So I feel like, if you are new to business, I would not recommend doing the whole market research in terms of what other brands look like. And I actually would just like spend a day in your own creative zone, just going through your Pinterest, and like seeing what it is that you’ve either previously pinned, or just like, go out and like find different aesthetics and see what it is that resonates with you. And I think once you see it on a grand scale like that, my friend did something like this with her wedding. She basically was like, I was trying to decide if I wanted bridesmaids, or no bridesmaids. And then she was like when I looked at all the pictures that I saved, none of the pictures had bridesmaids in them. So that made me realize that like, oh, I probably like I’m gravitating that for a reason. So like I probably don’t want a bridal party. And I think the same concepts can apply for when you’re trying to figure out what your aesthetic or your groove is like you probably already know it, you just haven’t given yourself permission to go after it. So if I if you look at my Pinterest mood boards, you can clearly see what the vibe is. And now my brand is aligned to that. But before it it, it didn’t.

Bernel
Yeah, no, that’s that’s so true. I feel like so many people get lost in that market research phase, where they are consuming more than they’re creating. And when you do that, you do naturally begin to mimic other people. Yeah, that was not the intention. Yeah, we want you to see, you know, the ads are just a powerful, powerful marketing tool. I use it. And if you have not already carved out your own clarity, like, yeah, that’s what you’re gonna do. Okay, that’s right, because I’ve seen it 10 times. So that’s the right way to do it. Right. Absolutely. Yeah. But I love that. I love that. Your strategy of going through your Pinterest, seeing what things speak to you, not even specifically in branding, but just what aesthetic, what kind of pictures what feelings that you’re looking for. So I love that. That’s so good. Yeah, so we’ve talked about the resources that helped you. But one of the things that I love to talk about on this show is the roadblocks. Because it’s very easy to go on social media or to listen to a podcast see someone at a conference. And it’s just like, wow, their journey seems like it was pretty simple to get here. Or it seems like oh, they have it all together. But I don’t think there’s an entrepreneur anywhere that did not face roadblocks. Um, absolutely. And so what are some of the roadblocks that you encountered, and that you want to warn other people about?

Kierra
Oh, man, I feel like it kind of goes back to what it is that we were just talking about in terms of kind of out like the taking outside opinions and even in choosing your your, your brand. aesthetic. I feel like the same thing kind of goes for just your overall business and even just the type of content that you create and the type of business that it is that you’ve designed. I feel like there’s a lot of you kind of look to someone else to guide you. I know for me, I definitely am like a firm believer in like investing in whatever it is that you need to invest in in order to grow your business. And sometimes I have over invested too much because I’m looking for someone else to give me the answer. And what I realized is is that, you know, when you tap into yourself, that’s probably the best, the best bet for you. And I feel like that’s a really big roadblock for new entrepreneurs is like a how to have self trust in your business and then be also not looking to someone else to guide you. Because I think in entrepreneurship, right, it’s kind of like, Yeah, this is like really the first time that you’ve like been out on your own. Like I was telling my husband this, I was like, everything throughout life up until that point has been very mapped out for you, you know, you go to school to get certain grades so that you can get into certain colleges, then after college, you get, you know, certain internships so that you can get a certain job then after that, you know, you get this title so that you can move up to this title, like everything’s already pre set out, and entrepreneurship just kind of like, blows that whole door right open. And it’s just like, No, you’re on your own, you have to figure out your path on your own. So I would say if there was ever a roadblock, it’s just making sure that you’re not mentally searching for some answer before looking inward first.

Bernel
Yeah, no, I think that’s an excellent one. Um, and then just knowing what to outsource and what not to outsource that, that to your point, like, you don’t hire coaches and consultants to give you the answer. You can hire them to help you clarify or use them to help you scale. But I do think that sometimes the intention behind looking for someone to give you the answers and can lead to that over investing,

Kierra
and exactly, exactly. And one of my clients in my VIP days, she was like, she was like, uh, you do like a brand strategy questionnaire before we hop on the VIP day. And she was like, gosh, she was like, this is the first time anyone’s never asked me who she’s this is the first time that someone hasn’t asked me about the demographics of my client, like the questions that you asked me, were actually like, things that were relevant to how it is that I relate to them. And so she was like, this whole time, I felt like I didn’t know who my clients were, because I couldn’t tell you where my clients lived, or how much money that it is that they made. She was like, I didn’t have those, like psychographics demographics. And so she was like, I felt like I didn’t know who my clients were. But what you’re teaching me is that I already intrinsically have that information, because I designed the service for them. So I already know who they are, because I’ve created it. And that, to me is like the most rewarding thing about being able to be in the consulting space that it is that I am in is that like, I tell people all the time, I’m really not teaching you anything new. I mean, of course, I have years of experience. And I can bring that I bring that to the table. But like, really all I’m doing is asking you the questions that like you’re having a hard time asking yourself, and then when you get those answers, and you leave your VIP day, it’s like you have this amazing, customized plan that is so aligned to you. But it’s like you did it. Like I just was the vessel to like help you get there. But like, people have so much talent that they just like, haven’t been able to tap into because they’ve just been absorbing so much of the crap that’s out in the space, unfortunately.

Bernel
Yeah, no, that’s that’s so true. Coming up with a plan. I mean, you know, I feel like you can’t have a brand plan. If you don’t have a business plan. Yeah, you can’t have a business plan. If you don’t know who your target client is. You know, you need all of these different pieces of the puzzle. Yeah. Yeah. Just speaking to your point. I think it’s, it’s a great service. And I definitely think that if you are at the beginning of building your business, or even if you’ve been in business for a few years, it is great to do an audit on yourself. Yes. See, like, are you still aligned? Are you still reaching the group that you want to reach? Right, right, for sure. Yes, I love that. So I have to ask you, because I’m big into educational resources. What are some ways that you continue to learn in your industry?

Kierra
Oh, honestly, podcasts. Um, I learned a ton from podcasts. And just seeing how different people run their businesses like I’m a sucker for those like here were my q3 results, q2 results, like here’s how I did it, blah, blah, blah. So I’m a big, big one into that. I’m not a big book reader primarily because I don’t like sitting still. But I will listen to like a book on tape or you know, something like on Audible or something like that. Another big resources is like I do a lot of like networking and connecting like I’m the big I’m big into just like asking someone to hop on a coffee chat or like just get a chance to get to know someone. I’ve done a ton of those especially when I was first starting out like my network was was really how I you know, was able to learn how to grow my business. Um, and so I would say those three things are like the things that I how I continue to learn and to grow my business. I try to be very mindful not to take on on too much information because like we were talking about earlier, you can get into analysis paralysis, you can start to absorb other people’s ways of doing things. I love this new setup. I don’t know about you, but I love this new setup on Instagram where you can now like control what? On your feed? Yes, that’s been a freaking godsend for me because I just have nothing but good energy on my feed, like all the time. So it’s that’s been absolutely phenomenal.

Bernel
Yes, I love that. And just to your point about high caste, you can get so much information just from hearing other people’s stories. I think sometimes people think of podcasts as like a to do list or they listen to them. And they’re like, Okay, well, they’re just gonna, you know, go down a list of facts or things that I knew of you. And I’m like, no good podcasts come from storytelling. Yes. Just listening to people talk about how they did it, what they went through what results they saw. And so I agree, I love listening to podcasts. It’s an excellent free resource for people. Yeah, for sure. Well, we have reached my favorite part of the show. I do this on every single episode. So if you are regular here, you know, it’s time to grab your notebook, grab your pen, because Kira is gonna give you three actionable steps today that you can take to move your business forward.

Kierra
Oh, yeah, great question. I love this. This was a fun one for me to like, think about when it is that you and I were were pre chatting. Okay, my three actionable steps are number one, definitely mindset. I think you just need to have as corny as it may sound, because I’m so not a woowoo person. But like, I think you need to be mentally prepared to like, make money in packed like lead from a place of like boldness, some of the most hardest, exhausting things you do in life are going to be related to your business. So definitely make sure that your mind in your head is in it and protecting your peace. So that is number one. And whatever that looks like for you. If it’s self care, if it’s time away, whatever that is, I definitely am a huge advocate of that, because I think everything stems from there. Number two, I think strategy, like a lot of business owners don’t lead from a, from a place of strategy, they lead from a place of passion, and you can have both. I think sometimes people think that they can’t have both. But you can or that money, like trying to make money or make your business profitable makes you like yucky or like less of a passionate person about your business, you know, but your business needs money to survive, like at the end of the day, passion is not going to put food on the table. So there’s nothing wrong with having a strategy, there’s nothing wrong with having a step by step process. If it doesn’t come natural to you hire someone who is and allow yourself to put some things in place. Because you will, you will definitely need something to keep you in order in check on target. And then I think the third thing that people really need to move forward is operations. So you have to be able to be organized, there’s a certain level of like intuitives that I feel like comes from owning your own business. So I’m not saying you know, be OCD about every little thing. But you should make sure that your back in is in order. So if that looks like paying for subscription service, or if that just looks like using like a free Google Suite like Google meets or Google Forms or just Google Docs, if you’re just starting out just you should always have a very clear way for you to have your own stuff organized. And then there needs to be a clear way for people to pay you. Too many times small entrepreneur, yes. Too many times new businesses are like, I don’t know how to send invoices. what service do I use for that? Where do I get a contract? Do you even have a contract? Like, you have to make sure that like you have your stuff, organized and intact so that when those clients do come in, you’re not scrambling trying to do all these custom quotes or trying to pull some stuff together. So I definitely think, you know, mindset strategy and operations. So I’d say the three most actionable steps that it is that you need, immediately to try to like move your business forward and keep building and growing.

Bernel
Yes, yes, yes. I cosign to all three. I completely agree. So you guys, I’ve really hope that you wrote those down, especially along the lines of operations. I feel like that is a step that so many people skip. Yeah, you know, it just blows my mind that people are consistently getting clients yet. There’s no system in place. And they’re just kind of winging it or doing something different with every client. Yeah, you know, I had so until sign their contract on you know, edocs over here and then I had so little just fax me they have a contract for so and so. So yeah. And I’m just like there’s no way that you can mass produce that like that’s sustainable. Oh, yeah, exactly. Oh, yes. Get those operations in place. I love Yes, for sure. Yes, Kierra. Well, thank you so much for being on the show today. Thanks for joining me. I knew you were going to drop all the knowledge. Oh, tell it like it is honestly. So I love that. Where can people find you?

Kierra
Yeah, you guys can find me at Instagram, as you mentioned so much. KLC.thestudio and then my website is KLCthestudio.com. So yeah, you guys can find me there.

Bernel
All right, wonderful. Well, thank you so much.

Bernel
Wow, that went by really fast. As always, thank you so much for showing up in my little corner of the internet. I would love to hear your thoughts on the show. So please, please subscribe, leave a review and share what you learned with friends. Some of the best things in life are freebies. So don’t forget to head over to brandedbybernel.com to check out our free branding goodies. This show notes and more educational resources.

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