What happens when the project is over?

What is a client offboarding process?

What happens when you and your client decide that a project is at or nearing completion? If you have a good system in place there will be a number of things that are done to not only ensure that everyone leaves the interaction as happy as they can be but also that you’ve gotten some basic information and understanding to help you improve your processes going forward. 

What to include in an off boarding process?

A good offboarding process is going to include a few key things. 

A survey to get feedback on how things went – what went well? Is there was something that could have gone better? This is the chance for your clients to help you know what you’re doing great at and what bits and pieces of the process could be smoother and a touch better. 

A space for them to leave a review – Testimonials are for some the make or break of whether or not they will hire you. It’s a good idea to work on getting a few so that you can add them in strategic places on your website and they can also be used in your social media as social proof.  

Space for a referral – Asking for a referral can sometimes feel really awkward but if you’re doing a great job your clients will 100% want to refer you to someone else they know who absolutely needs this. This can take many forms honestly. Sometimes it’s just remiding them to tag you in social media posts they happen upon when in fb groups where someone is looking for what you do. Other times it could be actually giving you a name and number for someone who you need to talk to. Either way don’t make it super complicated and you can ask something as simple as who do you know that i should know who also could really use the service i provide? Whether you choose to  give an incentive for referrals or not it’s a good idea to just ask – right away while you are top of mind still.

But when do I do this?

Let’s talk about WHEN you shoot this information off to the client…because I think sometimes that gets confusing and then you feel you’ve waited too long and now you can’t…

The ideal time to send the email is the day after the project is complete. If you have an automated system you can set these emails to automatically go out. If you are using something like google workspace you can actually schedule emails in there but you’ve got to turn that feature on (in the settings) and then it’s just a matter of having the template and forms all in the email and just plopping in the persons name.

BUT if you get behind and forget it’s okay. It’s okay to send it a week or even a month later. Just add a little something funny about your timing and say how much you’d appreciate the feedback. I think the important point is to get out of your own way and allow people to shower you with praise and some words to help you make your business better. Being able to receive that feedback is key and I know as women we sometimes really REALLY struggle with this aspect because we are generally speaking deep givers. We can go into the mindset work needed around receiving another day because that’s an entire post in and of itself but this is the basics.

What if it’s been a really long time?

If it has been 3-6 mo you can still send the request off but be understanding if you don’t get a reply. It’s been a hot minute and they may have gotten busy. It may not be anything personal to be honest.

I hope this helped you get a clearer understanding of how to create and what to include in your simple yet effective offboarding system. 

Have an amazing day, love!

You’re in burnout – great – creating a plan to get out!

What IS burnout?

Sometimes despite our best efforts we end up in burnout. And I see a lot of content directed at preventing burnout and those are extremely helpful and necessary but today I want to address how to get yourself out of burnout once you find yourself here. 

First we have to understand burnout and how we got here to begin with. I was watching this youtube video the other night after having had quite the mental breakdown – well several over the last few weeks…and honestly, I checked all of the boxes of what she was saying…my work and everything i’d been doing – for my family, for my friends, for my clients, every single living person – felt like it was pointless. Nothing I was doing felt like it was impactful and I could see very little progress being made. 

Symptoms of burnout mentioned in the video

  1. Deep emotional exhaustion
  2. Depersonalization – cynicism
  3. Personal ineffectiveness

How I got here

I really began to realize that all the growth I was trying to achieve would be pointless because I didn’t have the systems in place to sustain it even if I wanted to. There was no way I could maintain or grow a bookkeeping business during tax time and actually wrap up all of my existing clients, get my soap business into boutiques and maintain stock, launch body care products, AND pivot to an agency model for VA and OBM work and somehow grow a digital product business also.

Just writing all of that out – I’m like oh my god what was I thinking…no wonder i’m here! 

Wanna hear more? Check out this youtube video 

The plan

So I’ve developed a plan and I’m taking steps to get back into alignment within myself and hopefully out of burnout.

  • I’m scaling back. 
  • I’m no longer trying to get into boutiques or even wholesale – unless someone approaches me to do that. I want to focus on retail and getting some stock built up then I’ll worry about more, maybe.. 
  • I’m going to focus on wrapping up 2023 books for my clients. 
  • I’m getting myself on a schedule
  • I’m returning to my to-do list days which I have not had in months – and the lack of progress shows. 
  • I’m focusing less on social media (have removed fb from my phone and will be removing it from my tablet) and not having the window even open on my computer until a certain time of day. 
  • I’m getting up earlier. This one is simply because I was doing that before I got covid and I really enjoyed the few minutes of quiet and calm before the day began and just slowly getting into it. Though with that said, it can also be used for something productive if I feel like I just need to get something done. I was writing this blog in my head and I decided this morning to just sit down and let things flow out of me while it was there in my head. I got half of this blog written in about 10 min. 
  • I’m working a little each day on certain things so that it feels as though I’m moving forward in the different areas I want to progress with. 
  • I’m building and evaluating all the systems in my different businesses to ensure that I can manage all the things I need to manage.
  • I’m scheduling in me time and quiet time because otherwise I will simply go until I fall down or have a mental breakdown like I had been.

So now it’s your turn. Are you experiencing burnout? If so what are you doing to get yourself out of it? Leave a comment below to let me know your best tips! 

Want to go deeper into what systems I’m using and will be implementing in my business? I’m going to get super personal on my email list and tell you what’s working and what isn’t. You can sign up for that here.

What to do when you’re overwhelmed and underwhelmed at the same time

Life can feel like it’s constantly beating you up and that is never a fun feeling. But what if you are feeling entirely overwhelmed in one aspect of your life and thoroughly underwhelmed in another? Live in that state for too long and it spells burn out or what I kindly refer to as my body has completely shut down and now i’m going to be forced to rest even though I have a bajillion and five things to do. 

As I sit here writing this we are exactly one week from school starting. I have to say I’m very excited for school to start and yet I’m genuinely going to miss the house having life in it. I feel as though this summer went by so dang fast…like did june happen? Did it REALLY exist? It apparently did. 

We feed one of the neighborhood strays in the morning. She’s a beautiful all black cat that clearly has some siamese or savannah cat in her because she is so incredibly tall and lean it’s wild. Anywho I noticed this morning that it was darker than it had been previously and a tad cooler even which is so welcome at the same time I know that means soon it will be cold and dark. And also means I need to get on the task of building a shelter for the kitty baby. 

The Situation

But that’s not what you’re here for. You are here to get help figuring out how in the world you can manage all the things including the thing you feel should be going better than it currently is. Trust me I feel you. I’ve got a newer etsy shop that I’ve spent way too much time on and hasn’t been giving much, if any, return on that investment. I recently ran some ads trying to drum up some orders and let’s just say after 4 days I shut it down because it clearly wasn’t doing me anything but cost money…

I think when you hit a wall, like I have recently, with regards to something you’ve been working very hard on and in some cases putting time and attention into when you should have been doing something else – the feeling of betrayal and disappointment can be overwhelming. I want to tell you those are valid feelings and I want to encourage you to allow them to go on for at least a minute. Feel them fully. Cry, go to an ax throwing bar…whatever you need to do to let it out (within legal and reasonable limits) but realize at some point you’re gonna have to get up off the floor and make some decisions for the future of your venture and the future of your involvement within that venture. I thought i’d share some of those questions I’ve been asking myself. 

The Questions To Ask

  1. Have I given this venture the time and attention needed to get it off the ground? 
  2. Have I gone above and beyond and maybe even stepped outside my comfort zone to bring attention to this venture?
  3. If I were to stop today could I say that i’d done everything in my power to get it going?
  4. Have I done enough that IF something were going to come of it there would be signs and signals that it was coming together?
  5. Are there other things I can and should be focusing my attention on that WOULD definitely result in a faster and more profitable outcome?
  6. If I walk away now or at least slow down on my attempts to make this work will I have regrets?

These questions are a good place to begin exploration or journaling on this topic and allowing yourself to fully move on from something that just maybe isn’t working right now. And it really doesn’t need to be “goodbye” it could just be “see you later” and/or “I’ll promote this when and where it makes sense but I cannot continue to give this the time and attention I have been!”

Permission Slip Granted

I want to give you permission to rest, to take a step back, and to shift your focus to other things that might ease the pressure or make you just plain feel better. It’s okay to let go of something for a little while or permanently if it just doesn’t seem to be working. 

From Stuck to In Financial Flow

Life often feels overwhelming, especially in these uncertain times. One thing I began thinking about over the last few years is – what am I really trying to do here on this earth?

And then I watched some friends and family members go through some very sudden and life altering changes and realized that as it stood that day I was

  • in no way shape, form, or fashion prepared to become the primary breadwinner if something tragic happened
  • if something occurred in my relationship my son and I would be in a world of hurt
  • this level of uncertainty and lack of preparedness was causing me severe anxiety, depression, and general health issues

I needed to formulate a plan to get my financial situation figured out AND I need to create a few streams of income in case something like the pandemic happens again…because honestly it’s not if but when…

I started coming up with ideas that I knew I could implement. This got overwhelming very quickly so I created a system to narrow down my options – The Roadmap to Choose (click here to check it out.) This really helped me narrow my ideas down into the most viable option and allowed me to begin my to do list and the social media posts I’d need to implement that option.

Then I had to begin putting things into practice. I started with what I knew would create the most impact in my life – Bookkeeping. I started that process by figuring out which system I liked the best, which was Xero, after years of trial and error with other systems. And then I became Xero Certified.

I help small businesses (generally individuals) manage their day to day finances and help them keep the most money possible in their pockets.

Are you ready to hire a bookkeeper? Click here to schedule a chat

I realized that some people really are not ready for a part time or even full time bookkeeper so I also offer intensives where you can get help in a choose your own adventure style setup.

Interested in an intensive? Click here to schedule your chat!

But more was needed – just because your business books are solid doesn’t mean you’re doing well…That only means you’ll do okay in an audit – don’t get me wrong, this is super important!

My own personal finances have been a point of frustration and as an autistic, bi-polar woman with ADHD to boot finding a system that works and I can follow through with has felt like a near impossible task. But I’ve started putting together tools and methods that I’m implementing and using. I’m chronicling that journey on my podcast, Find You Fall In Love, and more visually on my youtube channel – Budgeting with Amber.

I’m currently working on putting together some printables to help you get better at tracking and mapping out where your money goes. As someone who cannot follow or tolerate some in the financial advice space due to the narrow focus and often intolerant and uninformed advice they give. I’ve really had to dig in to find people giving good advice.

I want to be that voice for those already suffering from metal health challenges, especially the women. We’ve been written off by society for too long. And I know you’ve been trying like hell and struggling so much. We can do this. We will do this. I believe in us!

xo, Amber