More revenue with fewer clients: success without burnout, with Brynne Krispin

Brynne Krispin 0:02

I was looking down the five year plan and just realizing, I don't think I want my wife to look like this for the next five years, and I don't know if I'll survive it. And so I knew there had to be a different way to approach this, but I couldn't see a way to keep growing revenue without just stacking more clients and more projects.

Leah Neaderthal 0:24

Welcome to the smart gets paid podcast with me. Leah Neaderthal, I help women land higher paying clients in their independent consulting businesses, but I've never been a salesperson. My background is in corporate marketing, and when I started my first consulting business, I learned pretty quickly that it's about 1000 times harder to sell your own stuff than it is to sell someone else's. So I taught myself how to do it, and I created the sales approach that I now share with my clients so they can feel more comfortable in the sales process. Get more of the right clients and get paid way more for every client contract. So whether your client contracts are $5,000 $100,000 or more. If you want to work with more of the clients you love, do more of the work you love, and get paid more than you ever thought you could, then you're in the right place. Let's do it together. Thanks for tuning in, and don't forget to rate, review and share. Hey there, Leah here, and thanks for tuning in. I hope that wherever you're listening to this, wherever you are right now, I hope you're having a great week, making some good progress in your business and taking some time for you. So recently in my social feeds, I've started to get targeted with videos about home storage hacks, or, like, staying organized. I think I searched for, like, some home storage item at one point, and now that's like, all I see in my, you know, suggested feed. And usually I would just scroll past them, but I started noticing something. So just a few examples of what I'm talking about. So there was the video where they showed you how to take a kitchen drawer and turn it into a charging pad so you and the family can, like, put your devices away and not be on your devices all the time and also charge the devices right? Or there was another video about how you can have a dedicated, like, movement room for kids with a climbing wall and other stuff for them to, like, you know, shake their sillies out and burn up some energy. Or there was the one about how you can create this, like, cool hidden drawer under your kitchen cabinets where, picture, like, you kick it and it sort of pops out, and that's where you put your shoes, right, like, for hidden shoe storage. And I watch these things, and I'm like, Huh, okay, that's cool. And my immediate next thought is, like, that is not for me, not that it's not a good idea, but it just doesn't fit with my life. Because, let's be clear, here, we rent an apartment in Brooklyn. I don't have extra drawers. I can just sacrifice to like, non critical things. I can't build out my cabinets. I don't own this place, and we definitely don't have an extra room. I mean, what's that even, right? But we don't have an extra room that we can just turn into a climbing gym. These could only be possible in a house with a lot more room, right? Like a house in the suburbs, and since I don't live in a house like that. These just aren't for me, and I feel like we're so bombarded with advice and guidance that sounds, you know, basically, like all caps, like you should be doing this, that sometimes it's hard to take that momentary step back and say, Wait, that just doesn't fit with my life. And it happens a lot in business advice too. There's a business coach who, you know, I listen to his podcast every now and then, and I'd say, over the years, I have picked up some good nuggets from him on, you know, running a business. But also, you know, every now and then he'll say something that just reminds me, like, wow, that just 100% does not apply to me, because he and I live very different lives. I just heard something like this from him recently. So he was talking about, like, you know, in order to feel like he's had a good day, there are three things he needs, right? And then he goes on, he's like, the trick is okay, so get this. His strategy in all this is to not rush, to take as much time as he wants to do whatever it is he's doing. So the example he gave was, he's like, you know, so if I'm lifting and I go over 60 minutes, you know, I want to be able to do that. So, you know, you have to be able to take as long as you want and not rush. And I'm like, listening to this, and I'm like, Oh, really, take all the time you want, like, have nowhere to be and no one who needs you. And I'm realizing, you know, I sound a little snarky here, but like, really, you know, yeah, if I had no responsibilities to anyone else, it would be easy for me, too to just take all the time that I wanted. But we have a. Six year old and a three year old, and I need to be home at a certain time, and there's dinner and bath time and bedtime, and really, all the things at all the times, right? I mean, can I tell you one thing I did on my birthday this year that sort of like illustrates this point? So this was my birthday, right? I took the day off, and my wife and I went out that night, but during the day, I had the day to myself, so I went on a bike ride because I loved cycling, but that's not even the point in the afternoon. Okay, ready? Wait for it. I read a book at a coffee shop, and I have to tell you, it felt so decadent to just like sit and read a book for as long as I wanted. So yeah, the business advice to just take the time that you want and not be in a rush doesn't apply to me because he doesn't have my life. And I was thinking about this as I was editing this episode, because this is the exact thing my client ran into as well. She found herself trying to take advice from people who didn't have her life, and as you'll hear, her life went through some major changes that made it even more important to have a business that fit her new life. So today, I'm talking to Bryn Crispin, who runs the boutique social media agency cause focus. And early in her business, bryn's world was turned upside down, and suddenly she had to take her fledgling social media business and make it the primary income for herself and her son. And she did it, but after a year, she was so burned out, so she looked for advice on what to do, and she joined some coaching programs, but she quickly discovered that the advice she was getting was basically for, let's just say, people who aren't the primary caregivers of their children. Okay, so this story, brynn's story that you're gonna hear today is a story about what happens when you find the right advice that fits your life, and you're able to transform your business from one that completely burns you out to one that makes you even more money while working less, and gives you spaciousness in your life. So take a listen to my conversation with Bryn Crispin, and at the end, I'll come back and share a lesson that you can apply to your business, and then hopefully someday soon, you'll partner with us to help you build your consulting business, and you'll come back on the podcast and share your story. Enjoy,

Brynne Krispin 7:27

Brynn, thanks so much for being here. Thank you so much. Leah, I've been looking forward to this for quite some time. Thanks for having me.

Leah Neaderthal 7:33

having me too. Me too. All right, let's just start at the beginning. Tell the good people who you are and what you do

Brynne Krispin 7:39

Absolutely. I'm Bryn. I'm a social media and thought leadership strategist for purpose driven executives. I founded my agency cost focus about three years ago now to help leaders leverage the power of their own voice and expertise to build trust and influence with their audiences online. So we work primarily with subject matter experts who have tons of knowledge it's just been collecting dust on a shelf, or they just don't know how to get it out in the world. And we partner with them to bring it to life and leverage this to to just to help them bring it new revenue opportunities for their business or organization.

Leah Neaderthal 8:19

Awesome. And so what kinds of organizations have you typically worked with?

Brynne Krispin 8:24

So we specialize in social impact organizations. So that looks like, typically, a nonprofit or a purpose driven business. Often they have sustainability as a core value in their business mission.

Leah Neaderthal 8:37

Very cool. And you've been doing this for three years. So what were you doing before this,

Brynne Krispin 8:42

I was in house working at a nonprofit out here in DC, leading their social media. It was a large NGO, and I was loving it. It was truly a dream job for me. And one of the biggest things that changed was that I had a baby, and as many of us know that is that a change completely turned my life upside down. Welcomed, welcome change, but nonetheless a huge one. And so I was going through across just a lot of decisions at that time, figuring out, you know, just staring down burnout, and you know how the world of social media is. I was just coming off of the 2016 election, and even though I was at a nonprofit, it still just impacted my work in day to day life. And then I had this new baby to take care of, so I made the decision to take the leap and start freelancing and just try to do my own thing for a little while, and then you throw COVID in there, and it was just a lot to be dealing with as Yeah, a young mom and trying to figure out how to go out on my own as a freelancer. But I was also loving it, and I just saw that lasting for a while, until my son was old enough to go off to school, or if we had more kids, those those younger kids, could go off to school. So it was a good, flexible option for me. And then at the end of 22 I started realizing that I was going to be going through a pretty unexpected and difficult divorce, and suddenly having to figure out how to be the sole breadwinner for myself and my son, when before, my income was really just pocket change, like it was vacation money, it was fun money, and now figuring out how to essentially three times my income within the matter of two months. So I had a lot of decisions to make. It was extremely hard, and I just put I just rolled up my sleeves, I put my head down, I started tapping into my network. Started to get really clear on what I wanted to do and what I wanted my life to look like. And you know, nothing will make you do that, other than your your whole life blowing up in your face. So that lasted for a year. So the first three months, I met my goal. I three times my income. I was getting new clients, I was growing the business. I went from having just me and one contractor to then hiring five additional contractors. Things were seemingly going really well on paper, but I reached out to you almost a year after that, because I started just feeling again, the burnout. I was looking down the five year plan and just realizing, I don't think I want my life to look like this for the next five years, and I don't know if I'll survive it, because I was just working crazy hours. I was just stacking on clients and clients and projects, and so I came to you because I knew there had to be a better way, and I had tried other programs and coaches before, and just felt like I was hitting a dead end, because it was hard to find other women who had done this while also taking care of their family and their own mental health. And so that's when, that's when I got introduced to you and your program.

Leah Neaderthal 11:50

Yeah, oh my gosh. And I mean, I remember hearing about some of this in our early conversations, and I'm sure there are, and wait, let's just pause because, holy shit, that's just like, it's a lot to be dealing with. I think all anyone listening would would commend you for going through all of that, you know, rolling up her sleeves, doing what you had to do, just sort of like forging ahead. Because where else could you go besides ahead? And I think some people are wondering, as you're listening to this, or as they're listening to this, like, Okay, you went from, like, this news and having to really do this to and you did 3x your income. I'm sure that there are people that are like, Wait, how'd you do that part? I mean, understanding that it resulted in, like, a tremendous amount of burnout, and we're going to talk about that. But like, what did that year look like?

Brynne Krispin 12:39

That's a great question, and I still look back, I'm like, How did I do that? Honestly, I mean, LinkedIn was huge during this time, like I didn't have an ad budget to spend to promote myself. I also didn't have the ability to go out in person and meet people, because I had to pick my son up the bus at 330 every day. So I just went full on to LinkedIn. I started posting three times a week. Again, it's organic, and I just started connecting with people, just sharing what I do, what kind of projects I'm interested in, asking, asking them questions. So if I messaged them, it was never a sale. It was just like, hey, I'm starting to get a sense in social media, like, this is a need, or this is something really interesting that executives are struggling with, and just hopping on a call and having a conversation about that. So coming at it from just trying to build as many relationships as I could, not knowing if it would lead to business or not, just exponentially grew my own personal network, even if I couldn't, you know, be there in person and see them and do the happy hours and that sort of thing. So that that would be, I think the number one thing that really helped me grow as fast as I did, yeah, which is why I center my business around it right now, of course,

Leah Neaderthal 13:50

well, it's interesting because, you know, there are a lot of people who come out of all types of like marketing and communications, who can do some of the things that they do for clients really well, but It's really hard to do it for yourself. Did you find that, or was it just like you don't have a choice? You just sort of have to do it and rip off the band aid and not worry about, ooh, does this feel weird?

Brynne Krispin 14:13

Yes, I was struggling on the cringe bus for a very long time with my own content, and I still do. It's so hard, which is why this program was so helpful for me just kind of get out of my own way and treat myself like a client, so to speak. And so in the beginning, like my posts, I look back, I'm like, why would you say that my posts were just like shot in the dark, spaghetti on the wall?

Leah Neaderthal 14:37

PS, so were mine. When I looked back at my posts from like, when I first started doing LinkedIn, I was like, oh, gosh, oh

Brynne Krispin 14:44

yeah, but yeah, the key was just getting started. And I think the more I did it, the more rhythm I got into the cadence, and the more I got, you know, the biggest thing, I think, was the Leah, the listening piece. So, like, I would just go into comments. And seeing what people were asking about, and then doing the DMS again, just trying to start a conversation, and just being really meticulous about jotting down what people were asking about and what their struggles were, and then I just started building more content around that, versus what I thought people wanted to hear, what I think they might be interested in. So that kind of helped me get out of my own way. So to speak,

Leah Neaderthal 15:23

totally. I also think that, like, you know, there's this phrase that you might have heard me say in the academy. It's like, you know, imagine you're being chased by a bear. Because I think that, like, you know, a lot of us want to do great work. We want to do the right thing. We want to do you want to sound smart in our in our content and in our marketing. But as a result, we're like, tiptoeing into the marketing piece. And so I was in like, well, you know, if you have a really thin pipeline, or in this case, like, if you have to make this happen, like, that's the bear, you know. And so imagine you're being chased by a bear, like you don't have time, or, you know, you don't have the ability to, like, nitpick every word and see like, oh, is this, you know, is this all right? Or whatever? Because you just, like, you just have to run, like, imagine you're being chased by a bear. I don't know if that was absolutely

Brynne Krispin 16:13

I felt like, yeah, I felt like so many things became extremely clear to me, not just in business, but in life. Like, who do I want to be spending time with? What do I want to fill in in my head? How much time do I want to spend with my son? Like all of those things were so clear. So then, why not translate that to business too, and say this is the type of person I need to work with in order to meet this type of revenue goal. And how do I start connecting with that person? Everything else can go away. Like I don't need to worry about that. So it's kind of sucks that it takes your life turning upside down to realize that. But I'm also so grateful it happened at the time it did, because my business was six months old when this when I started going through those significant changes. So in some ways, I think it helped starting from scratch, because I could literally build everything around what I needed, versus, again, what you think people will need, or what you think is important.

Leah Neaderthal 17:10

Yeah, well, so a year after just essentially being chased by a bear and doing all the things and drumming up all this business, you said, you sort of hit this point of burnout, or you, you recognize, really the burnout again. How did that play out? I mean, what did that look like for you?

Brynne Krispin 17:29

Yeah, I realized I didn't want to be running from the bear forever. I think I, I was really happy with my work. I still loved it. I still, you know, I'm really competitive. I actually kind of like the sales process, so like that didn't intimidate me, but it was just seeing the the amount of work I was stacking on my plate without a plan for it to be sustainable for me in the long run. And then I was just losing time with my son, or I was losing time, you know, at the gym, and just my own health. And so I realized, and I think I just coming from the nonprofit world, I think I got stuck in scarcity mindset and just having that mentality of like, you know, just roll up your sleeves, put a smile on your face, because you're doing good work for good people. And this experience, like, forced me to be more honest about, okay, I can't do that good work if I'm suffering or I'm not sleeping well at night, or I'm, you know, having a panic attack, those those things need to come first. And so I knew there had to be a different way to approach this, but I couldn't see a way to keep growing revenue without just stacking more clients and more projects. So I started working with another business coach. Still kind of hit a wall because they had a program that was more built toward toward men who are the primary caretakers of their family, definitely not a single mom. So I learned a lot, but I still felt like I just kept hitting this wall of like, I know there's got to be a better way to do this. I don't think I have to go back to get a full time job nine to five in order to make this happen, but I couldn't see the way out. And so I was, yeah, I was really, I was kind of in a crossroads when I came to the program, because I had hoped that there was a better way, and that I knew there was a way out, but I couldn't see it for myself.

Leah Neaderthal 19:22

Yeah, what? When you say this the better way. What? What did you want it to look like? How do you want things to be different?

Brynne Krispin 19:30

Well, it's funny. On our first call, you drew that little triangle with the mental, emotional, financial and my mind thinks like that, like in diagrams and pictures. And I had that in my head already, of like, those three things equally important, and I just felt like I couldn't find a business model or a structure that had those three things. So when you said that on the call, I was like, okay, she gets it. She's definitely been there. And trying to balance all those three things, because I'm very much a quality over quantity person. I'm not trying to, like, make tons of money to get a lake house and, like, travel the world and do all these extra things. Not that there's anything wrong with them, but I my priority was my son and trying to heal and recover from a very hard year. And I also just couldn't allow my revenue to suffer while I was taking care of myself and my son. So in my mind, success was having a really balanced triangle of all those three things and feeling like I had options and flexibility to pursue what I needed in a certain time and different seasons, because I knew I didn't. There was so many unknowns. Like I knew there were a lot of things that were going to happen that I didn't know what to do about or how to do them, but I knew I needed the flexibility to kind of move and ebb and flow with what was going on in life. So having a business and growing it in the way that was valuable to me, you know, I was able to to give myself those options in a way that, you know, just a standard nine to five wouldn't be able to do that

Leah Neaderthal 21:13

totally. I think that, you know, you you came to, and I remember this from our first calls, like you came to a point where you were almost like a victim of your own success, because you had, you know, really put your nose to the grindstone and done this, and like, you know, gotten your revenue to where you needed it to be. But it's easy to get kind of stuck there, because what you're talking about, just for everybody, is the three, three types of profitability, right? Financial, professional and emotional, and you want the financial to go up, but not at the expense of the professional, and certainly not the emotional. And so you get, like, caught in this trap where you you can't take on more, but you can't take on less, right? And so really, you know what we see, and you know I talk about this a lot is like, we have to make every engagement more profitable, right? You we have to get you paid more for the same work or less, essentially, by making every engagement more more valuable and more profitable. And, you know, oftentimes one outcome of that is like, the client gets better results also. So, so that's what we have to when you say you sort of hit a wall. I mean, it's, that's the wall, right? It's like we have to sort of dislodge some of those things and really make all the work more profitable. Well. So, so let's fast forward to today and how things are right now, and then, let's talk about sort of some steps you took to get there. And I am totally going to tee you up for this, because you posted something at the end of the year that I was like, it just, I almost like, like, welled up with tears. I mean, it was anyway, can you can you share? Sort of bring us up to speed. Share, share, what

Brynne Krispin 22:56

you share. Yeah, I fully welled up with tears too. I was going over my numbers for the year, and it was, I'll preface this by saying it is, this is hard work. But I was looking over,

Leah Neaderthal 23:07

you're talking about the, you're talking about the the year of the bear, or

Brynne Krispin 23:11

this year, well, just this past year, 2020,

Leah Neaderthal 23:15

I mean, I will say, like, this is hard work. This is why you can't, like, do this in two weeks or something. But anyway,

Brynne Krispin 23:21

exactly. So I was looking over my numbers, and I realized our revenue grew by 18% but the number of clients I worked with declined by 37% so I was looking at that gap, and I was like, Okay, I'm on the right track here. This is working, all that hard work I put in throughout the year of just struggling with messaging and just getting the right type of client in the door, I realized had paid off, because now I was making the revenue that I needed to and growing more but 37% less new client clients that I had to bring in to do that.

Leah Neaderthal 23:59

That's amazing. I mean, even still sitting, like, hearing it again, I'm like, getting goosebumps. And you're right, it is, it is hard. There are a lot of pieces of this, you know, we can't press a button, and this happens, you know, we're sort of working on a lot of things, but it's so I know it wasn't like, who, you know, like, spa relief day or whatever. But, like, I, but I hope that it, it provided some validation, you know, that, like, yes, it's not just more work. It's like, the right work,

Brynne Krispin 24:31

exactly, yeah. And it, it just feels like I'm going into this year feeling so much more stable and confident in what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. And to your point, it's also added more value to our client base. Like they've come to me and said, like, wow, did you go on a wellness retreat? Because you're, like, your clarity of thought is on point. You're like, pumping out a ton of work. And I'm just like, No, now I know exactly what I need to do, and it's amazing. And I remember. You said on our call to, like, the the little car that you pull back, and you felt like I was that car that was pulled back, and I just wouldn't let go because I didn't know what direction to go in. And I feel like I'm able to let that car go, which is a fun feeling. It's a good thing.

Leah Neaderthal 25:17

So nice. I mean, yeah. I mean, think about if you're working with, yeah, what was it? 37% fewer clients. Imagine how much more every client gets, not of, like, just pure driving work, but Right, like, you have space. You have space, you have margin in your life, and you have space in your brain, because you're not trying to, like, you know, service so many clients in one day. I mean, I've had days in the past, like when I was doing sort of direct service work where, like, I touched every client that day, and it was exhausting. I mean, it was, there's nobody gets the best work.

Brynne Krispin 25:52

You know, no, especially with what we do, where we're we're literally, like, putting their hat on and walking in their shoes and trying to speak like them and talk like them like that. That's a lot of mental work that we do for our clients, because we want all the ghost writing that we do to sound exactly like them. So to be able to really go demon deeper with these clients and understand them on a deeper level. And now we're offering even some more like side services to complement what we're doing, because it's in such a good rhythm that we can take on a little bit more with them, or have those racetrack items to go on alongside. But yeah, it's been good for our team. It's been good for me, and really great for the clients as well. So pricing yourself too low isn't just it doesn't just hurt you, it actually does hurt your clients. So that's a big lesson I had to learn this past year.

Leah Neaderthal 26:46

Oh, so well put You're so right. Well, so let's talk about some things that helped you get to this point. I mean, what are been? You know, two or three of the biggest game changers that made the biggest difference this

Brynne Krispin 26:57

year? Yeah, that darn painkiller statement, which I'm still working on, and it's still not finalized, but I think just the process,

Leah Neaderthal 27:08

it never will be. You're always, I say this all the time, you're always going to come back to it, even I do

Brynne Krispin 27:14

so yeah, statement, I think about that as just that process of getting super clear about what I do, why I do it, what the outcomes are when people work with me, and that is now always top of mind, no matter what room I'm in or who I'm talking to, whether it's a post or podcast or I'm at an event. I have that so clearly defined now. So that way I've seen like personal referrals increase from that. LinkedIn referrals have increased from that just because I'm like, driving that home in every single thing I do. So that was something I was so vague and unclear on before I started the program, because people have a lot of different ideas of what social media is, and I think I just kind of like, let that flop me around of like, yeah, we do social media audit and strategy, and we work with nonprofits, but we also do this other thing on the side with executives and thought leadership. And it was through the conversations with the program that I realized, no, we're doing a lot more than just social media content, like we're executive coach and communications, and we're helping people decide how to comment on a big political issue sometimes. So just really getting clear and defining that was huge. And then I think just shortening the sales cycle too, before I was getting on a discovery call and then doing email follow up, and then maybe another call and another email. And now I feel like it's just a quick call. Oftentimes they already feel like they know who I am and they know what I do before they even get on that call, and then it's typically just another email follow up or one more call to kind of seal the deal. So that sales cycle has just drastically decreased, which is saving everybody time, which is an amazing thing.

Leah Neaderthal 29:04

So I love that. Because I think that, you know, especially when you're doing the work and you're doing the Biz Dev, I think we don't really realize, like, how these, how these longer sales cycles really, of course, wear on us. But you can also go broke, like waiting for things to close, yeah, you know, and like waiting for the things in your pipeline to actually make a decision. I mean, give a sense of like, how long things used to take before, and how long they're generally how long it takes now.

Brynne Krispin 29:35

So the average from 2023 up until I started the program, it was on average, like six months to get from like first call to close. Now it's typically a month or less. Yeah, whoa.

Leah Neaderthal 29:53

That's amazing, yeah. And that's a lot faster than what we typically see. I mean, you know. I think everybody who's listening to this has probably heard me say 100 times, like the typical B to B sales cycle can take anywhere from three to 18 months. Now, six months is like on the lower end of that. But still, you know you have bills to pay and people to pay, and you know your own sort of mental health to think about, and your own bandwidth and burnout. So the fact that you can get you're now getting the right clients, they're paying you more, and they're saying yes in a month. I mean, that's that's a great combination.

Brynne Krispin 30:29

And I also had to get over the fear of, like, well, what if? What if these fewer clients, now that I'm focusing on fewer clients versus stacking clients, what if they all go away? Or, like, what if half of them cancel in a month? And I just had to kind of work through that internally, of that fear mindset of knowing that even if that happens, I have a great offer. I know exactly the value that it provides to people, and I can go and get more work. If that happens, it hasn't happened yet. And I feel like that's it's not going to happen, but you know, it could, you never know, especially with the world we're living in now, there's a lot of uncertainty. But I feel like I came into this year even with all the volunteer volatility happening and social impact, and seeing friends get laid off, and seeing, you know, budgets just completely disappear, and being able to still grow our client base and get more leads, because that offer is so clear and the value we provide is so clear. So yeah, if you're, if you're feeling that fear mindset creep in, I would just say, try to close it out. Instead focus on just your offer, and what you're really, really good at. And people will see that no matter what the market is doing,

Leah Neaderthal 31:44

you know, I find it so interesting that that you're like, basically, these things are a lot of things are going right, but on some level, you're like, waiting for the other shoe to drop, you know? And I think that we, a lot of you know, of us feel that way to some degree, you know, they feel like, whether it's, you know, you've gone through an actual traumatic situation where the shoe the bottom did drop out right? And, you know, working through that to just everyday stuff, where we feel like the client is going to find out that we don't know what we're doing, or everyone's gonna like, I'm gonna say, so I'm gonna make a wrong move, and they're gonna cancel their contract. Like, we're just sort of waiting for something to happen, or worried that something's gonna happen. But the truth is, like, we, you know, you do great work, and your clients, you know, love you, and you're getting results for them, and and yes, all these other things, like your offer is tight and all that stuff. But like, what is, I don't know. I don't know what the question is, but it's like, what's, what's that about? And, and,

Brynne Krispin 32:46

yeah, I don't know, but I yeah, I still, I fight that. I started just, and those things did happen last year, like we did lose clients, we had big mistakes we had to correct with a client, and they ended up staying, you know? So the it's not like those fears are completely invalid. They're real things that happen and problems that you have to solve. But I started just a list on my phone and my notes app of just like all those fears that actually happened and then how we responded and how it went okay, like it was still okay at the end of the day. And so I try to look at that as much as I can when I'm starting to sense that creep in again, because now I have a track record and proof that the world doesn't always fall apart if you lose a client or if you make a mistake, but it is. It's still something that's just always in the back of my mind. I'm glad I'm not the only one who deals with that

Leah Neaderthal 33:41

you're definitely not you're definitely not alright. So So painkiller, shortening the sales cycle to game changers, and then just observing the fear and knowing that things are going to be okay. Is there anything else that really made a big difference for you this

Brynne Krispin 33:58

year the community? I mean, I, I I have loved getting to know just other members of the community, feeling like I have a support network around me. In that first year where I was, like, being chased by the bear and truly survival mode, I definitely took on, like, hyper independency of feeling like this is my responsibility. I've got to figure this out for my own like no one else really understands what I'm going through or what I'm trying to do. And I think that that definitely hurt me when I was trying to scale and grow. So this past year, having that community around me to just be like, Hey, I'm dealing with this issue. Like, has anyone else seen that? And just having two or three people respond with like, Yeah, I had to deal with that last month is just like, oh, okay, I'm not alone. And, you know, I'm not the abnormal, weird person here. Like this is a very common problem. And then just yeah, having a network of women who are figuring out how to balance work, and many of them are moms, and just having that network of support is something. I didn't have before, so that's been extremely valuable.

Leah Neaderthal 35:04

Yeah, oh, I'm so glad, I'm so glad it was helpful. And I'm not sure if you had this type of conversation with people, but like, there are, you mentioned, everyone's a woman, a lot of them are parents, and, you know, there are a lot of women in the group, in the program who've gone through divorce, or are going through divorce, and they're now, you know, the primary breadwinner in their family, and so, yeah, it's from what I've seen. It's different than a lot of programs out there. I always say it's like, the best place on the internet, but I think sometimes you don't really realize, Yay, thank you. I think sometimes, and I'm not even a joiner, right? So sometimes, like, when I get into community, it's like, I never think I need it until I'm there, you know, and then I realized how much I needed it.

Brynne Krispin 35:47

Yes, I grew pretty skeptical of communities, because I had joined and canceled a number of them before I found yours. So I was really kind of weary and skeptical by the time I found this one. But every time I hop in there, there's just so much value. I feel like I'm getting free, like, 1000s of dollars of advice every time I just go into the slack chat. So it's been incredible to to have that at my fingertips.

Leah Neaderthal 36:13

That's so awesome. So obviously, if you're if you are making more and working less right or working with fewer clients. I mean, that's sort of like the whole point of value based pricing and the whole the work that we do around that. How did you think about value based pricing as you were looking at your your services? Oh

Brynne Krispin 36:33

yeah, I think I had never taken the time to actually write out everything that I do for a client. I think I had gotten to the habit of just like the super high level, and then wow them with other stuff as it comes along. But then that just hurts me, because then it's, you know, you're surprising and delighting the client with extra things you do for them, but you're not getting paid for it if you're not pricing it into your your retainers. So I was the one being hurt at the end of the day. So I think I just started just being more intentional and honest with myself about what I was actually doing for the client and the value that it brought to them. And I was worried still, and I still do get worried. Sometimes when I go to present this, it's like, no, this is way too expensive. What are you thinking? But I have not gotten a no yet since that, at least from the the ideal client that I want. So yeah, I think again, getting that fear out of your mind, and just seeing your own value and presenting it confidently, knowing that you know all the work and time that goes into it, and you know the value it can bring to the client, and just positioning the offer as those outcomes are what you're you're going to see when you work with me, was extremely helpful,

Leah Neaderthal 37:49

totally, and you have to have a level of confidence to say that, you know, like I think a lot of people, they're afraid to own it, you know, they're afraid to say that. And I think that one benefit, you know, just on the like, the confidence pieces. Like, one thing I love about value based pricing is, like it the first sale is to yourself, you know, like, when you look at your offer now, like, what do you think? What does it tell you?

Brynne Krispin 38:14

I think it could probably go up. So what I started doing differently was I started factoring not just time, but like, the mental capacity. So maybe a task only takes an hour, but the mental load it takes to do that task is like 30% or whatever of my day. And you know, it's not like you just close your laptop and walk away like some clients their issues or things that they deal with, or things that you're trying to understand on their behalf follow you throughout your day and your week. And so that was not something reflected in my pricing at all, which it is now, because now I need to protect my own mental health and capacity. I want to be able to go to my son's basketball game and really enjoy it, and not be, you know, getting texts from a client about some major time sensitive thing, so having that built into the contract, and then just being able to communicate to them really clearly why I have it structured that way has been just a great educational opportunity, too for the clients. And I haven't had a client come back and say, like, you're charging way too much for that. Is that even a thing that you do, you know, the again, those fear, fear mindsets that come in. So, yeah, I think having being honest with yourself, outlining it, and then factoring in the emotional, mental capacity that it takes to actually do the job really well will will validate those, those value based pricing that you have that's

Leah Neaderthal 39:43

so awesome. I think I love that you know the mental, the mental load as well. So fill in the blank for me, if you would, I almost didn't work with you, or I almost didn't join the program, because what would you say?

Brynne Krispin 39:57

Because I tried other coaching for. Programs and just hit a wall and felt like they didn't quite understand my challenges or my unique the unique service that I offer, the unique challenges I have, which is doing this as a single mom, and I had tried those before, and felt just like I was hitting a wall, so I almost didn't go for it, because I thought, and they all, you know, they all sell really well. So they all get you in the beginning, thinking, we get you. We been in your shoes. You know, they know the language to use. But it was, I think it was the call with you of just like hearing those examples that you shared about other people in the program, I also remember you sent the podcast interview with Jill, who had a really similar story to mine, and just hearing that example was like, Okay, this is very different from anything I've heard before. Really took me across the finish line.

Leah Neaderthal 40:55

So I really appreciate that. And you're right. I mean, I think I hear that a lot, because I work with women in as, you know, the messy middle, and nobody's starting out from scratch, which means they've tried some stuff before, you know, but, and not everything is the right fit, but when you find the right fit, I think that's when you can really succeed. Brynn, what would you say to anyone who's in the position that you were, you know, back then, like back then, meaning you had been running from the bear. You'd been in survival mode. You were feeling burnout, you know, what would you what advice would you give her?

Brynne Krispin 41:33

You don't have to do it alone. There are incredible people out there who want to see you succeed, and want to see you thrive and will be with you every step of the way to get it done, and you don't have to feel like you're in this battle all by yourself, and you have to figure everything out all by yourself. I think having that mindset early on held me back from doing what I love and doing it really well, and then having this community and having, having women with like, 2030, years experience that I could lean on and just trust without question, it's almost like, I compare it to going to Costco, where it's like, I just know when I go to Costco, like, I'm gonna get a good deal. Things are gonna be good quality. I don't have to think about it. And so I feel like this program was like, I just needed, I just needed a break. I just I didn't want to have to make more decisions. I didn't have to worry if I was wasting money or time. I just wanted to go, trust the people who were in it, trust that they had my bag and they had my best interest in mind. And I, yeah, it was a game changer for me, because I think it came at such a pivotal time in the business where I really could have just kept going as I was, and probably burnt out hard by this time, or I could make those really significant hard changes, but necessary in order to grow it in the direction I actually wanted it to Be, and that would be healthy for me and and my son. So if you feel like you're at that pivotal moment, this is a great a great program and a great group to help you get there and get to the other side without sacrificing your own mental health and well well being.

Leah Neaderthal 43:15

I love that. That's such great advice, even if you didn't point to this program. But so the Academy, the Costco programs. Bryn, where can people find you?

Brynne Krispin 43:27

LinkedIn. Please add me on LinkedIn. I'd love to connect with you there. Amazing. And what's your website? And you can also go to cause focus.com and that's focus with a K

Leah Neaderthal 43:38

awesome. Bryn, thank you so much for being here, this has just been so inspiring.

Brynne Krispin 43:43

Thank you so much for having me.

Leah Neaderthal 43:46

What an amazing story, right? I mean being able to increase your revenue while working less, and as a bonus, shorten the sales process from six months to one month. I mean, this is what happens when you find a place that fits your life with guidance from people who understand your life. I'm so happy for Brynn. And if Brynn said anything that spoke to you, please reach out to her on LinkedIn and thank her. And of course, if you learned anything from this episode, please share it with a woman consultant who might like it. So there are so many good nuggets here, and I want to pull out a lesson that you can think about for your business, and it comes from something Brynn said about value. So in our methodology, we help you implement value based pricing. It's like literally the second thing we do when you get in the program. And we do that because when you can use true value based pricing, that's how you can get paid more for doing the same work or less because you're getting paid for your value. And I love what Bryn said about how the value isn't just what you do, because, you know, we often think about our pricing in terms of, you know, what we do right this many meetings or deliverables or hours, or this project is this long, or what have you? You. But as you heard Bryn say, there's value in how you think and what you're doing when you're not in front of the client, and when you use value based pricing, when you actually implement real value based pricing, you can incorporate that into your services and into your pricing, and it's impossible to do that when you're charging hourly or like, a retainer, you know, air quotes, retainer, which most retainers are just loosely based on hours anyway. Like, could you imagine having a thing in your proposal for thinking time? There's no way, but when you implement true value based pricing, you're getting paid for your value, not your time. So here's what I want you to take away. Your work has value beyond what you do and the time you're in front of the client, your value is in your brain, your perspective, the clarity you bring, the way that you see things the client can't see, the way you help clients avoid costly mistakes, and the confidence you help build. And all of that is worth something, and actually it's worth a lot. So if you've been underpricing yourself, if you've been basing your pricing on time or deliverables, or how long something takes, or what have you, I can promise you, you're not getting paid for the real value you bring. And when you shift to value based pricing, when you learn how to do that in a real and practical way, that's when you can get paid more and work less, just like Bryn did, because when you own your value, everything changes, and you deserve to be paid like the expert you already are.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai