In this episode, I’m chatting with an amazing founding member of Booked Out Designer, Katie Taylor! Katie is a Showit website designer and marketing analyst who works with local businesses in Cincinnati, Ohio. I know that hearing her business story will inspire you (and be super relatable)! Katie officially started her business in September of 2019, and it looked a lot different then than it does now. In the winter of 2021, she thought about throwing in the towel on her business, and Booked Out Designer was the thing that kept her up and going! Now she is making more revenue with fewer clients and
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Katie’s business story is so fun and encouraging but is not without struggle. To hear the full story, be sure to tune in to the full episode! Also, Katie wrote her own incredible review of her experience with Booked Out Designer that you have to check out!
Katie is a Showit website designer and marketing analyst but she didn’t start there. She actually started in social media management but after discovering Showit, she knew there was more that she wanted to be doing. She shares with me that a factor in making the decision to pivot away from social media management was that she didn’t want her revenue to be directly tied to her hours spent working for clients.
Even after Katie started taking on more website design clients, she says she was still mostly promoting herself from a marketing perspective and less as a designer because she lacked confidence in her design work.
Like many entrepreneurs, Katie started to discover the online space as she slowly fell into it. She, like myself, didn’t realize that the online world really existed. Katie says she really struggled being a self-taught designer and stepping into this new Showit space where there were already many well-trained and experienced designers! I can totally relate to this, as I’m sure many of you can.
Before joining the Booked Out Designer program,
Katie was deciding whether or not to "quit" pursuing her business. She tells me that she remembers a conversation with her husband where she told him that she really loved her business and she didn't want to give up on the vision she had for it. She also knew that she didn’t start a business to feel the way she was feeling and something had to give. She had an idea of what she wanted her business to look like but wasn’t sure how to make that happen and be able to make more revenue with fewer clients.
Katie decided to join the Booked Out Designer course (that she found only 24 hours before the beta launch) and see how much she could learn before making any major decisions about her business.
What she found would change the course of her business entirely!
Listen to the full episode to hear Katie tell a crazy cool story about how she found the Booked Out Designer beta launch only 24 hours before the doors opened!
What was it like to book your highest website project yet at $6k?
While Katie was taking the Booked Out Designer course, she was able to book her highest paying client yet! She says that she previously booked a couple of $5k websites prior to joining Booked Out Designer, but this experience was TOTALLY different.
The previous websites were very extensive and a ton of work compared to this new booking. Another main difference was that Kaite says she felt nervous about the experience she was providing for that investment. With this new client, she was able to walk through her process and feel confident about the quote she gave them and the work she was going to do for them. She didn’t have to come up with a custom solution for everything and just let her new systems do the work for her!
Katie also said that this new client was prepared to spend much more than what she quoted them! She says the mindset shift that she gained from Booked Out Designer has made all the difference!
How did you reduce your project quote time by 50%?
These are the main things from the course that helped Katie reduce her project quote time:
- Stop communicating with clients in her inbox
- Reduce touch points with clients through the process
- Set up a project management system and allow clients to go through a workflow
These are all things you will learn in Booked Out Designer when you join!
How have the Facebook community and coaching calls been impactful for you?
Katie says that she has loved the Facebook community and has really enjoyed watching other businesses try out the things everyone is learning together every day! It takes time to learn the information and put it into practice for your own business, but you are getting a front-row seat at watching other people try those things out too.
Katie reminds us that “you don’t know what you don’t know” and access to the Facebook group allows you to learn from others who DO know things you need to know! The group can give you feedback quickly on things that you just aren't sure about and that can be so helpful!
The same thing is true for the coaching calls. When people come with questions, you get to learn from the things they are asking and the coaching they are getting as well as the questions you have for yourself and your own business. You can also see so many different models as people comment in the chat their ideas and their own experiences with things that give so much insight!
Katie says she really felt like she was on an island as a designer and the Facebook community plus the coaching calls give you a place to bounce ideas off of each other and support each other.
What are your favorite elements of the Booked Out Designer course?
Katie says that her favorite modules in the course were the Client Experience Module, Pricing For Profit Module, and the Real Client Calls Module. She also said that she loved the vision casting exercise that is included in the beginning of the course as well as the lessons that address and bring attention to your money mindset! These have been HUGE in being able to make more revenue with fewer clients.
Katie reminds us that as a business owner, you can’t separate your business from your mindset from your emotional well being. It all connects together! She says money mindset has been a huge thing to work through in her own story.
How did Booked Out Designer play a role in changing your niche?
Katie says that she was previously promoting her services from a marketing perspective because she lacked confidence in her design work. NOW, on the other side of the course, she is primarily marketing herself as a website designer and even offering branding services!
How has Booked Out Designer helped you surpass your 2020 revenue by the summer of 2021?
Katie has been able to increase her revenue while also decreasing the amount of clients it takes to get there. She says that her journey to increasing her prices, making more revenue with fewer clients, and attracting quality clients comes back to really good education choices in addition to investing in the right things. And Booked Out Designer has been just that!
Hear Katie’s FULL interview here and read her full review on her blog here!
What would you say to someone who is on the fence or doesn’t know if this will be a good investment for them?
Katie says that whether you are new to your business, a few years in like she was, or even well established, this course has something to offer you. All of these situations existed in the founding member group and EVERYONE walked away with wins!
Katie says that in business, you can only work faster for so long until you have to start working smarter. If you are a beginner, this will help you build a foundation for your business that will serve you for time to come.
This course is going to help you scale your business no matter where you are in your business. “There is just no way you can think you won’t get your investment back”, Katie says. “This is an investment you will never outgrow!”
If you’re listening to this LIVE.. then Booked Out Designer is open for enrollment right now, but only through this Friday (July 16th, 2021). So, be sure to check out the info page while you listen to this episode! This will be the last time the course is open in 2021, and if this feels like a good fit for you, then I want you to join me! See all the deets HERE!
And, if you’re like me and you like to SEE stuff before you buy it, CLICK HERE to get 2 lessons of the course absolutely FREE. And, you’ll get to see exactly what the course is like, read about each module, and so much more!
Episodes Mentioned:
Links Mentioned:
Listen to the Breakthrough Brand Podcast
Connect with Elizabeth on Instagram
Get a FREE sample of Booked Out Designer
Connect with Katie on Instagram
Connect with Katie on her website
Read Katie’s Full Review of Booked Out Designer
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