Going All In With One Client with Kimberly Crossland
Episode 299: Show Notes
Hey everybody and welcome back to The Strategy Hour Podcast! Today we are joined by Kimberly Crossland who is the former founder, owner, and operator of Savvy Copywriters, a communication and digital marketing agency based in Tucson, Arizona. However, she has now transitioned into a role as Content and Marketing Manager at Rocket Source and she is going to be talking to us all about this transition and how she went from a business owner to working directly and solely for one client. You might recall that this is the second conversation we are having of this type but today we are offering a slightly different perspective on the idea. We will be talking work-life balance, mental time and space, motherhood and creativity.
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This episode will hopefully show you a way that you can trim the fat off your work, if that is something you have been considering, and this roadmap might be just the inspiration you need to keep moving forward. This conversation is applicable to both service and product based businesses and from Kimberly’s specific journey, many applicable lessons can be extrapolated. These types of ideas definitely seem to be popping up more and more since we did our first episode on the subject and the online biz community is increasingly interested in scaling back and working more directly and with more focus. We hope you enjoy!
Getting to The Point of No Return
Kimberly started Savvy Copywriters six and half years ago. It was something that she stumbled into while working for a start-up that decided to go back into the developmental phase. She was out on her own and had always had a dream to have her own hustle and be an entrepreneur. She started blogging and copywriting for different companies and built from there. Fast forward to a couple months ago and the stresses of entrepreneurship, coupled with the requirements of parenthood had left her with some pretty serious burnout. She had the sudden realization that she needed to scale back and simplify what she does and so the process of going all in with one client began. For Kimberly, it was quite a difficult decision but she has not looked back and it has really made the most sense for her and her sanity! Kimberly thinks that we should really stop and think about how we define success. If we continue to burn the candle at both ends, chasing a dream and never feeling satisfied, there is really only one outcome. We can be more than our title and tying our identity to this can be dangerous! You are more than a business owner and more than a mom!
A Happy Balance Between Parenthood and Entrepreneurship
There were many straws that broke the camel’s back but the big one for Kimberly was thinking ahead into the future and imagining where she might be in five years. With the increase in machine learning and AI, she sees big changes ahead and realized that repositioning herself would be a good idea. The roles of motherhood and entrepreneur do not have clock out times, which means you are juggling two 24-7 jobs! You essentially have one foot in each all the time and that will inevitably lead to burnout. This can, in turn, result in leaning on grandparents, day care or other forms of support but rest assured there will be some internal struggles around these issues. For Kimberly, moving into this new position required that she maintain some level of flexibility and was something that she discussed with her new sole employer.
Kimberly’s Day-to-Day in Her New Position
At Rocket Source, where she now works, they have embraced the transparency that she provided, sharing with them where she was at before the transition. When they discussed this possibility it quickly became apparent that a full time position would suit them too and the conversation ended up being very easy! Kimberly’s daily routine is now a lot more focused and includes a lot less juggling. There is more margin for creativity and this freedom has been a heaven send! Her thinking has really moved into a stronger concern about what will further the team and this has changed the way she prioritizes tasks. She is loving all the work that she has to do! Somewhat strangely working for someone else’s business has made her feel closer to the work as she is more involved and she sees the follow up and response to it.
The Effect on Kimberly’s Actual Work
The ownership of the outcome that Kimberly now feels has made her more thoughtful with the delivery. She was a wider and deeper perspective and thinks about the company as ‘us’ instead of ‘them’. This has resulted in less surface level engagement with the work and the team which allows her to have more impact. Kimberly also sees the way in which having her own business before this position has set her in good stead. It could be done differently but she is grateful for her own career path and she is able to understand the drive and motivation of business owners in a way that she did not before. There are more layers and she has a sensitivity to risk that owners feel. Kimberly admits that her role as a mother has not shifted as much yet, some lines are still blurred where she wants to have more definition. She does however feel that she is more able to focus on her two beautiful children when she is with them, which is so great. Go Kimberly!
Quote This
We need to really think about what success looks like individually.
—Kimberly Crossland
Highlights
Getting to The Point of No Return. [0:03:12.5]
The Straws That Broke the Camel’s Back. [0:09:46.7]
A Happy Balance Between Parenthood and Entrepreneurship. [0:14:14.4]
Kimberly’s Day to Day in New Position. [0:18:28.8]
The Effect on Kimberly’s Actual Work. [0:31:00.3]
Kimberly’s Role as a Mother Now. [0:36:46.3]
#TalkStrategyToMe [0:38:23.9]
Find what Sparks Joy.
Look for Patterns.
Figure Out Who You Serve.
Map It Out!
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Kimberly Crossland
Kimberly Crossland is the former founder, owner, and operator of Savvy Copywriters, a communications and digital marketing agency based in Tucson, Arizona. Other titles include Mom to a beautiful boy, and wife to an inspirational husband. Today she is a Content and Digital Experience Manager at RocketSource and trainer with LevelNext.
KEY TOPICS
Scaling Back, Transitions, Creativity, Decision Making
