Avsnitt
-
Ever wondered what it takes to turn a new client into a long-term relationship? In this episode, Alyssa and Dakota dive into crafting a successful onboarding process to execute clear deliverables on a structured timeline. From brainstorming creative concepts to executing multi-channel campaigns, we cover it all.
Episode highlights:
Creating a proper client onboarding process, transparency and communicating deliverables and timelines will lead to long-term client relationships.
Here are items to provide to ensure a strong client onboarding experience:
Preparation and Welcome:Send a personalized welcome email, introducing the main points of contact and outlining next steps.Share a welcome packet or client guide that includes your services, communication protocols, and project timeline.
Kickoff Meeting:Hold an initial meeting to discuss the client’s goals, expectations, and any pain points.Review the project scope, deliverables, timelines, and any relevant documentation.
Setting Expectations:Clearly define roles and responsibilities on both sides.Establish preferred communication channels and frequency of updates.
Gathering Information and Documentation:Collect any necessary files, branding guidelines, login credentials, or project-specific data.Use a checklist to ensure you have everything you need to start effectively.
Project Plan and Milestones:Develop a clear project roadmap with key milestones and deadlines.Share the plan with the client to make sure everyone is aligned.
Training and Support (if needed):Provide training on how to use client portals, collaboration tools, or project management systems.Offer resources and guides to make the process smoother.
Ongoing Communication and Follow-Up:Maintain regular check-ins to update on progress and address any concerns.Gather feedback to continuously improve the experience and build trust.Takeaways
Work with clients that align with your valuesBe transparent about mistakes and any issues around timelines or budgetsEnsure all stakeholders are involved in the kick-off sessionCelebrate your winsIf you enjoyed this episode of Ladies Who Launch, please be sure to take a screenshot and share it on social media and tag us @ladieswholaunchpod OR, link us to a friend or colleague by sharing the episode. Also, please give us a review and a five-star rating if you love what we’re putting down!
Ladies Who Launch is a podcast for marketers by marketers.
[email protected]
Instagram: @ladieswholaunchpodYour hosts:
Dakota Kidby owns Social Centric, a digital marketing agency based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Instagram: @socialcentricincAlyssa Berry owns Alyssa Berry Communications, a boutique public relations agency based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Instagram: @aly_b_yycResources and links:
Get in the queue for our new newsletter, dropping April 2025: https://gmail.us18.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=7ae9fd1fd06734635586825ce&id=4fcdb235ba
Stay tuned to our Instagram for updates on episode drops, merch, newsletter drops, events and more: https://www.instagram.com/ladieswholaunchpod/
__
Transcript:
Dakota Kidby: [00:00:08] Hey, hey, welcome to Ladies Who Launch, the podcast where we cut through the noise, ditch the fluff and get real about all things marketing.
Alyssa Berry: [00:00:16] That's right, we are your host, Dakota and Alyssa, two entrepreneurs from Calgary who are here to serve up equal parts solid advice, industry banter, and a whole lot of unfiltered opinions.
Dakota Kidby: [00:00:27] So grab your coffee, buckle up, and get ready for a podcast that's equal parts fun and real talk. Whether you're in the biz or just curious about what goes down behind the scenes of marketing, we've got you covered.
Alyssa Berry: [00:00:38] Let's get to it. Welcome to Ladies Who Launch.
Dakota Kidby: [00:00:46] Welcome back to another episode of the Ladies Who Launch. We are coming at you from a very cold Calgary, Alberta. Yes, that's right friends, it is March 29th and it snowed a lot. So that's the spring tease for you here in Alberta.
Alyssa Berry: [00:01:03] Yeah. It's, uh, what? Fake? What do they call it, fake spring or?
Dakota Kidby: [00:01:08] The fake spring.
Alyssa Berry: [00:01:10] Here we are. Which is why Dakota... Yeah, which is why Dakota and I are in hoodies and hats today. Because it wasn't, it wasn't a day for venturing and getting ourselves suited up.
Dakota Kidby: [00:01:23] No, but we endeavor to actually go for dinner after this. And, like, honestly, both of us are like, no, we're staying home. It's so cold. I shoveled, I think like three feet of snow off of my sidewalk today.
Alyssa Berry: [00:01:34] It's not even like it's I mean, it's cold, it's chilly, but it's not cold cold. It's just lots of snow and it's that heavy, wet spring snow, which is the worst. Anyway.
Dakota Kidby: [00:01:44] Absolutely. But today we want to talk to you guys about going behind the scenes of a successful marketing process. So basically, how to take a concept that a client would bring to you, whether you're in-house or an entrepreneur, and taking that concept to execution. And the reason we want to talk about this is something happened to me this week that I don't think has ever happened to me in my entire time running Social Centric. And it kind of got me thinking about my own processes and transparency in the sense that perhaps I need to be more clear about things sometimes. But I was thinking we could kick off with this because Alyssa hasn't heard the story yet.
Alyssa Berry: [00:02:28] Please do.
Dakota Kidby: [00:02:29] Okay. So without naming names, I had this really fantastic, cool business reach out to me and ask me for some support with their marketing. The very first thing that I do with a client when they come to me is I ask them if they have a plan. So do you have an overarching plan for your company or like a campaign that you want to run or a product that you want to launch? And I want to say like 98% of the time there is no plan in place, not even an overarching one. So from a due diligence and ethics standpoint, the very first thing that we do, even if we are just focusing on one tactic or solution, is we want to have some sort of a strategy or plan around that.
Dakota Kidby: [00:03:12] And so I said to this person, okay, this is step one of our process. This is how this gets executed. And let me know how that sits and we can go from there. And I was very clear, I thought, from day one that it didn't include implementation. And anyway, we go through the process, we work together for three weeks. Great strategy, and of course, strategies always have a bit of a phased out approach. Right? So they can kind of come off as a bit of a timeline, but there's a lot of meat and juice in there that is the solution-oriented piece of what we're doing. And then from there, what will end up happening is clients will often come back to us and say, okay, great, now we need help executing. And so we would send them another contract, which is a different kind of contract and a price that would take care of that scope. And oftentimes we ask clients to sign up for a monthly fee because the project tends to be ongoing, just because it makes more sense from like a expectation standpoint on both sides. But other times we'll just do an hourly. So in this case, I proposed, of course, the monthly because there was a bunch of stuff that we needed to get done, and it was going to take probably about six months. Anyway, she came back and said, oh my God. I didn't realize that this strategy thing didn't include actual execution.
Dakota Kidby: [00:04:32] And I was like, oh, well, what do you mean? And she's like, oh, I just like, I probably would not have invested in this had I not known that I was going to get actual help after. And I was like, oh, crap. So how I chose to handle it because first of all, I really respect and appreciate this person and I believe in their product, and I was kind of like, you know, I went back through all of our communications and like all of our agreements and everything like that. And I was like, you know, I'm pretty sure I was clear on this, but maybe I wasn't. And because they're a smaller business owner, perhaps this isn't actually, this isn't like the way I should be running this side of my business. So what I then ended up doing was spending a pretty solid chunk of time creating an actual like process and operation for specific businesses that have a lower budget. And it was like, you know what? Moving forward, I'm going to offer the strategy, but then I'm also going to offer some implementation because for organizations that don't have a huge budget, it might seem like a lot to just get that strategy piece done. So it was a really good learning experience for me because it helped me to like, add more value to this specific piece of my business, but also reminded me that clear-cut communication at every step of the way that is documented is a must.
Alyssa Berry: [00:05:52] That is a tough lesson that I think many of us have experienced at some point, whether in our own business or otherwise. I think even in in-house, if you're working in-house, I think sometimes you'll get a, you'll move forward on a project or something, and suddenly your boss or director or something is like, this isn't what I asked you to do, or this isn't the direction and blah blah blah, and that you didn't keep copious notes or anything during the lead-up meetings. And so you have no recourse to be like, no, this is what we discussed and this is what I'm moving forward. So then you get yourself into a pickle. And I think that's just a good learning for everyone. But from a business perspective, I made that mistake early on in running a business and not having processes and like operationally set up from the get go and having very clear contracts. I think that's really where it needs to start with so many projects and even in-house projects like starting with a signed-off creative brief or a signed-off project brief, and then writing a business, it's like a signed-off contract that has very clear outlines of not just deliverables, but also expectations. So one of the things that I had to do in running my business is, I got into trouble moving, with people and clients expecting like proof changes after proof changes after proof changes. And of course, I'm paying for those because I'm paying the designer for their work. So then I'm eating that because I've already quoted the cost of the design to the client, now the designer is coming back to me and charging me for all these over and above changes, like when you're on, like, proof seven or something ridiculous.
Alyssa Berry: [00:07:49] So I made that very clear in all my contracts that you get three proofs included in this cost and any more proofs or changes on any design, anything after that is charged at this X fee per hour or per 15 minutes or whatever, if I really wanted to be that. The other thing I added into mine from a process perspective too, and this is just a learning for anybody running their own business, is that I have specific wording in a clause in my contracts that states when our agreement and our contract is over, I'm not obligated to keep all of your stuff. You will get, you will have access to whatever you've done, and you have your folder and your documents. After 90 days, I can get rid of all of that. I'm not, I'm not your legal book, like your legal document holder. And I'm not responsible for anything that happens to anything after that, because I also got into a bit of a pickle with that in my business, too, where I had a complete computer meltdown and lost a whole bunch of files, and no clients ever came back to me and asked for any, like, I mean, but it was just my realization that, oh wait, I lost all of these files, and if anybody came back to me, I had no clear clause in my contract that I'm not responsible for housing your documents, nor should you want me to be either, because I am not a private closed circuit loop document holder situation here either. So.
Dakota Kidby: [00:09:31] No. And you shouldn't have to give up that space on your computer or your drive. Unless they're an existing client.
Alyssa Berry: [00:09:37] Yeah. So 90 days after our the end date of our contract, once you have everything that you get out of this, all of your file, whatever, you have no claim to anything, after that, that I may or may not have. So, it is interesting, and so when we get, when we talk about like process, like that was a process that we both found, but like that started at a contract stage so that we actually could go back and reference what we outlined and were clear or not clear about.
Dakota Kidby: [00:10:14] Absolutely. And it's so funny because I run into that pickle, too, in the sense that we are mostly, you know, for the longest time, social media. And so I'll never forget one of our clients that we were parting ways with, and this was a sticky, toxic situation also, we weren't a fan of the client as they were leaving us. They had kind of taken advantage and been disrespectful and we didn't really leave on the best note, but they came back to me and said, I want all my social media graphics from the last three years. And I said, well, that's not part of our contract. And if you want them, you can go through your Facebook and get them. But now we do encourage our clients to start a Pro Canva account. We don't actually do work on our Canva account for clients for the most part, and then therefore they have access to all their graphics if they want to reuse them and stuff after we potentially part ways. And then that just helps us alleviate not having to make space on our drive, and giving them their Canva. Now, if a client says to us, well, we don't want to pay for that and we're using our Canva account, I've said to that we have a clear clause in our contract that they relinquish all, you know...
Alyssa Berry: [00:11:32] Rights.
Dakota Kidby: [00:11:32] Expectation that they would get. And then they also, if they ever did need us to do some sort of a downloading situation from social or our Canva for them onto a drive, it's like a $150 fee at the end of their contract for us to do that.
Alyssa Berry: [00:11:47] Yeah.
Dakota Kidby: [00:11:48] So that's just, we just explained that that's the transfer of file fee and process moving forward.
Alyssa Berry: [00:11:55] It is interesting how things have changed, even in like the decade that I've had my business and sort of the expectations now and the amount of software that we all use and having, I was the same. I just used to do client work on my own pro Canva and it's like, yeah, don't do that anymore. Like, I'm not, I'm not, no, and even like ChatGPT. So most of us have business, are paying for business access to ChatGPT for various reasons, but then I think, is this like also something you could get called out on by using ChatGPT for client work? But then I'm like, ah, I use ChatGPT in my full time job all the time, so I'm like, I guess if a client really wanted to get all like nitpicky about it, like cool, but, I think there's a lot of things now that we're using that technically, I guess, could be breach of privacy in that way, because we're really putting client information into ChatGPT even if we're not using their names and stuff, we're still putting client information into ChatGPT. But then I'm like, eh, I do that for the company I work for, I put their, although they have their own corporate private ChatGPT whatever.
Dakota Kidby: [00:13:18] But yeah that's another thing, like they have if, you know, and I think there will come a day where it's like you set up a suite of tools for a client and then you use that suite of tools and it's not, you know, far-fetched also for us to manage like a Hootsuite or a Metricool or a Sprout account that a client has, like, we give them that option, we say, hey, we can either use our Metricool, which will give you client access to, and you can see all your analytics in a live dashboard as well as, and that's been a godsend for me, to be honest, but they have access to everything. Or we can use your account, however, like if it doesn't have the capabilities that ours does, then, well.
Alyssa Berry: [00:13:55] You just have to know that.
Dakota Kidby: [00:13:57] Yeah, we'd recommend this software at this point, but yeah that kind of, yeah, like brings us to getting, we want you guys to get out your notebooks and pay attention because we're going to master the scenes of a successful marketing process from concept to execution. So, Alyssa, you want to kick it off with client onboarding?
Alyssa Berry: [00:14:20] Onboarding. Yes.
Dakota Kidby: [00:14:21] I feel like you're the best at this.
Alyssa Berry: [00:14:24] It's, and it's taken a long time to get to this point, but again, as I said, through the trials and tribulations of me making mistakes and all of that stuff, but onboarding is really the most important step because the onboarding is the relationship. Not only the relationship that you're building personally with your client or, whether internal or external clients, because this relates to internal stakeholders from a business from a corporation perspective too if you're not running your own business, it helps set the parameters that help set the stage for what's going to happen. And ultimately, a successful onboarding process leads to a longer-term business relationship. And I have found in my time that the best onboarding processes that I've had with clients are the ones that ended up being, like clients that were like 3, 4 or 5 years long clients because they understood. And what that starts with is having clear objectives of what this relationship is for. Is this relationship for a social media channel refresh? Is this for a rebrand of my assets? Is this for the development of a communications plan? Is this for an internal communication strategy for your corporation? What is that clear thing that we are here to do?
Dakota Kidby: [00:16:07] Like, why are you hiring me? Almost a reminder. Because sometimes clients like - and sorry to interrupt - but I find sometimes clients get really in their own heads, and they rush, I find, to find support. And then when it comes time to sign, it's that conversation of I didn't realize this is how much this cost. I didn't realize that that's what my perception of what I told you I needed, that's your perception. And so this is why that clear communication that Alyssa is talking about is so important, because you almost have to remind the client, like why they're getting into bed with you, so to speak.
Alyssa Berry: [00:16:41] Right. And part of that is, is setting them and you up for success. And that means, as we were just sort of alluding to, getting them set up on all the tools that are required to complete this contractual obligation, and also ensuring that we have access to all accounts, information and personnel that we need access to at the beginning, and having those clear, that clear delineation right at the beginning, because that, and I've run into this many times with clients is like, they're like, they'll forget to give you their social media passwords or their Gmail accounts or all this stuff, and it's like, oh no, I'll get to that. You're going to get it today, you're going to get it today. And then like months have gone by and you haven't done any work because you can't access anything. And you, but that's also on me because I didn't set them up for that. In terms of creating, what I do with my clients is everyone gets their own Google file. So it'll be like XYZ Company, this is your Google file, here's the link, you have access to this, this is where all your assets are going to go. This is all your this is where your contracts going to live, this is where everything is going to go. And I will itemize everything, I'll make folders for contracts and documents and logos, whatever, but this is your domain, this is where everything is going to live.
Alyssa Berry: [00:18:11] Nothing's going to live on your computer. Nothing's living on my computer. This is our space, and so you can't go and be like, oh, this isn't... So that's step one. Now I will say I don't use any like, Honeybook or any of those sort of like, what Dubsado or any of those sort of processing softwares, mainly because they're expensive and I've just never justified it. So I sort of set up my onboarding manually. Like, it's not a formal process, but like the first thing is they get a welcome package with a copy of the signed contract. And a little bit about me and who they're going to be working with. And this is the designer and this is, yeah, this is the writer that we have, and this is going to be the videographer working on your project, blah, blah, blah. Here's a little synopsis of who's who in the zoo here. So, and then I will then send a follow up email with like here are our key check in dates. So phase one check in date is this, and what's going to be discussed is the draft of this strategy check into is this with the first execution dates or I'll have key check in dates because this also sets the stage that they know they're not going to be emailing me 20 times a day.
Dakota Kidby: [00:19:36] Yes, because that can be, that is always a problem.
Alyssa Berry: [00:19:40] Right? It's like here's your key dates.
Dakota Kidby: [00:19:40] But yeah. If you don't have those key dates, then, you know you fell short when you're getting five emails from the client or even just the question of where are you at right now? Where is this at? You don't want that question. You want to have yourself set up so tightly that the client doesn't have to ask. And that is top tier service.
[00:20:00] Hey all, sorry for the interruption. Just wanting to remind you to please give us five stars and subscribe to our podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. Honestly guys, this is the way that we build our podcast. And if you're a supporter of Ladies Who Launch, we would really, really appreciate it if you could just give us those five stars and subscribe. Thanks, guys. Now back to the episode.
Alyssa Berry: [00:20:19] And once that email with sort of those key dates and all that's in the calendar, then the email goes out about a strategy session or sort of a pre kind of get to know you, what's going on, getting a lay of the land with the client or manager or whoever you're working with. And that can be anything from a two hour session to a half day session to a full day session, depending on how many stakeholders need to be involved in that. Like I know some nonprofit organizations will have it as a full day because they'll want to bring some of their board members in, or some of their or even corporates might want to have some of their C-suite execs be a part of that to just get everyone on the same page before launching into the next phase of like, developing that strategy. So everybody's sort of been in the know of what the project is and what the key deliverables are and when those key deliverables will be delivered.
Dakota Kidby: [00:21:17] Absolutely. And the other thing is, it's really funny, I have a girlfriend who works in change management, which is essentially when you come in and you are applying a process or a policy, or there's been a big change in an organization, so big, in fact, that you have to hire like a professional to come in and help manage all your stuff. And oftentimes, depending on the depth of the project, marketing can be very similar in that we have that, and same thing with being a lawyer. We have to almost open the business up and understand and diagnose what the gaps and the issues are before we can come up with proper solutions. And so that conversation that takes place prior to strategy or any sort of strategic planning is very crucial because without knowing what you need to know, like through whether it's a thorough questionnaire and conversation or what have you, it's very challenging to do your job properly.
Alyssa Berry: [00:22:09] Agreed. The other thing I'm going to, the other thing I'm going to note before we sort of launch in is when to invoice for this. So I will send my first invoice before the discovery session or the strategy session or whatever you want to call it, because I've also run into issues where I have done work and then invoiced and then not gotten paid, where it's like I don't start work until I get paid for the first bit of work. So however you want to divide out your invoices, whether it's you paid 20%, 20%, whatever, or half and half or a percentage up front or whatever it is, however you want to lay out your invoicing strategy. But I would ensure that you get invoice, you invoice and get paid for any, especially at the beginning if you're out, like you're having to bring on external contractors or you've had to, like, upgrade a software system in order to be able to manage this client or whatever, that you're paid for that before you commence work.
Dakota Kidby: [00:23:16] And I'm even going to take it, I'm going to take it a step further and say that we used to do work first and then get paid. And I just moved in January, January 1st, I moved into a new model. None of my clients had a problem with it at all. New clients haven't seemed to have a problem with it. When it comes to a strategy package that we are doing for a client, they must pay up front. And we will not book any sort of chat or conversation past our 30 minute like, client, you know, discovery call, like intro, yeah, we will not even book the discovery without the payment. In fact, I'm actually waiting on a client who sent the invoice to their accountant, which sometimes the accountants put you into a cycle, and I'm going to have to send a note on Monday being like, I'm sorry if you guys have a cycle, but like, this needs to be paid immediately. Otherwise I have to give up your date to someone else. And like, I just find when you have those boundaries, people respect you more and they are actually, like, more willing to work with you in some cases because it's like, oh, you value yourself and your time. You seem like you're in high demand. Cool. This is going to be worth my time. And so, and it just sets up that cadence and that expectation that, yes, I have very firm boundaries about my time and how I get paid. And even for our retainer clients, their invoices come out on the first of every month now, and we get paid before we do things. The other thing is, and actually, I will call out our wonderful producer, Alex, who does our podcast for teaching me this, like extra edits or late, things that come late, like for us, if we're doing, if we're cutting video for a client and they're sending us clips and we need them by a certain date to hit targets, getting really, really, really tough. And if they don't send things on time or they're, like, significantly stressing you out, then there's fees, right? Like, I've had to charge clients a few times for too many emails. It's like, I started literally billing for emails like lawyers do, because we had a client who'd send us 25 emails a week.
Alyssa Berry: [00:25:16] Yeah, no. And I, and this is all learning too, that a lot of that can be alleviated during that onboarding phase that we talked about earlier, that those expectations are set up front, and that here's our check in dates, and other than that, I don't want to hear from you.
Dakota Kidby: [00:25:35] Unless it's an emergency.
Alyssa Berry: [00:25:36] Unless the house is on fire. Yeah.
Dakota Kidby: [00:25:37] Or they have a question.
Alyssa Berry: [00:25:39] Which is, yeah, why we're reiterating the importance of that onboarding process and those key dates and timelines of when things are going to happen because those dates and timelines are not just for you, they're for them as well, because as Dakota just alluded to, like, if they're late getting you things that you require to complete a deliverable, then you have the recourse to go back to them and a) either charge them for it or b) fire them or like let them go as clients, because that was clearly outlined in the onboarding process as to what the expectations are, both on me as the business owner and you as the client.
Dakota Kidby: [00:26:22] Absolutely.
Alyssa Berry: [00:26:22] And if either one of us reneges or or isn't able to.
Dakota Kidby: [00:26:28] Fulfill our end of the bargain.
Alyssa Berry: [00:26:29] Fulfill, then we both have the recourse to walk away.
Dakota Kidby: [00:26:32] Absolutely. And so, yeah, I would say number one, as Alyssa has been saying, like your onboarding processes is everything. It really sets the stage for the respect, the boundaries and sort of the story of how things are going to go. The other thing I would highly recommend doing right off the bat, just so that it's out of the way, is getting the client into your invoicing software, making some notes or some sort of recourse around what you're doing for them, for your team, just like a client info document almost. And then during the onboarding, so we actually just overhauled our onboarding process and we're still working on massaging it. But what I do now is I pick one day a week and actually I do have a gal who helps with this, but when it's me doing it, I pick one day a week where I do admin, and actually Alyssa taught me this, and during that day it can be anything from filing to invoices to working on the business, whatever. I will say to a client, Kate, you have an onboarding session with us at 9 a.m. on Monday, this is what you need to have done for that onboarding session, get that welcome package together, send it to them ahead of time, and then you use that hour long session to get all their socials connected. Make sure everything's good in the back end, give them a bit of a warning that, hey, if your social media is, your connections are all screwy and someone's missing access and we have to do a bunch of like digging to fix stuff that does incur another fee.
Dakota Kidby: [00:28:04] However, we're going to use this onboarding session to make sure you're all sorted and you kind of give them that foundational onboarding session, and then take that time as well to introduce them to the rest of the team. Just get them acquainted with how things are going to go. Get them acquainted with that timeline, give them their Google Link drive, make sure that they sign off on their contract, and make sure that that invoice is paid. And that's kind of what we're going to do moving forward with our clients. And they seem to really appreciate that. Because the other thing that I find that I run into and have run into in the past is the onboarding process can turn into a month long thing if you don't control it, similarly to what Alyssa had just said, right? So you want to try and get all that shit done right then and there. It should really be you have a 30 minute call with them, if they need more, they have to pay for an hour, right? Because sometimes clients just want some consultation time, they don't actually want to hire you. So that's how you alleviate that gap. And then from there, if they want more, then you book that onboarding call, you send them the documents, they make sure that they are committed pot committed to the to the process. And then from there you book things into your schedule. So Alyssa, how are you managing, like, I'm curious to understand how you, what your thoughts are on managing just like the relationship as it goes.
Alyssa Berry: [00:29:29] What I found works the best is that I have one contact that I work with. There is one direct person that is assigned to me or whatever from your organization. I don't have the time or the inclination to deal with six people in your organization or in your business. And oh, but Sally does this and this. I don't care what Sally or Bobby or whatever do in your back end. You're going to make that, you're going to make sure that Sally and Bobby get Linda all the information, and Linda's the one that I'm going to, I'm going to deal with on a regular basis. Not that I don't love Sally and Bobby, but I, with multiple, multiple clients, I don't have time to, like, sift through your business Rolodex to figure out who I need to talk to to get something done. It's like no, one contact. And so me and Linda, we're going to be besties. And if Linda isn't getting what I need, then I'm going to be able to tell Linda. And I don't have to worry about informing Bobby and Sally, because I assume that Linda's going to inform Bobby and Sally or whoever needs to know. That's key one, is having a person or if you have to, two, like if they're married or something, whatever. But no more. I'm not working with your team of people. I do not care what they do. Don't. So that's step one. And the other thing to keep a relationship, or like whether it's an internal corporate relationship or an external business relationship, healthy is being very transparent. I have found that the minute as a business owner, if I've done something or I've missed something or whatever, and I've tried to like, figure it out and manage it on my end it just becomes...
Dakota Kidby: [00:31:24] ... terrible. Hide it. No, I would just, but yeah, like you try to manage it yourself or, like, brush it under the rug. Absolutely not. You need to tell them immediately.
Alyssa Berry: [00:31:32] Yeah. Transparency. And I expect that of them too. Like if Sally broke her leg and didn't get Linda the photos or whatever, cool. Just let me know. Like, we can work with that. I'm not, like, going to come down there and scream because Sally broke her leg. Like life happens, all that happens, we know that. And that's part of being in a good relationship, is being transparent to be like, hey, I messed up or oh crap, I missed this, I'm going to take care of it right now, blah, blah, blah. I mean, that happens in everyone's day to day life. Like, your husband forgot to go to the grocery store on the way home. Like you just, things happen, but you deal with it and you're transparent about it. So that's like sort of step two is being transparent about things that have happened and being transparent about great things too. Like being very quick to congratulate them on things or praise them on things or if they've got client of the month or, I don't know, like whatever stupid thing you can, stupid thing, but like, people like to also receive positive feedback. Like if every time that you're interacting with someone it's negative or it's to talk about something that went wrong, then that's also a bit of a detriment to a relationship. So make sure that you're like, I would do things like send Starbucks over to clients, like just or if I knew they were having a rough day, I'd like send them.
Dakota Kidby: [00:33:01] A Skip the Dishes gift card.
Alyssa Berry: [00:33:02] Or some DoorDash or Skip the Dishes or whatever. Because those...
Dakota Kidby: [00:33:06] Like, celebrations. Like it's their birthday, like it's their company's birthday or...
Alyssa Berry: [00:33:12] Yeah, anniversaries. Or like they just hired someone new, so send them some flowers, or someone's leaving and all those sorts of things matter. I would always keep notes of those kind of things in my calendar if I knew things were coming up or if clients I knew were going to a conference or they had a big presentation coming up or any of that kind of stuff, I would always like, put that in my calendar and send them a note or an email or like a text, be like, good luck, blah, blah, blah. So that's the other thing is that like always leading with the positive instead of the only time you're talking to them is if something went sideways. That's also the other thing. But in parallel to that, this is also a learning, is that your clients aren't your friends, just like your coworkers aren't your friends. You don't share personal information. You don't talk about your personal life. You don't talk about going on dates. Like there is a line, like this is still a professional relationship, and I don't care that they're the same age as you, or they're also single or whatever, it's professional because you don't know who they know, and the world is very small, and you don't ever want to be, like, bitching about a guy that you went on a date with but it turns out like that guy is like their cousin's best friend or something. Like, you have no idea who people know, right? So that's always a very clear line for me, is that you don't know anything about me. You know who I am. You know I do good work, you know, whatever. But you don't know what I do when we're not together, because it's none of your business. And I don't need to know anything about you either. And so that's sort of the number three too, is that be very, have very clear boundaries of client or even boss/staff or like internally, right. Like no one needs, no one wants to or should know about your personal issues.
Dakota Kidby: [00:35:11] And if I could add like a what am I trying to say? You know what I mean. And yeah section to that, I would say enjoy your connections with people. Like, that's not to say that you can't have a conversation or something, but case in point, if somebody knows you too well, oftentimes meeting agendas will also get completely out of control. So and I'm...
Alyssa Berry: [00:35:40] Totally off the rails.
Dakota Kidby: [00:35:41] ... because I like to be friends with everybody. And I am a recovering people pleaser. So the other day, actually, I had the worst migraine of my life, I just like wasn't feeling great, but I, you know, I was at the meeting, showed up, it was all good. And my client and I well, she started talking about politics and...
Alyssa Berry: [00:35:58] Oh, God, what is wrong with people?
Dakota Kidby: [00:35:59] No, but we always, like, have conversations about politics. Like and we're buds and we, again, going against everything Alyssa said. But I do really love working with this client and like we do have a lot in common. So she and I do banter. But anyway, I literally had to say, I'm so sorry, but like, we only have an hour and I'm exhausted and I'm not feeling the greatest today. Do you think we can just get through this meeting? And then I have to go grab a coffee. Then we'll do our next thing that we have to do. And then I gotta go, like, and she was like, nope, no problem at all, all good, like so sorry. And I was like, no, no, it's fine. It's just that again, if you build that personal rapport with your clients, your objectives with getting work done are going to be more ineffective no matter how you swing it. It's the difference between coming in for an hour, meeting with your counselor, right, and then, like, going for wine with them and then having a meeting. So like, just differentiate those two things. If you want to go banter with your client because you find them interesting as a human being, separate it. Ask them to go for wine as a separate human being. Do you know what I mean? Or don't?
Alyssa Berry: [00:36:59] See, I wouldn't even, I wouldn't even recommend that.
Dakota Kidby: [00:37:02] But, I mean, I am friends with some of my clients, so like I have a different standpoint.
Alyssa Berry: [00:37:05] But here's the thing, though. Like if that personal relationship goes south, what does that mean for your business relationship?
Dakota Kidby: [00:37:12] I'm not close with them in that respect. I would say if the, like the personal relationship going south probably isn't a, I'm not like besties with any of my clients. I do have one client who I am pretty good friends with, that if she and I ever had a falling out and then like the contract, it wouldn't bother me because it'd be like, well, I don't really want to work with you anyway, but I will say I am, like, I do have a couple of other clients that like, I'll go, I would go and have a beer with them. But we have a very clear, like line in the sand that we both understand, if that makes sense. And they've just been with me for a really long time, so it's almost been impossible to not develop a friendship because we've been through more with each other than just the work. Like, I've seen them go through things and they've seen me go through things, we've had each other's backs, you know, that kind of stuff. And so sometimes it can be inevitable. But for the most part it, you really should look at it like a relationship with your psychologist. It's, you're there to get work done and you don't need to offer up any more of your time than that. And you're also not their therapist.
Alyssa Berry: [00:38:18] No. And they're not your therapist.
Dakota Kidby: [00:38:21] Absolutely.
Alyssa Berry: [00:38:22] I'm going to caveat that politics talk for a second, because I think Dakota and I need to do an episode on this because when I said, oh, politics, what are you doing? Because, like, normally, like generally politics in a business meeting doesn't really come up. But I mean, and I've said this before in this podcast and like anybody could see, my political affiliations are fairly notable.
Dakota Kidby: [00:38:48] Like, people know.
Alyssa Berry: [00:38:48] People know my thoughts on things and people know.
Dakota Kidby: [00:38:51] They know who you are.
Alyssa Berry: [00:38:51] So I do have a caveat to the whole political thing because when people talk about like, oh, don't, don't ever share your politics or whatever online or like separate your personal and your business brand in that way, I'm like, no, because I have seen a lot of people on LinkedIn who I will know I'll never work with because of the shit that they post on LinkedIn of all places. Right? Like when did LinkedIn become Facebook? But that's a whole other conversation.
Dakota Kidby: [00:39:21] It's true.
Alyssa Berry: [00:39:22] Because, yeah, like they're raging Trumpers.
Dakota Kidby: [00:39:26] And so are you saying it's a bad thing?
Alyssa Berry: [00:39:28] White nationalists. No. I want to know. Now I know. So I, because I work with people who who align with my values, like I'm a person, no one should be separating their personal feelings or their values about things because of business. Like, and I've said this on this podcast before, but I'm a vegetarian, so I would never work with the like Canadian Beef Association and not because they're bad or that I, but I would have no idea what I would communicate about the Canadian Beef Association, because I don't eat it and I don't have any concept of it. So it's the same with like aligning myself with a Raging Trumper client. I would never do that because I have no interest in promoting whatever the heck you're doing or like you're Elon Muskness or whatever the hell. So I'm a big proponent of like, yeah, share your political leanings like as a personal person, personal person, online so I can know because it's a good way to weed out, and that maybe is an onboarding process too, is that I look at people's socials, I look and see like outside of their business. Because like if you're, if what you're representing on your business goes completely against who you are as a person and what you're promoting on your personal accounts, I also don't want to work with you.
Alyssa Berry: [00:40:50] So, and people do that with me too, like, I mean, I'm sure there's people who are like, oh my God, you're like a raging leftist. I'm like, I'm not really a leftist, but I guess if you're like a Trumper, that would seem appropriate. But yeah, I don't want to work with you. Like, yeah, you can weed me out too, like, have at her. So that's the other thing is like, yeah, not being like all besties and like therapists with your clients, but also working with people who you align with and align with your values is really important, because if you're trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, like if you're like, can you imagine, like working with, like an anti-abortion organization?
Dakota Kidby: [00:41:27] And even if I was like managing their like working on a strategy for call it like their flower shop, and I found out that they were like doing that on the weekend, I would just feel really uncomfortable and I wouldn't want to be aligned with it. That's the other thing. Yeah, like we've had a couple of clients over the years contact us to work with them. And just like the alignment wasn't there based off of a value standpoint. So, but yeah, I think like the final thing I would leave with you guys in terms of, or that we would leave with you guys in terms of like the processes, that your exit process is just as important as your onboarding. So clients are going to go. Everything ends eventually. So just having a really thorough exit process as well, like a nice questionnaire or conversation around like how was the work? Could we have done anything better? Can we get our testimonial, whether it's like a video testimonial or a quote or we're going to prepare a case study. You know, we're going to put that on our website. We'd love for you to, like, spread the word when we post about it on LinkedIn and tag you. So just taking that opportunity to to get that word, and then a referral, maybe offering them like, hey, if you know, things went so well with us, so if you refer to us, we will give you, you know, 10% off your next service or, you know, we would really love a referral. So that's your opportunity.
Alyssa Berry: [00:42:48] Yeah. And that's also where that whole piece about here's all of the stuff we worked on, there's your Google Drive, and after this, like I'm not responsible, so don't like send me an email in seven months. Be like, whatever. Can I get a copy of that? Like, yeah.
Dakota Kidby: [00:43:05] And it's the opportunity to get removed off their social channels too, which you absolutely should do, and tell them to change their passwords.
Alyssa Berry: [00:43:10] You need to get removed.
Dakota Kidby: [00:43:11] Yeah. That's right.
Alyssa Berry: [00:43:12] Yes. So I mean it's sort of closing the loop and like sending a nice thank you. I've done that in the past, too, for clients is like sent them a bottle of wine to their office or whatever as like a thanks for working with each other and blah, blah, blah, like, always those things because even if it didn't entirely end on the best terms, like if something happened or if maybe the contract ended early for various different reasons, like it wasn't someone's fault, it's just timing or budget or whatever, always be the bigger person because again, you don't know who people know.
Dakota Kidby: [00:43:46] Always be the bigger person and just be professional. Stay in your lane, keep your head down. You know, live in your lane.
Alyssa Berry: [00:43:55] And that's how, like, Dakota and I have had clients for three, four, five, whatever years. Like you treat people well and do good work, and they will stick around because even if they threaten, like and I've had clients threaten from time to time to be like, well, I think we're going to RFP for this, and I'm like, cool.
Dakota Kidby: [00:44:13] Yeah, if you need some fresh blood, I get it. One thing I will say, though, someone, an old boss of mine taught me this, and I think it is some of the best advice I've ever gotten. She said to me, help people in a way that you would never expect anything back. And so I think just from a community standpoint, and if a client has left your roster, but maybe they reach out just for like a quick piece of advice, highly recommend knowing when to differentiate from like, okay, this, I'm going to give you this my time or, you know, or like, oh, it's a big ask so I have to charge for it. Like, I, Alyssa and I are big on like, being there for people where it's appropriate. And of course, this community, Ladies Who Launch is all about that. It's about supporting people who don't have sounding boards and teams, and they need community to thrive. And I'll never forget, I asked a fellow provider for some advice one time, and she was like, well, I'm very busy and I have kids and like, my time is very precious to me, so I do have to charge you for this hour that we're going to chat. And at the time, I remember I was livid. I was like, what a, you know, like, I can't believe she would charge. What the heck? Then as time went on and people started to ask me for things, it was like, oh yeah, a five minute conversation or connection point, no problem. An introduction, no problem. Quick piece of advice, absolutely no worries. Even if it is an hour long conversation, as long as it feels good in my gut. But there are opportunities where, yeah, it's completely appropriate to charge for your time as you become a subject matter expert in something. And now looking back, I'm like, you go, girl, I really shouldn't have been offended. So just knowing when it's time to lend a hand and just be kind versus, you know, charging for your time.
Alyssa Berry: [00:46:08] Yeah. Because that's the other thing you learn as grizzled veterans and running businesses is that your time is worth a lot.
Dakota Kidby: [00:46:15] It's worth something. Absolutely.
Alyssa Berry: [00:46:17] And you can give that time away to the things that you value to give your time to. But for every rando who wants to have to pick your brain for half an hour...
Dakota Kidby: [00:46:29] If you're getting those requests like 20 times a week. That being said, too, I will admit, like, I've even caught myself asking for too much sometimes from friends and people that I have in my circle. And yeah, it's, you know, you think that it's okay, but you do have to be respectful of people's time and stuff like that. So with that, we hope that this has been helpful and we would love to hear more from you guys. If you want to know, if you've had any like process mishaps or blow ups, we would love to hear from you guys. So just DM us on Instagram at Ladies Who Launch Pod or send us an email at Ladies Who Launch Pod at gmail.com and we'll see you in two weeks.
Alyssa Berry: [00:47:14] Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Ladies Who Launch.
Dakota Kidby: [00:47:18] Don't forget to hit the subscribe button and give us five stars anywhere you listen to podcasts. Honestly guys, if you can do that for us, we would be so thankful. It's how we grow our podcast and the more subscriptions and the more five stars we get, the better. So thank you so much for supporting us and we'll see you next time on Ladies Who Launch.
-
Society in the digital space is becoming more and more broken but you can still show up authentically and fill gaps that people need to thrive. In this episode of Ladies Who Launch, the first back in 8 months, Alyssa and Dakota candidly discuss where they’ve been and what’s coming down the pipeline for 2025 while diving into the depths of trolling, bad behaviour online, adding to the noise and what being yourself, scrappy or not will do for your brand if you show up as YOU and you only.
Episode highlights:
Taking the reins on your brand image, using social media for good, success mindset, brand, mental health, opinions on bad marketing, leadership and relationships.
Takeaways:
Social media can easily become a place for fear, half-truths and a place for hate but there is still a massive opportunity to outshine the b*llshit and add value.If you don’t control your narrative, someone else will.Don’t go online without a plan.Your brand is everything, so make it real.If you enjoyed this episode of Ladies Who Launch, please be sure to take a screenshot and share it on social media and tag us @ladieswholaunchpod OR, link us to a friend or colleague by sharing the episode. Also please make sure to give us a review and a five-star rating if you’re loving what we’re putting down!
Resources and links:
Get in queue for our new newsletter, dropping April 2025Stay tuned to our Instagram for updates on episode drops, merch, newsletter drops, events and more__
Transcript:
Dakota Kidby: [00:00:02] Hey, hey, welcome to Ladies Who Launch, the podcast where we cut through the noise, ditch the fluff and get real about all things marketing.
Alyssa Berry: [00:00:11] That's right, we are your hosts, Dakota and Alyssa, two entrepreneurs from Calgary who are here to serve up equal parts solid advice, industry banter, and a whole lot of unfiltered opinions.
Dakota Kidby: [00:00:21] So grab your coffee, buckle up, and get ready for a podcast that's equal parts fun and real talk. Whether you're in the biz or just curious about what goes down behind the scenes of marketing, we've got you covered.
Alyssa Berry: [00:00:33] Let's get to it. Welcome to Ladies Who Launch.
Dakota Kidby: [00:00:40] We're back.
Alyssa Berry: [00:00:42] Look who's back. Back again.
Dakota Kidby: [00:00:45] The ladies are back. Tell a friend.
Alyssa Berry: [00:00:49] Oh, my God, it's only been, what? Eight months. Here we are.
Dakota Kidby: [00:00:54] We're back after an eight month hiatus. Welcome back to season five of Ladies Who launch.
Alyssa Berry: [00:01:01] The eight month hiatus that was supposed to be like two. But Dakota and I are always on our own schedule, as many of our listeners know, so we are happy to be back,
Dakota Kidby: [00:01:12] Happy to finally be back with you guys. And we have a brand new setup. We are now using new software, we have new tech, new equipment. We're going to be on YouTube. So we really look forward to taking Ladies Who Launch to the next level this year.
Alyssa Berry: [00:01:28] Yes, and we did a rebrand too. So if you've been on our Instagram recently, you'll see we have a whole new logo brand we're coming out with. We're going to have new newsletter, new community events. We're back at it hardcore because we missed our community. And we know you guys missed us too. So.
Dakota Kidby: [00:01:46] Yeah, we got a lot of feedback from you guys over our hiatus that people were unimpressed that we were not recording. So we really appreciate your guys's support and we are very excited for season five of Ladies Who Launch.
Alyssa Berry: [00:02:01] It's crazy it's season five, to be honest.
Dakota Kidby: [00:02:03] I know. Yeah, so we started this, for those of you who are new to the podcast, Alyssa and myself started this podcast over Covid in 2020 as sort of an outlet to be able to get together as friends and be opinionated about all the things that we like to be opinionated about. And 90% of the time that is marketing, because we are both marketing professionals. I want to say 10% of the time it's everything else from period poverty to politics to what's going on in the world, to stuff that's going on in our city and so on and so forth. So.
Alyssa Berry: [00:02:40] And we will just pick up right where we left off. But we probably should give everyone a bit of an insight into what's gone on in these last eight months, both professionally and personally and all those sorts of things before we kind of dive back in. But we are still here. We are. We do still live in Calgary. Yeah, we both still have our own companies. We both still love our community. But some changes have happened.
Dakota Kidby: [00:03:07] They have. Alyssa, do you want to go first?
Alyssa Berry: [00:03:10] Yeah. I'm not going to delve too much into it because it's not really, well... I went to a bit of a dark side, and I took a full time gig back in August. The landscape for, I think everybody's going through this with small business and especially the sectors that I worked in, in tourism and culture were still having difficulty kind of coming back recovering from Covid. And I sort of had this moment of like, how much do I want to keep struggling with this? And I still do have my business and I still do work on the side. So don't think Alyssa Berry Communications has gone anywhere. I still work with clients and people that I love and, love doing work for them. But sometimes you need to be an adult and realize that sometimes a paycheck is necessary for whatever reasons. There's never any sense of failure or anything for any business person that has to make other arrangements, especially those of us that don't have spouses who can pick up the slack while the other is kind of struggling. So that's where I am. I'm not going to talk about it because obviously it's not for public consumption in that way, because this podcast is all about my business and me being a marketer and me being in the community. So that's still what we're going to focus on, because all of those things are still true. But yeah, that was sort of my big personal professional change for 2024 and into 2025.
Dakota Kidby: [00:04:47] And we're all going to give you a big applaud because, applause, applause, because it's it's very hard to be brave a lot of the time, especially when you own your own business and you realize that you have to go elsewhere to make ends meet and pay the bills just because your particular audience isn't entirely there anymore. And so, yeah, I mean, I think it's been good for you in some ways as well. So, yeah, I just want to say, you know, I commend you for being brave, that's all.
Alyssa Berry: [00:05:24] Yeah. And that's where we'll leave it.
Dakota Kidby: [00:05:27] Okay. Got it. So, yeah, similarly, I really did some pretty massive work on myself over the last eight months, probably more than I ever have. I've talked about this a couple times in past episodes, and I just got very real with where I, where my life was going and where I want my life to go. And I also made some brave, scary decisions. So part of that included hiring pretty much a full team. So we now have like an operations team at Social Centric. We have back end web and full stack app and front end and back end web developers on our team. Um, and then we also have a full timer who is kind of my right hand woman. So I was very proud that I was able to pay salaries last year. But with that came some investment into the company to be able to do that. And then on top of that we also got very real about our client roster for the first time ever, I think. And we really looked at like, who do we actually want to work with and who just is not a fit for us professionally and personally, and we either amiably or... Well, no, they were all amiable, but we like we parted ways with them, either both of us parting ways or us parting ways and we just got very real about the types of clients that we want to work with moving forward. And we have only onboarded clients that make sense for us in 2025 so far. But I'll get real with you guys and say that that was really scary for me in the sense that I haven't been in debt in six, seven, probably eight years and debt really scares me for many reasons, and maybe we'll get into that in another episode. I have a family member who was really bad with money.
Dakota Kidby: [00:07:26] My mom. And she ended up taking her life when I was 24 because of that and many other reasons. So I have a lot of inner wounding when it comes to debt and asking for help and any of that stuff. But the fact of the matter is, is if you're going to grow your business and scale up, you know, unless you have a bunch of seed money or people helping you or investors, you usually will have to go into a bit of debt. So that's been really interesting for me. Learning about getting grants, applying for lines of credit. And like actually growing the business in a way that a startup would grow because luckily for me, I never really had to do that. I had clients right out of the gate. But yeah, when you're supporting other people's salaries, you have a totally different responsibility. And so, yeah, we rebranded into a digital marketing house about two months ago, and we are very heavily overhauling our processes and our operations. We've made a lot of changes over the last couple of months. I've had to step into a bunch of different hats that I've never worn before, which has been really interesting. And I'm also learning a lot more about where I want to take not only Social Centric, but my own skill sets into the future. So.
Alyssa Berry: [00:08:44] Yeah, I think we need an episode on good and bad debt because I'm a believer that there's good debt to have, like a mortgage or investing in your company or investing in yourself, those kind of things. So yeah, that's probably a good conversation to have because people get super, super scared of investing in themselves or investing in their company, especially as women. [00:09:06] And we need to do [00:09:07] better at believing in ourselves.
Dakota Kidby: [00:09:10] Absolutely. One thing I can say is there's one person that I'll always bet on in this world, and that's me. I do trust myself very, very deeply. That being said, to Alyssa's point, yeah, I do think an episode on that would be really great because I think when you start a business, you don't entirely understand the things that you need in order to be successful. And I was a bit chaotic and choppy over the last ten years in growing Social Centric. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. If there isn't even just a like a little bit of chaos, you probably aren't doing it right, or you're probably not taking risks. But I will say that had I had the knowledge that I have now, I probably would have gone about it a different way and I would have avoided a lot of burnout.
Alyssa Berry: [00:10:01] But that's eight months in a nutshell, and that's why we were away longer than we intended. And just to give you, all of our listeners, especially those that kept messaging us and asking like, what's happening? Where are you guys? What are you coming back? What's going on? Just know that there's a lot of things going on.
Dakota Kidby: [00:10:17] A lot going on. Yeah.
Alyssa Berry: [00:10:18] In the background. And as we have been very candid about in this podcast from the get go, is that Ladies Who Launch is a passion project for us, and it's our own investments and our own time and money and all of those sorts of things. So sometimes when other things take priority, those passion projects just sort of have to be shelved for a little while while your actual adult things have to happen. And so I think we're both glad to be in a place where we are back.
Dakota Kidby: [00:10:45] Yeah. We are. We're really happy to be in a place where we're back, and we do genuinely have a lot of really exciting things rolling out this year that we were going to talk about with you guys. We're going to be rolling out a really engaging, killer newsletter that's going to be full of phenomenal content, opportunities and opportunities to connect with us and others, and features of other women and marketers. And not only women, actually, probably everybody, that we think are awesome and that we want to share with you. And on top of that as well, we're going to be putting together a couple of in-person events in Calgary this year, which we're really excited about. And so we'll be offering that up to anybody who wants to attend. So if you're a listener that isn't in Calgary and you want to come down and hang out with us, that opportunity will be available this year. And we would love to meet you guys. So yeah. But other than that, we are coming off the heels of International Women's Day yesterday, and I wanted to kick off season five with you all by talking a little bit about authenticity and fake news on social media, because fuck me, I have seen so much bullshit on social media, especially the last couple of months, pertaining to not only just people like us, but also like, of course, with everything going down in the States and like a couple of celebrities have been really like kicking up dust on there over some of the stupidest shit I've ever seen. I personally, as someone who's in the digital marketing world, I'm having such a rough time understanding how we're using social media these days. And so I really wanted to unpack a few things with Alyssa on the podcast, because I thought it'd be really interesting. I want her opinion on a couple of things. I thought you guys would find it fun for us to banter about a few things, and then from there, I kind of want to dive into, well, how can you still use social media ethically and authentically in a world that is just wrought with trashy news and people pitting themselves and others against other people? Like, what do you, how is social media still relevant? Is it going away? Like, I want to talk about all of those things, but I'd like to use someone who's been all over the news lately as an example of the internet just being a trashy place.
Dakota Kidby: [00:13:23] And Alyssa and I have very different opinions on this woman, which I think is going to make this very interesting. I hate to use this person as an example, because yes, they are a person of affluence. So I just want to like kick that off that this person is a person of affluence and they are very, she is a very wealthy woman who probably doesn't deserve all the hype. But that being said, I personally think Meghan Markle is, like, I think she's just a regular girl, just like Marie Antoinette was a regular girl, just like Anne Boleyn was a regular girl, just like Princess Diana was a regular girl. And does she have her demons and her blind spots? I'm sure she does. But first and foremost, I think she's been dealt a shitty fucking deck of cards personally. In the sense that what I see is this very genuine, kind-hearted woman who just wants to be a mum to her kids. She married this dude because she fell in love with him. Yes, he's a prince. Whatever. And what happened to her up in Britain, to me, is very, very much, resembles what happened to Diana and that, and I just think the whole, like the media up there and the media in particular that cover Palace news and whatever, the whole thing to me is just completely disgusting. I also don't entirely myself believe in the institution of the royals and the firm, as what people call it. I think it's all just a bunch of total bullshit. I think it's completely archaic and and I'm not surprised that the two of them like, left, and they just want to be normal. And like, I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Where I think Meghan fell short is after everything that went down, you know, after they got married and left, I don't really entirely see why she started this series on Netflix. Part of me wants to commend her for doing it because it's like, yeah, screw you, I'm still going to do what I want to do.
Dakota Kidby: [00:15:38] But another part of me is like, okay, you didn't want more backlash, you didn't want more paparazzi coming after you, you didn't want more face time in the media. Why did you start this show? And then the problem with the show, in my opinion, if any of you have seen it, it's basically a cooking show that she does. It kind of reminds me of Marie Antoinette, and she's got her big palace out in Montecito, and then she bought this, like $8 million house to produce the show in. And it's very much like Marie's Hamlet in Versailles. I don't know if anyone's ever been there, but to me, it just reminds me of this opulent, disgusting wealth that, like, this woman who's been in the media for so many things that are not good, is now going to go buy this $8 million mansion to cook in and sprinkle flowers on things. And so I get where she's coming from. I think her heart's in the right place. She wants to share her joy with other people, but of course it's coming off as unrelatable and people are just tearing her apart. But what really kills me, and I'll let Alyssa interject in a moment here, what I don't like about this, and any woman or person who's in the media - and this happens to people who are in the public eye all the time, take Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick, all the people who've been in the public eye lately - these freaking bloggers who have made their careers and lifestyles off of literally like gathering videotape of these people and analyzing everything from like, their face changing from a smile to what they would call a mask. And then they pinpoint these people as narcissists and they just, it's their whole career to tear these people apart. And they just, and judge these people over like, things that they just would not know. It just makes me sick to my stomach. Anyway, that's my rant.
[00:17:33] Hey y'all, sorry for the interruption. Just wanting to remind you to please give us five stars and subscribe to our podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. Honestly guys, this is the way that we build our podcast. And if you're a supporter of Ladies Who Launch, we would really, really appreciate it if you could just give us those five stars and subscribe. Thanks, guys. Now back to the episode.
Alyssa Berry: [00:17:51] Okay. Uh, do you need a breath there?
Dakota Kidby: [00:17:53] Yeah. I'm good. Okay. We're good.
Alyssa Berry: [00:17:55] There was a lot going on there.
Dakota Kidby: [00:17:56] There was a lot.
Alyssa Berry: [00:17:57] Here's my thing with the Meghan Markle situation. And it's interesting that we are talking about this because I am a royalist. I'm a monarchist. And not because I think it isn't bullshit. Because, my grandma was and we, I remember I was like a little little kid for the Diana Charles wedding and like, we got up at my grandma's house and had at like four in the morning and had our crumpets and whatever, because my grandma's British and like, it was a very big part of. And I think a lot of the Diana situation for people sort of like revering Princess Diana, are all like sort of under the age of 35 because they didn't actually see all that went on during that time.
Alyssa Berry: [00:18:38] And I mean, we can go into Diana in itself, but the Diana is an interesting parallel, because if you actually watch what's sort of taken place over the last six years, Meghan's used Diana as sort of her wedge to meet, first meet and then be with Harry. So I was a huge Meghan supporter. I thought she was awesome. I mean, who didn't watch Suits and like, I mean, I thought it was great. She was like, it was so cool to have a celebrity, like, be part of the royal family and like, oh, cool, whatever. I sort of bit of side-eyed during the wedding when, like, not a single member of her family was invited. I always find that a bit interesting. And I know people have family issues, but like, no one was there. Like, not a friend, not an anyone. And I always, I always have, and this is my own bias and I get that, but I always side-eye a little bit women who don't have close friendships. Because in order to have friends, you have to know how to be a friend. And I just always find women who have friends because, like, whether it's at work or they're always transactional in some way. But I always sort of look differently at women who just don't seem to have very solid, close girlfriends. Like, people talk about Serena Williams and all these people.
Alyssa Berry: [00:19:59] It's like, yeah, she does know all these people, but they're not her girlfriends. They're not her people. And it was interesting to see at the wedding, like all of the celebrities that came, like, obviously the Beckhams are friends of the royal family, so that's different. But like George Clooney and his wife. Well, George Clooney publicly said like, oh, we thought we came because of her dad. Because of course her dad was well known. He was a lighting guy in Hollywood, so a lot of them knew him and were like, oh, we thought Thomas was going to be here. So when we got the invitation, we thought it was coming from him and blah blah, blah. So that's where I sort of like was like, what's going on here? But my biggest thing, and I mean them leaving whatever, she can say whatever she wants about the royal family, about them being racist. No one knows if any of that is true, because the royal family can never defend themselves against that. And even Harry has sort of backtracked from a lot of that stuff that they spewed out during Oprah. And it's interesting that Oprah has never made any comment about that interview since. And it's been scrubbed from her, like, TV thing, like she wants, because a lot of the things that they said in that were factually incorrect then about like, Archie not having a title which just based on where he and, well, now the little girl, whatever her name is, is in this line of succession, only the the children of the current monarch are titled or the grandchildren of the current monarch.
Alyssa Berry: [00:21:19] And so now they are titled because now Charles is the monarch. But at the time they wouldn't be because they were not the immediate heirs to the throne. So saying those kind of things, like there were so many factually incorrect things that they were throwing out there that, like Oprah wouldn't know to push them on, but since then have come out as factually incorrect. So putting all that aside, because like as the Queen said, recollections vary. So moving on from that, I'm with you on I, look, I was really sort of rooting for them. And as I said, I was a big fan of hers. But since the, since them leaving and I think everyone had high like expectations of like, oh, this could be really good. Well, Harry does nothing. I'm not even sure what Prince Harry does now. I mean, he's been removed from his friends, his family, his job. Like he's not in the military anymore. I don't know what he does every day. So that's another side plot, whatever that is. But I had high hopes that, like, she would like, even go back to acting or be like... And it just seemed like it's so, it's all just like throwing stuff against the wall to see what sticks.
Alyssa Berry: [00:22:34] Like, now we're in tradwife territory. And I have to say, like, if this was anyone but Meghan Markle in this Netflix TV show, people would be like, this is the fucking stupidest bullshit. But because it's Meghan Markle, people feel the need to defend it in some way. It's like, no, she's taking pretzels from a bag and putting it in another friggin plastic bag and putting a tag on it. And it's sort of reiterated my whole thing about like, she doesn't have friends because in that first episode where she's like going like, oh, Daniel's my oldest friend. And we've been like together, and he's done my makeup forever. But she didn't know he was left-handed when he started, when they started cutting the vegetables. And then he sort of made some, like, how close are you people? So everyone just sort of comes in and like, there's no sense of... And getting back to the authenticity thing, it's like, and people can rag on Martha Stewart and there's many reasons, but Martha Stewart was a rich housewife. She made her existence into her job. And Meghan isn't a rich housewife. She's rich, but she doesn't want to be a housewife. I mean, that's very obvious. So to make a show about being like a tradwife and like going out and like tending to your bees to then make candles, it's just like, who is the audience for this? I get it, some of the audience is just her people be like, whatever Meghan does, I'm going to watch cool, whatever.
Alyssa Berry: [00:24:02] But I think the majority, from what I've sort of seen, the majority of people watching were hate watching it. And I'm like, is that really what you want to be like known for being the hate? I just, I don't know, like as a woman, and this is where we when you talk about being a narcissist, I think, she is a raging narcissist and I don't, she has all the tendencies of it in terms of not having solid relationships with people. Everything's always about her. Everything's my life is so hard and all these people are mean to me and like, never taking any responsibility, those are all very narcissistic behaviors. But, and I think I said this to you on one of our in our text chats when we were going back and forth about this show, is that women have a very difficult time seeing other women and their narcissistic behavior. We are very quick to point out men's narcissistic behavior, but we are very, we have a very difficult time pinpointing or associating women being narcissists, which they totally can be. And this is my own like pseudo psychoanalysis of the whole situation is that for a lot of women, they had narcissistic mothers, and the behavior of their moms with being controlling and being self-hating and being, like, how many mothers like telling you, like, you don't need a second plate, like all that sort of very selfish, controlling behavior and making everything your daughter's fault and making your life problems on your kids or on your daughter.
Alyssa Berry: [00:25:34] Most women listening would be like, oh, yeah, it's totally my mom. Maybe not to that degree, but because we grew up with that and we see that in either our moms or women bosses that we've had. We are very, it's very difficult for us to step back and be like, wait a minute. Like, this isn't actually cool behavior. Like the other thing that's sort of related and how I sort of picked up on this interesting facets of Meghan's behavior is that she is so very, very careful about people, anyone seeing her kids, which I totally respect. No issues there. But the fact that like they hid the birth of Archie and they didn't announce it for days later. Like there's so many weird things there which just sort of like, was like, that's kind of strange, but like, even now. And that's cool. Nobody sees their kids. I totally get it. No issues there. But she also doesn't have any issue prancing other people's kids out for her own publicity, like showing up at the Uvalde shooting to like, comfort all the grieving parents in the parking lot and bringing flowers for a publicity stunt, or her and Harry going to Africa or Colombia and, like, traipsing around, like, underprivileged kids at orphanages and putting them on camera and being like, oh, aren't we great? Like, look at us here.
Alyssa Berry: [00:26:55] Yeah, no problem exploiting other people's kids. But don't, God forbid, look at my kids. Like it's things like that that I just always side-eye. And she's just always sort of stepped in it in her own way. Again, I'm still hoping for the best here because I think, like, no one wants to think the worst of people. And I'm not one who wants to think the worst of people. But it gets back to that inauthentic thing. Like she is not authentically a rich housewife who is inviting friends over to enjoy her stuff. Like it's so obviously staged and acted. It's like just create a satiric, funny comedy about being a fake tradwife or whatever. Like, I think that would be a friggin funny show. But when you're, when you're making it a reality show, what is like, what actually is the thought process here?
Dakota Kidby: [00:27:48] Oh, I have so many things to say. Okay, so first and foremost, I disagree that she doesn't have close girlfriends. I actually think she has a lot of close girlfriends. And...
Alyssa Berry: [00:28:00] Where are they then? No one is stepping up for her.
Dakota Kidby: [00:28:04] Abigail Spencer is stepping up for her. Mindy Kaling is stepping up for her.
Alyssa Berry: [00:28:08] Mindy Kaling didn't even know her last name.
Dakota Kidby: [00:28:11] So, fair enough. Fair enough. But I mean, here's the other thing all these people like, they probably don't see each other all the freaking time.
Alyssa Berry: [00:28:20] It's transactional, and that's totally cool. Celebrities like, that's kind of the lifestyle. Like they have transactional relationships. You meet people on a set and you're besties and you do all the the show promotion together and oh my God, we're so besties. And look at us...
Dakota Kidby: [00:28:34] But you're talking. She doesn't have like, an Alyssa and a Dakota.
Alyssa Berry: [00:28:37] No.
Dakota Kidby: [00:28:37] Or an Alyssa and a Karen or a Dakota and Lindsay.
Alyssa Berry: [00:28:40] Yeah, because those people would be telling her, okay, let's just maybe take five steps back here and, like, assess what's happening and let's do this. Because even like their weird charitable organization that doesn't actually give out money. Yeah.
Dakota Kidby: [00:28:57] The Archwell Foundation?
Alyssa Berry: [00:28:58] Yeah.
Dakota Kidby: [00:28:58] So that's what I thought Harry's job was, is I thought that's like he's doing that.
Alyssa Berry: [00:29:03] In what way?
Dakota Kidby: [00:29:05] And I don't know, I don't know.
Alyssa Berry: [00:29:06] But that's the thing.
Dakota Kidby: [00:29:07] I didn't go down that deep of a hole.
Alyssa Berry: [00:29:08] They're doing all these things, like they kind of throw out all these things and, but what actually is the result of... Like, I just would like, I mean, yeah, I don't... The Harry things.
Dakota Kidby: [00:29:18] This is kind of my point is like going back to the authenticity piece, whether you're somebody who already has a big public profile or not, anything you do online these days, like you better be doing it authentically because it'll get called out real quick if you're not.
Alyssa Berry: [00:29:41] Really quickly.
Dakota Kidby: [00:29:43] And social media is not only difficult to do now in the sense that there's a million steps. I'm not saying it has to be perfect or really good all of the time, but it has to be authentic. And what I mean by that is it's got to have a plan and a strategy and it's got to have some sort of a gap that it is filling to help, to actually help people with something. And if you don't, that's fine, like then it's probably just fodder. But there are channels that make fun of tradwives that are filling a gap for people because they're hilarious.
Alyssa Berry: [00:30:26] They're hilarious.
Dakota Kidby: [00:30:26] So you can be hilarious and fill a gap. But yeah, like, it is so unbelievably difficult these days to get seen, noticed, liked, followed on social. And so step number one, why are you even doing it? Like is it for to sell, to sell something? Is it to sell you as a human being, as a brand? What is it? And then how are you going to do it in a way that is authentically telling your story to fill a gap, right? And this is where Meghan missed the mark. She doesn't know her audience at all.
Alyssa Berry: [00:31:02] No.
Dakota Kidby: [00:31:03] Has no fucking clue who they are. Pardon my language.
Alyssa Berry: [00:31:06] And also doesn't want to, I think, like, I don't think she's interested in the plebs and the poors and the people who would follow her. Like she's not interested in that.
Dakota Kidby: [00:31:15] Yeah. And then the other thing, too, is she's put herself back into the line of fire after complaining for forever. And like, I watched Harry and Meghan over the weekend to do some like reconnaissance for this episode. And I got to tell you, that documentary definitely broke my heart in the sense that I just saw a woman like, a woman who fell in love. And I don't know if she lied about not knowing Harry. Alyssa and I have different perspectives on that.
Alyssa Berry: [00:31:43] She totally knew him. She had Princess Diana posters all over her bedroom.
Dakota Kidby: [00:31:47] Oh, wow. Okay.
Alyssa Berry: [00:31:49] Yeah. Like, there's some lore of Meghan that, like, people choose to, whether they want to, whatever. She wears Diana's perfume. Like, it's all just a little weird. It's a little psycho-ish. Like. And the fact in his book when he said he sleeps next, like, with a thing of his mother's hair next to the bed. Like, there's so many, like, I think a lot of this more so does Harry.
Dakota Kidby: [00:32:09] He does?
Alyssa Berry: [00:32:10] Yeah. I have issues more with Harry, I think, than her. Like the fact that, like, he should have prepped her, like, why do you think it took like William, like seven, eight years to bring Catherine into the family. There is so much to learn. You need to know that they're ready for it. You want to make sure they're protected. He didn't do any of that. First of all, I mean, they were both in their late 30s, so it's not like we're talking about a 19 year old Diana, which was a whole other kettle of fish.
Dakota Kidby: [00:32:36] Yes.
Alyssa Berry: [00:32:37] He's an idiot. Like he didn't prepare her. He didn't, like he didn't explain like that like just even though the Queen's your grandma, like, we still curtsy to the Queen, like there's so many things that like.
Dakota Kidby: [00:32:48] And that part on her new show or on the documentary, when she's like, she made fun of the curtsying process and he just looked livid.
Alyssa Berry: [00:32:57] Livid.
Dakota Kidby: [00:32:58] Like, you don't do that. Like and that I respect, I respect tradition, I respect the Queen.
Alyssa Berry: [00:33:03] Like, just know what you're doing. Like, you can think it's shit. Like, we could all think the royal family's...
Dakota Kidby: [00:33:08] Don't do it on TV.
Alyssa Berry: [00:33:09] And you're marrying into it. You made that decision. No one forced you. So the least you could do is like, pretend to like not, well, not even she could have pretended, she is an actress, but it's like, at least like...
Dakota Kidby: [00:33:23] Just respect it. Respect the tradition. You could literally say in the same breath, you know, I respect the tradition of this, but I disagree with it.
Alyssa Berry: [00:33:32] Yeah. And you could have like because even at the time, like the Queen, when she met with the Queen at the beginning, the Queen was like, we think it's great you're here. And if you want to keep acting like, please do, like no one's going to, you don't have to, like, be a full time member if you don't want to. Like, so many concessions were made and she didn't... But it's like that's on fucking Harry. Again, pardon my language, but it's like he is a total idiot. And he has been for years. Like, does anyone remember the gong show at Cowboys in the late 90s with the strippers and the pool table and his time at CFB Suffield, and I was in high school at the time, or maybe not high school maybe, yeah, whatever, was legendary. Everybody in Medicine Hat knew, like he was a massive drug addict. Charles and William covered so much of his crap. It was his, it was the Queen that basically forced him into the military to be like, look, kid, you need to do something like, you are ridiculous.
Dakota Kidby: [00:34:28] Out of control.
Alyssa Berry: [00:34:29] Out of control. And so a lot of what I think went wrong was on him more so than her, but I think she fed into it. And then because she is an actress, then making it a bigger deal and making it a thing, thinking that you're going to get sympathy, which she did. But again, it's to a family that can't defend itself. So again, whatever they've said, no one knows if any of that's true or whatever is true, because the royal family can't ever come out and be like, no, she's full of shit. Or yeah, this might have happened, but it was more like this, because they don't do that, right? So it's an interesting, like it was kind of a bit of a perfect storm how all of that happened. And how it all spun off. But I agree with you that it's like, I had high expectations or hopes of what they would do with this, with their celebrity moving forward, and it's really just been a lot of nothing.
Dakota Kidby: [00:35:30] 100%.
Alyssa Berry: [00:35:31] And it's disappointing on all levels. But to me, Harry's the bigger idiot in this whole thing. But that's another conversation.
Dakota Kidby: [00:35:38] That's another conversation for another day. Yeah. I think what irks me and what I've been struggling with lately is I don't, so I do digital and social media marketing for a living, but a lot of the time I absolutely detest what I see online, and it's actually been really good for my mental health because I've stopped scrolling and I just don't do it anymore because it's such a waste of my time. I'll try to, like, get the algorithm corrected to the point where only the things that I really want to see are showing up on my algorithm. So like people's podcasts that I listen listened to, advice that I like to get, that kind of thing, cooking, but other than that, like.
Alyssa Berry: [00:36:20] It's so toxic.
Dakota Kidby: [00:36:21] But it's still to this day, like, I still, because I'm in this space, I'll receive probably, I'll get served five ads a day about coaching and like, social media support and take my course and all that crap. And that whole world also drives me bananas, even though I do respect some people that do that, and I do access some people that do that really well. And I even have a business coach that does that for a living. That being said, the amount of bullshit that I get served on a daily basis, I can't frickin stand it. So if I can give you one big piece of advice for 2025 from the social media space, it is, as I've mentioned a number of times now, to be as authentic as possible. And what does that mean? Just be yourself. Like, be yourself. Speak your mind. Have an opinion, give a voice to issues and things that don't necessarily get airtime. Be contentious if you have to, right. Obviously if your brand is sensitive, you want to be careful about what you're spouting off. And sometimes politics can be a really tricky place, so just be a little careful with that. But if you want to make an impact, then feel free to talk about whatever you want. Just keep in mind that there will be haters and there will be trolls no matter what, no matter what.
Alyssa Berry: [00:37:41] And I think that's what my advice to a Meghan Markle would be. Like, if you look at her Instagram now, like I think it's what was it, as ever, Meghan or whatever she changed it to, again, just terrible rebranding. Like that needs a whole other discussion about just the terrible rebranding. But her whole, her whole existence on social media is so heavily filtered and curated, I think it just also leads into that inauthenticity feeling. If she would have gone back to, like before she got married, she had that blog called The Tig or whatever it was called, and she had...
Dakota Kidby: [00:38:20] I love that brand.
Alyssa Berry: [00:38:20] Right. So great, so great. She was authentic, she talked about, like, food she liked, but like, do that, but, like, just trying to be like, you're trying to be that, but in this weird filtered still like I'm a duchess sort of way. And it's like, you're like, just lean in to you authentically, like food and just talk about food and not have to have this whole pretense that you're going to cook it, like, make your own flower in the backyard or whatever. Like, no one's doing that. Stop it. So that's what I would say. And I mean, I would say that to any client that I have now. I mean, I understand that people have to sell things, whether you're a retail store or whether you're selling whatever, and that social media is a mechanism to do that. But if you watch some of the like most successful people on social media, they do just show up as themselves. Like that's why TikTok took off so much during Covid. It was just people in their living rooms making videos and doing silly dances and all those sorts of things. And so it's like...
Dakota Kidby: [00:39:25] Having fun.
Alyssa Berry: [00:39:26] Having fun. Whatever. Like do that. Like even as a business, you can do that and just show up and just talk in your living room. Like, don't make your social media existence so polished and so filtered and oh my God, every hair on your head must be like photoshopped out before you post an image to Instagram or do a reel. It's like the whole fun of social media is that it's cuckoo bananas. Like, lean into that.
Dakota Kidby: [00:39:53] People, people want scrappy.
Alyssa Berry: [00:39:56] Yeah.
Dakota Kidby: [00:39:57] And any of us business owners who are tuning in and Alyssa and myself, they know, we know that scrappiness is a massive part of starting a business or starting a brand. And when I say scrappiness, I mean there's chaos. There's shit that goes wrong. And it's the stuff that goes wrong that people value hearing about because they're dealing with it too. And they want to know that they're not alone. Nobody really, in today's day and age, wants to hear about how fucking perfect someone's life is, or how they went out and ground this einkorn flour to make these pancakes for their children and milked the cow like, yeah, there's that whole tradwife vibe going on, and sometimes I buy into it, but I think, like, actually one of my favorite brands... And people may come for me for saying this because a lot of people would say that she is very perfect and exudes this, but I really love Hannah, the ballerina farm lady. You know, like, yeah, she's a former ballerina. She does the pageant circuit. She's got, like her ten kids, she's got a hunky husband, she lives on the farm and they do cook every, like you know, they do cook their meals from scratch and whatever.
Alyssa Berry: [00:41:10] She does, he doesn't do anything. I'm just going to put that in there. She does all of that. And he wanted those ten kids. She did not. But I'll leave it at that.
Dakota Kidby: [00:41:19] Again, this is that fodder though that I just like...
Alyssa Berry: [00:41:22] But this is the whole thing is you're putting that out online. Your husband is a complete friggin moron. You're showing him being a complete friggin moron. I have every right to say that you are in this situation, well, a) because they're Mormon, but b) because your husband is rich and you can live that way because you're rich.
Dakota Kidby: [00:41:40] That being said, I, like there's been many pieces of content she's put out talking about, like, do we cook every single meal this way? Absolutely not. Do you know how long it takes me to make this pumpkin stew that I do in the pumpkin? It takes me six hours. Sourdough bread takes this long, like, and, you know, most of the time.
Alyssa Berry: [00:42:00] And I have three nannies.
Dakota Kidby: [00:42:02] Well. And if I had that many kids, I'd probably...
Alyssa Berry: [00:42:05] Right. But like, let's just talk about it. Let's not pretend she's doing that all on her own. It's a business.
Dakota Kidby: [00:42:09] And I don't think she does pretend that though. That's what I really respect, is she doesn't pretend.
Alyssa Berry: [00:42:15] But you know who I am finding really effective on social media right now are Canadian businesses who are online and talking about the tariffs and shopping local and making adjustments and being like, Chapman ice cream, for example, just made a post online this week and their Canadian ice cream company, amazing company out of Ontario, treat their employees really great, all of that. And they said they're just going to eat whatever it costs them for these tariffs over like for the rest of the year or whatever. And they're looking at other supplier alternatives. So we're looking in Europe and other places to get supplies so that we can extricate ourselves from the US and not be... So that's all very authentic, interesting people struggling, being like, hey, I'm a small business that sells leggings online, and Amazon is kicking my ass. Like I saw one small business owner, it's Aro, A R O, I think, athletics and I think she's out of Ontario too, if not BC. Anyway, she sells like athleisure wear and she went on Amazon. She started selling her items on Amazon Canada and she just pulled from Amazon. And not because Amazon's awful, because we know it is, but she's getting, because there's no oversight from Amazon of what people are returning or what people are... So she is getting people returning items that they didn't buy from her, like their like socks or whatever, but because they had a shipping label or that they had ordered from her in the past, they're returning it to her and she has to eat the cost of that return from Amazon, even though it wasn't from her, like they're not her items. And so she's like, I'm just going to get off Amazon because there's no oversight of what...
Dakota Kidby: [00:44:02] I've actually heard of that. Now that I think about it.
Alyssa Berry: [00:44:04] She's now like, okay, so now I'm back. I'm just going to be selling on my website, doing all that. So hey, if you can support, this is what we're doing, blah, blah, blah, that's authentic. Like showing what's really going on behind the scenes in running a small business right now, especially small businesses in the clothing or retail sector in Canada that are making and supplying their own clothing here in Canada. And having to justify like one guy who's really great is Connor Curran, who runs who owns Local Laundry, which is a Calgary company. And him talking about like when people bitch at him about like, well, why is your hoodie like $70. He's like, well because we pay people.
Dakota Kidby: [00:44:39] Yeah. We pay people fair wages.
Alyssa Berry: [00:44:41] We pay people, like and it's made here in Canada. It's made by seamstresses. The fabric, all of that is Canadian. So people are now getting educated about that stuff. It's like, oh, I have no problem spending $70 on a hoodie that I can wear for the next 15 years if I know that.
Dakota Kidby: [00:44:54] And that's a great way to show up authentically and be honest.
Alyssa Berry: [00:44:57] So those are the kind of things like that are resonating right now, because that's just what's happening right now online. But that's just sort of a testament of what people want to see from people online is like, everything isn't great. You don't have to pretend it is. And talk about it.
Dakota Kidby: [00:45:14] Don't pretend. I think some of my favorite videos over the last while have been, I really appreciate, as someone who has really bad seasonal depression, those like refresh videos where folks kind of get up in the morning on a Sunday and they're like, come, come for a depression, like I've come out of my depression, let's do a refresh together. And you go through the house and like, they clean everything and it like motivates you to go do that.
Alyssa Berry: [00:45:37] I like that too. I like the ones that are the, what do they call it, the the late shift or the last shift where they make sure their kitchen and everything is clean before they go to bed at night. And I'm like, oh, I love that. I think it's called the late shift.
Dakota Kidby: [00:45:49] Oh no, I haven't heard of that.
Alyssa Berry: [00:45:50] So make sure all the toys are picked up and the the kitchen is cleaned before you go to bed because you can, you wake up and it's, you're in a better mood.
Dakota Kidby: [00:45:56] And then you feel good.
Alyssa Berry: [00:45:57] I love that stuff. I'm a sucker for all that kind of stuff.
Dakota Kidby: [00:46:01] But yeah, just so yeah. Anyway, interesting stuff going down right now and yeah, so. But yeah, for our Canadian listeners, getting yourself educated around what's going on with tariffs and flipping the script on how you shop, very important right now. And we'll definitely talk about that in another episode coming up pretty soon here too. But yeah, other than that, I think we're out of time for today. So we appreciated having you guys listen in and we will see you in two weeks.
Alyssa Berry: [00:46:34] Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Ladies Who Launch.
-
Saknas det avsnitt?
-
It’s summertime, and Dakota and Alyssa need to relax and enjoy the short season. We are taking an extended break but will return with some updates in the fall.
Have a great summer, everyone!
Ladies Who Launch is a podcast for women entrepreneurs who want to run successful businesses without the “hustle.”
[email protected]
Instagram: @ladieswholaunchpodYour Hosts:
Dakota Kidby is owner of Social Centric, a digital marketing agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @socialcentriccoAlyssa Berry is owner of Alyssa Berry Communications, a boutique public relations agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @aly_b_yyc -
We told you we had more to say. In the follow-up to episodes 109 and 110, Dakota and Alyssa continue the discussion on how to set up your business and personal life to travel and live in other countries.
Whether it’s taxes, accommodations or even building a community in a new country, there are many items to check off when deciding to move abroad. The ladies delve into those topics and others as they provide insights on their travel and how they make it work while running successful businesses.
Ladies Who Launch is a podcast for women entrepreneurs who want to run successful businesses without the “hustle.”
[email protected]
Instagram: @ladieswholaunchpodYour Hosts:
Dakota Kidby is owner of Social Centric, a digital marketing agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @socialcentriccoAlyssa Berry is owner of Alyssa Berry Communications, a boutique public relations agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @aly_b_yyc -
Small businesses need to be acutely aware of their cash flow. This leads to many hiring consultants for specific project work over the more costly and labour-intensive hiring of staff.
When looking to work with a consultant it is important to set clear expectations and understand what you are paying for. As a consultant, you must provide clear deliverables, a proper breakdown of fees and expenses, and check-in points throughout the project.
The relationship between consultants and their clients is both professional and friendly. Sometimes discussions around fees and expectations can be difficult. Alyssa and Dakota provide insights on how they outline these items to be successful both for the client and the consultant.
Ladies Who Launch is a podcast for women entrepreneurs who want to run successful businesses without the “hustle.”
[email protected]
Instagram: @ladieswholaunchpodYour Hosts:
Dakota Kidby is owner of Social Centric, a digital marketing agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @socialcentriccoAlyssa Berry is owner of Alyssa Berry Communications, a boutique public relations agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @aly_b_yyc -
We all have dreams and plans but are you working towards them or just trying to get through the day? Dakota is back from Portugal and has made some large life decisions, as happens sometimes on vacation.
Is what you’re doing right now what you want to be doing in five or ten years? What about where you’re living? Is it a means to an end or your end game?
Join Dakota and Alyssa as they discuss their plans for their lives over the next years and the actionable items they will take to get there, with some great stories from Portugal added for flavour.
Ladies Who Launch is a podcast for women entrepreneurs who want to run successful businesses without the “hustle.”
[email protected]
Instagram: @ladieswholaunchpodYour Hosts:
Dakota Kidby is owner of Social Centric, a digital marketing agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @socialcentriccoAlyssa Berry is owner of Alyssa Berry Communications, a boutique public relations agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @aly_b_yyc -
Feminine vs. masculine. The ultimate push and pull. Women can struggle to decide when to lean into either form; especially in the business world.
As per Pause Mediation ”Masculine energy is characterised by DOING and achieving and is molded by logic and reason. The feminine is more intuitive, oriented towards receiving and allowing, and characterised by BEING. When these energies are balanced, we experience a greater sense of harmony and fulfilment.”
All humans have both sides of these energies, but understanding when and how to lean into each can make your personal and business relationships healthier.
Ladies Who Launch is a podcast for women entrepreneurs who want to run successful businesses without the “hustle.”
[email protected]
Instagram: @ladieswholaunchpodYour Hosts:
Dakota Kidby is owner of Social Centric, a digital marketing agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @socialcentriccoAlyssa Berry is owner of Alyssa Berry Communications, a boutique public relations agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @aly_b_yyc -
It was The Tortured Poets Department release day so Alyssa and Dakota got sidetracked into the Taylor Swift rabbit hole. No one can argue she is a marketing genius so two marketers discussing her excellence in that area is no surprise.
What is interesting is that Taylor has notoriously had a rough go on the relationship front, as seen in her lyrics but she may have found her “end game” which has eluded both Alyssa and Dakota to date.
As is their style, Alyssa and Dakota dig into the relationship wringer and wonder why it’s so difficult to find a man who can step up to meet them instead of always feeling they need to step down.
Ladies Who Launch is a podcast for women entrepreneurs who want to run successful businesses without the “hustle.”
[email protected]
Instagram: @ladieswholaunchpodYour Hosts:
Dakota Kidby is owner of Social Centric, a digital marketing agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @socialcentriccoAlyssa Berry is owner of Alyssa Berry Communications, a boutique public relations agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @aly_b_yyc -
We all have been in those situations of having to pull off a major event, campaign or project. Going over and above is a normal part of business life, but when it becomes a regular occurrence, it is exhausting and inefficient.
Ensuring client success should not come at the expense of your physical and mental health. Alyssa and Dakota discuss examples of playing the hero with their clients and provide insights on how they are making adjustments to their businesses to reflect their offerings and get out of the day-to-day operational activities of their clients and why you should too.
Ladies Who Launch is a podcast for women entrepreneurs who want to run successful businesses without the “hustle.”
[email protected]
Instagram: @ladieswholaunchpodYour Hosts:
Dakota Kidby is owner of Social Centric, a digital marketing agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @socialcentriccoAlyssa Berry is owner of Alyssa Berry Communications, a boutique public relations agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @aly_b_yyc -
With the recent news of Jay Shetty’s background being fabricated, it’s clear we don’t do enough vetting of wellness and self-help creators. Well, actually we don’t do well with vetting any influencers.
We know influencer marketing is a billion-dollar industry but what do we really know about who is selling us products? Or courses? Or supplements?
This week Alyssa and Dakota delve into the Jay Shetty mess, along with discussing how consumers can do better with determining who is behind many of these large influencer accounts while learning how to push through the layers of misinformation and even how to be a better influencer yourself.
Ladies Who Launch is a podcast for women entrepreneurs who want to run successful businesses without the “hustle.”
[email protected]
Instagram: @ladieswholaunchpodYour Hosts:
Dakota Kidby is owner of Social Centric, a digital marketing agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @socialcentriccoAlyssa Berry is owner of Alyssa Berry Communications, a boutique public relations agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @aly_b_yyc -
Every person has values and views on the world and society. You don’t need to hide those values when running a business, you can lean into those values to attract clients and customers to benefit your business.
Join Alyssa and Dakota as they talk about analysing when it’s time to walk away from some clients and how to pitch for work that best reflects your business values.
Here are some tips for pitching your business:
Creating a specific, relevant and memorable value proposition. Researching your “perfect” client through their website, articles and industry contacts. Creating a visually appealing capabilities package that highlights your expertise, case studies and testimonials. Following up shows professionalism and commitment to the opportunity.Ladies Who Launch is a podcast for women entrepreneurs who want to run successful businesses without the “hustle.”
[email protected]
Instagram: @ladieswholaunchpodYour Hosts:
Dakota Kidby is owner of Social Centric, a digital marketing agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @socialcentriccoAlyssa Berry is owner of Alyssa Berry Communications, a boutique public relations agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @aly_b_yyc -
The one where we talk about our periods 😂
But seriously, why not make your cycle work for you, rather than against you?
In this episode of the cast, Alyssa and Dakota dive deep into the recesses of the female reproductive system and we talk about using your flow for powers of good rather than (enter expletive to describe your monthly friend).
This cast is also loving topped off with a personal diva cup horror story by Dakota. Let’s flow into 2024 better ladies!
Ladies Who Launch is a podcast for women entrepreneurs who want to run successful businesses without the “hustle.”
[email protected]
Instagram: @ladieswholaunchpodYour Hosts:
Dakota Kidby is owner of Social Centric, a digital marketing agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @socialcentriccoAlyssa Berry is owner of Alyssa Berry Communications, a boutique public relations agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @aly_b_yyc -
With the recent news of mass layoffs and radio station sell-offs at Bell Media, it is clear the traditional media landscape is cratering at a rapid pace. Without being able to pitch to media for interviews or campaign coverage, how do businesses attain that ever-elusive earned media?
Dakota and Alyssa provide their insights into the current state of media, along with their tips on how businesses can own their content so that no matter what happens to media outlets they still can connect with their audiences.
The website mentioned where to connect with journalists: https://substack.com
Ladies Who Launch is a podcast for women entrepreneurs who want to run successful businesses without the “hustle.”
[email protected]
Instagram: @ladieswholaunchpodYour Hosts:
Dakota Kidby is owner of Social Centric, a digital marketing agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @socialcentriccoAlyssa Berry is owner of Alyssa Berry Communications, a boutique public relations agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @aly_b_yyc -
Four years, 100 episodes, thousands of hours of conversations. Dakota and Alyssa look back at the evolution of Ladies Who Launch since its inception in 2020 and provide their insights on favourite episodes and guests.
It’s been both exhilarating and exhausting to navigate the world of podcasts. Who knew there were so many ways to record and host episodes? Prepping and scheduling guests is almost a full-time job. Why would anyone keep doing it? Well…passion.
Dakota and Alyssa started Ladies Who Launch in April 2020 as an outlet to survive the first months of COVID-19. Neither of them anticipated they would still be here four years later. The debates, conversations and emotional releases that LWL has provided are cathartic.
Thank you to everyone who has listened to episodes while walking the dog, making dinner, or even wearing AirPods at your work cubicle. Your continued support makes Ladies Who Launch more than Dakota and Alyssa could ever have imagined.
Ladies Who Launch is a podcast for women entrepreneurs who want to run successful businesses without the “hustle.”
[email protected]
Instagram: @ladieswholaunchpodYour Hosts:
Dakota Kidby is owner of Social Centric, a digital marketing agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @socialcentriccoAlyssa Berry is owner of Alyssa Berry Communications, a boutique public relations agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @aly_b_yyc -
Who are the ladies behind Ladies Who Launch?
Ladies Who Launch started in 2020 as a COVID project and now 100 episodes and 10,000 downloads later, we wanted to re-introduce ourselves to the thousands of new listeners we have acquired over the last four years.
Join Alyssa and Dakota as they talk about their businesses and who they are when they aren’t on the mics. And don’t forget the Ladies Who Launch mascot, Bailey, who always steals the show.
Ladies Who Launch is a podcast for women entrepreneurs who want to run successful businesses without the “hustle.”
[email protected]
Instagram: @ladieswholaunchpodYour Hosts:
Dakota Kidby is owner of Social Centric, a digital marketing agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @socialcentriccoAlyssa Berry is owner of Alyssa Berry Communications, a boutique public relations agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @aly_b_yyc -
Welcome back to the Ladies Who Launch podcast, where your favourite co-hosts, Alyssa and Dakota, are ready to kick off 2024 with a bang! In today's episode, we're not just reintroducing ourselves, but we're also diving deep into why traditional goal setting is taking a backseat and how nurturing your innate strengths can lead to unprecedented success. Plus, we're spilling the beans on the exciting plans Ladies Who Launch has in store for you this year. So, grab your favourite beverage, settle in, and let's launch into this insightful journey together!
1. Reintroduction to Your Co-Hosts
Meet the ladies who launch and how we got here!2. Breaking the Mold: Why Goals Are Out
The pitfalls of traditional goal settingPersonal anecdotes from Alyssa and Dakota about goal-setting challengesShifting the focus from goals to growth3. Embracing Strengths: The New Success Mantra
Why nourishing what you're already good at is keyExpert insights on leveraging personal strengths for successReal-life success stories from our community4. Ladies Who Launch: Our Vision for 2024
Exciting new initiatives and projectsUpcoming events and workshops you won't want to miss!How we're evolving to serve our community betterLadies Who Launch is a podcast for women entrepreneurs who want to run successful businesses without the “hustle.”
[email protected]
Instagram: @ladieswholaunchpodYour Hosts:
Dakota Kidby is owner of Social Centric, a digital marketing agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @socialcentriccoAlyssa Berry is owner of Alyssa Berry Communications, a boutique public relations agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @aly_b_yyc -
Alyssa and DK recount our slightly stressful 2023 and talk the year ahead!
Ladies Who Launch is a podcast for women entrepreneurs who want to run successful businesses without the “hustle.”
[email protected]
Instagram: @ladieswholaunchpodYour Hosts:
Dakota Kidby is owner of Social Centric, a digital marketing agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @socialcentriccoAlyssa Berry is owner of Alyssa Berry Communications, a boutique public relations agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @aly_b_yyc -
The holidays can be stressful, financially draining and exhausting.
Capitalism and irresponsible consumerism pop off this time of year, especially on social media. Our social media feeds are bombarded with advertisements and influencers peddling all kinds of products we don’t need.
Join Alyssa and Dakota as they provide tips and tricks on how to be a smart consumer this holiday season by quieting the noise and spending responsibly. They also provide some of their best gift ideas for last-minute shoppers.
Businesses mentioned:
Salt Spring Soapworks: SaltSpringSoapworks.comAvenue 34 Boutiques: AvenueThirtyFour.caBirch Hill Studio: BirchHillStudio.comLadies Who Launch is a podcast for women entrepreneurs who want to run successful businesses without the “hustle.”
[email protected]
Instagram: @ladieswholaunchpodYour Hosts:
Dakota Kidby is owner of Social Centric, a digital marketing agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @socialcentriccoAlyssa Berry is owner of Alyssa Berry Communications, a boutique public relations agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @aly_b_yyc -
We all struggle with negative self-talk throughout our lives and careers. How you deal with that talk can be your greatest success.
In this episode, Dakota and Alyssa discuss their struggles in 2023, how they are overcoming the toxic relationship with their thoughts and sharing their biggest “failures.”
Ladies Who Launch is a podcast for women entrepreneurs who want to run successful businesses without the “hustle.”
[email protected]
Instagram: @ladieswholaunchpodYour Hosts:
Dakota Kidby is owner of Social Centric, a digital marketing agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @socialcentriccoAlyssa Berry is owner of Alyssa Berry Communications, a boutique public relations agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @aly_b_yyc -
Aly B and DK are BURNT OUT! We're taking a two week break and we'll be back on Dec 6th.
Ladies Who Launch is a podcast for women entrepreneurs who want to run successful businesses without the “hustle.”
[email protected]
Instagram: @ladieswholaunchpodYour Hosts:
Dakota Kidby is owner of Social Centric, a digital marketing agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @socialcentriccoAlyssa Berry is owner of Alyssa Berry Communications, a boutique public relations agency based in Calgary, Alberta.
Instagram: @aly_b_yyc - Visa fler
