Episode 128 – How this Designer Hit Her First $10k Month with Katie Harms

February 26, 2020

Today on the podcast we are joined by brand strategist and web designer Katie Harms of Queeniekathleeni Designs who is sharing all the juicy details on how she hit her first $10K month as a designer, the fears she faces, the mindset change she endured, and how creating a strong brand strategy process + client experience is the game changer in your own business. | b is for bonnie design #brandstrategypodcast #brandstrategy #clientexperience #personalgrowth #creativeentrepreneur

Are you a designer wondering what the secret is to another designer’s success? How do they offer so much value for their clients and how can you do the same? How is she hitting a $10k month when you’re doing everything you can to keep your head above water? What is the secret?

Today on the podcast we are joined by brand strategist and web designer Katie Harms of Queeniekathleeni Designs who is sharing all the juicy details on how she hit her first $10K month as a designer. We’re diving into the fears she faces, the mindset change she endured, and how creating a strong brand strategy process and client experience you can replicate time and time again is the game changer in your own business.

I’m so excited to dive into this conversation because Katie is not only a hugely talented designer and strategist who takes what I consider to be a very elevated and artistic approach to design, but she’s also a part of team b is for bonnie design as my associate designer! It’s been amazing to watch her business grow over the few years and it’s been incredible to get to celebrate with her as she made her first $10k month a reality.

And today in this conversation we’re going to peel back the curtain on how she made that happen so that you can make it happen in your own design business, too.

THE #1 STRUGGLE AS AN ENTREPRENEUR

Katie shared the entrepreneurial life is not the original path she set off on back in college and that she fell into it kind of backwards, which I know many of us can relate to!

In Katie’s first year of entrepreneurship her biggest fear was failing. Like most of us do, she took on a ton of volume and said no to very little. She shared that she sacrificed a lot in order to take on that volume and didn’t value her work the way she should have. 

“I can look back on last year now that I’ve gone through it and I realize it just really wasn’t a healthy way for me to be running my business.”

So often as entrepreneurs, especially designers and branding professionals, we get into this mindset that in order to earn more we need to do more. And with Katie’s story you can see that is simply not the case. She did the hustle and it wasn’t healthy.

It’s not sustainable to do business in a way where your ability to scale your income or your ability to earn more has to always be tied to taking on more work because that teaches us that our time equals money.

That mindset is a slippery slope to be on because I ultimately believe that time is our most valuable resource and if we’re always willing to trade time for more dollars that comes at a really high cost. 

So how do you break out of this mindset?

Tune into more of Katie’s story and how she broke through the “trading time for dollars” mentality.

The Brand Strategy Process That Changed It All

“One of the most valuable things I got from the Brand Strategy School that I was not expecting was this emotional shift around my work,” Katie said. “The Brand Strategy School has not only helped me raise my rates, but also have that value reflected in my prices as well and talk to the clients that I really want to work with and say no to everything else.”

In this episode you’ll hear Katie share a conversation she’s had with her husband recently about how this mindset shift has not been easy and actually is quite uncomfortable because it’s such a different way of doing business then she is used to.

This growth Katie experienced is the exact reason I created the Brand Strategy School in the first place.

The heart behind creating the Brand Strategy School was to create a method where I could share the brand strategy process that I’d experienced so much growth from and that truly had been the turning point for my business all those years ago. I wanted to create something in a way where other designers and strategists could take my entire approach and instantly implement it within their businesses.

This course wasn’t created for just another stream of revenue. It wasn’t so I could add “educator” to my title. It was because I saw firsthand the impact this brand strategy process had on my life and the good things that this brought into my business. And I wanted others to have the opportunity to experience that, too. 

“The Brand Strategy School has been such a game changer for me and my business in helping me hit a huge financial goal I had set last year,” Katie shared.

So how did Katie go from too much volume to less clients and $10K months?

THE POWER OF A STRONG CLIENT EXPERIENCE

After walking through the Brand Strategy School, Katie raised her rates by $1000 because she felt the new process provided so much more value for clients. She now had a streamlined process that was taking her clients through an experience she had always wanted to provide.

“I felt like everything I had setup through BSS was really reflecting the experience I wanted to give my clients,” Katie said. “And client experience makes a huge difference.”

Think in the real world, with positive client experiences you’re willing to invest more and Katie shared how she was completely missing her client experience. After walking through the BSS she has a very step-by-step process of what comes next, how to communicate that with her clients and how to keep the projects moving on time. When you add that value for your clients, you’re able to charge more for your services. 

Tune into our conversation about client experience and how becoming more open about what you charge with other designers can help you become more confident in your pricing structure and the value you offer. 

“Really beautiful things can happen when you are a healthy creative and a healthy entrepreneur so that you can bring your all to the work that you do.” – Katie Harms

CATCH THE SHOW NOTE BREAKDOWN:

2:30 – Who is Katie Harms and her brand strategy process?

8:00 – Trading time for dollars and the #1 mindset shift to make in your business

13:45 – The brand strategy process that changed it all for Katie

15:45 – The heart behind the Brand Strategy School

19:30 – How to streamline your client experience process and get your time back

20:45 – How this designer hit her first $10k month

26:30 – The power of personal growth as a business owner 

29:00 – What hitting a $10k month meant to Katie and her life

32:00 – The ability to say no to the wrong opportunities

If you’ve been listening to this conversation and you’re ready to learn more about how the method I teach inside the Brand Strategy School can help you sustainably scale your income as a designer, strategist, or brand new professional, without adding more to your plate—then I have a completely free training for you where I peel back the layers and dive deep into how you can make this happen.

It’s like a fun free Netflix style masterclass on how to actually triple your income as a branding professional without taking on more clients. And I would love to see you there. I have a spot saved just for YOU.

Take Me to the Free Masterclass!


RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Katie Harms of Queeniekathleeni Designs

Katie’s Instagram: @queenikathleeni

The Brand Strategy School

How to triple your income without taking on more branding clients

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Today on the podcast we are joined by brand strategist and web designer Katie Harms of Queeniekathleeni Designs who is sharing all the juicy details on how she hit her first $10K month as a designer, the fears she faces, the mindset change she endured, and how creating a strong brand strategy process + client experience is the game changer in your own business. | b is for bonnie design #brandstrategypodcast #brandstrategy #clientexperience #personalgrowth #creativeentrepreneur

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My name is Bonnie – I’m a brand designer, strategist, and writer which all adds up to one eclectic conglomeration of qualities that enables me to serve you well! Past clients have dubbed me "the Joanna Gaines of brand design," and I've had more than a few call me a dream maker, a game changer, and a design wizard (my Harry Potter-loving heart didn't hate that one, let me tell you!). At the end of the day, I'm a big-hearted creative who will get teary-eyed as you share the heart behind your business; who will lose sleep over the perfect font pairings and color selections to bring your brand to life visually; and who will work tirelessly to empower, encourage, and equip you to share your work with the world intentionally. 

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