My Dubsado Is Set Up But I Still Feel Lost… Now What?

Danielle came to me with a Dubsado account that was already partially set up. Someone else had built it for her and had done a genuinely great job. Her proposals were gorgeous. Her onboarding workflow was functional. There was nothing technically wrong with what had been delivered. But Danielle couldn’t help but feel like her Dubsado is set up but…

But every time Danielle needed to make a change, she froze. She didn’t know how anything was connected, couldn’t customize a proposal on her own, and couldn’t tweak a timeline without reaching out for help. Because someone else had built the whole thing, and she was essentially a guest inside her own system.

So even though part of her Dubsado was already set up, she joined Systems in Session anyway.

In this case study, Danielle walks through exactly what changed: what her booking process looked like before (spoiler: a lot of manual steps), how she’s using Dubsado now, and what she’d tell anyone who’s on the fence between hiring someone to build their system versus learning to do it themselves.

You came to me after already having part of your systems set up by someone else. What were you feeling when you reached out to hire someone to set up your inquiry and booking processes? why hire someone instead of trying to do it yourself?

 I was interested in Dubsado for a really long time, but the thing that kept me from fully switching over is how overwhelming it was. I had no idea how to build a workflow. Honestly, I was completely intimidated by it.

I was using another CRM for a long time that was photography specific, but I am a photographer and doula, so I needed a more robust system that could be more customizable. And Dubsado was it, but I needed help.

So I did hire another system specialist, and she set up my initial onboarding workflow (from lead capture to booked). She did a phenomenal job. My proposals look gorgeous. But what I was finding is because somebody else did it for me, I did not know how to go in and customize it and make changes. She did provide me with video walkthroughs of everything and was very thorough, but because I wasn’t the one who went in and built each of those actions in the workflow, I still felt really lost within my own system.

What led you to join Systems in Session?

I needed to build out the rest of my workflows. That first hire was just through booking, and I need a whole customer journey. I didn’t want to feel stuck and lost within my own system. Instead, I needed to be able to make changes as things came up. I have a lot of different services, I have a lot of people needing custom proposals, for example, that I need to be able to do on my own without reaching out for support every time.

What kinds of changes have you made to the systems you built post-Systems in Session?

Just little things within the workflows and mostly like timing within them, or the order of some things. I have a really long client journey because I’m a doula. Sometimes people hire me at six weeks pregnant and then their client journey goes all the way through six weeks postpartum, so that’s almost a year.

Because of that, I have a lot of steps in the workflows and I’m able to just go in and tweak timelines as needed. The other thing is if it’s a third-time client and I’ve attended two of her births already, I’m able to go in and easily, without a second thought, change her questionnaire to make sure she’s not answering any redundant questions.

You were also moving into doula education as a new offer. Have you finished setting up that customer journey?

Almost. The onboarding piece is completely fully functional for all of the mentor options I have. I do birth photography and doula coaching calls so they can go on my website, book a call, pay the invoice, and it shows up on my calendar.

Then, Dubsado sends them a questionnaire doing a deeper dive into how they want to spend their 90 minutes with me, and it’s so seamless.

The other bigger piece I’m really excited about is the hands-on doula mentorship experience. That’s a longer client journey. She hired me back in January and we’ll be attending her student birth together next month. I do need to go in and build another workflow for finishing up that journey and the post-support stuff, like feedback questionnaires, but it’s been going really well.

That piece isn’t built out because I’m procrastinating but my attitude towards the system has totally changed. The thoughts going through my head now are, oh, I’ll just do that while I’m watching a movie one night, because it’s going to be easy and only take a few minutes. That is literally how I’m thinking about it now, versus before when it was: it’s not happening because I don’t know how and I can’t do it by myself. Huge change.

What were you using before Dubsado?

I was using Pixieset. I still use Pixieset for gallery hosting because I think they do a really beautiful job of that.

They have some limited tools they call studio manager tools, so they can send contracts, they can send invoices, and galleries. But what that was looking like is: I was manually going in, sending one email with their contract, sending one email with their invoice. They do have automatic payment reminders on invoices, so that was nice, but that’s about the extent of what Pixieset offers.

Not having automations was getting really difficult for me to stay on top of my client journey. Like I said, it’s really long, so making sure none of those little tasks and actions slip through the cracks was a real challenge.

Can you walk us through what your booking process actually looked like inside Pixieset?

Sure. So for example, for birth support, I always require a virtual consultation before someone can book. When somebody reached out, I would manually write an email back to them inviting them for a consultation. Then we’d go back and forth a couple of times trying to find a time.

Then I would manually go over to Zoom or Google Meet, make a meeting, copy the link, and email that to them. After that, we’d have our consultation, and if I didn’t hear from them, it’d be manual check-ins.

Then, if they wanted to book, it would be a manual contract, a manual invoice. I was spending a significant amount of time just getting somebody to book. And that’s not even starting their official booked client journey.

Want to hear how another wedding photographer made a similar transition from Pixieset to Dubsado? Read Jordan’s case study here.

What does that process look like now in Dubsado?

To get somebody to the point where they can get on my calendar for a consultation, I’m checking a box, I’m hitting the checkmark next to the to-do task, and that’s it. Usually I’ll go in and edit that email to respond to something specific they may have included, just to make it obvious that I’m a real person who has read their inquiry but that’s a 15-second thing. Dubsado has been a game changer.

Besides the confidence to tweak your own systems, what did completing your customer journey and maximizing those automations in Dubsado actually give you?

I have so much more time.

I run this business, but when I’m not doing that, I am home with my kids, and I feel like it’s given me the freedom to be more present with them.

I’m not spending those literal hours a week doing what I just described (going back and forth trying to get people booked). At any point through the customer journey, it’s given me back time.

I find myself way less stressed out because I know that those things are being taken care of even when I’m not in front of my screen. I’m able to be a more present mother (as corny and sentimental as it sounds, it is true).

This work that I love does have to fit into the margins of motherhood right now, and I can’t believe I did it so long without a system supporting me in that. There are a lot of things that can fall through the cracks, and I’m sure did fall through the cracks, quite honestly.

So how long is it actually taking you now from the time someone inquires, does their discovery call, and then books? How much time are you spending on that process?

Not including the 30 minutes I’m actually sitting down chatting with them, the backend admin work is maybe 10 minutes.

I go in and make sure their proposal is somewhat customized, make sure their invoice and payment plans are set up how they want, make sure the language in the proposal and the proposal email are in alignment (and they usually are). Sometimes I make some very minor tweaks, and then I hit send.

And for the rest of the journey, let’s say someone booked your doula plus birth photography combo, how much total admin time are you spending from when they book until you deliver their final gallery?

Oh my gosh, I wish I had a way to accurately give you a time. It is hardly anything.

The booking process is probably the most high-touch as far as admin work goes. But most of the time I can go into the app when my kids are playing happily at the park and just hit approve on something.

Maybe 15 or 20 minutes through the whole client journey. Before, I was manually sending questionnaires, and then when they would naturally forget, because they have busy lives, I would send a manual reminder, sometimes two manual reminders. Dubsado is taking care of all of that for me now.

All the payment reminders, the questionnaire reminders… it’s legit.

How Are You Using the Dubsado App?

I love the app. Approving to-do tasks, checking off to-do tasks, approving emails, counter-signing contracts — I can do that so quickly as those emails come through. I can do that when my kids are eating lunch, really quickly, without much interruption to my day.

There are a few things missing from the app, like I tried to give somebody a partial refund a couple days ago and I don’t think I could do that on the app, but for the small things, having that access on my phone has been awesome.

Pixieset did not have that at all. I always had to sneak away and sit down at my computer. So being able to handle things quickly and easily on my phone has been a big change.

What’s your favorite part of everything you built?

The whole thing’s my favorite, so this is a hard question.

But the moment where I was like, oh my gosh, this is working and this is life-changing, I don’t even think Systems in Session was done yet, was when I had an email come through alerting me that my client had booked their 36-week birth photography prep meeting.

I like to have that meeting to just have some face time with them before they deliver, and the notification came through that it was just done. They were on my calendar. All I had to do was show up. And honestly, to this day, when I still see those come through, I feel surprised and giddy because I didn’t have to do anything. I didn’t have to remember to schedule it or send them any links… all I had to do was show up and hit join.

So to answer your initial question, my favorite part is that Dubsado is doing the stuff that I literally forgot I needed to do. A lot of times I’ll get a notification and think, oh snap, I’m so glad this is done because I forgot I had to do that, and then I realize I don’t actually have to do it anymore. It’s taking a lot of the remembering off of my plate, and that’s the best.

If someone is on the fence between hiring someone to build their systems versus doing it themselves with guidance like Systems in Session, what would you tell them to consider?

I am the perfect person to answer that question because I was on the fence about doing both of those things. It was actually the exact same investment at the time (joining Systems in Session or outsourcing the rest of the build).

I was talking to my husband about it and I was like, I don’t know what to do… it almost seems kind of silly to spend the same amount of money and then still have to do all the work myself.

But the reason I ended up going with Systems in Session is because now I feel like in the future I’m not going to have to invest any more money into learning Dubsado.

It was a one-time investment, and now I have the skills to go in and make changes as I need to make them. Whereas if I had completely outsourced the build, I would be in the same boat I was in before, not knowing how to make any changes, and then ending up spending more money in the long run.

What’s next for your systems and your business? Are you happy with where things are, or are you still looking to improve?

There are some small things I need to go in and do. When we were in Systems in Session together, we did the full doula and birth photography journey, but we didn’t go much into my portrait work side. I also do maternity and newborn, and occasionally family sessions.

There are some small things I need to go in and add to those client journeys as far as workflows go, mostly on the after-the-session side: getting feedback questionnaires, that kind of thing.

I haven’t had a chance to sit down and build those out, and again, it’s not because I don’t know how. It’s because I’m procrastinating and thinking, oh, I’ll just do that, it’ll be really easy and fast. So honestly, I should probably just do it.

For anyone listening who’s on the fence about their own systems, what’s the one thing you’d want them to take away from your experience?

Systems in Session was a one-time investment, and now I have the skills to go in and make changes whenever I need to. I’m not spending hours getting people booked. I’m not manually sending contracts and invoices and reminders. Dubsado is doing the things I literally forgot I needed to do. And more than anything, it’s given me back time to be present with my kids. If you’re doing any of those manual steps I described, just know there’s a better way, and you absolutely can learn it yourself.

Join The Next Round of Systems in Session

Danielle came to me with a system that technically worked. The proposals were gorgeous. The workflow was functional. And she still felt completely lost every time she needed to change something.

That’s the part nobody talks about when they recommend outsourcing your Dubsado setup. Done-for-you sounds like the finish line. But if you can’t go in and adjust a timeline, swap out a questionnaire, or customize a proposal without emailing someone for help… you don’t actually own your system. You’re just renting it.

Systems in Session exists for exactly this reason. Too many people came to me saying “My Dubsado is set up but…”

Systems in Session is not someone building it for you and handing it over with a video walkthrough you’ll watch once and never open again. It’s us building your system together, from start to finish, so you understand every single piece of it (and can go in and change anything you need to, on your own, at 10pm on a Tuesday if that’s when you think of it).

Danielle runs a client journey that spans almost a year. She manages birth photography, doula support, coaching calls, and a hands-on mentorship experience, all inside Dubsado (and all largely on autopilot). And when she needs to tweak something, she just does it.

If that’s what you want for your business, Systems in Session is open.