Episode 317 | Rosalia Rivera of About Consent Podcast.
Today Dannie and Caitlyn are talking with Rosalia Rivera of About Consent Podcast.
We believe in accessible content and that anyone who wants to learn from this content should be able to. In order to support this, we’ve had every episode of Season 4 transcribed. The transcriptions are available at the bottom of every episode blog post.
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Episode Transcript
Caitlyn Allen: [00:00:21] Hey guys, welcome back to the side hustle gal podcast. I am so excited today because we have Carey of cor marketing. Um, Carey and I met a couple of years ago, um, when Rosemary Watson, um, connected us. We went to a like retreat together type thing. Um, and it was just, it was so much fun to connect with entrepreneurs and that's something that a lot of us probably don't do, especially for side hustling. There is a lot of work that's going into it. So I'm taking the time to go out and meet people, uh, can bring you business because now Carey and I work together. So Carey, tell us a little bit about, you.
Carey Osenbau: [00:01:06] Um, my name is Carey Osenbau I have kind of been in this, um, what you would call like web and marketing space, probably almost 15 years now.
I started back in early two thousands before this whole. Online VA space really was a big thing. It was just starting to pick up steam. I worked in the legal field and realized very quickly with two small children that that wasn't going to be an option for me anymore unless I wanted to pay massive amounts of money to.
For daycare costs and what's the point of working at that point? So, um, I quickly, I had to find another solution and I stumbled upon this world of, um, designing websites, designing e-commerce. So I quickly dove in, made some connections, and. Started, um, providing those services, um, learning all that I could about design and development.
I'm pretty much self, self taught myself from the very beginning. Um, since then I worked for multiple companies, um, worked for startups, Mmm. Wellness practitioners. And so learning the ins and outs of all their different types of businesses, but all while still continuing to provide, Mmm. You know, services to other clients on the side.
So I was still, while I had like full time jobs throughout my, um, for the last 15 years, I always continue to work on the side building websites, um, making connections, um, and essentially continuing to run that type of business. Ref mainly off of just referrals. So, you know, I would do something for somebody and then they're like, Hey, you know, Carrie's really good at what she does.
If you need a website, go give her a call. So. For the longest time, I've essentially grown my side business based purely off of referrals. Um, I did go back to school and get my biz finished up, my business degree. So I was able to kind of connect all the pieces as far as being able to help small businesses and medium sized businesses, tie everything together through marketing, through business structure, and then also design and development and marketing their businesses online.
Mmm. So I think seven years ago, after working full time for a wellness practitioner, I, um, was pregnant with my now seven year old and I decided to jump back into taking my side hustle full time. And so, um, continued to grow. Over the last two years, I've gotten so busy that I decided, um, that it was time to build a team.
And so, I mean, last year we did our first, um, six figure year, and it's been a, an amazing kind of journey and all the, uh, the Austin businesses that we get to work with.
Caitlyn Allen: [00:04:08] So it really sounds like a lot of connections have brought you the business that you've had. How do you. Like, how do you build those connections, um, outside of like, of course somebody is a, a client and then they're referring, but how have you really built those connections? And then the followup question to that is, are the. Times that you connect with people who are referrals. Is that ever awkward? Um like, Oh, well this person knew you, so you must be good type of thing, versus they're finding you organically and they think that you're good, if that makes sense?
Carey Osenbau: [00:04:49] Okay. Um, so as far as being able to connect with people, that's always been a big struggle for me.
Um. I don't know. I don't consider myself an introvert. Once I get to know somebody, I kind of like open up and like blossom. And then, you know, I'm a chatterbox, but it's, I've always been kind of shy in nature. So that's always been one area that I've struggled in. So I've been, I kind of look for opportunities and honestly, um, with the online Instagram community has really, um, made it easier to connect with people.
That are doing the same types of work that you're doing and being a, you know, a work from home entrepreneur, it's really hard to get out unless there's somebody that's put something together. I'm some kind of community to where that you can get out and meet other type of like minded business owners.
So having the Instagram community has been amazing. Um, and the opportunities that have actually come from that. And being able to promote other people because you're meeting all different types of people that do different things. So if you're niched and specialized in one specific thing, you may have, um.
Somebody that you've connected with that maybe does similar type of work, but if they say, specialize in Squarespace and they come across a client that needs Shopify help, then they're, because you've made that connection and you've built that trust factor with them, they're more willing to give you that referral because you have built that.
Um. That relationship with them. Um, and then one thing that has really helped too with the referral base business is is essentially how you treat your customers. And, you know, I tried to always provide the best experience, um, go above and beyond. Um. What my offering is, and really tried to educate and, and give the best product that I can.
And that has really helped too. Um, it's, the service that you provide is also self-promotion because if, if your client has a great experience, obviously they're going to refer you to other people because once you build that trust with a client, there. More willing to give you, like they're trusted people that they have relationships with. So, um, and then the second part of your question was, can you, um,
Caitlyn Allen: [00:07:21] yeah. So do you ever find it awkward when you have a. Referral come through, um, where they just, instead of knowing your work and knowing what you offer, they just kind of come in and are like, well, you've worked with this person, so I'm sure that you can do this. Like, is it ever awkward trying to explain your products to somebody who already thinks that you can give them what they need?
Carey Osenbau: [00:07:48] Um, I think I've been in this business so long that maybe in the beginning it was, I mean, I've had some, um. Maybe drawbacks to that. But as I've continued to grow and I'm actually like one of the things that has helped with that as, as far as like niching, but I do understand what you're saying.
Cause sometimes if you niche so far down, people are like, well, do you do this? And being like. With my company, we are kind of like a one stop shop. We do a lot of different things. So, um, it is surprising to clients sometimes all of the different types of services that we offer because we don't always communicate that in our marketing and advertising.
Um, and then also, um, as far as people that maybe just organically have found me, um, it's usually based. Same. It's based on what we have advertised our services to be, but then once you get to know the the customer, then it's easier to kind of just tell them like all the additional stuff
Caitlyn Allen: [00:08:50] So some things that he liked to go above and beyond for a client. But let's talk about going above and beyond for a client because there can be going above and beyond and shooting yourself in the foot. So how have you dealt with that? Um, are you dealing with that? Has that been a struggle?
Carey Osenbau: [00:09:08] Well over, probably I say the last, um, this last phase of my business going, working for myself full time.
I have dealt with lots of issues as far as, you know, undercharging, undervaluing my work. Um. And, and as a freelancer in the beginning, trying to do and serve and do more, like going above and beyond essentially is led myself to burn out multiple times and having, you know, adrenal fatigue and then finding out I have thyroid issues.
So through that whole process, I've had a lot of growth as far as, and I've worked with some like one-on-one coaches as far as. Um, learning to, you know, value my time and my energy. And so part of that growth has led to building a team. So then we can still go above and beyond, provide value for the client at a rate that is.
You know, we're able to charge our customer a rate that values our time and abilities, but still to the point where I'm not taking everything on myself. It's distributed. And, Through throughout my team. So then I can focus on my strong points. And then the other people within my team focus on their strong points.
So it's, it's, uh, it's a group effort as far as that, because now with some of the health issues that I have, stress plays a big factor in it. So I have to. Be very specific about how much I can take on, um, to continue to keep up with, um, some of my health struggles that I have.
Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:10:53] So there's a lot that has to be balanced here, and there's a lot that you're juggling and there's a lot that requires open transparency with your clients. I think I can relate to this in terms of like being really transparent about when Google completely sucks over my business schedule, right? Caitlyn can relate especially with what's been going on recently in her life.
how do you. Cause I struggle with this too. How do you let go of the pride and the fear around sharing what's going on so that your clients like understand what's going on in it doesn't just come across that you're screwing around. Cause that's always my fear.
Carey Osenbau: [00:11:35] Right. Um, that's a hard one because there is that whole thing.
Do you share your struggles online in fear of then people aren't going to book you because. They have issues and they probably can't give my Mmm. My project, their full attention. So it's been interesting because one of the groups that I have found through the rising tide society, there is a small group called the, um, for people with chronic illnesses.
So that's been interesting to be able to connect with people who are struggling with some of the same issues that you have. But, um, I am not, I haven't been 100% that's one thing I still do struggle with. Like for instance, and I haven't shared this with a lot of people. Last summer I had a miscarriage and I was down for probably a month and I didn't, I didn't share it with many people, but I think one of the things that really helped was.
Building. And I think with, with having a team in place, um, that is really important as you continue to like grow a business is you can have people that you depend on that can be there to pick up those pieces when you can't. And that has been a huge game changer. Like having people on my team, like Caitlyn, like I know. Without a doubt that I can rely on her. If I have to step up, step back, that she can, she can do everything in my business. And that's a little scary sometimes, but I have that full trust in her and it's also like, yes, having somebody that works for you, but building those relationships with those people that you can build that trust in them and they can take over for you if you are not being able or if you're not, to be able to.
Be there 100% and take a step back.
Caitlyn Allen: [00:13:26] I agree. I mean, outside of the fact that I love working with you, Carey, I think that when you have health issues, knowing that. Somebody can be there to pick up the Slack if, if you need, like that is a game changer for business owners. Um, and I think that so many people are afraid to grow their team, but at the end of the day, if, especially if there are things like that, it's super important to make sure that you're sharing your knowledge with your team in case anything happens. Because. I actually had a client two years ago who went to the hospital for two weeks, like was in the hospital, couldn't communicate with anybody and. The team had to keep working. We couldn't just stop our work. Um, so making sure that you're communicating with your team in case you ever do, find yourself outside of, outside of your position or in a place where you know, you, you have a miscarriage or you're having a baby. Um, making it self-reliant a little bit.
Carey Osenbau: [00:14:33] Yeah. And I think that goes both ways. Like just in the last few weeks, like even with your situation, not being able to be like 100% I recognize that. And so like we just shift focus to other things at the time until you're able to come back and be like 100% so I think that that goes, I think when you have a really.
Good, cohesive team. Um, there can be a lot of sliding back and forth and focusing on what needs to at the time. So if anybody's going through, because I mean, business is business and we're not big giant corporate businesses where, okay. Jim's gone for the week. Like Bob, you take over. Right? So, I mean, these are small businesses.
We work closely with clients, and so you have to be able to be flexible and there's always seasons. So just having that strong, team environment and communication is really important when you're running a small business.
Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:15:33] So I want to shift gears a little because I think that this also delves into just overall project management and the way that you're thinking about things and legacy planning. We hear all the time about business owners who haven't planned for what happens for their business, and then it ends up in probate and it's a whole thing.
Um, what. Project management tools are you using? How do you use them? What are the processes that you really get excited about that make all of this shifting and adjusting more logical?
Carey Osenbau: [00:16:06] So doing this for a long time for, I was in the camp of let's fly by the seat of your pants, right? So when you go through things like.
You know, health issues, you realize, well, this isn't really working for me anymore and I should probably be a little bit more organized. So even before I brought a project manager on, I started using tools. So one of the things that I love using, I can't remember it, he's a couple of years back because to me it doesn't matter anymore.
But we love asana I love I love Google Google calendar If I didn't have Google calendar my whole life would fall apart Mmm And I use a CRM that kind of manages all of our clients and everything So I use 17 hats I've gone through and used them all and that seemed to be the one that worked the best for my business So we've set up automations for um lead generation Um And I think onboarding and those types of things But one of the really cool things by bringing somebody in like caitlyn is she um with her help we've been able to develop processes for the different types of services that we offer So and what's so we have taken like a whole project So say you're building a site from scratch We have everything from Collecting information from the client to onboarding them to the design phase the development phase review launch and then offboarding So we have gone through multiple projects We're able to look at look at each one after we finish and say okay so when we have our quarterly business meetings we say okay let's go over each one of our projects and say what was great about this one and what could we have done differently So then we're able to find tune our processes and then and so with each different type of project now it's kind of like second nature So it was interesting I think even the last um this last year We had issues where we had all these clients booked and then some of these clients were getting held up and one of the processes and then it created this like you know uh everything ended up getting backed up So then we had like three or four projects all at once So then our small team is not able to give the level of focus to the each of the clients So then we realized okay then we need to go back and Essentially even we decided even to put in a week zero for our process So are we zero is everything that the client actually has to get to us before we will even start or touch anything Cause we realized With clients not providing us content or things that we needed that that's started to bunch up our systems So being able to recognize that put new things in place for processes So now we've almost have it to where our process essentially if anybody else had to come in they could see that the way that we have it all laid out and take over if needed
Caitlyn Allen: [00:19:26] Yeah Having a full process outlined It also helps with that legacy right Because if for whatever reason carey or I was out for a week we could have one of our other people on the team come in and see where we are in the process and be able to walk through those steps pretty pretty smoothly Um so I think Making sure that you have those in place especially as you're hiring or hiring somebody to help you make those is a really good business move. Carey what what is something that you've seen so you've been doing this for a while What is something that you've seen change in the business or entrepreneur online entrepreneur world? From the beginning to now? What is something like a big shift that you've seen?
Carey Osenbau: [00:20:14] Um the way that it's really the way that marketing is done Um even in the beginning working for companies we didn't have the whole social media space We didn't have I mean there were still Google search. There was like if you really want to get any advertisement we I worked for an ergonomic company and the like you know Mid two thousands and you'd have to send in a whole request to get your product reviewed So they would stick it in the you know Mack magazine at the time and then that could take like months and you know or even advertising in print There's a lot of advertising in print So that's before The online space really completely like ramped up You'd have websites for information and then we started getting into being able to purchase online Um but that has been the biggest shift is is The ability to be able to market yourself online essentially for little to no cost and connect with people and build a community with with the inter with the internet and the social media channels like that has been a huge thing And and also the shift in And I talked to my husband about this all the time because he works in corporate America The way that the advertising of old and the way that we connect and advertise and build relationships now online is a lot different especially for I think females in this space to be able to like you know I know a gal in California and she does this and I have friends up in Michigan So uh one of the biggest changes that ha I have seen in over the last years is how female entrepreneurs have kind of changed the space to be able to connect and market products I'm using social channels Mmm Even a few years back The options for women We're to essentially be secretaries or go through um different you know if they went for further in college work for advertising agencies you can work in some kind of like corporate So to be able to be a female entrepreneur to raise families you really had limited options um for like stay at home moms Like you could get a couple more kids and like start you know babysit kids and make some extra money or different things Or maybe start A little side crafting or um but just the ability to for women to be able to shift and use the online space to be able to develop a product develop idea and market and make just as much money as they could working You know a nine to five job has has been a huge shift and the community aspect of it the way that women are supporting each other It's not this you know Mmm dog eat dog You know You know I'm not going to support you because I'm out there trying to get the same type of business that you are You can have Connections with people that do the same type of thing because like they say there is enough you know there is is enough work There is enough opportunities out there because you can reach so many more people Now
Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:23:37] I think that that's so spot on We have such an opportunity to be stronger here and in a lot of ways that needs to be done So this has been a truly awesome episode Thank you so much for uh giving us your time I would love for the audience to be able to connect with you. Where can they come hang out with you online?
Carey Osenbau: [00:23:58] Um I'm mainly on Instagram just at Cor marketing And um that's my main thing I also website cormarketinggroup.com he can connect with me there Also believe we're on Pinterest and LinkedIn Um so yeah.
Dannie Lynn Fountain: [00:24:17] Well thank you so much for hanging out today and we'll have all of that length in the show notes