3 things I Wish I Knew: Dubsado Pro Edition

Listen up Dubsado Pros, I know you.

You have a passion for systems in a way that others just don’t. You are ready to offer a luxury, business-to-business service, helping entrepreneurs set up the back end of their business in Dubsado, giving them their life back and allowing them to focus on the craft they love. You’re a Dubsado Pro. You’ve got all the building blocks, but may need a little help putting it all together and turning it into a 5 star client experience.

One: Partial setups are not a thing.

I figured we’d just start with the most controversial one and get this out of the way. This is a place where I see both new and experienced Dubsado Pros shooting themselves in the foot most often. Many clients have tried to do their own setup by the time they come to you. This means they’ve written some emails, maybe entered some packages, and/or started on their forms. All of this is great because it gives you a better picture of their business, however, the reality is that you’re still going to have to go in and touch every single element.

• You’re going to have to go through every single email that exists and make sure smart fields are filled in correctly and that the context and directions in the email make sense with the new process you have outlined with the client.
• On that note, chances are that emails will be missing, which means you either have to fill in the gaps yourself, or ask your clients to fill in the gaps (with emails which you then have to check to make sure smart fields and context are accurate, like in the above).
• You will have to open every single form to make sure smart fields are mapped appropriately. You’ll probably need to do design work on the forms to make sure that they are as clean as they could be. You’ll ned to make sure your clients are asking the right questions at the right time (for example, are they asking the client to fill in their name on the contract? They shouldn’t be. They should be asking for that kind of information on the proposal and then having it auto-filled in to the contract with smart fields).
• And of course, same as emails above, they may be missing forms that need to be built from scratch.
• You will need to make sure that packages are set up correctly, that line items are attributed to invoice categories, and you may have to restructure packages in order to make them look more attractive in forms.
• Payments Plans are likely to be full of errors, or missing reminders all the way around.
• Schedulers have to be checked, along with making sure the appropriate send email, confirmation email, reminder emails, and forms are hooked up.

And all of this is before you even begin assembling the workflows, which is the genius that they’re actually hiring you for- your ability to understand their process and translate it into Dubsado for as much automation as possible. The above list is JUST THE BEGINNING of the considerations and work you have to do when you try to jump in the middle of someone else’s project (someone who isn’t an expert at this type of project).

Why am I saying all this?

To help you realize that although clients may have done some work already, it’s not going to affect the amount of work you have to do in order to bring their setup together in a cohesive way.

In fact, it’s likely to ADD work and time to your plate, not take away from it.

This is a common pitfall of new System Strategists- offering discounts to do “partial” setups and then spending the same amount of time, if not more, on those clients setups. Save yourself some heartache and headache- help your client understand that you’re going to touch every single aspect of their system and you’re going to leave it better than you found it. Charge for full setups!

And when the full setup is done, hand it off like one. With Docssier you can give each client a help center under THEIR business name, with how-to guides you record once and keep in one library that feeds every client’s hub, and Doc AI answers their “how do I…” questions from what you published and cites the guide and step.

Two: Setups usually take 20+ hours. Price accordingly.

So now that you understand that if you’re doing setup work, it’s ALWAYS a full setup, you need to know how to price accordingly. Setups can take 20 hours or more, even for extremely knowledgable and experienced pros who have their process down PAT. Price accordingly.

How much money do you need to bring home per year to support yourself? Even if this is a side hustle, you should establish your model to be able to support yourself. In fact, ESPECIALLY if this is your side hustle, your time is even MORE valuable, not less. Don’t forget to take out taxes and don’t forget to account for business expenses!

Realistically, how many setups can you do per week, assuming it takes you 20 hours? Make sure you leave enough time for everything else you have to do as a business owner (and human). One setup? Half a setup?

If you’re successful in completing that many setups per week, how many does that mean you can do per year? Make sure you take into account vacation time & holidays & buffer time for if projects run long or emergency strikes.

Divide the number of setups you can fit per year by the amount of money you need to make, and you have a rough guess at how much your setup should cost. In general, I’d recommend a good starting point as $2,500 USD.

Want more help? Check out my signature Dubsado Pricing Kit! The included calculator is GOLD- but I keep the price low so that it is accessible to Dubsado Pros who are just getting started. A rising tide lifts all boats, right?

Three: You need a tribe of Dubsado Pros.

When I first started doing Dubsado setups, the community was very small. The few people who were doing setups were trailblazing right alongside me. It’s taken years of trial & error, sticky situations, and late nights & epiphanies to get to where I am, and there’s still so much room for growth. That’s why I wanted to create a community where we could all come together, skip some of the beginner mistakes, and all help each other advance our businesses.

If you want to connect with others who understand your journey, join us in the System Expert Collaborative!

This is a group for Dubsado Pros & System Strategists who run their own business doing Dubsado Setups (and are eager to help each other flourish). Here you’ll find a safe space to bounce business ideas  with people who *get it.* Let’s collaborate on best practices and up-leveling our clients’ experience!

Looking for more?

Check out all of the resources that I’ve created, JUST for you!