Break Ups & Retainers, Interview with Natalie Micale of Oh Hello Branding Agency - Different Hunger

okay awesome all right so what's up everybody that's either listening live or watching this after the live but I'm here with my awesome friend Natalie who is a really talented creative and a really awesome agency owner that we've had the pleasure of working with for a few months and she's her story is very inspiring she's overcome a

lot of challenges of agency life and dealing with partnership breakups and all that kind of stuff and she's battled back like a champ and now she's crushing it so I wanted to bring her on and introduce her to the community because she has a lot of really great wisdom and energy to share with the community so hello

Natalie what's up so so yeah why don't you just tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do yeah so I am the owner of agency um I got a nanny agency rolled about five years ago after I left TV news I was a news anchor for almost five years for border anchor in

the news world I lived in DC for a year and I wanted to get out of that because quite honestly like mentally it was really draining I was well I was covering a lot of crime down the agency world and went into an agency where I really got to watch the agency growth of start to finish Oh

evil empire I'm you know 25 people I was the director sales there was some crazy growth while the CEO decided to sell that agency and so I kind of had to think fast and decided to start a hollow with my to uh to ex-partners previous partners Danny and Dan so I kind of took my sales skills married

with my storytelling skills and decided that oh lo could be more of a brand positioning agency and we can help companies the storytelling strategy and its face and I was able to kind of compile my skills being able to sell and be able to tell a story and a lot of that has some overlaps so yeah to

cut chase two years ago we started over hello six months ago roughly I started the process of buying my partner's out and taking the agency on its new paths and different hunger has been a part of that because I don't know that I would have had the confidence without signing up for the program so yeah yeah yeah

that sounds awesome and yeah I'd love to just back up a little bit because I like you I quit a job and got into first freelancing then agency life and a lot of the people listening are probably already freelancing and maybe already have an agency set up but many of us did also go through that same path

so like or you know for those of us that are also listening that might eventually one day want to start a business like what would you say was like the most challenging thing and also the greatest lesson that you learned when you were going through that initial jump because I know that's that was terrifies a lot of

people so so yeah what do you think about that the first challenge was freelancing while I was doing my normal job because as soon as I kind of saw the writing on the wall that evil was gonna get acquired I actually started freelancing with my partners and I ended up the three of us ended up saving in

total about thirty two thousand dollars before we quit our jobs I mean we quit before the acquisition and so that was the biggest challenge is like if you're not ready to work the 16-hour weeks to get started I mean obviously our program is a lot about how do we find wellness and only get ourselves down and actually

I'm on a work week but those first six to 12 weeks are grueling um when you decide to make the switch and you have to save money like yes I understand and a lot of people are like just dumped then just do it no way to go but up but honestly especially where we are in our economies

today with coronavirus I would say if you want to leave your job really established whether you can hustle enough while you already have a job to save some money really by me but it was a challenge it was hard it also allowed us to not take on any investors not get a bank loan for the first year

all of that really helped us because later we had some some star levels and needed that kind of stuff so um you said this what was the second question challenge and then lesson lesson yeah well I think to be honest as much as I love my partners I think I took them on because I needed her crutch

emotionally like I think I was just so scared to make the jump alone that I was like oh I need partners and it's not that they aren't good people cuz they're amazing humans it's just I probably could have done it without them if I had really mentally decided to get over myself and so I think the lesson

there is you know obviously we've split and now I am the company but it was so costly to do that to start to figure out what you really want us energy-wise out of a partnership before you jump into that and why you're wanting partners like you know I will say I don't think I could have built a

brand like David and it the overlooked brand is so kick-ass but did I need to give them part of partnership in it to do that or could I just pay that you know no so yeah totally that's I've I've experienced that as well so yeah that's really really good advice I definitely didn't take the first piece of

advice I I should have though that would have made things easier but yeah yeah yeah and the other thing is another way to save more and also to cut costs while you are making that transition which a lot of people do now is to go and live as overseas abroad in other economies so yeah but that's really

really good advice so now fast forwarding to today and you know when we met a few months ago I mean tell us a little bit about you know where you were at like what your kind of situation was and like what you were looking to you know like accelerate and streamline because I no obviously you were going

through a partnership breakup so yeah just tell us a little bit about where you're at yeah so I mean I'd say six months ago lead generation was the biggest problem that we had you just one not pulling in an athlete's um and the other aspect was we weren't using technology to predictably scale the agency we were just

depending on a lot and I've heard about referral and that something would close and through the word of mouth but what if mouth like the thing is is you have to kind of take what you get and they have all the knee and go shooting power and it because you know you need that deal so like six

months ago we were just struggling financially to make I mean you know our overhead with our office and our payroll with an employee know our costs for about thirty thousand dollars a month and so we were having a take on piddly projects to really pay the rent and we're just really stressed about the lack of profits so

um after that yeah so I guess the lead gen problem is definitely white different hundred help me solve because the course teaches you that in the first like three weeks and that's the thing that I'm actually like once I learned it now I'm actually like as you know overwhelmed and just trying to finish off the program because

we've had some lead generation increase and it's even been changed in Hungary and in tality to do about how I want our approach to businesses so even in a word of mouth before although you are getting I feel like I just got a better pitch and a better grasp in what we're doing and how we can do

it better because of the program that even my sales skills are kind of improving because when you're confident when you're selling that really helps yeah totally so yeah I mean that's really really important and I'm I just want to also highlight one thing you said because I also started obviously as a designer and a lot of people

here are creative branding marketing but you know they're very much not like marketing and systems and that side of thing driven right and so a lot of them are dealing with projects and one-time payments from clients so now obviously you're running a retainer based model but yeah I mean tell us a little bit about that transition from

kind of like inconsistency in terms of one clients and projects but also like lead flow and ideal clients right now okay so basically what we're doing is just websites and just logos and just branding now we're doing some social media management some email marketing and blogging on content development and design and we basically are doing retainers and

so our retainer story around a thousand and go up all the way to two thousand so now we've got you know six clients on retainer and we're feeling a lot more confident because like we have that reoccurring revenue but we're also still doing the project-based work and excuse me and even the project-based work is sixty percent down

and 40 percent slid over two months so really the way that we looked at it was ok what deliverables can we do what what deliverables can we train our team VA is on and how can we just get some reoccurring revenue so we're not starting over every month um so the process really like was just getting those

packages together and kind of using the inspiration in the programming on what people's pain points I actually are like as much as I don't love doing social media it is a big pain point for a lot of companies and we've been able to sell more social media and figure out how to you know on board and like

basically give it to me yeh and understand that that's just a piece of the business model and like we'll take on the passion projects we want to in the making so um does that make sense that kind of help I mean basically the packets coming up with each other the one I'm making lists totally yeah awesome so

yeah I mean that's that that's great that you've been able to supplement the projects with the retainers and yeah I mean tell us now after I guess it's been four or five months or so but yeah just kind of tell us a little bit about you know what's happened and where things are and where they're headed yeah

so I mean the great thing is like we just closed you know some really big project some really big websites okay even if we lose a reoccuring grant um you know every month it's like we've got a little bit of a safety net but I really think we were able to do that because I was more confident

that I know how to get more leads and we didn't try and budge on our price like yeah I've been doing so much like before ever this like we would just kind of budge on price and kind of underbid because we knew we had to win it but when you bid confidently you get quality clients so that's

a big thing is just learning that like we can't do a 60 hour project at the price for 30 hours like we're just we're not gonna do that um so um what was the question again I just forgot my lines um it was yeah tell us about like the transition and past few months yeah so I need

the past few months that's the biggest transition is like the only more confident are the generation being able to feel confident about our pricing and the type of caliber claim that we're taking on and I'd say like the past few months have been really busy but because I'm learning to systemize things like sales I'm learning how to

systemize like every piece of my business so I hired a virtual assistant to do my online scheduling and she schedules out all of my self-care stuff and she has the dates of do that she's candled out all of my meetings with needs meetings for the company now it took me four or five hours and I'm training her

creating the scheduling rules creating scheduling process getting her access to everything but now that I have I'm finding that I'm able to get into the deep focus mode and stay there because I'm not worried about missing an email hmm my point is is like this is the big takeaway is really not just sales but how to create

systematic processes so you're not shooting from the hip because when you're hip it's a ship job like I'm always checking my email and going back and forth to people and trying to get a time for an interview or for a meeting that I can't fully immerse myself in working on a brand strategy project that means a lot

to the agency and I have to still do good work so systemising has been the biggest thing learning to be patient with a family Virtual Assistants as you teach them what they need to be doing as you know Matt like some of them are really talented some of them need more training and so just making sure that

I'm doing that so then I can actually step away from totally awesome well yeah I mean that's definitely it's great to see you know see your progress right it's like you know especially on your own and like just going out there making it happen delegating more work having more time for self-care but being smart enough to delegate

it out the scheduling of that like that's awesome right so yeah I mean what would be some of your I guess what are your top two or three tips that you would share with a freelancer or an agency owner that is you know getting a few referrals here and there but is just stuck doing a lot of

the work if they do get more clients in what would be some tips that you would share based on your experience and the last few months of really inspiring work so first it is go through all the applications you can from virtual assistants because I just hired a VA that's $18 an hour but she which is offensive

for the girl that's like grab an L'Oreal she has really amazing design and so when I show her work to clients they're willing to pay the 150 an hour and she screamed and been built and I've been a VA for like 18 years so my point is is like you have to dig to find these people that

are going to be talented enough and that and still figure out how to be a business person with it right so I've been digging on Instagram for 3d Lancer is digging through virtual assistants and finding and curating five or six people right now who are really talented contractors who can do pretty much anything design wise and so

now that I've curated this team I'm really just acting as a broker middleman and the POC for the client and the person making sure it gets done I'm a mover and shaker for creatives but also that the clients being heard so that's what I love I love working with people and I think if you're creative I just

not say enough about figuring out how to train and replicate yourself or hiring somebody do it like really digging for that talented designer that's still maybe they aren't there for you now or but you're still teaching without account me anything I'm still teaching them about go to design and they benefit from the relationship with you and you

can trust the caliber level of work will get that that would be my first if you said to mark right well yeah I mean that was really good I would say only one word set would be I'm just don't seem desperate in sales calls and let the lion like like when I've been desperate for revenue I might

think they don't sense it but somehow they want the like you know weights a little bit because you know they just cool um don't over pick just have a conversation like we do now treat them like they're already a client man and if you think that and also put them on a little bit of edge with the

fact that you let them know that unless synergy is create your you're interviewing them to so oh I always say like my go-to phrase is like we're always looking for great synergy with our clients and then we know it goes both ways and clients appreciate that because they know that if I'm not passionate their work for their

beliefs or their dreams I may not want to work with and it's the same vice versa awesome yes I'm really golden nuggets in there and yeah like I remember I first found one of my designers that was like 15-20 an hour in Southeast Asia while I'm you know billing 60 70 80 an hour and when you have

that moment it's like okay like your whole your whole concept of time and money shifts and it sounds like you know that's been a big thing for you and really important for people to understand because you know they what's that gotta think about your business like no I mean like can you charge I mean the value of

150 an hour is that you get me economy engine you get need your strategy underneath it and also my 20 an hour person I spent a lot of time finding you don't have to find the person so I think like don't just think about hours think about value and what you bring to the table I think some

creatives get too greedy for charging right you don't need to feel like that think about what you bring to the table how long it's taking you earn these skills and even made person development like this that you invest in and you know don't feel guilty just take care of yourself totally yeah that's that's really really important yeah

that that's I think you've met Robert but but yeah he was he had a similar experience where he was like this guy this is a guy who went to Penn he I think he has a master's from Johns Hopkins and Penn I think as well and he's worked with like NFL athletes and like the highest caliber people

in the world and I'm like and he was worried about you know increasing his rates from like 50 to 150 an hour or something because he does one on one and I was like look how much money have you spent on educating yourself and he had like two hundred thousand dollars over like 15 to 20 years right

so you know a lot of people listening to this sure you probably don't have that much but I'm sure you've spent hundreds and thousands of your time and hours not to mention you know courses or mentors or consultants or experiences that you've invested in so again like Picasso the what he he wrote his signature on a napkin

and gave it to a woman and said five thousand dollars and I I'm gonna butcher this story I'll drop drop a comment but but yet basically he's sitting you're not paying for the time you're paying for the for the work and the art right so yeah really important reminder and you know your boss at sales so that's

really important in conveying your value so for those of us listening how can we stay in touch with you I know we're we've talked about like having you as a guest trainer or mentor and sharing your value with the community so that'll be really fun but I'll also drop a link to your ebook and some of the

other assets that you have but yeah tell us how we can follow along and say stay connected with you and where we can learn more yeah so Instagram is a great place not only McCauley I am dropping a whole new oh hello Instagram aesthetic today we just finished we worked for the designer I mean it's gonna be

really kick-ass I think you guys are gonna love the brand we've created there um so complete revamp so ovolo agency Natalie McCauley and if you're a freelancer and you've got some good work to show I am specifically looking for a copywriter between answer right now especially be right happy but left of your camille beautiful alright awesome well

I'll go ahead yeah and my guide my boyfriend just reminded me I have that guide yes I'm hire a virtual assistant and I actually will send you that I have a 30 page teaser and I made a just for different hunger peeps and some friends so it's a 30 person it basically explains exactly how to how to

hire a virtual assistant and off-board social media to them it's great for other agency levers it's $1.99 um so oh yeah um I'm selling it again I'll get you guys that free 30 pager see and check it out beautiful alright awesome well thanks so much Natalie I'm excited too first of all thank you for you know letting

us be a part of your journey and I'm excited to see what the next few months look like you know you're you're crushing it and I'm really proud to be a part of it and thank you for sharing this awesomeness with our community so thank you but um guys if you're listening go ahead drop any comments or

questions that you may have for Natalie anything about freelancing running a social media agency being them a boss whatever it is drop comments and if you're seeing this on youtube subscribe drop a like share with friends all that good stuff so thank you so much Natalie and I look forward to talking with you again soon and we'll

catch you later all right