Pam Oulundsen: Taking Control
Business owners reach out to me in many different stages of their business. Some are just getting started, some feel stuck. Others are like Pam Oulundsen, looking successful yet feeling discouraged about moving forward.
Pam is a marketing strategist that specializes in the home industry - interior designers, home builders, stagers, and realtors. We originally met through a networking group. Shortly after, I connected her with a client of mine, an interior designer, who needed Pam’s services. Then that client sent her back to me.
Pam has had a successful business and plenty of opportunity for growth but her days were running her. This had her feeling scattered and working late at night.
She struggled with time management, bookkeeping, and delegating to her assistant. And as a mom of two, she had to juggle her personal responsibilities along with the professional ones.
Her business started slowly but really took off. She said yes to lots of great opportunities but not all the best ones for her business. Without any project management system but plenty of accounts to maintain, she didn’t know how to make the space to grow her business, and actually feel like the CEO.
“It's not a great feeling to when your work has taken over you. I think you get to a place in life where you want balance, and I was feeling out of balance. I knew I needed to get a hold of my business, so I reached out to Kathleen.” - Pam Oulundsen
Pam admitted to feeling overwhelmed, a little scared, and intimidated by all she had to do but wasn’t getting done. She knew that she needed someone to answer to, bounce ideas off of, and keep her focused on priorities and goals. She wanted someone to assure her that she was doing things right.
Pam was relieved after our first call and knew that I could help her focus on all the things she thought about at night but never put into action. I asked her some hard questions about her business so we could prioritize her goals and figure out the best way for her to achieve them. I also let her know that if she put in the time and effort, we could accomplish her goals and help her find that balance she wanted.
“I told Kathleen I’m never breaking up with her.” - Pam
Right away we started on her packages and processes. Pam was creating custom packages for each client rather than having one template to use for everyone. I helped her create consistency across her offerings, messaging, and processes, which is a huge time saver.
I could see Pam’s confidence begin to shift. Previously she had been spending time endlessly researching the best project management systems, or avoided her finances then got overwhelmed by the amount of time they would take because she waited. One of the powerful things that confidence ignites is better decision making and taking action on those decisions.
“Kathleen has helped me and probably others to be better decision makers, and to feel more confident in those decisions.” - Pam
Pam now operates from intention using her mornings to get important work done. Then her afternoons are reserved for calls and personal appointments.
Here’s what we put in place during our initial scope of work:
Processes - We worked through her processes for each of her offers, automating and delegating all possible steps.
Goal strategy - We clarified her offers and increased her pricing accordingly.
Systems - We created proposals, contracts and packages for her in Dubsado.
Project management - We set her up in ClickUp so she can sync tasks with her assistant.
Client relationships - To replace random last minute calls, Pam now schedules monthly client strategy meetings that are more organized and efficient.
Finances - I connected her with a Quickbooks professional and she learned how to manage her bookkeeping.
Delegation - We worked on optimizing her assistant, giving her more responsibility which meant more time for Pam.
Time Management - We focused on scheduling, boundaries and weekly planning, which made her feel like she was finally running her days instead of her days running her.
Weekly CEO Hour - Now once a week, Pam closes out the week and preps for the next week so she can start Monday mornings with a plan.
“I feel great about what I learned and what we implemented, and that it coincided with the end of the year. I did a 2023 reflection exercise that made it clear that what we accomplished is amazing.” - Pam
Pam chose to continue meeting with me every other week to focus on growth strategy. She found her groove and wanted to keep it going, and this schedule will give her time between our meetings to get things done.
“I'm confident that whatever we do going forward is only going to help me reach my goals for 2024 and beyond.” - Pam
Are you ready to reach your goals in 2024? Then it’s time for us to connect.
P.S. Ready to stop spinning in place and get to the other side of your goals? Here are several ways I can help:
Download my free CEO Hour weekly planning guide - it will help you become more intentional with your time, develop a clear action plan for your week, and ensure that you are focusing on activities that will move your business forward - kathleen-lawson.com/ceohour
Join our next CEO Power Planning Session and spend two and a half hours ON your business. During this facilitated workshop, you’ll set and prioritize your next 12-week goals, break them down into an executable action plan and create a resource plan - kathleen-lawson.com/ceo-power-planning
Schedule a Laser Consult Session. This is a one-time 90-minute session for the entrepreneur who needs expert strategic guidance. Use this time to work through an idea, develop an executable 12 week action plan, streamline or create a process or system, or improve routines around daily and weekly execution. kathleen-lawson.com/laser-consult