Before joining the Level Up program Shirlz, who runs her own photography business Swirltography says doing the Level Up program has been a really positive experience for her business and she is able to work more ‘on the go’ than ever before which she is finding very useful.

“For instance, whilst I was doing my grocery shopping yesterday, on my mobile phone I was able to confirm the booking for a photo shoot that had been scheduled in online by a customer, send a saved response to another email, and I checked in for flights …all whilst moving through three aisles.”

“It has unchained me from my desk, and as more and more of the admin processes become automated, I’m having more time become available to work on the business rather than always in it,” she says.

Before doing the course Shirlz says she had bought a subscription for some CRM software (customer relationship management) but wasn’t using it much.

“The workshops and webinars helped me to fill in the gaps by pulling bits and pieces together into a streamlined workflow, and thus provide a smoother and better experience for my customers.”

“I now use Calendly, so people can diary in a photo shoot for when best suits them, and Zapier, which puts it straight into my Google Calendar.

“Invoices can be paid easily online rather than by bank transfers. Their details go into a new ‘project’ on the CRM, where there is a workflow of automated and yet personalised information and questionnaires to send to them.

“And after the shoot, I’ve now got an incentivised system in place inviting customers to leave a video review of my service. These may sound like simple changes, but they save so much time,” she says.

Shirly also made the most of the mentoring component of the program.

“The mentors were great, and Ben from Innovate Media explained marketing strategies to me in a wonderfully actionable and straightforward way’.