Why Your Business Feels Like the Corporate Job You Left | Ep. 26

Building a Luxury Photography Brand on Your Own Terms with Lindsay Gronos | Ep. 32

This one is special — Brooke's first ever in-person podcast episode, recorded inside a local studio. If you're listening, head to YouTube to watch the video, because the experience of being in that room together is worth seeing. One of the things that comes up in backend audits is that the backend is only part of the picture — and building a business that looks and feels like you on the outside matters just as much as what's running behind the scenes. Lindsay Gronos is the owner and creative artist behind Oak & Ember Collective, a North Dakota-based photography brand known for cinematic, editorial-inspired work that blends emotion, storytelling, and intentional artistry. With over ten years of experience — including work alongside Walt Disney's Yellow Shoes Creative team and jewelry campaigns across the Midwest — she's building a luxury photography brand in a smaller market entirely on her own terms. Today they talk about what that takes creatively, personally, and as a business owner. Key Takeaways - These apply to most creative businesses! * Being in a smaller market isn't a limitation — it can mean more room to experiment, more creative freedom, and more meaningful client relationships than a saturated larger market allows. * There's a real difference between taking photos and creating an experience. Brand photography is an identity — it's showing who you are as a business owner and how you want to be seen. * Creative entrepreneurship has a specific kind of burnout. When the thing you do for passion becomes something you have to produce, the excitement and the obligation start to separate. Collaboration with other creatives is one of the ways to bring it back. * Investing in your craft — equipment, education, skill — is a belief in yourself made visible. It shifts your mindset as much as it shifts your output. * Submit anyway. Lindsay submitted late to a ProPhoto campaign, got featured in their top ten, and didn't even know until they tagged her. Keep tagging, keep submitting, keep going. * When it comes to brand photography, reach out. Getting comfortable with your photographer before you're in the room together makes all the difference in what you walk away with. Resources + Links Find Lindsay * Instagram: @oakandembercollective * Website: oakandembercollectivend.com [http://oakandembercollectivend.com] * Lindsay's Online Creative Collective: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1710326130138132 [https://www.facebook.com/groups/1710326130138132] Find Brooke * Instagram: @with.brooke * Website: withbrooke.com [http://withbrooke.com] * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/withbrookefb [https://www.facebook.com/withbrookefb]

Before We Fix Anything, We Need to Talk About Your Client Path | Ep. 31

When founders book a Backend Business Audit with Brooke, some come in with a specific problem. Others come in with everything — overwhelmed, scattered, not sure where to look first. That second kind of founder almost always has the same gap underneath all of it: the client path hasn't been mapped. In this episode, Brooke breaks down what a client path is, what happens in a business when it isn't clear, and four questions to answer before building anything else. KEY TAKEAWAYS * Scattered confusion on an intake form almost always points to one thing: the client path isn't mapped yet. * A client path has four parts: * where you're meeting people and what they're aware of in that moment * what you're offering them first * where you're taking them * and what comes after * When the path isn't clear, freebies multiply, offers get rebuilt, and content feels scattered because nothing has a clear job to do. * Systems built without a clear client path have no clear purpose. They can be built, but they won't work the way they should. * Map the path first. Everything else gets easier once you know what you're building and where it's going. THE FOUR QUESTIONS FROM THIS EPISODE * Where am I meeting people, and what problem are they aware of in that moment? * What is the first thing I'm offering them that gives them a real result or gets them closer to one? * What is the offer I'm moving them toward, and what does their life or business look like on the other side of it? * What comes after that — is there a next step, a continuation, or a reason to stay? RESOURCES + LINKS Work with Brooke * Backend Business Audit: https://stan.store/withbrooke/p/backend-business-audit [https://stan.store/withbrooke/p/backend-business-audit] * Free Backend Self Audit: https://withbrooke.myflodesk.com/self-audit [https://withbrooke.myflodesk.com/self-audit] Connect * Instagram: @with.brooke * Website: withbrooke.com [http://withbrooke.com]

Instagram Strategy, Ideal Client Clarity, and DM Conversions with Carlianne Compton | Ep. 30

One of the things that comes up in backend audits is that the backend is only part of the picture. When Brooke sees gaps in areas outside of her lane, she wants to make sure you have somewhere to go — and Carlianne Compton is one of the experts she trusts in that space. Carlianne is an Instagram strategist who helps service-based businesses grow on Instagram and turn their social media presence into revenue. In this episode, she and Brooke dig into what ideal client clarity really means (and why most founders think they have it but don't), what kills DM conversations before they start, how to find your people on Instagram, and what's worth focusing on no matter what the algorithm does next. Key Takeaways * Most founders have a shell of an ideal client — a title or demographic — but not the psychological depth. Getting to the internal thoughts, fears, and patterns of your person is what stops them mid-scroll. * Being specific doesn't cancel out potential clients. People resonate with patterns and feelings, not just identities. The right specificity brings in more of the right people, not fewer. * DM conversions aren't built in one conversation. They're built over time, the same way any real relationship forms — slowly, with genuine interest and no agenda attached to every exchange. * The algorithm is driven by people's decisions and actions. Understanding your ideal client at a psychological level is the most reliable way to get content in front of the right people, regardless of what the algorithm does. * When ideal client clarity is deep enough, content becomes intuitive. Ideas come on their own because you know your person well enough that you think like them. * Fun, relatable content that has nothing to do with your business still has a place in your strategy. It widens the top of the funnel so the right people can find their way down it. Find Carlianne * Instagram (IG strategy): @conversionwithcarli * Instagram (learn to be a SMM): @carlianne_compton * FREE WTF IG Quiz: https://go.carliannecompton.com/wtf-ig-quiz [https://go.carliannecompton.com/wtf-ig-quiz] * Website: go.carliannecompton.com/strategy-reset-page [http://go.carliannecompton.com/strategy-reset-page] Resources from Brooke * Backend Business Audit: https://stan.store/withbrooke/p/backend-business-audit [https://stan.store/withbrooke/p/backend-business-audit] * Free Backend Self Audit: https://withbrooke.myflodesk.com/self-audit [https://withbrooke.myflodesk.com/self-audit] * Instagram: @with.brooke * Website: withbrooke.com [http://withbrooke.com]

What Female Founder Businesses Are Telling Me Right Now About Leads, Offers, and Growth | Ep. 29

There are four conversations happening right now in founder communities everywhere — about leads, offers, scaling, and visibility. Each one points to something real. And in each one, there's a backend gap sitting underneath the surface that's doing most of the actual work. Brooke walks through all four: what the situation looks like, where the gap actually is, and what to look at before making the next move. KEY TAKEAWAYS * More leads into a backend with gaps produces more wasted opportunity, not more conversions. The infrastructure that receives leads matters as much as the volume of them. * Before rebuilding an offer, walk the purchase path yourself. Count every step between interest and transaction and look for where someone could get confused and leave. * Adding client volume to a structure that runs on the founder's personal effort accelerates the ceiling. Build the structure first, then grow into it. * Visibility and conversion are two different problems. Tighten the path for the audience you already have before expanding the top of the funnel. RESOURCES + LINKS Work with Brooke * Backend Business Audit: https://stan.store/withbrooke/p/backend-business-audit [https://stan.store/withbrooke/p/backend-business-audit] * Free Backend Self Audit: https://withbrooke.myflodesk.com/self-audit [https://withbrooke.myflodesk.com/self-audit] Connect * Instagram: @with.brooke * Website: withbrooke.com [http://withbrooke.com]

What Is a Business Backend? And Why It's the Key to Sustainable Growth for Female Founders | Ep. 28

If you've ever heard the words "systems," "automations," or "backend" and thought , "what does that actually mean for my business?" This episode is for you. Brooke breaks down exactly what a business backend is, why it matters, and what happens when the backend hasn't kept up with the business. Whether you're just starting to notice the cracks or you've been holding everything together manually for years, this episode will help you see your business backend clearly — and understand what needs to happen next. ---------------------------------------- What You'll Learn in This Episode * What a business backend actually is and what lives inside it * Why most female founders build their backend pieced together — and why that's completely normal * Why one-size-fits-all backend systems don't work — and what to do instead * How to know when your backend needs professional attention * The difference between hiring help and fixing your systems first * Why a clean, sustainable backend is the foundation for business growth Your business backend is everything happening behind the scenes that your clients never see — your tech stack, your systems, your automations, your processes, and the way everything connects. Or doesn't. Most female founders build their backend as they go. A calendar tool here, an email platform there, a Zapier connection holding it all together. That works until it doesn't. And at some point — usually right when growth is within reach — the backend becomes the thing standing between where the business is and where it's going. The backend that got you here will not get you to the next level. But fixing it doesn't have to mean burning everything down and starting over. It means knowing what to look at, what to fix first, and what to build next. A business backend built for you — not borrowed from someone else's business — is what makes growth sustainable, scalable, and something you can actually show up for long term. 🔗 Free Backend Self Audit: https://withbrooke.myflodesk.com/self-audit [https://withbrooke.myflodesk.com/self-audit] 🔗 The Backend Business Audit: https://stan.store/withbrooke/p/backend-business-audit [https://stan.store/withbrooke/p/backend-business-audit] Work With Brooke Brooke is a backend strategist for female founders who know their tech and systems are holding them back — and have zero interest in being the one to fix it. ---------------------------------------- Connect With Brooke 📱 Instagram: @with.brooke 🌐 Website: withbrooke.com [http://withbrooke.com] 🎙️ Subscribe to She's Built Like a CEO wherever you listen to podcasts If this episode resonated with you: Leave a review, share it with a female founder who needs to hear it, and hit follow so you never miss an episode. She's Built Like a CEO is a podcast for female founders who are done being the employee of their own business. New episodes every Tuesday.