The Real Reason Hiring a VA Did Not Give You Relief | Ep. 25

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.

Your Online Service Business Is Working. So Why Are You So Tired? | Ep. 27

You did everything right. You built your business, you brought in clients, you figured out the tech. And somehow you are more exhausted than you have ever been in your life... even though this business was supposed to be the thing that gave you more freedom. It all makes complete sense once you understand what's actually happening inside your business right now. What This Episode Holds * Why the tech stack you built wasn't wrong — it was built for a version of your business that no longer exists * What's really happening when your tools don't talk to each other and you become the translator filling every gap manually, every single day * The truth about businesses that look effortless from the outside — and what's actually making them run * Why growing revenue without growing infrastructure creates the kind of exhaustion that doesn't go away with a rest weekend * What it means that your business is ready for something different, and why that's not a failure — it's momentum * What has to change if you want to keep going without burning down Who This Episode Is For * The woman whose business is generating income and clients, but she's somehow more depleted than when she started * The woman who has bought the tools, set up the systems, and still ends every week buried in manual tasks she can't seem to get ahead of * The woman who looks at other businesses running smoothly and quietly wonders what she's missing * The woman who is starting to wonder if this is just what running a business feels like — and who needs someone to tell her it doesn't have to be Key Quote "The business that looks effortless from the outside? It's not. They're supported, not effortless. And that support is invisible because it's working the way it's supposed to." Resources and Next Steps If you recognized your business in this episode and you're ready to understand exactly what needs to change and in what order — that conversation is available to you. Let's book your Backend Audit Here: https://stan.store/withbrooke/p/backend-business-audit [https://stan.store/withbrooke/p/backend-business-audit] And if you want to start auditing your own backend, I have a free resource that walks you through what needs to exist inside your business right now. Click here: https://withbrooke.myflodesk.com/self-audit [https://withbrooke.myflodesk.com/self-audit] You've built something incredible. The exhaustion you're carrying isn't proof that you can't do it. It's a signal that what you built is ready for more support underneath it. I'm here to help.

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

You left corporate to build something different. Something that felt like yours. And somewhere along the way the thing you built started feeling a little too much like the thing you left. In this episode I talk about why that happens and what actually changes it. Including the moment in my own business where I realized I had left corporate but brought the corporate blueprint with me. We Discuss: * The corporate blueprint and how it shows up in an online business without you realizing it.  * Trading time for money.  * Measuring success by a full calendar.  * Being available all the time.  * Doing everything yourself because that is the only model you were ever taught. * The moment I recognized it in my own business. I was charging hourly and trying to fill a forty hour work week because that was the only definition of a real income I had ever been given. By the time I got to twenty five or thirty billable hours I was already feeling it. The freedom I had left corporate to find was getting further away not closer. * The shift that changed everything. Stopping asking how do I fill my calendar and starting to ask what kind of life do I actually want to build and what does my business need to look like to support that. * What that shift actually required. Getting honest about what requires me and what does not. Looking at what my technology should be handling. Asking what my systems should be holding. Designing the work to fit the life instead of fitting the life around the work. * What becomes possible when you stop building on the corporate blueprint. A business that actually feels sustainable. Work that requires you doing the work that actually requires you. And the freedom you kept pushing to someday starting to show up in the actual texture of your days. CONNECT WITH BROOKE Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/with.brooke/ [https://www.instagram.com/thelaunchlady.brooke/]  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/withbrookfb [https://www.facebook.com/withbrookfb ]  WORK WITH BROOKE Book your Backend Business Audit: https://stan.store/withbrooke/p/backend-business-audit [https://stan.store/withbrooke/p/backend-business-audit]