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Episode 336

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Published on:

7th Aug 2026

I Built a Custom Client Portal in 7 Days (And Deleted Half My Tech Stack)

I recorded this one live on the last day of week two of my birthday sabbatical, and it published about ten minutes after I stopped talking. Because I spent the last seven days — on roughly four hours of sleep a night — building a custom client portal that replaced Airtable, Fillout, Notion, Google Docs, and Google Sheets in my business.

What started as "let me move my AI assistants out of ChatGPT" turned into a full app where my clients log in, map their client journey, draft their emails, submit support tickets, send me voice notes, and do their weekly check-ins. I had a fully deployed version in 12 hours after telling myself since February that I needed time to plan it.

I also knocked South Dakota off my list (47 states down, 3 to go), and I get into the irony of doing the exact thing I tell y'all not to do with your own systems.

Demo and debrief coming to the blog soon. Get on the list so you don't miss it: coliejames.com/subscribe

Work with me: Systems in Session | The Experience Edit

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About the Podcast

Business-First Creatives: Client Experience & Systems for Service Providers
A podcast about systems, workflows, and business advice for creative service providers.
Business-First Creatives is a podcast for photographers and creative service providers who want to build a profitable, sustainable business without drowning in admin work, client experience chaos, or systems that let you down.

This show delivers clear, actionable conversations around marketing, CRM workflows, client communication, Dubsado and Honeybook automation, Airtable systems, and workflow strategies, giving photographers and creative entrepreneurs the systems that scale, operational clarity, and strategic, human-first client experiences they need to build streamlined, referral-worthy business operations that don't require working 24/7.
If you're tired of babysitting your inbox, chasing down contracts, or watching your workflows break the moment you look away, this show will help you move beyond "figuring it out as you go" and toward a creative business that brings you joy and a paycheck.

This podcast provides answers to questions like:
How do I automate my client journey without losing the personal touch?
What CRM workflows do photographers and creative businesses need?
How can I use Dubsado or Honeybook to streamline my client experience?
What systems do photographers need to save time and deliver exceptional client experiences?
How do I reduce admin time in my creative service business?
Why do my workflows keep letting me down (and how do I fix them)?
How can I build a profitable creative business that brings me joy and a paycheck?
What's the best way to communicate with clients throughout their journey?
How do I create systems that work even when I'm not babysitting them?
How can I map my client journey to convert more inquiries into bookings?

Hosted by Colie James, a Dubsado Certified Specialist, Honeybook Educator, and Workflow and Automations Guru with 10+ years helping creatives systemize their businesses—this show delivers practical, no-BS guidance for photographers and creative entrepreneurs who are ready to streamline their client journey, automate their operations, and make money from their craft.

If you're done dropping balls and ready to build a business-first creative operation with systems that scale, you're in the right place.

Find out more about Systems in Session ➡️ https://coliejames.com/systems-in-session