Devon Victoria Consulting

08/06/2023

I don't think anything could have prepared me for what it would be like to become a mom, let alone a working mom...let alone a business-owning mom. (Who else is with me?) So, I’m honored to be speaking on podcast by my dear friend and former colleague, Katie Riley about what becoming a working mom has been like for me, how I cope (or don’t) and how I navigate it.

We talk about how I time block and manage my week as a mom who runs my own consulting business, how I planned for "maternity leave" as a solopreneur and the perspective I had the 2nd time around, how childcare might look different depending on each kid’s temperament, fears about managing clients while having unexpected things pop up in life, my biggest challenges, best advice, how I am helping other women start their own similar businesses, and so on.

Look for The Momtuition Podcast Episode 12 “Time Blocking and Adapting Your Schedule with Kids” on Apple or Spotify! https://open.spotify.com/episode/6cBorQ6PpqjgSqae74jn3J

Katie is an absolute, energetic, optimistic, and insatiably curious human, mom, athlete, business owner and friend who I adore, and am honored we got to speak about everything we did.

Thanks, Katie, for starting this conversation for working moms and modern motherhood!

05/05/2023

When I started this new "passion project" - it was solely to help other digital marketing solopreneurs learn how to start & run their own freelance/consulting businesses. I wanted to save them the wobbly anxiety I went through. The [sometimes painful] errors. The time that I spent trying to figure it all out. The selfish part is that I wanted to do something I would be more proud of. That when I look back on my life, I feel more fulfilled by than crafting catchy marketing plans for clients. (Not that I don't enjoy that.) I wanted do to something that actually helped people's lives.

And, messages like this from a gal who has taken my Confident Consultant Class (next one launching in June...link in bio) make it feel SO WORTHWHILE.

Yes, I'll still keep managing my social media business and adore those clients. But I am so proud of the gals who have started their own business and are reaping the benefits of that risk.

Thank you to those who have trusted me to help them in this process. It has helped my life, too 💕

01/05/2023

If I was on a desert island and could only have one business management tool with me, it would be...

1️⃣ Boomerang. I kid you not, this tool helps me control my inbox and follow up with clients like you can't believe. In my social media management business, there are so many moving parts at all times, and it is SO easy to forget little things. Boomerang has literally made it so that my clients wonder how the heck I remember it all.

I mean...there are a lot of other tools I use in my business too. Runners up would be:

2️⃣ Quickbooks (or Wave) for invoicing and bookkeeping.

3️⃣ Squarespace for a SUPER EASY, user-friendly business website & professional email address that auto-hooked up to gmail.

And, last but not least...this isn't really a tool, but I'd have to say:

4️⃣ My notebook. If you know me, you know I love a good to-do list every morning with my priorities written out in order of 1, 2, 3 and my little reminders.

I mean, who would I even be without my notebook to-do list?? 😅

So...any other email organization fanatics or notebook to-do list addicts?

What business management tool could you not live without??

(PS...if you're drooling over that view like I was, that's client Rancho Santana. #56 hotel in the world according to Travel + Leisure! 🙌)

26/04/2023

I'm thrilled to be a speaker and panelist at the Build Your Beautiful Business Summit TODAY!

I'll be speaking on "What to ask every potential client to nail the discovery call + present yourself as a highly paid expert."

This event is a free, 4-Day Summit full of actionable tips, insight and support for women running their own businesses & dealing with all that comes with it!

Today is Day 3, but you can still register and hop into the summit. (And if you missed previous days, recordings are available for 48 hours after.)

Join me in my presentation and in the panels!

👉 https://lnkd.in/gZ2rQzGj

08/03/2023

I grew up feeling no different from the boys in my class. I was raised with the message that “you can be whatever you want to be” in a female-dominated house with three of us sisters, a mom who was more “GSD” than anyone I knew, and a father who lovingly took on “girl dad” status. Even our dog was female. Besides having less appreciation for fart and bo**er jokes, I didn’t see much of a difference between me and boys and what were capable of. There were just as many girls in the “advanced math” classes and girls in student leadership positions and we all got in trouble probably just as much.

I’m not sure where it changed in my field of perception. I followed a career path into a female-dominant field, public relations, and every role in my 13-year career has been in female-dominant teams. Now, I run my own social media consultancy and my client base is largely women. And not just average women - incredible, move-making power women. (The kind of women where you wonder where they get all their energy and find all the time in the day.)

And it happened sometime in those 13 years that I realized that - despite outpacing men in college graduation for years now, and entering entrepreneurship at a nearly equal rate - I am looked at differently in the business world. Only 1.9% of women-only teams seeking VC investments got funded in 2022, while about 80.9% of men-only teams received funding. (And 17.1% of mixed-gender teams got VC investments.) When it comes to leadership, about 28% of board members are female and a mere 5% are CEOs (from a study of 1,677 publicly traded companies.) I won’t even get into the “Mommy Penalty” for women who choose to have children, and what that still means for their careers. Even outside of the business world, women only make up 28% of Congress.

I doubt anything I just shared is new to you. You’ve heard it all before in some way, shape, or form.

Now I have 2 daughters and (and a female dog!) in my own female-dominated household. I still have a lot to think about in the messaging I want to provide my girls, how I can support the aspirations they will hold and the perceptions they will receive. But on , it’s a chance to remind us all of the progress still yet to be made, that’s quietly blanketed by the messaging that “you can be whatever you want to be.”

29/11/2022

I’m gonna let you in on a little secret.

No one knows what they are doing when they start a business. Everyone is figuring it out.

We all go into starting our own freelance business because we want something — control over our own schedule, ability to work from wherever, to take vacation or doctor’s appointments whenever we want, to make as much money as we want to work for, etc.

And we start our business because we’re good at our skill (social media, graphic design, branding, virtual assistant, you name it) and then get *smacked* in the face with…

* Do I need a logo, website, business email, etc?
* What’s the deal with a business bank account?
* How do I “form” a business? (And what’s a sole proprietor, and LLC, etc…?)
* How do I send an invoice?
* How do you create a proposal?
* Do I need a contract?
* How do I get clients?
* How do I make sure they are the right fit?
* What do I do if they don’t pay?
* What is bookkeeping and how am I supposed to do that?
* How do I keep my head on straight when I onboard a new client?
* Can I ever actually take a vacation day?

All. The. Logistics.
Admin. Business Management. To-Dos. Nitty Gritty.

I went through ALL of that with my business and now have it all fine tuned into a repeatable process that is so quick. I never wonder or re-work it. I just open up my templates for each step and save ridiculous hours. (And clients love it.)

I turned it all into “Equipped Entrepreneur Academy” which walks you through HOW to do ALL. THE. LOGISTICS. And also gives you access to every single one of my templates! Pretty much, it’s insight & access to how I run a social media marketing company that completely replaced (and crushed) my corporate salary.

👉👉👉And right now it’s 50% OFF until TOMORROW, Wednesday, Nov. 30th!!! 👈👈👈

Save up to $499 before it goes away.

Check out everything it includes here! I’m gonna let you in on a little secret.

No one knows what they are doing when they start a business. Everyone is figuring it out.

We all go into starting our own freelance business because we want something — control over our own schedule, ability to work from wherever, to take vacation or doctor’s appointments whenever we want, to make as much money as we want to work for, etc.

And we start our business because we’re good at our skill (social media, graphic design, branding, virtual assistant, you name it) and then get *smacked* in the face with…

* Do I need a logo, website, business email, etc?
* What’s the deal with a business bank account?
* How do I “form” a business? (And what’s a sole proprietor, and LLC, etc…?)
* How do I send an invoice?
* How do you create a proposal?
* Do I need a contract?
* How do I get clients?
* How do I make sure they are the right fit?
* What do I do if they don’t pay?
* What is bookkeeping and how am I supposed to do that?
* How do I keep my head on straight when I onboard a new client?
* Can I ever actually take a vacation day?

All. The. Logistics.
Admin. Business Management. To-Dos. Nitty Gritty.

I went through ALL of that with my business and now have it all fine tuned into a repeatable process that is so quick. I never wonder or re-work it. I just open up my templates for each step and save ridiculous hours. (And clients love it.)

I turned it all into “Equipped Entrepreneur Academy” which walks you through HOW to do ALL. THE. LOGISTICS. And also gives you access to every single one of my templates! Pretty much, it’s insight & access to how I run a social media marketing company that completely replaced (and crushed) my corporate salary.

👉👉👉And right now it’s 50% OFF until TOMORROW, Wednesday, Nov. 30th!!! 👈👈👈

Save up to $499 before it goes away.

Check out everything it includes here! https://devonvictoria.mykajabi.com/equipped-entrepreneur-academy-1

🔗🔗🔗Reach out if you have questions!

23/11/2022

For any female digital marketers who have recently started (or want to start!) their own freelance business!

My “Equipped Entrepreneur Academy” is on Black Friday SALE for 50% OFF!!! 🔥 I started my social media marketing company in 2016 after working in a digital marketing agency for several years. In the years of running my business… the hardest part wasn’t servicing my clients. It was figuring out how to run a business! (Like, how to get started, draft proposals & contracts, send invoices, do bookkeeping, on-board clients, qualify leads, how to tell between a GOOD and BAD client, how to price services, what tools to use to run her business smoothly, etc.)

I figured it all out on my own, and had a lot of headaches along the way… so I created this digital course to help others set up their business & be successful WAY FASTER!

Get the “peek behind the curtains” into how I manage everything for my six-figure business.

This is for:
👋 Female social media & digital marketers
Who are :
👋 Wanting to start their own business (or started in past 2+ years)
👋 Great at their skill, but unsure how to do all the “business” things or want someone to show them a organized, systemized way

You’ll Get:
✅ 6 video modules
✅ 24+ templates and checklists that I use day-in-and-day-out in my business
✅ My tool stack (know exactly what tools I need…most are free or low cost!)
✅ Client email templates
✅ A 45 min strategy session (*top plan only)
And MORE that’s too long to list!

It’s on Black Friday sale for 50% OFF RIGHT NOW. I have never done this big of a discount and won’t be doing it again soon.

Get it here: https://devonvictoria.mykajabi.com/equipped-entrepreneur-academy-1

16/08/2022

Thinking about audio apps, like Clubhouse for your brand? Here's what you need to know! Had fun co-authoring this article for PR Daily with my killer summer intern, Andrew Presa. 👊

Thanks for featuring, Ragan Communications!

Creating awareness and community made simple.

10/08/2022

Last week I shared my favorite IG hacks and I’m back with another quick IG tip for you…

Try scheduling your Instagram stories! Your stories game is a key to success on platforms where feed posts are sometimes feeling stale. But it’s overwhelming to post all of your stories in real-time. (And sometimes you just need a good evergreen story anyway!)

The most successful stories will have a clear flow and do exactly what the name entails – tell a story. By planning how these stories will flow together and maintaining a consistent aesthetic appeal you can increase engagement with your brand. This can be done all from your desktop and when the story is scheduled to go live, you'll receive a push notification to enable you to share your post with the world.

1️⃣Upload your videos to Later (the link to the app below)

2️⃣Crop your videos to your ideal size and schedule the time slot that you desire

3️⃣When you receive the notification that your story is ready to go live, open the notification and it will be published

4️⃣The app helps analyze taps and exits which is perfect for you to grasp what is working and what’s not

And can I get a vote below…do you prefer viewing IG stories or feed posts?

Later app link: https://later.com/instagram-scheduler/schedule-instagram-stories/

Photo: Kalen Jesse Photography

02/08/2022

Who doesn’t love a good Instagram hack? Here are 3 of my fav that will instantly help with your business presence 📈(Resources that can help clarify hacks will be at the very bottom)

1️⃣Custom Fonts
Instagram only offers four different font styles which in my opinion is…boring.
By using an app called Kapwig, you can use the fonts that best go with your brand and even animate text. Once done, save your MP4 or JPEG file to add to your story later.

2️⃣Branded Colors
Although Instagram has a variety of colors to choose from, it can be difficult to navigate through these choices and pick the exact color you need. Import a photo with the colors that you desire and use the pipette tool to match the exact color, and use it in your text, background, or drawings. Then, delete the imported photo!

3️⃣Share Multiple Question Answers
Did you share a Question sticker to your stories, and notice that you can only repost one answer per story? To fix this, create a new story with one response on it and save to your camera roll. Now use that saved image as your story, add another response, and save to your camera roll again. Repeating these steps will make sure that you can get enough responses in one story.

Resources to help:
1:https://www.kapwing.com/resources/how-to-add-custom-font-to-your-instagram-story/ #:~:text=How%20to%20Add%20Custom%20Fonts%20to%20your%20Instagram,Download%20and%20Publish%20to%20Instagram.%205%20Conclusion.%20

2:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8RT2oH2g-g&t=25s&ab_channel=CieraDesignStudio

3:https://www.camillemedina.com/blog-archive/2019/5/13/how-to-share-multiple-answers-to-your-instagram-stories-questions-in-the-same-story

Photo: Kalen Jesse Photography