Systems & Sass: How a Spiraling Designer Got Her Groove Back

5/17/20252 min read

pink leather bag
pink leather bag

Meet Sloane.

She’s got a bookshelf full of Pantone swatches, a wardrobe made of oversized cardigans, and a deep, spiritual relationship with iced coffee. She's the go-to gal for bold brands and show-stopping websites. Her DMs? Flooded. Her calendar? Overbooked. Her nervous system? On the verge of ✨implosion✨.

“I started this business to be creative,” she groaned one night to her cat, Carl. “Not to become a full-time email responder-slash-schedule juggler-slash-invoice chaser.”

Carl blinked slowly. Sloane took that as agreement.

The Designer Dilemma

Sloane’s brand presence? Chef’s kiss.
Sloane’s backend systems? A chaotic bowl of digital spaghetti.

Here’s what was really going on:

  • Clients were constantly asking “What’s next?”

  • Discovery calls led to crickets because she had no clear booking flow

  • Her inbox was a minefield of half-finished threads and forgotten follow-ups

  • Project timelines stretched endlessly because no one knew what was due when

  • And don’t even ask about payment reminders—she’d rather set her laptop on fire

Every day was a game of catch-up—and she was losing.

She flirted with the idea of hiring a VA, then got overwhelmed thinking about managing a VA. (Irony, much?)

Then, in a moment of exhausted Googling, she found LuxEsystems.

The First Call Was... Different

Keri didn’t just ask, “What do you need?”

She asked, “How do you want to feel when you run your business?”

No one had asked her that before.

Sloane blinked. “I want to feel… like the CEO of a sleek creative studio—not the assistant of a messy one.”

Perfect. Keri smiled. “Let’s build the system for that version of you.”

The Glow-Up (AKA, What LuxEsystems Actually Did)

🎯Challenge #1: No Real Client Journey

Before: Clients signed the contract, paid, and then… silence. Sloane manually explained next steps every time.

After: LuxEsystems created a dreamy onboarding flow—automated welcome email, custom portal with timelines, FAQs, and a little “here’s how we work” video that made her look so legit. Now, clients feel supported—and Sloane feels like a real agency.

📝Challenge #2: Timeline Trouble

Before: She was always the bottleneck. Clients sent things late. She forgot deadlines. Everyone was confused.

After: LuxEsystems built a ClickUp system that auto-populated her tasks and gently nudged clients to complete theirs. Project delays dropped by 70%, and her stress? Practically non-existent.

💸Challenge #3: Invoicing Anxiety

Before: She’d send an invoice and feel guilty about it. Or worse—forget entirely.

After: With smart files and payment plans inside Dubsado, everything got automated. Clients paid on time. She even started celebrating paydays instead of dreading them.

📬Challenge #4: Inbox Overwhelm

Before: Her Gmail looked like a digital dumpster fire.

After: Canned email templates, smart automations, and a set of workflows meant she only had to reply to real questions—not the same “What happens next?” ten times a week.

Results That Deserve a Standing Ovation

  • Revenue jumped 55% in 3 months

  • Projects finished on time for the first time ever

  • She launched her long-awaited design course (that sat in draft for a YEAR)

  • She took a four-day weekend without touching her laptop. Once unthinkable.

  • Clients started describing her process as “seamless,” “so easy,” and “surprisingly fun”

And most importantly?

Sloane remembered why she started this business in the first place: for freedom, creativity, and clients who respect her boundaries.

Systems That Feel Like Self-Care

Sloane thought she needed more hustle. More time. Maybe a new notebook with motivational quotes.

What she really needed was a business that supported her brilliance—not buried it.

That’s what LuxEsystems delivers.

So whether you’re a wedding planner, photographer, designer, or some magical mix of all three—here’s your reminder:

You don’t need to work harder. You need smarter systems. LuxE ones.

Ready for your glow-up? Start here.