Today we’d like to introduce you to Kari Andrews.
Hi Kari, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi I’m Kari, a wife, mama, and automation specialist. In order to share about my current business and place in life we have to go back to the beginning of the story. Seven years ago, my husband and I moved to Houston from Kansas City eight months pregnant with hopes of starting over. We had hit a rock bottom before we moved here.
After having our daughter, I knew I needed to make some money but I had no idea what to do in a new and strange city with a newborn. So I started in Network Marketing. I fell in love with the business model and did that for the next five years, changing companies once along the way.
What I learned was I love helping support women, and I am really good at organization and systems. I would help and mentor women all day every day, and it filled my cup so much – but I never realized that I could make a business out of it!
One day a friend said, you know we all appreciate all the things you do to help us but you really should stop giving away all your knowledge for free. I told her that was silly; I just liked helping people and no one would ever pay me to help.
But I was so wrong!
I unofficially launched my Virtual Assistant business in the fall of 2021. In January of 2022, I realized I’d fallen in love with helping female business owners create incredible strategies to elevate their client experiences and automation to give them back the freedom of time in their business.
I have the pleasure of working with and supporting women, and it is my favorite thing to do!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I am still in my first year of business. Although it hasn’t all been smooth it also hasn’t been incredibly hard. I have been able to lean in and get more clear on my goals and what services I want to provide. I have built an incredible network of women who support me and are there to listen on the hard days. I am always striving to be better than I was yesterday. I don’t pretend to assume every year in business will have as many highs as my first year has had, but I am incredibly blessed at how well things have gone for me since I started!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Your Business Besties Co started off as a Virtual Assistant Agency. My team and I continue to serve amazing business owners and support their businesses with these more traditional needs.
I am also a Dubsado Certified Specialist, so the business has started to niche down to really focus in on automation and helping creative female business owners create systems and processes in their back end that actually support and work FOR them as their business grows. Dubsado is a CRM – Client Relationship Management – tool, and it provides a place to create workflows and automation from initial inquiry to off-boarding, leveling up their clients’ experiences while allowing them to spend more time in their Zone of Genius.
You can’t effectively work ON your business if you are constantly working IN your business. My goal is to bring calm to their chaos and allow them to take a breath and stop juggling ALL the balls. Our services and support alleviate some stressors that many small business owners have been shouldering alone.
I don’t just build a CRM. I also really take a deep dive with my clients to strategize with them to ensure that their clients are WOWed through every step of the process. You might be an amazing photographer or a brilliant interior designer but if you are not anticipating and communicating your client’s needs, questions, and/or concerns, you are leaving money on the table and are not truly giving them a full elevated experience.
How do you define success?
For me, success is twofold. First, creating a business that allows me to bring freedom to my life – both financially and with our time. Second, I want to help other women do the same. We can be successful women AND great partners, moms, and everything else our families need.
Contact Info:
- Website: Yourbusinessbesties.co
- Instagram: Instagram.com/your_business_besties_
- Facebook: Facebook.com/kariandrews04
Image Credits
Hannah Wentworth w/She Authentic Photography Natalie J. Photography JMM Artist Designer – Logo
