24. 💔 Why I left my online provider

Midweek Momentum Newsletter: how vision and mission can more than double your annual growth

How I Fell in...and Out of Love

With My Online Provider


Happy Valentine’s Day!

Today our Founder & CEO, Jill McAbe wants to share with you her love story.

A story about how she fell in and out of love…and eventually had to leave the online provider for her business.


(You may already be familiar with some of the details if you read our issue: 🥁 Big News! (We Moved) + A Way Better Platform at 1/10th the Price).


All-In-One Platform for Entrepreneurs


Six years ago I found the all-in-one website provider of my dreams, Karta. I knew it was the one because I had already kissed a lot of frogs.


At first when I needed a website builder I tried WordPress, but it was too complicated, Squarespace had functionality issues and Wix...well that was just a mess.


At that time I had courses I needed to host online. I tried several different providers for those; Thinkific, Ruzuku, and Teachable, all with varying results.


Of course, I also needed a to mangage my emails. I used both AWeber and Mailchimp at different times.


I’d been Franken-stitching all these different providers together which caused complete chaos, jumping from site to site. So when I found Kartra, an all-in-one provider I thought I'd hit the jackpot and immediately made them my exclusive provider.


It was such a relief that I joyfully paid my hefty monthly bill, because after all you can’t put a price on happiness. 😍


As Business Grows, Needs Change


But over the years my needs began to change, my business was growing yet Kartra wasn’t growing with me.


The page builder was slow. I'd update text in an email only to go back and find it had reverted back to the previous set-up, and at the time of this article, they don't have a blogging function.


I had a critical need to be searchable online and get my work out to a bigger audience but Kartra's SEO strategies lagged behind market expectations.


But the most frustrating issue, was the arbitrary blocking of leads. Some of my paying customers email addresses would get blacklisted and because of that they'd be blocked and wouldn't receive any of our communications.


Yet even with all that...I stayed.


Evaluating Your ROI


It was wasn't easy to just leave. I’d invested so much time, money, and training into this relationship. My entire catalog of webpages, memberships, and email sequences lived there. I wasn’t ready to just throw that all away. Afterall, we had history.


What I didn’t know at the time was I was struggling with something called the Sunk Cost Fallacy; a phenomenon whereby a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy or course of action because they have invested heavily in it, even when it is clear that abandonment would be more beneficial.


Then, as our team began to excitedly discuss plans and strategies for the upcoming quarters I had to admit to myself that our future couldn’t continue with this online provider. It was expensive, I wasn't comfortable recommending it to friends or clients and the lack of SEO was keeping me invisible to potential clients.


Our relationship had run its course.


The Online Provider that made me love again


Once I began searching I found that in the past six years things had changed and new options were available…and that's when I found ‘the one’.


Systeme caught my eye and the more I got to know it, the more I realized how much we had in common.


It has a page builder that is user-friendly and makes great looking pages. It has optimal SEO strategies. You create your own automation rules, which allows you to customize how you collect your data and it has one of the better industry blogging functions. As well, it supports paypal, something Kartra didn't.


What makes me really happy though is that it grows with your needs.


There is an all-in-one plan for free! Not just a 30 day trial, but a totally free plan. I needed a few more options at my business level, but even their paid plans are extremely reasonable, so I keep more money in my pocket and feel comfortable referring it to others.


Something else we appreciate with Systeme is it's amazing affiliate program. If you love using it and recommend it to others, it can end up paying for your own plan.


My team and I are now packing our resources into digital cardboard boxes and moving over to Systeme.


It wasn't an easy decision for us to switch online providers for our entire business but sometimes you have to ask yourself, "is this relationship serving my needs?". If the answer is no, then maybe it's time for a change, which can open you up to finding the one that truly is your better match.


Speed-Up & Sum-Up: Finding an Online Provider for Your Business


To energetically align and inspire more confidence in your work use Margarita's weekly Midweek Momentum mantra:

"My business platforms fulfill all my needs with ease, flow and fun."

Choosing an online provider for a small business

To speed up the adoption of this mantra, save this image (or take a screenshot) and set it as your phone home screen.


I hope this issue has inspired you to take a look at what is and isn't working in your business and has given you the courage to end the relationships that are keeping your business from growing in the way you want it to.


Next Week


Coming up in our next issue we'll be teaching you how to attract clients who want to pay you more.


We are so excited about our new site in Systeme. You can see here why we love the look and function of this platform.


Thanks for reading!


Here's to every small step toward a big dream,

Jill McAbe and the Midweek Momentum Team


Have a Joyful Rest of Your Week!


A special thank you for supporting Midweek Momentum by reading right down to the bottom! We are grateful for your attention. If you have any ideas or comments about this issue or suggestions for upcoming ones, we'd love to hear from you. You can reach out directly at mm@true2brand.com.


Enjoy this issue? Sign up to receive it in your inbox every other Wednesday here.


Midweek Momentum is hosted by Systeme, our new online home for Midweek Momentum. After years of searching for an all-in-one website, blogging, and email service, we've finally found one we love! 💚

The blog where vision-driven entrepreneurs and organizations find easy and joyful marketing ideas that energetically attract their ideal clients.


Get True2Brand marketing insights delivered to your inbox every other Wednesday.

CATEGORIES

SALES AND MARKETING

AUTHENTIC MARKETING

BRAND MESSAGING

BUSINESS ENERGETICS

MARKETING STRATEGY

PREDICTABLE SALES

BUSINESS MINDSET

By the True2Brand™ Accelerator Team

The blog where vision-driven entrepreneurs and organizations find easy and joyful marketing ideas that energetically attract their ideal clientelle.

Jill McAbe

Executive Director

Founder and CEO


Specialist at True2Brand in vision and strategy facilitation, business model design and leadership development. All about joyful productivity training, and making positive change fun. Not a fan of false dichotomies, Jill loves both dogs and cats, mountains and beaches. She also adores hiking with her two mini-aussie poos.

Joel Baum

AI Director

and Strategic Advisor


Specialist at True2Brand in strategic communications and developing AI Tools and GPTs. Professor of Strategic Management at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. Co-Author of "Epinets: The Epistemic Structure and Dynamics of Social Networks." Joel has a fondness for trees.

Margarita Angelatos

Marketing Director

and Energy Healer


Specialist at True2Brand in energy healing, product design, production, and merchandising. Creator of "One Year of Divine Healing". Former Head Designer and Production Manager for Hard Goods and Accessories at Lululemon. Margarita is a caring animal healer and rescuer and has a passion for travel.

Trina Brooks

Client Success Director

and Implementation Coach


Specialist at True2Brand in Storytelling, Interviewing, Self-Publishing, SEO, and Web Building. Accomplished Playwright and Novelist, Author of the Historical Mystery, "The Barron Hills of Creighton," a novel that will keep you guessing until the last page.

The blog where vision-driven entrepreneurs and organizations find easy and joyful marketing ideas that energetically attract their ideal clients.


Get True2Brand marketing insights delivered to your inbox every other Wednesday.

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EMAIL

momentum@true2brand.com