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Episode 318

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Published on:

11th Jun 2026

How this Wedding Photographer Plans to Save 180 Hours a Year With Better Systems with Jordan Craig

What if the biggest thing holding your business back wasn't marketing, pricing, or lead generation, but the fact that everything lived inside your head? In this episode, I sit down with Jordan Craig, a wedding photographer who joined Systems in Session after years of managing inquiries, contracts, invoices, reminders, and client communication manually. Together, we unpack what happened when he moved from a patchwork process of Gmail, reminders, QuickBooks, and memory-based workflows into a streamlined Dubsado system designed to support both his business and his life.

Jordan shares what surprised him most about the experience, how automation improved his client experience instead of making it feel robotic, and why he believes he'll gain back more than 180 hours every year because of the systems we built together.

Find It Quickly

00:24 - Meet Jordan

01:32 - The Chaos Before Dubsado

03:38 - Five Minute Proposals

07:15 - Email Like You Mean It

13:39 - Centralized CRM Wins

17:14 - Offboarding Reviews Blogging

18:54 - Automation Balance

21:08 - Next Services To Automate

24:33 - Timing Inquiries And 60 Days

30:17 - Favorite Parts And GPTs

Mentioned in this Episode

Systems in Session: coliejames.com/systems

Email Like You Mean It: coliejames.com/email-like-you-mean-it

Connect with the Guest

Website: jordancraigmedia.com

Instagram: instagram.com/jordancraigmedia

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Show artwork for Business-First Creatives: Client Experience & Systems for Service Providers

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