Episode 310

full
Published on:

7th May 2026

Launching Isn't Just for Courses: Here's How It Transforms Service-Based Businesses with Kelsey McCormick

If you've ever thought that launching only works for digital courses with fake urgency and overly complicated sales tactics, this episode will shift your mindset. Kelsey McCormick of Coming Up Roses joins us to completely reframe what launching actually means, especially for service providers.

Kelsey breaks down why launching isn’t about pressure or hype, but instead about clarity, trust, and giving your offers the attention they deserve. We dive into what it really means to move from passive selling to proactive selling, why your audience might be full of “lurkers,” and how a strategic warmup can completely transform your results.

Find It Quickly:

00:24 - Meet Kelsey

01:53 - Why Launching Matters Now

05:30 - Trust Selling and Visibility

08:15 - Productize Your Expertise

13:51 - Warmup Bridge to Sales

16:08 - How Long to Warm Up

20:08 - Waitlists and Audience Heat

21:07 - Incentives Without Discounts

24:51 - Bonuses and Alignment

28:22 - Internal Urgency Messaging

32:04 - Launch Frequency Sweet Spot

34:45 - Messy Action and Learning

39:16 - Postmortems and Data Review

Connect with Kelsey:

Website: cominguproses.co

Instagram: instagram.com/cominguproses.co

The Warmup Waitlist Week: cominguproses.co/products/www

Launch Your Own Way: cominguproses.co/products/lyow

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