Managing client relationships is one of the biggest challenges of running a service-based business. Expectations, boundaries, and communication all play a role in whether an engagement runs smoothly or goes off the rails. So, how do you actually know if you're doing a good job?
Karen Sergeant has a solution: a Client Report Card. This system helps her measure and manage client relationships proactively, identifying potential issues before they become problems. As a fractional COO, Karen has spent years refining this process to keep her work feeling calm—even when working inside chaotic businesses. In this episode, we break down her weekly client evaluation system—what metrics she tracks, how she uses the data, and how you can implement a similar approach in your own business.
If you’ve ever struggled with scope creep, unclear expectations, or misaligned client relationships, this conversation is packed with insights that will help you create a calmer, more intentional business.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
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Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here
In this episode of Beyond Margins, we explore the concept of calmer KPIs with guest Kendall Cherry, founder of The Candid Collective. Kendall shares her innovative metric, “Fresh Content Inked,” and how it has transformed her content creation process, business systems, and sales cycle—all while doubling her income. We geek out about how to build sustainable systems that create spaciousness in your business, reduce overwhelm, and prioritize what truly matters.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
• What “Fresh Content Inked” is and why Kendall set a goal of writing six or fewer new pieces of content each month.
• How building a content library can create a “maintenance mode” for your marketing and free up time for other priorities.
• The benefits of an asynchronous sales process and how it aligns with calmer business principles.
• Why posting less—and strategically repurposing content—can lead to better results and higher-quality client connections.
• Kendall’s personal practices for staying creatively and emotionally balanced as a business owner.
Learn more about Kendall Cherry
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We value your thoughts and feedback. Feel free to share them with Susan here. Your input is not just valuable, it's crucial in shaping future episodes.
Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here
In this episode of Beyond Margins, Susan dives into the heart of goal-setting, breaking free from default metrics and focusing on what truly matters to your business and life. She shares her own approach to prioritizing calm as a core business metric and gives a behind-the-scenes look at how she set and tracked a single impactful goal in 2024—taking 12 weeks off to rest (spoiler: she surpassed it).
Susan explores:
Stay tuned for the rest of the series, where Susan will share insights from other business owners about their Calm KPIs, including an upcoming live workshop to develop a custom KPI for one business.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
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How do you reduce urgency in a world where urgency is so deeply embedded? How do you market yourself and your work in a way that is anti-oppressive?
We're continuing in our mini-series on my calmer framework for a calmer business. This week, we're focused on reudcing urgency and techniques for anti-oppressive marketing.
We're joined by Natalia Sanyal, an anti-oppressive copywriter and brand messaging strategist. She’s worked with billion-dollar businesses like Apple and Lululemon, New York Times bestselling authors like Layla Saad & Deepak Chopra, and award-winning marketing agencies. Now, she teaches high-integrity personal brands to use marketing as a force for good so they can sell better and harm less.
On this episode, we learn some techniques to reduce urgency in our work, align actions with values to foster a calmer atmosphere for you, your team, and your business.
Listen to the Full Episode to Hear:
Learn more about Natalia Sanyal
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We value your thoughts and feedback. Feel free to share them with Susan here. Your input is not just valuable, it's crucial in shaping future episodes.
Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here
We live in a society obsessed with productivity and working more, so how can we lean into rest? What are the benefits of building rest into our businesses? And how can we begin to do that?
We're continuing in our mini-series on my calmer framework for a calmer business. This week, we're focused on rest. Rest is often a challenge for us go-getters, solopreneurs, and entrepreneurs. But, it's essential to stop burnout, stay creative, and have a truly calm and sustainable business.
We're joined by Jordan Maney, a Radical Joy Coach™ and creator of the Radical Joy Collab who shares how we can build a rest ethic alongside our work ethic. She coaches others to learn the radical practice of rest so they can bring their visions to life. She’s been featured in New York Magazine, Yahoo, Attn, Oprah Magazine, and Martha Stewart Living.
On this episode, we learn how to design our work systems to include rest in a way that works for each of us, how to push back on scoetal pressure to not rest, and how our work lives and personal lives can be transformed with the power of rest.
Listen to the Full Episode to Hear:
Learn more about Jordan Maney:
Learn more about me, Susan Boles:
We value your thoughts and feedback. Feel free to share them with Susan here. Your input is not just valuable, it's crucial in shaping future episodes.
Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here