Stop Rebuilding Your Revenue with Natalie Bernacchi

What If...

What if the reason your income feels like a rollercoaster has nothing to do with your marketing strategy, your content calendar, or your next launch? What if the money you need is already sitting inside your business, and you just do not know where to look? Natalie Bernacchi spent 15 years scaling companies to $50 million in annual recurring revenue, and what she found will change the way you think about growth forever.

The Summary & Guest Intro

Natalie Bernacchi is a retention and revenue strategist, host of the Light Her Up podcast, and founder of the Revenue Framework, a post-sale engine designed to help six and seven-figure founders and startups stop rebuilding their revenue from scratch every single month. She built her career scaling companies from pre-seed to $50M ARR in customer success and account management, then walked away from a corporate career that looked perfect on paper after her six-year-old daughter asked her a question she could not lie to. Now she helps female founders install the systems that turn one-time buyers into raving fans, and sporadic income into predictable, compounding revenue. This episode sits right at the intersection of hustle culture, burnout, and the revenue truth nobody in the female founder space is talking about.

Inside the Episode

• The Daughter Question That Changed Everything: Natalie was sitting at her desk when her six-year-old daughter looked up at her and asked, "Mommy, do you like your job?" She did not want to lie. That single moment catapulted an entire career pivot, and the lesson underneath it is one every woman building something needs to hear.
• The Leaky Bucket Problem: Most founders are pouring everything into sales, launches, and visibility while their existing clients quietly leak out the back. Natalie breaks down what a leaky bucket actually looks like in a real business and why fixing it is always faster than finding new clients.
• The Revenue Framework Flywheel: Forget one-time transactions. Natalie walks through the continuous loop of world-class experience, value realization, engagement, expansion, and referral that turns two or three clients into a scalable, compounding business without burning out.
• The First Client is the Hardest: For the woman sitting at three clients wondering how she will ever scale, Natalie has a reframe that will shift your entire strategy. Every client you land should generate five more. Here is exactly how that math works.
• Systems Are Not Boring, They Are Your Freedom: Natalie made 12-hour days and weekend work the norm after leaving corporate until she realized she had left a job she hated to create another one. Learn how simplifying your systems, starting with onboarding, is the thing that actually gives you your life back.
• The Onboarding Moment Nobody Gets Right: The moment right after someone pays you is the most critical moment in the entire customer journey. Nine times out of ten, if you miss it, that client will not come back. Natalie tells you exactly what to do instead.
• Using Yourself as Your Own Client: Natalie did not just build a framework for founders. She applied it to her own business when she realized she was living the exact opposite of the freedom she left corporate to find. The result changed everything.

Resources & Links

• 🌐 nataliebernacchi.com
• 🧪 Free Revenue Leak Finder Quiz — nataliebernacchi.com (top navigation bar, takes two minutes, gives you actionable next steps)
• 📲 Instagram and LinkedIn: @nataliebernacchi
• 🎙️ Light Her Up Podcast — Natalie Bernacchi
• 📖 What Got You Here Won't Get You There — Marshall Goldsmith (mentioned in episode)
• 🛠️ Tools mentioned: Notion, Trello, HubSpot, Intercom
• 💌 Her Collective with Erica — DM Erica directly for a persona

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Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericarooney/

Join our Facebook Group!: https://urlgeni.us/facebook/fromNOWtoNEXTtribe https://www.facebook.com/joinHERCollective.ER 

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome to Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors, the podcast where we stop playing small, start calling things out, and actually do something about it. I'm your host, Erika Rooney, executive coach, speaker, and a little bit of a movement maker, and I'm on a mission to get more women into positions of power and keep them there.

Because let's be honest, we've been told to lean in, but not too far, to speak up, but not too loudly, to be ambitious, but somehow still likable. And y'all, we're done doing that. This is the space where we break it all down, the sticky floors, the ceilings, and the gaps that are shaping who gets ahead, especially in this next era of AI and leadership.

Some of it's mindset, some of it's burnout, and some of it is the system working exactly as it was designed. Either way, we're not staying stuck in it. Each episode is your nudge to move. One decision, one shift, one bold step [00:01:00] forward. No overhauls, y'all. No waiting until you feel ready, just real momentum. So if you're ready to think bigger, move smarter, and build power on your own terms, you're in the right place.

Let's smash the ceilings and close the gaps. Hey, hey, hey, y'all. Today's episode, it's a treat. This one is not just for my corporate ladies, but it is for any woman who's in charge of revenue. And y'all, this could be in your own business. It could be if you own revenue inside a business. It's about the dollars.

And I got a question for you because I know I have felt this way, but have you ever had a month that just felt like a total breakthrough, like, "Hell yes, I'm killing the game," and then the next month it's crickets. You're starting from scratch. You don't know how you're ever gonna make it. Well, if you said yes to any of that, this episode is going to hit a little bit different.

Now, today's guest, her name is Natalie Renauke, and she has spent 15 [00:02:00] years, y'all, scaling companies to 50 million in annual reoccurring revenue, y'all. And what she learned is that there is something that the female founder world desperately needs to hear, and that's that you don't have a marketing problem.

No, no, no. You got a retention problem. Now, Natalie walked away from a corporate career that, y'all, it looks perfect on paper to build a freedom-based business on her own terms, and now she helps six and seven-figure founders, yes, I said seven-figure founders, and startups stop rebuilding their revenue every single month.

She is what they call a retention and revenue strategist, and y'all, that just has a, like a chef's kiss name here. But she is also the host of the Light Her Up podcast and the founder of the Revenue Framework. So Natalie, welcome to the Glass Ceilings and 

Sticky Floor podcast. I'm so excited you're here today.

Wow. Thank you so much for that intro. That was amazing. [00:03:00] I feel honored to be here, and I just have to say, I love your energy. It's amazing, and I cannot wait for this conversation. 

Well, girl, the E in my name is for extra energy, so- ... that I'm glad I'm delivering. So- 

But I wanna... 

Yeah, I wanna kick today off, Natalie, because I think there are so many women who've been in your shoes where they have it all, right?

They've got the career, they've got the job title, they've got the pay. It's there, and that looks so amazing on the outside. So I wanna- Mm-hmm ... know for you, like you had that. You had this picture-perfect career on paper, but what was actually going on on the inside, and what made you finally say like, "That's it.

I'm done"? 

Yeah. Well, it was a long time in the making, I feel like. Um, I had, like you said, a really incredible career that I am super grateful for because I learned so much, and I'm a firm believer that every single part of your journey, it's like, uh, [00:04:00] steppingstones to get to where you are. So obviously- Yes

what I'm doing now, helping female founders and startups, I couldn't have done this without my prior experience. Um, but I had two kids, one in 2017 and one in 2019, and it really just shifted my whole perspective on life and what my priorities were. And, um, then COVID hit, of course, and I feel like that was a huge, you know, awakening for a lot of people, including myself.

And when life really slowed down, I was like, "I don't wanna miss these moments with my children anymore." My daughter, who was born in 2017, you know, I, I had to hand her over to a daycare person who I had never met before that day at three months old and then go to work, and then I would only see her like every evening.

I left early in the mornings to drive to work so that I could leave early. Then I'd pick her up at like 5:00 in the evening. She then had witching hour, and she went to bed at 7:00. So it was like [00:05:00] just not a great experience, and I really wanted to capitalize on spending time with them while they're so young.

And one day when she was about, I wanna say six years old... Yeah, six years old. So this was not that long ago. She's nine, three years ago. She came up to me, and I was working at my desk. I had finally been able to start working remotely. And she said, "Mommy, do you like your job?" And like for some reason, that very basic question when she looked at me and said that, it...

I didn't wanna lie. I didn't wanna say like, "Yeah, I love my job," when I really didn't love it. Um, so I said, "Nope, but Mommy's gonna change that," and that was truly the moment that it just catapulted my entire, you know... It pivoted my entire career because I set myself a hard goal to leave corporate to then help other women to start their own careers.

Um, so that's where I am today. And it's been a bit of a journey to getting to exactly what I do today, [00:06:00] because when I left corporate, I actually took a bit of time away from the whole, like, customer success, account management, revenue and retention. And it's interesting starting your own business with no structure.

You know, I'm used to, like, structure and framework and all of the things that are in a corporation, and being a, an entrepreneur you have none of that unless you have your own boundaries, and it took me a little bit of time to get my sea legs and learn how to set up that framework and structure. Um, and then I realized, okay, everything that I learned in my corporate career is actually what's gonna make me successful in my own career, so I have to start doing that.

And so when I started speaking with other female founders and, um, I now have my own community called The CEO Besties that I co-founded with another woman, um, a lot of the, them were having the same exact issue. They were in this constant selling, selling, selling, selling. I have to sell to make money. [00:07:00] They were spending all their effort and energy in that, but then all of their clients were leaking out the back, you know, leaking-- Having a leaky bucket, I guess I would call it, where if you're not focused on retention, all that effort that you're doing on selling, selling, selling is, is ultimately you're just losing money.

And all of us have money in our business that's accessible right now with your current clients, and we're just so focused on getting the launch, getting the sales, that we're not really capitalizing and focusing on our existing customer base and that retention, which is going to ultimately lead to a successful business that's sustainable and scalable.

Mm. Well, first of all, I gotta tell you, we are very similar in our life stages right now. I've got two kids. They are-- My son will be 11 next month. My daughter just turned eight. Okay. And so we were kind of going through that together, and I was full-time in corporate during COVID when it hit, and my oldest one

I mean, what, when you were talking about [00:08:00] dropping your daughter off at daycare with a woman you've never even met before, that one hit because we did- Yeah ... COVID kindergarten, and our private schools here were still open, so I had to drop my child off at a school I'd never even set foot in. Oh. Never even met a teacher, and I just remember thinking, like, "This is wild."

Yeah. 

But 

I also really love that you talked about everything in corporate led you to this moment, because if anyone's listening here and they're like, "Well, I'm in corporate," or, "I'm doing this and I don't plan on leaving," like, nobody plans on leaving for the most part. Mm-mm. Like, we're all here to climb the corporate ladder and make some dollars.

Yeah. 

And then sometimes you get to the point where that is just not going to work for you for any reason, but- 

Mm-hmm ... 

I think it's important to say that because so many people Like, those things can happen quickly. Like you said, that was in, I wrote it down, when she was six years old, not that long ago, and now look at you.

And so these changes come, and so I'm really excited about this conversation. I'm excited about where it's gonna go. I wanna hear more about [00:09:00] CEO Besties, but first, girl, I wanna get into, like, this transition that you had from corporate into what you're doing. What was that like for you? Because I imagine that a lot of the emotions and the things that you went through is exactly what you're helping women through in the business you run today.

Yeah, absolutely. So the transition, it wasn't like... You know, there were definitely a bunch of phases in it. So when I had decided, okay, I want to leave corporate, I was in a com- I was at a company that I felt was pretty toxic. I was- Ugh ... struggling a lot there. There were also, like, obviously my daughter, I had just had my daughter.

I wanted to be with my baby, all of these things. But I was unsure if it was, I don't wanna be in this role anymore. I don't like what I'm doing. I don't like corporate. I don't like this company. So there were a bunch of, like, variables where I was like, I wanna make sure that if I'm gonna [00:10:00] leave corporate to do something, that I know this is something I truly wanna do.

So I gave myself, like, a couple of things, sort of like a test run to make, rule some things out. So I quit that job. I went to another startup. Um, the, the company I was with, I had grown from, like, a startup, like pre-angel investor, pre-seed, all the way to 50 million ARR. Left that- Mm. ... company and then went to a startup with, like, three employees.

Um, they were making, like, 10 million revenue a year, so it was, again, like, at that ground level, which I love. I love that feeling of, like, having an idea and you see it live, like, the next day. That's what I love about entrepreneurship as well. Um, so I stayed there for about a year. Again, just to make sure, like, is it this industry that I don't like?

Was it the company I don't like? Is it-- What is it? Um, and still when I was there, I was like, "This isn't really lighting me up." Um, but what does light me up are the people on my team [00:11:00] that I was managing, that I was leading, that they were doing things that they didn't think were possible themselves. So when they did that and they realized, they had that moment of like, "Wow, I really did that," or, "Wow, I got that renewal," or, "Wow, that client signed or renewed."

To see them achieve something they didn't think was possible was what it was for me. And then I was like, that is actually what I wanna do for my own. I don't wanna build someone else's business. I wanna build a business for myself. Um, and so I decided, again, when my daughter came up to me and asked me that question- It was probably in like August and I was like, "I'm going to set a path for myself to do this by December."

And I did. I think my last day was like December 15th of 2024. So then that transition, I like to say it was like I felt like a chicken with my head cut off. I went through like a month of feeling free. "Oh my [00:12:00] gosh, I don't have anyone telling me what to do. I can do my own thing. I can like have my own schedule."

And then I was like, "Wait, I have absolutely no structure and no schedule, and like I can do whatever I want." And while that sounds great, it's actually a little bit-- It's like the less constraints and the less structure you have, the less freedom you also have, which is so interesting. At least that's how it was for me.

Um, and then once I started to like actually put the guardrails on the business and started to have a bit more focus and started to, um, like niche down into what it was that I really wanted to do, that's when things got a lot better. Um, so yeah, it was a bit of a transition getting to where I am today.

Yeah. I like this idea of client retention, and I mean, you clearly labeled it. You don't have a marketing problem, you have a retention problem, and I think that's huge because we should be focusing on the clients that we have, the clients that we serve. I would love to hear from your perspective, like what [00:13:00] are these common places where you see money leaking in founders', you know, companies and their businesses?

Yeah. So it's interesting. When you think about, you know, retention, when I'm speaking to a lot of founders, a lot of times they think it's just like in a membership model or just- Mm-hmm ... in a subscription model, some recurring revenue model, which is fantastic. I'm a huge fan of recurring revenue models.

But a lot of businesses don't necessarily have that. They may just have like one-off, um, services or products that somebody is buying. And so the idea is like how do you keep that customer coming back for more? How do you make them a raving fan? And a lot of times, um, it happens right at onboarding or right at-- So whether it's, let's say, um, some sort of service-based business like a coach that's helping a client, uh, or th- that signs a client, that moment when they sign up or when they start, that moment right after they make their payment and they become a [00:14:00] client is crucial.

If you miss that onboarding, nine times out of 10 that client will not come back. They will not renew. That is like the prime time to make them excited, make them a believer. Even though they signed up, they still might not have that mentality that you think that they do just because they signed up. You need to make sure that you're guiding them, that you're proactive, that you-- You know, I don't know if, if, uh, everyone knows what a customer journey is, but essentially it's mapping out what that customer's experience is going to be like from before they ma- before they sign up and pay you for their product or service, all the way through their entire experience, through renewal, through off-boarding, whatever that is for you and your company, because you want to be able to anticipate where things would go wrong.

So I like to say, like, when people think of customer success, I think they think of customer service. Like, "Oh, you're just being nice. Oh, you're just being friendly and [00:15:00] helpful and doing things for people," or... That's not what it is, actually. The more agency that you can give your clients, the more that they can do things on their own and they're just using you as a guide, the more that you can be proactive about certain things along their customer journey to anticipate where they might encounter a problem so they don't encounter that problem, um, that's where you're gonna see the renewals, the people coming back and buying more, the referrals.

So there are, there's a few different areas that I see a lot of the money leaking, and a lot of it's on onboarding. It can be in your referral program. It can be in your customer experience, um, area, and also in, um, just retention in general. 

Yeah. I think this connects so perfectly in my mind, because back when I was in corporate too, I was also the chief people officer of employee experience.

Mm. Okay. And it was all about [00:16:00] the start to end, and the whole thought process behind it is there is no end. And so if you are a great company to work for, right, your core values and how to, how you do work and what you stand for was all on the website. And so the emp- potential employee's perspective- Mm-hmm

was already being shaped about you by what they could find online, by how they could see. So that's the marketing piece, right? We can't forget. Mm-hmm. That does exist. But then, you know, you would onboard them, and they would live in your employee wheelhouse for forever, and then everyone's hope should be that one day your employee outgrows the company and goes on to bigger and better things, right?

Right. 

When they go on to bigger and better things, do they still speak highly of your company? Do they still meet people out in the wild and say, "Oh my gosh, you're an engineer? I know a great engineering firm," or what have you? Like, how are they still speaking about you to this day? And I think that that is a really great picture because it never has to end, right?

Like, I've got companies that have all served my career in some way, shape, or form. [00:17:00] There are some that I talk great about, and there are some that I'm like, "Ooh, I wouldn't work there, girl." Mm-hmm. And so how is that shaping it? So I think that's super cool, and all of this ties into what you call the revenue framework, and I think that's what we are all here for today is the revenue framework.

And this is your methodology behind literally everything that you do. So without giving away the whole playbook, because hello, that's what they go to your subscription model for, tell-- talk to me about the shift that changes everything for a founder when she actually installs this revenue framework? 

So it's actually a lot of what you just spoke about, like how you related it to your experience as a chief people officer, where there's never really an end to it.

So it doesn't mean that this is like a renewal, a recurring subscription where people are-- like a Netflix, where it's just gonna recur- Right ... every single month and you're just gonna have them forever. No, like what it means is [00:18:00] that they're coming into your world, and once they're in your world, um, you are g- walking them through this whole process.

And it's kind of like, I call it a flywheel because it's all-- it is continuous. Um, but you're making sure that, first of all, they pay you for your product or service, and then you are providing a world-class experience for them. Again, whether that is a service, uh, you know, service-based, um, offer or a product, you wanna make sure that their experience through receiving that product, using that product, receiving that service, the results that they're getting is world-class.

Then after that, you wanna make sure that they are getting that value realization. So realizing that value is key. When-- Especially as a service provider, you wanna make sure that you're getting to that value realization as soon as possible. The longer that takes, the [00:19:00] more likely that that customer is not going to wanna stick around.

Um, and then of course, there's like engagement. Once you have them engaged and they're a raving fan, you can work within their, whether it's like a, a small business or a one-person individual that you're working with, there are ways to expand them or upsell them or put together a referral program.

Because if you're working with a client that you love, you want to be able to attract more of that type of person, more of your dream client. So what better way to do that than getting them to refer people that they know that are just like them? And then it really goes back to then just optimizing that framework and continually refining, and then it's a whole loop again with the next client or that same client, depending on the business model that you have.

Um- Mm ... but ultimately it is to utilize what you already have in your business to [00:20:00] compound and scale your company rather than spending all your money on new sales, new sales, new sales. If you're focused on your existing client base, they're gonna be more loyal to you. They're gonna stick around. They're gonna be the people that are shouting you from the rooftops everywhere they go, and that's how you get a scalable compounding business.

All right, I got a question. What about the woman who's like, "Okay, I get it, but I only have like three clients," right? What- Yeah ... what is the advice there? Because they're like, "I've got three." I need more money. Help. 

Yeah, and there's a couple ways to do it. So it, again, depends on the model that you have, but people with two or three clients can be just as successful, if not more successful, than people with hundreds of clients.

Because maybe if you're working, like, a high-level offer, you have two to three clients, or maybe it doesn't even start out as high level. Once you have those two to three [00:21:00] clients ... I always say it's the first one is the hardest one. Honestly, the first one is the hardest one. Once you get the first one, it's actually a lot easier to repeat that process, and that's the goal here, is to create a repeatable process that is, like, your signature process, that is, again, I like to use the world- word, world-class experience.

Um, but if you have a two to three clients, think about it as every single client you get should make you five additional clients. So use those two to three clients to deliver the most value that you can to them, you know, with a good value exchange, but knowing that every single one of those clients is gonna either upsell, they're going to come with you on your journey by maybe some future offers that you have that are higher value, that are longer, and then they're again gonna become a raving fan and shout you from the rooftops to other people.

And then that they provide you with testimonials, they, you know, not [00:22:00] just referrals, but you're using them as proof of concept to get more clients. 

So I like it. I mean, I think a lot of people know that in their brain, like they understand and they want to deliver that world-class customer experience.

They understand the concept of referrals and testimonials, but what about the revenue framework really makes that different and stand out? Like, what makes that so successful? 

You know, I think especially working with female founders that are solopreneurs or entrepreneurs, again, because everyone is, for the most part, this is generalizing, but most people that I meet are selling, selling, selling, selling.

So you're selling, you're scaling, you're getting to your 100K, you know, uh, annual revenue, and then you wanna get beyond that, and then you get to 200K, 300K. Once you get to those points, the systems that you have in place, or I guess lack thereof, [00:23:00] will not work for you going forward. So there is a book that I love, it's called "What You-- What Got You Here Won't Get You There," and I actually read that when I was in corporate as a...

and applied it to my corporate career. And now I use it in my entrepreneurial career as I'm scaling businesses because the systems you have in place when you are making $50,000 a year versus $100,000 a year or when you have two or three clients versus when you have hundreds of clients- They need to change and evolve.

And now we have, like, this is the best time in the world to create these systems because we have such incredible technology to use, and AI, and you can automate, still providing a human experience. Um, but I think in the revenue framework, we do what I call engine optimization. So the goal is to create this revenue framework in your business that literally is an engine.

It's a sales engine. I call it, like, a [00:24:00] post-sale engine. So after you make that sale, how is that engine gonna be a well-oiled machine that's just moving and generating revenue for you? And so that includes the systems that are set up to make sure that you're getting the testimonials, the referrals, the upsell paths.

And the, the timing is critical. Like, depending on when you're asking for these things, it needs to make sense with where this customer is at in their customer journey. So, h- uh, the-- I guess the difference is, is like, yes, there is this framework that we apply, of course, but every business is different. And so it's really taking a look at each and every business individually and making sure that the revenue framework is being applied in a way that meets the customer where their business model is at.

Well, and I think that's super important for people to hear because there's so many influence out- influencers out there who choose, "You can only grow on these systems and doing this," and, like, that's just not the world that [00:25:00] we live in these days. 

No. 

But I love all of that. I think it's so just fascinating how you've put this together, and everybody needs to be focusing on their customer journeys and growth and revenue.

Mm-hmm. But when I think back to starting my own business, breaking those first six figures, getting all of that done, I wanna know from you and with your experience, like a lot of the times as founders, we are married to the hustle. Yeah. And so we are all about the launches and the content and just, you know, constant visibility.

So when you kinda stepped back from that, you know, in the corporate world, and now you're doing the revenue engine in your community, how are you able to continue to grow the business and show up in all the places but not feel burnt out? 

So, you know, the struggle is real. Absolutely. But the whole reason why I went back to this, you [00:26:00] know, building out the revenue framework and really helping-- niching down, essentially, instead of just being like, "Oh, I'm a business coach, and I'm gonna help every-" One with everything in their business 

Every business out there.

Yeah. Every industry. 

It's because truly with my own journey, like when I left corporate and I started my own business, it was with the goal of helping other women be able to leave their corporate job. So when I started helping them with just a broader business lens, and also like using myself as my own client and, you know, ramping up and starting my own business, I was d- doing that exact same thing that you're talking about, Erica, where I was getting so burned out.

I was working like 12-hour days. My kids were literally like, on the weekends like, "Mom, it's the weekend. Why are you working?" Or like I'd put them to bed at night and then work. Like the classic story that I feel like so many entrepreneurs do for a variety of reasons. One is you really are excited and passionate about it, so [00:27:00] you love working on it every moment of the day.

But then it starts to turn into this like resentful towards a f- type of feeling, which is never where we want to get when we're building our own business. 

Mm. 

Um, so, so yeah, I used myself as my own client and then I started... I just pumped the brakes and I took a step back and I looked at my business high level and I was like, "Where am I missing the mark?"

Like, I quit my corporate job to be able to spend more time with my kids, and it's actually like the opposite of that. I'm spending way more time working and away from my kids. And so I was like, "Why am I not applying what I learned in this 15 years of business and scaling as an expert to my current business?"

And so as soon as I did that and I implemented the systems, the systems is really key. Um, and also knowing like I'm a s- I'm a person, one person. I'm just gonna give it the best that I can give it. Like if I'm being completely honest, [00:28:00] it's like you only have so much capacity in a day, so how do you make that the most efficient and still taking care of your existing clients?

And if you're taking care of your existing clients, the word is going to spread, word of mouth. You know, you'll... Like you mentioned, like if you're a raving fan, you'll scream it from the rooftops. Growing up, I worked in restaurants and I remember like my manager in that restaurant was like, "If someone loves their experience while eating in this restaurant, they're probably not going to share it as much as someone who really had a horrible experience in this restaurant."

Like that review will be everywhere. You have to 

ask for it. Exactly. You have to ask for it. People are not motivated to go out and do those things. They're motivated to tell you when you messed up, you know. Yeah. 

Yeah. 

But they're not there to tell you when you did a great job. 

Yeah. So a lot of this is like, you know, again, like- Asking for the testimonials at the right [00:29:00] time, asking for the referrals at the right time, because you wanna make sure, again, that they've hit that value realization in their customer journey.

And most peop- most entrepreneurs I know, they don't have a customer journey mapped out. They're not asking at the right times, if at all. They're not following up. They're not being proactive about making sure that, you know, the, the clients are, uh, the clients aren't hitting those problems, and, like, they're waiting for a client to hit a problem, and then fixing it.

It's like we could do a little bit more proactiveness, like really thinking thoughtfully through, like, where could things go wrong here, uh, to make sure, again, that they're hitting that-- they're getting that value as close to the time of sign-up as possible. 

Yeah, I think that's a big piece of it because in today's fast-paced world, like, things just move so quickly.

Uh, you talk a lot about systems, and I am a big systems girly. I [00:30:00] know the success. It is still very challenging for me, too, sometimes as, like, a high, you know, personality, high energy, go out and get 'em. Systems feel really boring. They feel very analytical. They feel like, "Oh, I've got to build another thing."

Yeah. So talk to me about, like, what do you mean when you say the systems, and what are some of the most important systems that people who want to have this reoccurring revenue need to capture? 

So I think simplicity is key in systems. You know, we tend-- And I do it, too. Like, I fall in the same exact trap of, like, we tend to overcomplicate things and make things so much more difficult than they need to be.

The most money that I have ever made in my business has been when things are as simple as possible. So it could be depending on where you're at in your business. Obviously, the more money that you're bringing in, the more complex the system probably needs to be, but as [00:31:00] simple as possible. So really just starting with mapping out that customer journey and then figuring out what that looks like from onboarding.

Like, start with onboarding. Start there. Because if people aren't getting their onboarding properly, they're not gonna renew. They're not gonna refer you. They're not gonna wanna come back and buy more 'cause their experience just wasn't... It was, like, either meh, like it- Yeah ... it was flat, or it didn't... You wanna, like, knock their socks off and make them feel really excited about whatever it is that you're offering.

Yeah. 

Really guided, really taken care of. Um, so I would start with the onboarding, and that doesn't have to be anything crazy. It could be, okay, when someone signs up, are they getting an automated email that tells them what to do? Are they l- Like, have you ever signed up for something and you're, like, waiting for the email?

Yeah. You're like, "Where's the email?" We want 

instant gratification. I want that email now. 

You just paid someone something and you're like, "Wait." Then you feel like your money just went into, like, the ethers [00:32:00] and you're like, "Okay, this doesn't feel good." So you wanna make sure people feel good. Like, put yourself in the client's shoes.

Um, the other systems would be, like, making sure that they're not going a long time without you touching base with them. Again, it's all about proactive. Mm. Like in, in the world that I came from in customer success and account management, you want to be top of mind for whatever it is that you're offering.

So if you, if your client isn't reaching out to you, you know, you wanna make sure you're reaching out to them. So having some sort of system in place that's like, "Okay, I haven't heard from this person in a while. I, I should reach out and just offer help," or not... You have to reach out with some sort of value.

It can't just be like, "Hey, just checking in," because we get 1,000 emails a day. So it's gotta be something where it's, like, worth their time to either look at your email, pick up your phone call, whatever it is. So I always try to think of what is some sort of value that you can give to this [00:33:00] person when you're reaching out.

And that system behind it could be if you have a project management tool, like I use Notion. There's a ton of tools. There's Trello, there's, um, HubSpot, there, you know, depending on where you are in your business, but it could just be a reminder, "Hey, reach out to this person-" 

Yeah "... 

on this day, once a week," or, you know, whatever that looks like for you.

But again, it's just a simple system from behind the scenes. Every business is going to be slightly different just based on where they're at revenue-wise, how many customers they have, what their offer is, but it's these reminders essentially to make sure that you're being proactive and that clients are getting things quickly.

Mm. I love that. That's awesome. Mm-hmm. I do think it's really important to focus in on that client journey, and it's kind of like the rest will take care of itself. If you are doing- Yeah ... good work and providing good work, like you said, get that first sale, make it happen, and then go all in on that person.

They are already trusting you with their dollars. 

Yes. 

You better deliver. Yeah. [00:34:00] All right, Natalie. Last question, best question, and I love to ask this because the gift of hindsight is something we will all have one day, right? Yeah. But today may not be that day. But when you look back at the Natalie who's in corporate, sitting at her desk with her daughter saying, "Mommy, do you like your job?"

And recognizing, like, in that moment, "Oh sh*t, no, I don't." And like, "I don't want this for my child," 'cause that's really what's underneath it all is like, "I don't want this as a living legacy for my girl to see." Right. What would be the piece of advice that you have for someone who might be in that same situation, right?

And I'm not saying it's gotta be the person who needs to leave and go start their business, but for that person who's just like, "Crap, I don't like where I am right now." Like, what is your piece of advice? 

I have two. One is- Mindset is a lot of it. Yeah. And so, you know, again, with the hindsight's 20/20, when I was in corporate [00:35:00] in that phase where I was like, "I do not like this.

Like, what, why am I sitting here building this system and putting this together and learning this new tool? This is gonna do nothing for me in the future," yes, it does. There's so many times now where I'm like, "Thank God I had to put that system together and install Intercom and learn this process," because I would not be as tech-savvy as I am today.

But, like, you know, that applies in so many different things. And the other thing is, if you are ever in a situation where you're not happy or things aren't going your way or you're in a season of life that's really hard, know that just taking action is number one, gonna bring you clarity, and it's gonna get you out of your situation.

Wow. You just have to take, like, one step a day. It doesn't have to be anything crazy, but you have the choice. You have the control over your situation. Yeah. So just take a step every day and you'll eventually, like, wake up one day and you'll have a completely different life. [00:36:00] Yeah. 

Well, I mean, it's true, right?

Just you're either letting it be Groundhog's Day or you're not. Yes. So do something different. Start with a step. I love that advice, Natalie. I love this idea of revenue and retention strategist. It's amazing. I think it's perfect for the woman who's in corporate, who's not in corporate, like, we need to be focusing on these things.

Yes. 

And so I really do appreciate your insight on the topic and sharing the revenue framework for us. And if somebody wants to find you, where can they find you? I know you're on the 'Gram and all those places, so- Yeah ... tell me. Yeah. 

I hang out on Instagram and LinkedIn. Um, it's just @nataliebernacki, and I'm sure you'll put that in the show notes 'cause my last name is ridiculous to spell.

Um, and then the other thing is, for anyone who does have their own business and you're thinking like, "Hmm, I wonder where in my business I could improve my retention or where that revenue leak is," 'cause most people have one, and there's always, you know, a way that you can improve it. Um, if you go to my [00:37:00] website, nataliebernacki.com, on the, uh, top navigation bar, there's a free revenue leak finder.

So you can go there. I'll also send you the, um, link so you can put it in the show notes. But it's a two-minute quiz. You can take it, just answer it truthfully, spend the two minutes. It'll give you- where your gaps are, where your leak is, and actually what to do about it. So it'll give you actionable tips to take away where- that you can apply to your own business today.

Hmm. The revenue leak. I'm gonna identify mine today. Yep. Natalie, thank you so much. This has been so fun. 

Awesome. Thank you so much, Erica. 

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