Interview with SEO expert: Julia Renee Consulting
Julia Renee Consulting is helping creatives use SEO and Pinterest to grow their businesses. I LOVE women seeing women taking up space in the world of SEO, and I knew I had to ask her if she’d share her process on how she runs her business.
I connected with Julia through Instagram, when I found out she has lived in Denmark (I’m Danish), and is a Husky owner too. There’s a lesson here for me to not be afraid of sharing a little of my life, as that often is how I relate and connect with other creatives.
I love that Julia is teaching SEO because when I opened my first vintage clothing shop years ago, the world of SEO was 100% male-dominated, and the teaching was aimed at tech-savvy male entrepreneurs.
I feel there’s so much I can learn from Julia about how she runs her business, including being big on boundaries.
I hope you’ll find this interview with Julia as inspiring as I do, and perhaps come away with new ideas for how to work in your own business. Enjoy!
What does an average working day look like for Julia Renee Consulting?
I honestly don't have any sort of routine or typical schedule! I like having the flexibility to change things around as I need to (outside of any scheduled calls or training), and I'll honestly do some laundry or go to the grocery store in the middle of the day if I feel like it.
Right now, I usually wake up around 5 and start working on things by 6. It may seem crazy, but my husband is a doctor and needs to get up early for work so I'm up anyway, and I like to get work done before emails start coming in. Then I usually break for a slow breakfast around 8, work some more, and break in the early afternoon for a couple of hours to walk my dog, work out, and eat lunch. Then I'll work some more if I need to, and I'm usually done by 3 or 4.
Do you have any rituals, habits, or perhaps a morning routine to help you begin your day?
I usually just roll out of bed and walk my dog!
How do you structure your day?
I'm pretty chill when it comes to structure and routine. But usually, I try to focus on projects for large blocks of time, so I'll work on two projects a day with some smaller tasks in between. I like having a break for breakfast and a long break at lunchtime to clear my head and help me focus on the next tasks.
How often do you create plans for your business and how often do you review them? For example, do you make 5-year goals and plans, quarterly plans, etc.?
I usually just make a plan and goals each year. I'll check in each quarter to see how I'm progressing on my goals and if anything needs to be adjusted. I don't tend to make plans further than a year out because my business has gone through so many changes in the past few years (plus things like the pandemic threw a wrench into my plans), so I would have to scrap a lot of those goals and start fresh each year anyway.
“By not being distracted by all the different social media platforms, it helps keep me focused on my wants and goals, and I don’t get influenced by what other people are doing in their businesses.”
How do you deal with things not going according to plan (do they ever?)?
They definitely don't always go to plan! Whenever things don't go to plan, I make sure I focus on my client first. For example, I was optimizing a client's site a while back, and something unrelated to the work I was doing kept updating and breaking things on her site. Having her site keep going down was hurting her business (and her SEO), so I worked extra to help her solve the problem. It wasn't something I needed to do, but it was affecting how I could get the project done, and going the extra mile for my client helped her continue to grow her business, which is always my goal.
I've also learned to pad extra time for a project than I think I'll need, just in case technical issues like I mentioned pop up, or if I get sick or have something else happen in my personal life. And if something doesn't come up, then I'm able to finish the project before my client expected it, which makes them happy!
What do you do to stay creatively inspired?
Taking breaks throughout my day and walking my dog always helps clear my head and keeps me inspired! I also do a lot of traveling, which helps me refresh and feel more creative.
How do you look after yourself so you don't burn out? Mentally, emotionally and physically?
Taking breaks and taking true vacations away from work really helps me from burning out. In the past 6 months, I've also started outsourcing a lot more. It takes work off my plate so I don't feel as stressed and busy, and it helps me focus on the tasks that I really enjoy in my business.
How do you deal with distractions when you work? (social media, emails, a dog that needs attention)
I've found that working on one project for a large chunk of time keeps me focused on it. The more often I switch tasks, the more often I find myself checking email or social media unnecessarily.
My dog distracting me is a different story though! Thankfully she's *usually* pretty chill throughout the day and starts getting energetic when it's time for her walks anyway.
She's a cute distraction at least!
Do you get overwhelmed by all the different hats of a solopreneur? If yes, how do you deal with that? If not, what do you do to avoid feeling overwhelmed?
I definitely used to feel really overwhelmed, but now that my business is growing steadily, I'm outsourcing work, and I have automation set up, I don't feel as overwhelmed anymore. Automation is really helpful for doing things like tracking expenses and managing client onboarding documents so I can stay on top of things and stay organized. And so I don't have to spend as much time doing things outside of my client work.
I don't feel overwhelmed with marketing because I keep it super simple (probably too simple for most people). I'm mostly active on Instagram, and I just post twice a week and do Instagram Stories throughout the day as I feel like it (and they're mostly pictures of my dog anyway). I also reuse posts every few months, so I'm not creating everything from scratch. And I still haven't tried Instagram Reels because it's not something I'm interested in spending time on. With my super basic marketing plan, it's easily manageable so I don't get overwhelmed, and my account is still growing every day. It may not work for everyone, but it works well for me.
Can you share some of your boundaries, things you say no to, or have said no to in the past that has served you and your business well?
I'm big on boundaries in my business because I've had a lot of people try to overstep boundaries in the past. It's really really hard at first, but I've started saying no to inquiries that I don't think are a good fit, because they are never worth the headache they can turn into.
I only take a few calls on certain days of the week so my energy isn't drained and I'm not stressed trying to balance a lot of calls and work on the same day. I recently had a pushy inquiry who demanded I call him on a day I was booked or I would lose his business, so I wished him well and declined to call him. I did lose his business, but with how he was treating me, it's not business I would have liked to have had anyway.
I've also set boundaries on how I communicate with clients (I don't give my phone number anymore so no one can call or text me at all hours) and how quickly I'll respond to them. And I worked with a lawyer to have strong contracts in place in case someone does try to overstep, so I can refer back to the contract that they signed.
Last question: can you share some of your favorite tools that help you stay grounded and authentic in your own path?
I don't know of any tools that help me stay grounded, but I would say that actually avoiding some tools like social media platforms helps me stay grounded and authentic.
I am on Instagram (even though I resisted for a long time), and I try not to waste time on it with mindless scrolling. But I'm not really on other social media for my business. I'm not on TikTok, Clubhouse, or whatever the next big social media platform is. Not being distracted by all the different social media platforms, helps keep me focused on my wants and goals, and I don't get influenced by what other people are doing in their businesses.
One of the things I’m learning from Julia is to leave more time for each project. I have a tendency to underestimate the time something takes for me, especially when there’s tech involved. I also appreciate how Julia keeps her social media marketing simple by only using Instagram and sticking to a posting effort that suits her.
Get to know Julia at the following links!
