Dubsado Founder Beccca Berg: An Identité Insider Interview

You know that game “Who in history would you want to have dinner with, alive or dead”? Well, if you asked me, I would immediately start gushing about Becca Berg. Former photographer turned creative tech startup co-founder, Becca is the epitome of grace and power. She and her husband, Jake, created Dubsado – the client management software for creatives that literally runs our business here at IDCO. From building a product that does 15+ people’s jobs for you, to creating a supportive community that uplifts and educates, I have never been more loyal to a brand than I am to Dubsado.

 

Today, I have the immense honor of introducing you to Becca, so you can fall in love with her as hard as I have. Keep reading below to hear how it started, how she’s grown to a team of 8 employees, where Dubsado is going and how she feels about planes.

 

HOW IT ALL STARTED

Even though I talk about Dubsado every day of my life – not everyone knows what it is. Can you give us a rundown of what Dubsado is?

Dubsado is a client management system for creative entrepreneurs. It is your central hub for running your business… from sending contracts, to invoicing, to sending forms, bookkeeping, and so much more!

What was your formal education or past career experience in? How do you translate that past experience into your current business?

My formal education is in Deaf Studies / Interpreting. BUT ended up not pursuing that after graduation and instead was a photographer along with a few other side things!

Do you miss anything about your “old life?”

Hmm, this is tough because I truly love this stage of life. But I guess if I had to choose, pre-kids, it would be date nights!

When did you decide to create a software as a service? Was it a master plan or a stroke of luck?

It just happened. Jake always had the idea to, but no real focus on who it should be for. A few years later, I was needing a system for my photography business, so we came back to the idea he originally had and just gave it a focus for creative entrepreneurs.

You recently moved into a new office – congratulations!!! What was the “tipping point” when you knew you needed to expand + grow?

It was Jake and I working at Dubsado for about a year. We needed help. We hired a few awesome people, then needed more help. Our family just kept growing. We had about 8 people crammed into the tiniest little space…we could basically hear each other breathing. We needed space to create, relax and have fun!

The process to actually finding and GETTING an office was insane. We signed a lease on a space that was being built…they never finished it…it still is not finished. We found another spot, but then it was taken off the market. Then we found our current space and fell in LOVE. Problem was, we were still locked into the lease of the un-built place. Luckily, they were past the point of promised delivery date and we were able to get out of the lease! PHEW!

We really like the term “My New Normal” as business starts to take off + exciting things start happening. What was your most exciting “New Normal” or “Big Win” moment?

I never thought our “new normal” would be to have as many new users coming into Dubsado each day. And because of that we have been able to innovate and create with our team every single day creating more things for our users to love.

Who was your biggest mentor + what single takeaway could you pass on to us?

My husband, Jake. Can I say that? No, really. In everything, he has always pushed me to become stronger and better every single day. He makes me push my limits in business and stop being so reserved in my thinking. Together we have decided, whatever goals that you have you can achieve them. You have to obsess, you have to picture it, you have to dream of it happening. The more you picture it happening, the more it becomes your reality!

NOW YOU’RE HERE

 

There are other products that serve some of the same purposes as Dubsado. If you had to pick one feature that sets Dubsado apart – what would it be?

The ability to customize in Dubsado. We make it easy to have your forms that you send your clients feel just like your brand! No stale forms here. Just beautifully branded forms.

Also, I think our client portals are pretty darn awesome too! Nothing like being able to keep your clients organized as well.

Dubsado’s commitment to community is one of it’s most admired features. How do you maintain a positive, upbeat and inclusive online community?

Running a Facebook community is hard and really a lot of work, but it is totally worth it. Just making sure everyone feels heard and cared for is one of our biggest things!

Competition is a dirty word – but we think it’s healthy. How do you harness your competitive energy to create better products?

We love some good ‘ole competition. We ALWAYS have our users in mind. We want them to be happy and love whatever we produce. We always want to be innovating and doing better than we were a month ago, a week ago…yesterday. We even compete with ourselves to make sure we are staying fresh and better than ever.

Who have you LOVED collaborating with? Tell us about that project + why it was so fun!

Ohhh… I cannot share YET! But we have something awesome coming! 😉

If you could redo one step in building your business – what would it be + how would you change it?

Not setting a launch date for beta so early on. We had a newborn, a 2 year old, and were running other businesses. Life was crazy. We bit off way more than we could chew at that time, but we did it. We pulled it all off. It was so very stressful. That stress would be something I would want to change, but really because of that, we have made sure to never do that ever again!

You founded your company with your husband. How do you keep it professional at work and maintain sanity at home?

Running your own business, you bring home work with you. It is just reality! But we do make sure we allow time that we can just focus on the kiddos have a good laugh with a show at night and just creating little moments for US!

How has social media fueled your business?

It not only fueled our business, but it is what got us to where we are today! We grew Dubsado SOLELY on Instagram. We posted consistently. We shared our personal lives. We shared our work lives. We were genuine. In the beginning, we only used Instagram to get our name out there and people signed up for our beta launch list! Just be real and be you and people will LOVE that!

 

What is your team like? What do you consider before deciding to bring on a new hire? It looks like you guys have so much fun together!

We have SO much fun! We all work very well together too. I think what makes us so strong as well is our skill set! We are all good at such different things. And as a whole we are powerful!

What does your morning routine look like? Do you stick to a schedule?

Mornings are insane. The first thing I do in the morning is wake up and check my email. I just like to do that to give myself peace of mind and see what I am getting into for the day! I like to get ahead on emails a bit. Then getting ready is always a mad dash with kids running around and asking for this or that 🙂 But each morning is pretty much the same… however how many times I have to change my outfit until I find the right one varies.

I can personally say that you answer emails at all hours of the day. How do you manage a work life balance? Do you set any specific boundaries?

We do. I have inbox 0 anxiety! Ha! But I also do want our people to know that we always have their backs and are here for them. We have our routines…like my morning email responding and then I usually hold off until I get to work. Then at night, we don’t really do any emails then until we put the kids down. Once the emails are back to 0 we then clock out for the night and relax with a nice show!

THE NITTY GRITTY

 

Favorite song lyric: 

“With every broken bone I swear I lived” Why? Because life is HARD. With work, kids, family, personal time, everything… we have so much going on in life, but we are LIVING. It isn’t easy, but I have never felt so alive!

Favorite cake flavor:

I actually do not like cake. Ha! I know, I am odd. [editors note: this was awkward information to discover, since I had literally just sent cupcakes to their office last week]

What are you currently binging on Netflix?

Parks and Rec!

Pet peeve:

Sharing drinks

Fave Instagram accounts to follow:

@jasminestar, @westelm, @joannagaines, @letterfolk, @studiomcgee (I love design)

Afternoon snack:

Freeze dried mangos

Dream vacation:

My home. Ugh, I am such a home body…. Okay, if I had to choose Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur. I am terrified of flying!

 

CONNECT WITH BECCA 

Dubsado’s Website  /  Dubsado Instagram  /  Becca’s Instagram

 

 

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Personal note from Anastasia – Dubsado has changed my life. It’s given me a business more lucrative and fulfilling than I could have ever imagined – both monetarily and personally. If you’re a creative entrepreneur running a business full time, or part time, don’t hesitate for a moment. Use code “Anastasia” for a discount on your membership.

Becca – thank you for taking the time to chat with us. You know how I feel about you and the team. It’s an honor to watch your growth and successes. Next time, I’ll send dried mangos. 😉

*FYI – this is neither paid, nor sponsored, and I don’t gain anything from you signing up. I just believe in this company, in these people, so fully, so completely, I want everyone to feel what I feel doing business with them. 

Did you love this interview? You need to read what Rebecca Atwood has to say about building her lifestyle empire, where Raena Albers finds inspiration for her interior design projects, and how Chrissy McDonald has become one of the hottest up-and-coming lifestyle bloggers in the country.