Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sabryna Wright. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Sabryna, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so we’d love to hear about how you got your first client or customer. What’s the story?

When I first developed the idea to start a business…or rather, finally do the thing that had been brewing inside of me for years; I wanted to create trust and longevity. It was important for me to test my services but also respect my client and community by being fair in my pricing. At the time, I had over 15 -years of small to corporate-sized business experience and I knew I could provide solutions for small businesses based on the need that I had experienced as an employee and executive assistant. However, I needed to make sure that the processes I had developed were actually going to work. I also needed to know that I could develop even more offerings to maintain a customer base for the future. I began developing everything I needed to launch my business in February of 2021 with an anticipated launch date of April 2021. I had a LOT to do and even more to plan. I started with a name, a service list, a website, and finding the tools I would need to make it all happen. The only thing I didn’t have was the most important of them all, I didn’t have reviews.
How was I going to charge money for something I had never confirmed would be a success? I knew I wasn’t an expert, I knew I could do it but I also couldn’t launch this business without at least a couple of people to vouch for my name.
I put a call out to my friends and family on my LinkedIn and my Facebook. As a military brat, I had friends all over the world in different phases of life, surely I could find a couple of friends that needed some help.
I didn’t just ask if I could help anyone, I offered my services at no monetary cost, I just wanted constructive feedback and a solid review if they were satisfied with what I could provide.
Turns out, NINE people needed help and I narrowed it down to five people, some I had never even met and we got to work. Over the next couple of months, I dove into what they were struggling with for automation, marketing, strategy, and eventually brand design. I had originally planned to just offer small business solutions for back-end automation but because of this and my ability to truly put myself in their shoes, I now offer much more. Currently, Be-efficient Solutions offers web design, automation, brand development, strategy coaching, consulting plus much more.
I was able to land my first paying client in the first week of launching. Since I officially launched with five reviews, I immediately had community trust and my business steamrolled into growth from the very beginning.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started working at 15 years old with a worker’s permit and I’ve maintained employment for the last 15+ years working in small to corporate-sized businesses. As a single mom, I had been stuck in an endless loop of working low-paying jobs that took all of my time and gave me more stress than what it was worth. I was losing time with my children, I was exhausted and barely making ends meet. Even with high education, I was still at the bottom of it, and unfortunately, I was working in toxic environments for employers who had very little care for their employee’s work/life balance or even liveable wages. I had always worked in positions that gave me experience in daily operations, back-end work, and executive assistant positions that put me in meetings that allowed me to learn the ins and outs of business management. One area that I always felt could be better was the automation of manual work that took away from productivity. No matter how many suggestions I made with actually written proposals, I was never taken seriously. It was infuriating. When the pandemic sent us all home, the business I was working for at the time was able to transition to online but just barely. I saw how stressful this was for the owner because it came down on me. I witnessed countless small businesses close their doors simply because they weren’t prepared or caught up with technology. It was heartbreaking.
After supporting this small business throughout the pandemic while working for so little pay, on top of homeschooling two children, being terrified of the unprecedented world we were living in, and all of the other challenges that we were facing, I was let go for not being able to hire new team members…during a time when no one was working. To make it worse, this particular employer had expressed multiple times that if it weren’t for my work and diligence during such a trying time, they wouldn’t have been able to make it…three weeks later on the first day back to work in 2021, I was let go for not meeting stats. I was every emotion you could imagine.
I sulked for a bit, I worked through the betrayal and then I got to work updating my resume. Out of frustration, I was complaining to my partner that I couldn’t bare the thought of interviewing, landing a low-paying job, and following the same cycle again and I wish I could just start my own business and make the wrong into right. His response was to tell me that I would never have another opportunity and to go for it and so I did.
I started out with ideas to solve issues for the employees that I once was, the employees who did more than what they were hired for, the ones forced to manually enter data that should be uploaded automatically, I wanted to solve efficiency issues for business owners so they could focus on growth and take the pressure off of everyone.
I began with my package ideas, I developed a name: Be-efficient Solutions, and I started to work on everything I knew a business needed to find success. This led me to offer my first services in exchange for a review, finding that almost every new business needs the same things and then growing my own to match that need.
Today, in August of 2022 I now have over 40 clients and I have brought on four team members to begin handling their own projects. I also specialize in Strategy Coaching and Consulting (Be with Bry) and if you can believe it, I launched the Honeycomb Network that matches local talent to small businesses in need, much like an employment agency.
The opportunities are endless and my favorite part of being a business owner is that if I don’t like it or it’s not working, then I can just change it. I will say though, that I absolutely put in way more time than I ever did as a 9-5 worker, however, I have a healthier balance and more time with my family.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I actually didn’t plan to grow my business on Instagram, it was kind of an accident. When I originally began, I wanted to show my authentic journey of what it looks like to be an entrepreneur and to start a business…specifically during a pandemic. I needed an outlet and a way to connect with my community. I didn’t want followers, I wanted relationship building and I wanted the people who connected with me to be real, everyday people in the small business and consumer industry. I shared my day-to-day, the good the bad, and the ugly on Instagram stories. I would go live to chat about dilemmas and how I was working through them, ideas that I had, and how I planned to execute them. Everything.
There are some things I would change, such as giving away too many secrets and learning the hard way that not everyone is your friend but for the most part, this worked perfectly!
Most of my business comes from social media marketing and I’ve adapted to consistency and brand development to clarify my message. This turned into the subsidiary of Be-efficient Solutions named Be with Bry, which is my Instagram handle. Be with Bry happily became Coaching and Consulting.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Word of mouth referrals and social media connections have been HUGE for leads. I know that if you deliver a quality service, you will be recommended. As long as you can maintain your promises and offerings, take care of your clients, and adjust accordingly – you will almost never have to spend money on paid-for marketing such as ads. There is a great deal of understanding for constant self-evaluation and the ability to ask for (and accept) constructive feedback so you can keep growing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.be-efficient.solutions
• Instagram: bewithbry , @be.efficient.solutions
• Facebook: Facebook.com/be.efficient.solutions.fb

Image Credits
Jess Veguez Photography – photos of Bry at MastHERmind Monday hosted by EmpowHERment Graphics created by Be-efficient Solutions