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“By staying connected to oneself and breaking free from the patterns and limitations passed down through generations, individuals can tap into their inner knowing and make decisions that align with their true selves.”
What if you could get more of what you want in life? But not through pushing, forcing, or pressure.
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And Kate Northrup, Bestselling Author of Money: A Love Story and Do Less and host of Plenty, is here to help you expand your capacity to receive all of the best.
As a Money Empowerment OG who’s been at it for nearly 2 decades, Kate’s the abundance-oriented best friend you may not even know you’ve always needed.
Pull up a chair every week with top thought leaders, luminaries, and adventurers to learn how to have more abundance with ease.
Kate Northrup: Hi. Welcome to Plenty. I'm really excited for today's episode. I have, as a guest, Lyrik Fryer, who is the cofounder of Work Play Branding. So as she was in college competing as a d one soccer player, Lyric's mom approached her to co found a company.
And that company has gone on to scale so fast. It's called Workplay Branding. I am a customer of theirs. And they make it incredibly streamlined, easy, pleasurable, and affordable for people like myself to have quarterly brand shoots. So in this episode, we dive into how Lyric thinks about systems, which is really the secret to her company's fast success, the two things you need to be thinking about every time you create a system, why systems are so essential to the growth and ease and profitability of your company, We talk about Lyric's spiritual and psychic abilities and how they have contributed to her company success.
And we talk about her strategic marketing and how she has thought about circles of influence to have the feeling in the marketplace of, oh my gosh. Those people are everywhere to build brand visibility and trust and to grow her customer base. Lyric is absolutely wise beyond her years. I I remember the day I found out how old she was, and I was like, how is it possible that you have it this together and you are this age? She is delightful.
She is refreshing. She's also going to share with you why your brand visuals matter in terms of your marketing and your revenue. It is such a juicy episode. You're gonna love it. Enjoy.
Welcome to Plenti. I'm your host, Kate Northrup, and together, we are going on a journey to help you have an incredible relationship with money, time, and energy, and to have abundance on every possible level. Every week, we're gonna dive in with experts and insights to help you unlock a life of plenty. Let's go fill our cups. Please note that the opinions and perspectives of guests on the Plenty podcast are not necessarily reflective of the opinions and perspectives of Kate Northrop or anyone who works within the Kate Northrop brand.
Hey, Lyrik. Thank you for being here.
Lyrik Fryer: I am so excited. Thank you for having me.
Kate Northrup: So when we first connected, we it was on Zoom on, like, December 20, 31st or something. It was, like, right at the end of the year in 2021. Yes. And I was blown away. I decided, I think, that day or, like, within 24 hours for us to work together
Lyrik Fryer: Okay.
Kate Northrup: With Workplay Branding. And from the moment I started the onboarding, and even during that call, but it's, like, one thing for people to say something, and then it's another thing for you to experience it. I was blown away by how automated and systemized and streamlined your company is. And so I really wanna dig into that because systems are the one thing that can help people. I mean, there's a million different things, but they're one of the most important ways that people can do less and make more in their businesses.
So I wanna start out by asking you, were you always into systems? Did you always think this way, or was it something you learned over time?
Lyrik Fryer: It was definitely drilled into me by my parents. Okay. And more specifically, my mom, who is actually my cofounder. So that kind of gives you a little insight onto how the business Is she Capricorn? She is a sag.
Kate Northrup: Okay. What are you?
Lyrik Fryer: Curious. I'm a Pisces. But I have a Sag moon and a Gemini rising. So I have a lot of things happening.
Kate Northrup: Okay. Gemini rising. And then what's your muscle? Your mom is a Sag sun, and then what's her rising and then? Do you know?
Lyrik Fryer: I don't know.
Kate Northrup: You don't know your mother's chart off
Lyrik Fryer: the top of your head? I just know.
Kate Northrup: There's gotta be some Capricorn in there with 1 or the both of you because this
Lyrik Fryer: They're hostile.
Kate Northrup: There's a lot of good structure that you have.
Lyrik Fryer: I know specifically for me there's no Capricorn, but I think I think she she definitely has Capricorn in her. And so my parents have always been entrepreneurs since I've been born. And in their business, I've really been able to see them grow their business. And I've always been obsessed with this idea that you can provide a service, get paid for it, and then you can use that money to go do whatever you want in life. You can use those resources to do whatever you want.
And so I've been always obsessed with that idea. And so watching my parents build businesses while I grew up, I it was just like, woah. Like, how are you doing that? And my mom was always the more behind the scenes business operations person in those businesses. And I remember her just being, like, you have to document everything, and you have to write everything down, and and you have to create what are called SOPs.
Kate Northrup: Yes. And Standard operating procedures, in case you don't know what that is.
Lyrik Fryer: There you go. Yes. You have to do that. And I just remember in high school, her, like, being, like, so adamant with her employees about following the system step by step. And it would be like she would get frustrated if the employee didn't do it step by step.
And I, you know, I innately trust my mother. Right? And so I would be like, okay. I I feel you, mom. But, like, why?
You know? Like, why is it why does it have to be like that? And so I would I would be thinking that in my head. And in high school, I was, you know, always helping my my parents out with their businesses because I was so curious about it, and I ended up managing their entire chiropractic clinic. Oh, wow.
Starting at what age? Starting at 16. Okay. Amazing. Because I was, like, I wanna make money.
And, like, I wanna be a part of business. And I wanna you know? So they put me to work, because I wanted to. And because I was so ingrained in this idea of systems, I was able to go in and manage their teams right away. But I actually didn't understand why the system was so important until I started Workplay Branding, And I actually saw how systems really are able to automate a business and allow you to actually just sit more in the CEO seat rather than, like, in your business and being an employee of your business.
And that's where it all kind of started. So it was like my mom consistently just, like, gotta document everything, gotta document everything. And so now my philosophy in systemizing a business is really simple. It's twofold. It's first part, can this system handle a 1,000 people going through it?
I love that. And that makes you that makes you think really big about the system and really creatively. Because you could make a system for how the business is right now. Right. But that's not going to help you scale the business.
That's just going to fix the issue right now.
Kate Northrup: Mhmm.
Lyrik Fryer: But if you think about how can I create a system that can handle a 1000 more people through it, now you start thinking differently about the system and more creatively Yeah? About the system.
Kate Northrup: And do you mean, like, a 1000 clients? A 1000 clients.
Lyrik Fryer: Yes. Got it. And and and and, again, you're also thinking about, can this scale on the back end with my team?
Kate Northrup: Right.
Lyrik Fryer: So can, like, 10 more team members implement this system? So you're also thinking on both sides. But a 1,000 clients means we're gonna have x more met team members in this department running the system. So it's all kind of glued together with that. And then my second part of a system is, will I be asked a question about how to do this complex task after the system is created?
And if the answer is yes, they're going to have to know how to do this little teeny little part of this system that only I know, then I know that the system isn't complete. And that part is a little bit more of a working in progress with your system because you'll create it, and then you'll get feedback from
Kate Northrup: your
Lyrik Fryer: team or clients on, hey. How do I do this? Or where do I find this? And I'm like, if you're asking me that question or if you're asking your manager question, that means the system isn't good enough. That means there's a hole somewhere in the system.
So those are my 2 big things that I that I think about whenever I'm creating a new procedure, a new parts of, the company or team. And so when it came to the onboarding per se, I asked myself the same question. Can a 1,000 clients go through this onboarding and still have the same experience while our team can still do what they need to do efficiently. And at the time before we implemented that type of onboarding, we had to get on and onboard people ourselves. And now our onboarding is self paced.
It's on demand, so it's better for the client. Yeah. And you get to do it in your own time and on your own time.
Kate Northrup: Which is great because I am the kind of client who I don't spend a lot of like, I'm fast. I'm fast with nearly everything. And so, like, what might take another client an hour on a Zoom call or 2 hours, I'm probably gonna get done in 15 minutes. So as a client, it was really nice because I could just, like, buzz through it, and I get annoyed with Zoom calls on my calendar. Like, I just don't like them.
I try to just never have meetings or, like, as minimal as possible. And when people are like, let's hop on a quick call, I'm like, I would rather die even though I love people. I feel you. So it doesn't make any sense, but I love I love, love, love that. And it allows you as a business owner, as a CEO, and actually as a creative Mhmm.
Because that is part of the heartbeat of who you are, and why your brand why your company works so well. It allows you to lean in extra in those high touch moments so that, like, as your customer, I'm getting the best of you as opposed to, like, you needing to phone it in on a Zoom call that is the same thing that you've run through with 300,000,000 other people. A 100%. Right? So I love that.
Okay. Sorry. I think I interrupted you. So you did the first part was, like, the 1,000 people, and then the second part was your team, or was there another second part?
Lyrik Fryer: Well, yeah. That would be the second part. Is the system good enough where no one has to ask you a question? Yes. And those two things together will scale a business really far and really big.
Kate Northrup: And you have scaled fast. Mhmm. So what can you tell us? You know, I don't know your numbers, and you don't need to tell whatever you don't want to tell. But like, can you give us some concept of because I met you at the end of 2021.
At what point did Workplay branding open? So It's hard to hard to answer that
Lyrik Fryer: question. Big question. And I can, kind of, go into the origin story of
Kate Northrup: the big
Lyrik Fryer: pork plate, because that really has a big part in the scaling of this business. So around my middle of my college years, 2017, my mom approached me because we I've always had a side hustle. My mom's always been doing something. You know? And she approached me, and she was like, hey.
You have this skill. I have this skill. What if we created a business together? And most importantly, she had a network. So I had a skill.
She had a skill and a network. And so it's like there could be a lot of great synergy.
Kate Northrup: So you were in college also a competitive soccer player. I was also playing d one soccer. It's like not like you weren't doing anything.
Lyrik Fryer: I was playing D1 soccer, which but I will say, like, soccer was such a passion of mine, but then business was always nagging me. I was, like, running from, like, the soccer field into the locker room at, like, 5:30 to get showered, to run into the city, to go to, like, some networking event. Like, I was all always, like, on the go trying to figure things out for my career. So my mom approached me 2017, and I'm like, yeah. Let's do it.
And between, like, 2017 and 2019, it really wasn't a business. It was more of like, what are we doing here? And it does. It takes a few years to figure that out.
Kate Northrup: Oh my gosh. I feel like just now. Like, I started in 2009. And I feel like it's like 2024, I finally kind of know what I'm doing. Right.
Lyrik Fryer: Right. Takes a while. It just takes a while while, and I think people underestimate that, like, building or envisioning process. Like, that can take a long time. So it was 2 years of really, like, you know, testing things out, trying to get a process down, trying to get a methodology down.
And in 2019, I was kind of faced with the decision of, do I continue soccer? Because I had tore my ACL twice. So I had 2 years of eligibility with my, with my scholarship. So I had the ability to get a full master's program paid for, completely. And keep going in my soccer career, keep going in my school career.
But there was like a point in time where it was just like, I know that we have something here. And it was, like, I want to leave this chapter of my life with soccer and jump into this. And so that's really when, you know, when you make the leap, it's kind of like then the business starts following. So I got a bartending job, to just make ends meet in, in Miami. And then 9 months later, I was able to quit that job and go full time.
That was also right before COVID happened. Mhmm. COVID allowed us to really almost like be very like startup culture. Like it was all of us in this apartment just like going at it. And our business really grew during that time.
Kate Northrup: Which is interesting because you actually offer an in person service. Right. So it's highly unusual that you would grow so much during the pandemic.
Lyrik Fryer: I just think we were working on our business so much that it naturally grew, and it didn't really matter what the circumstances were. So it was it was very interesting. Also, I know, like, during that time, there was a huge, like, almost, like, anxiety with business owners to get online and get visible online. Support that. And we support that.
So there was, you know, there was a little bit of serendipity
Kate Northrup: with that. Photographer coming in to shoot one other person. The people who were scared could feel safe.
Lyrik Fryer: Exactly. And we we put a lot of protocols in, but, yeah, 2020 was interesting. In 2021 is when we switched over to a membership subscription based model where
Kate Northrup: the monthly fee So will you say what that is? Sure. I'm adoring customer of this. So, yes. Say what it is so people are understanding the concept.
Lyrik Fryer: So prior to 2021, we were more project based. Okay. Meaning, we would do, basically, our methodology in just a 3 month project. So we would build your brand. So we would do, like, the colors, the fonts.
We even did logos at the time. We would do brand messaging, and we would go into these areas. And then we would, you know, content plan around the brand, and then we would go do the photo shoot, and then we would launch you on social. And so what would happen is, like, people came to us because they wanted the photos, and that's what we're was drawing them. And so what we did in 2021 was basically just scale that methodology.
So we made it almost simplified to the point where it's like, what do we need to deliver the service? Will we need the brand aesthetic? We need to define that for people. And then let's just give people what they want, which is the content, like the visual marketing campaigns that they create inside of the process, and then we can launch them on social. So in a way, the the process became more simplified.
Mhmm. And then we simplified the pricing structure.
Kate Northrup: Mhmm.
Lyrik Fryer: And it just took off. Like, people were, like, you can do 4 quarterly content shoots for 4.90 7 a month.
Kate Northrup: It was like when Sarah my friend Sarah Jenks was the one who introduced me to you, and she told me about it. And I was like, I have spent upwards of 6 grand on one photo shoot where I'm, like was allowed to wear 3 looks, and I was allowed to, like, take away, like, 20 photos or something. I mean, I'm exaggerating. But just the pricing was like I was like, that is a no brainer. Mhmm.
So what you I wanna highlight that what you were able to do, because you had the systems in place, you were able to scale and continue to offer a service at a like a no brainer price, because you have systems doing so much of the heavy lifting. Yeah. And, obviously, your content creators are incredible and highly skilled, so I don't wanna undercut them. But, yeah, it's incredible how that scale has allowed you to keep your offering, I mean, really affordable. I mean, it's premium.
It's not like, oh, I don't need to think about this. But it's an easy yes.
Lyrik Fryer: Yes.
Kate Northrup: If you're already investing in photos, it's an easy yes.
Lyrik Fryer: Exactly. And I will say something about, like, the scaling of the systems here. Because we had a process and a methodology, we now have a direction for the systems to basically live under. Right. So without that methodology attached to it, our systems even the best systems can be all over the place.
It's really hard to scale systems if you don't have a method that the systems go under. So the fact that we have, like, step 1, phase 1, phase 2, phase 3
Kate Northrup: Yes.
Lyrik Fryer: And now creates a more streamlined approach to it that we were able to get down to that 4.97 offer. And was it during
Kate Northrup: kind of, like, that time in 2020 when you were all in the apartment just all working together? Was that the time when you were clarifying what the method was? Like, how how tell me more about clarifying your methodology and how that process went down. Totally. Well, it kind of came down to skill.
So we had a me and both me and my mom have the skill of being able to capture content on a camera. Yeah.
Lyrik Fryer: Like, we know how to make someone look good through the lens of a camera. We also have the skill and the passion for creating a brand around that content. So not only are we creating the content, but we're also thinking about aesthetically how can we make this cohesive. And so bringing that in almost like created the methodology in it itself where it's like, well, first, we need the brand board so that we know how to edit the content. And then it came it came to a point, before 2020 where it's like we would do that for someone, and then they wouldn't use the content.
And we've we'd be like, why aren't you using the content? They're like, it's amazing content, but I don't have the systems in my own business to put it on social. And we're like, oh, well, then we have to do that for you because what's the point of us creating this content for you? Right. And so it just over an evolution and over periods of time, it just became, okay, this makes sense.
And then it was trimming it down to what do people actually want in the process. Right. And that's when we started to scale in 2021.
Kate Northrup: Okay. So in 2021, you and I connected at the very end of the year. Mhmm. And at that time so there was the like, because I've noticed the evolution over time too that, like, things have even become stream more streamlined and simplified. Mhmm.
And maybe you have more offerings than I'm aware of. But
Lyrik Fryer: We probably. Yeah. You probably.
Kate Northrup: So you were really listening to your customer in the feedback loop and then doubling down on what they were actually asking for and wanting versus just being like, oh, we could do this, and we could do that, and we could do that. And so you really started scaling in 2021. So 2021. And I also have something to
Lyrik Fryer: say about 2021. Because I think this is important because with, like, a ton of growth also can be a ton of hardship. Yep. So in 2021, we were scaling so fast, and we I mean, it was I'm like, I haven't seen this number in a bank account before, and I was 20 3 at the time. I don't know.
22 or 23. And I was just like, woah. Like, this is my career. Right? At the same time, my mom was actually having seizures that we didn't know about for 9 months over the course of 2021 from the spring until the end, and we found out that she had a brain tumor.
And there were months of 2021 where I thought I was my mom was literally going to die. And it turns out she's fine. She had brain surgery. It wasn't cancerous. It was great.
But for a really good period of 2021, I thought that my mom had brain cancer and that she was going to literally die. And in that survival mode, I was like, we've gotta get this business and these systems under control. Because if I lose my mom, I also can't lose the business. So because the business, it was our livelihood. I had nothing.
Kate Northrup: Hers also? Hers, well That she had her chiropractic. Chiropractic
Lyrik Fryer: because she was so into work play that it was on if this was like our that our my back was against the wall, basically. Yeah. And so because I was in survival mode with my mom, I then looked at business very differently. And I was like, we have to streamline our marketing. We have to streamline, you know, our back end systems.
If if I lose my mom, I'm not gonna be myself for a while. Yeah. So the business has to keep running. Wow. And so that was a huge part.
Kate Northrup: So you were building it for a worst case scenario Mhmm. Mhmm. Which was felt very alive and present for you. Yep. I'm so glad that
Lyrik Fryer: Yeah.
Kate Northrup: That didn't end up happening.
Lyrik Fryer: But, like
Kate Northrup: And then
Lyrik Fryer: and then you came in at the end of that.
Kate Northrup: At the end of that. Yeah.
Lyrik Fryer: So you were kind of seeing the aftermath of what we had built from that.
Kate Northrup: When did she have her surgery? September. Of 2021? Of yes. Okay.
So I met you after, but definitely still in the Yes. I mean, when we have when we go through a big health issue or we have a family member go through, you know, somebody we love go through that, the after shock is very real, and it stays with us for a long time.
Lyrik Fryer: Yeah. I like I'll go on plane rides because Yeah.
Kate Northrup: On planes is where I feel like I almost disconnect from,
Lyrik Fryer: like, the grounding energy. I remember, And I'll just, like, start crying out of nowhere. And then I have to remember, I'm, like, you were in such a survival mode for so long that coming out of that, it it happens in waves almost.
Kate Northrup: It does. It does. We have to be gentle with ourselves and really, like, compassionate. Yeah. So now we're basically 2 years after when you and I met.
What so you scaled a lot in 2021. Were most of your new customers coming from referrals, or where were they coming from in 2021? 2021 was all word-of-mouth. All word-of-mouth. We literally
Lyrik Fryer: have done 0 marketing Yeah.
Kate Northrup: Until 2023. And then 2023, you I was already a client, and, I obviously came through word-of-mouth. I had sent you a few people through word-of-mouth. But then all of a sudden in 20 23, I saw you on social at literally every one of my friends' events and, like, every event possible. And I was like, oh my god.
Lyric is everywhere. So tell me how that happened because I knew about you, but it was like all of a sudden overnight, it seemed like you were everywhere. Mhmm. So what did you do? Was I know that was a plan, and, I wanna hear about it because I don't I don't think everyone is strategic in that way.
And I was like, damn, girl. Like, I was very impressed with the with the strategy and the, like, campaign that you had put together.
Lyrik Fryer: So I will say it was not on accident. Of course. It was definitely strategically planned out, and I think that's important to say because when you see a company experience a ton of momentum all of a sudden, it can kind of feel like it just happened. And, like, they're just lucky.
Kate Northrup: And sometimes that's
Lyrik Fryer: true. Yes. True.
Kate Northrup: But it's nice to know when it's not because we don't have a we can't we can't just, like, decide we're gonna have a huge hockey stick growth by luck. Totally. Of course, you can manifest you know, whatever. Yeah. But, like, it's so nice because there's something you can do about what you did.
Like, anyone can put this in
Lyrik Fryer: place. 100%. So our 1st and foremost, when it comes to marketing, we don't think about how do we get more people into our process.
Kate Northrup: K.
Lyrik Fryer: We know that that will inevitably come to our way. We just have the confidence that we know that the people will find us. What is more interesting for our marketing is how can we expand the brand wider? And so when we ask ourself that question
Kate Northrup: And what does expand the brand wider mean?
Lyrik Fryer: It means for us, it could mean something very different for you or anyone listening. But for us, it means how can we position the brand next to big brand names
Kate Northrup: Great.
Lyrik Fryer: That have trust and following. Right. And brands that almost have a nostalgia about them, almost have, like, this star power about them. That was really important for me because Okay. In my head, I'm like, I know that the copycats are gonna come.
I know that I I mean, no one's been able to do it. No one's been able to get it down to this price point, which I'm I'm really happy about. But I know that it will come. And so for me, I'm like, our brand, what's important is to be the first to do it and for people to know that we're the first to do it and that we've almost become a household name. So that was really important to me.
So in order to do that, I knew that we had to position ourselves with big bigger brands, bigger people with bigger brands, and and almost, like, ride the wave of that. Yeah.
Kate Northrup: And so Yeah. Using other people's traffic and brand positioning and
Lyrik Fryer: Totally. And and not only that, but also allowing their people to see them in our process
Kate Northrup: Yeah.
Lyrik Fryer: Is also really important for me. And so having that authentic partnership was very important. And so and and also for their people to know that, like, okay. Workplay branding is legit. Like, they are what they say they are.
Kate Northrup: Yes.
Lyrik Fryer: And so I needed those people to also believe in our brand as well. So that's one thing. Actually, getting the person to believe in the brand that they're supporting. Yeah. And then another thing is going after people who have overlapping circles.
Mhmm. Because you could be in a circle. Right? And you could be at the edge of another circle. And if you and if I know that you're in this circle, this circle, maybe at the cusp of this circle, and then this circle is also overlapping, all I have to do is get in 3 different circles for you to feel like we are everywhere.
Yeah. So that is really the strategy behind it and being really meticulous about who is in what circle based off of who they serve, and then who they serve will naturally come.
Kate Northrup: Right.
Lyrik Fryer: If that makes sense.
Kate Northrup: A 100%. Okay. So what I saw as a bystander on social media, it and then actually showing up at a few events, and I was like, oh, hey, Lyric. You're actually here. Was that you were at all of these events, and you were doing mini branding shoots Mhmm.
Which is obviously very effective because, the people at the events are seeing you, obviously. And but all the people on social witnessing the event are also seeing you. So it's a lot of brand visibility all at the same time. So how whatever you feel like sharing, how did you connect with the people who were running those events to make that happen, to be seen by all of those intersecting circles? So I would say, as advice, if you are wanting to do this strategy, find someone who will introduce you.
Great.
Lyrik Fryer: Find someone who believes in the brand who will then introduce you.
Kate Northrup: Great. So you weren't like Cole DM ing No.
Lyrik Fryer: Oh my god. The
Kate Northrup: event organizer. I'm
Lyrik Fryer: just checking. That would terrify me to I'm like an introvert to the max. That would terrify me. I also know that that is not like socially savvy, if you if that makes sense. Like there's not there I was listening to a podcast, her name's Africa Brook.
Kate Northrup: And I love her.
Lyrik Fryer: I love her.
Kate Northrup: I can't wait for her book to come out. I want her on the podcast.
Lyrik Fryer: Love her. She calls it social seduction. And I want her to she was like, oh, maybe I'll do a podcast episode. I like DM'ed her. I'm like, please do a podcast episode on that.
Because it's so true. It's like you can't go in for the kill right away. You and and, you almost have to, like, you almost have to see who the friends are, and you have to be genuine with the friends and, like, kind of work your way around. Like, that one person that you want to eventually endorse your product or service because they're going to trust the people around them.
Kate Northrup: Mhmm.
Lyrik Fryer: And the people around them also have a lot to give you as well. So it's like as you start to do that, you'll start to see doors open up. It becomes very natural, and then it just snowballs. Then it's, like, then it's, like, oh, like
Kate Northrup: Now I'm sure event producers are contacting you to be, like, hey, can you do this at our thing? And now Yes. Yeah.
Lyrik Fryer: And I also wanna say that a lot of people don't wanna do things for free. And I will do things for free all day long. I liter I will like I'm like I'm like, yes. I'll be there, and I'll give all of your people free brand shoots. And I think when it comes to at least creative businesses, there's always this, like, almost like this strong narrative of, like, you gotta get paid what you're worth.
And you got it. You got, you know, and I think that's really great. But I also think that you can overdo that a little bit. Yes.
Kate Northrup: And if you just give some if you show someone what you can do a lot that can say a lot. It can. But I wanna say the reason it works for you to do it for free is that you have a system that you know is incredibly profitable, and you have connected the dots. And you know when you show up at that event for free, you're getting clients. So you are getting paid.
Yes. And that's the difference between you and somebody who's, an artist and not a business owner yet, who is just like, I need to get paid my worth, which is fine because they're or or it's just different because what they're seeing is this is a day of my time, and they're thinking linearly, and you think, not what's the other one? I don't know. But I I'm I'm Exponentially. Yes.
You you have a system in place where one input can equal unlimited outputs versus people who are trading hours for dollars. Yep. So it's obviously very smart, and you learn from entrepreneurs early on that trading hours for dollars ain't the game. So okay. I love that so much.
Did you sit down with your mom and make a list of the people who had that sort of, like, nostalgic star power, you know, that you were like, okay, these are our dream brand alignments? Or yeah. Okay. Great.
Lyrik Fryer: And we have partnered with none of those people yet.
Kate Northrup: Isn't that fascinating? Okay. So I love that so much. That's great. So tell me more.
What do you think is going on there? Because, obviously, what you're doing is working, but you haven't partnered with any of the people on your list yet.
Lyrik Fryer: I'm I'm literally just I'm we're doing the strategy that I just explained. So we're still building our network right now, and it's getting us very far. And you you even feel like, okay. I'm seeing you everywhere. I'm like, Kate, I haven't even gotten to my list.
So tell me. Yeah. You know? So there's so much like That's when when you cast a higher vision for the marketing for the brand, everything else is just like it's like, okay. We missed it here, but we got this.
And that's why, like, I always wanna go so far more than what I think is possible because when I miss, it's still so much better than what someone else's standard might be.
Kate Northrup: And it's maybe not even a miss. Right?
Lyrik Fryer: It's like And it's not a miss. Yes.
Kate Northrup: Built this list that's your dream partnerships. And, like, along the way, you're meeting all these people who you probably didn't even know existed. You you wouldn't have put them on a list, but they're like a dream partnership in another way. Okay. So I wanna highlight that, in terms of growing a company, you know this already, but just for people listening.
When you have either a software component or a re recurring revenue membership subscription component, your valuation is so much larger. So those who are listening in and run the business, think about, is there a way that I could add a subscription model or a software model or both because your evaluation just from a subscription model is gonna be, like, 10 x, yada yada yada. This is not my expertise, but it's just, like, I've It's pretty common knowledge that way. Along with. And so you've done that really beautifully.
Do you guys have a software component? We are building. That's what I imagined.
Lyrik Fryer: But it's, you know, we're we're building software. But I will say that, like, in order to have a subscription component and a or a software component, you always need the system because these things come back to
Kate Northrup: They depend on systems.
Lyrik Fryer: Bottom line systems. If you're building a tech company, you like, the developer needs something to go off of. Yeah. Tech is all a system. So it's it's really interesting how the 2 correlate.
But, yes, we do. We are building tech right now. I think that if you are if you are taking your business to, like, huge levels, you do have to have a tech component. That's just the day and age we live in.
Kate Northrup: Absolutely. Okay. So one thing that you have told me offline is that
Lyrik Fryer: Oh my god.
Kate Northrup: You have a really, like, deep spiritual connection. And I think even what we just spoke about, having your dream list, but you're not even working with any of those people yet, but all of this beauty all of these beautiful things, like, you've been led to all these other opportunities, I think it's related. And I would imagine it's related to your journey with your mom's illness as well. Yeah. So I wanna know how has your spiritual connection informed your business?
How have the 2 intermingled?
Lyrik Fryer: Yeah. So this is something I'm still figuring out. And it's just it's something that's been coming at the forefront for the like, my entire twenties now. And when I first I I would like to say of this as, like, my 3rd eye was almost, like, opened. It was opened in a very, almost, like, nonconsensual way.
And I say this in the fact that it was I was experiencing things that I had no control over in while I was early twenties, like 1920 or 19 or 20. You know? And I was experiencing, like, a lot of, like, paranormal stuff, and, like, it was scary. Like, it was almost like a trauma that I was experiencing. And so with that, with those experiences, I shoved it away.
I was like Did
Kate Northrup: it just, like, happen all of a sudden? Or did somebody do something that opened it up? It was it was around someone that had
Lyrik Fryer: that around them, and I was in a relationship with them. And then it was opened up, basically. And so it was a very scary almost I I don't like to use the word trauma, but it was very, like,
Kate Northrup: like It was scary.
Lyrik Fryer: It was scary. And I was very scared of it. And so from those experiences, I was I was I couldn't close the door anymore. So when things like, when I went into, places, I I would feel the energy in there, and I would know if something was there or if a message was coming through. It was like I'm like, how do I get this to stop?
Like, I was like I'm like, I'm trying to grow a business. I'm trying to do this. I'm trying to just, like, live my life, and this keeps happening. I can't go into, like, a hotel room in like, I or I can't, like, travel somewhere, go into a hotel room, and, like, not know, like, if something's gonna happen that night and a message is gonna come through from someone I don't know. And that was, like, really that was so I don't know.
I was I was very it was very, like, I wanna just shut this off. And it it's interesting because as I've grown in my career, I have been I've become more confident in myself and then also my experiences. So the same thing has happened in my spiritual journey. And so I became more confident in the fact that and through mentorship as well. Like, I I was not doing this on my own.
So it was like I did seek help for, like, how do I get rid of this? More of, like, how do I get rid of this? And through mentors that were able to, like, kind of explain to me what was happening, I was then able to be, like, oh, I can harness this as a tool in my life rather than having it as, like, almost like a thing that I don't want, you know, any part of. And so once I learned how to harness that as a tool, I then became way more open to things that I wanted versus things that I didn't want. And so now what it looks like for me is, like, I can almost sometimes I'm able to receive messages from just all sorts of walks of life that help me almost see the path of where to go.
And I think the when we started to kind of, like, turn the hill of scaling, I had such a profound experience at, like, my grandpa's farm with all of, like, my ancestors. And then that's when I really I was, like, oh, I'm so deeply connected, and the answers are all right here through this gift that I have. And I can lean on my ancestors to show me different pathways and and things like that. And and sometimes I'm not amazing at it. Like I sometimes I still get experiences where I'm like, what the hell was that?
Yeah. And I was like and I'm like, oh my god. Like, what is it? I I'm still learning how to harness it, But that is a journey that I have been like I think just even this last year, I've realized is such a superpower in, like, the game of business because you're no longer searching for answers that someone else is telling you or, like Yeah. You're not, like, you're not you're not you're taking something at face value when it's said to you, but you know what the true path is.
Because it's almost like it's almost like a nudge. It's like a nudge here, a nudge there. It's it's like, oh, it's something doesn't feel a hell yes. Why doesn't it feel a hell yes? Okay.
I can get the answer. Yeah. And so it's really it's interesting.
Kate Northrup: Love
Lyrik Fryer: it. And, so I I told you before we started recording, I don't I don't know exactly the right way to explain it, because, again, I'm still trying to figure it out myself. But that's how it's kind of shown up in my life, and I'll get I'll get messages before I shoot a client about Really? Yes. It's weird.
Like, how does how do
Kate Northrup: they come? Is it are you hearing words? Are you getting visions? Is it a feeling?
Lyrik Fryer: Always. It's always in my sleep.
Kate Northrup: Okay.
Lyrik Fryer: And I always almost like it's like a half awake, half like, it's it's a different state. Yeah. And it's almost like the veil is very thin, and then I'm able to see or hear something or someone. For your client.
Kate Northrup: For Well, sometimes it's not.
Lyrik Fryer: Sometimes, sometimes Hey, I can't control if it's like a client or some person next door. Right. Or someone who I like in like a networking event. And sometimes it's like very confusing. I'm like, who is this person trying to tell me something?
And then I'll get the information later.
Kate Northrup: Okay.
Lyrik Fryer: And I'll be, like, oh, that was the message. So I'm not perfect. I'm not, like, you know, like, the Long Island Medium who's, like, who's like, oh, yeah. And this is coming through from, like, your aunt. It's not as like, like precise as that for me, at least right now.
But that is typically how it happens either before or after I'm interacting with someone. And sometimes depending on the person, it can be so intense. Wow.
Kate Northrup: Like what kind of messages have you received the day, like while you're sleeping before a shoot for a time?
Lyrik Fryer: I don't know if I fully can disclose because I
Kate Northrup: also Yes. That makes sense.
Lyrik Fryer: I also wanna keep so the it's interesting with this almost like gift. It kind of feels like you're, like, intruding on people's lives.
Kate Northrup: That makes sense.
Lyrik Fryer: And I don't know if someone has had, like, a certain trauma around the person that's sending me the message. I don't know what that if the message itself is something that they even wanna handle in the moment of speaking to me. Because a lot of times, it's like, okay. I'm meeting this person for the first time, and I just got a message from some someone I don't know. But I know it's, like, somewhat connected to them, and they're telling me something that I don't have context around.
So that is kind of why I'm like, I don't really tell people. Absolutely. And I kind of just keep it to myself and I it almost gives me depending on the message, gives me more empathy.
Kate Northrup: Yes.
Lyrik Fryer: For the person or understanding them. Right. It helps guide
Kate Northrup: you. Serve them. Even if you're not telling them. Exactly. You have full permission if you ever get a message for me to tell me.
Lyrik Fryer: Okay. Okay. Just letting you know.
Kate Northrup: And then do you also receive messages for yourself to guide your business, to guide different choices in your life? And if so, like, do you have an example?
Lyrik Fryer: Yes. So yes. And I will say that this happened on one of your retreats. And what was the retreat called? Conduit.
Conduit. Conduit. Yes. Conduit. And, we went through into this meditation.
Kate Northrup: Yeah. We did the soil the soil the soul voice meditation with Megan Watterson.
Lyrik Fryer: Yes. And that was the first time I had ever, like, been, like, almost, like, in the presence of her work. I had I know that she's big time, but, like, I I didn't because I'm not in that space as much. And I was just like, woah. Like, everything that this one is, like, spot on.
So, like, how you know, just to have things systematically work in my brain when it comes to spirit. And so when we went through that meditation, it was just like immediate. It was like bam. And then it was like the message was so clear on where to go, the path on the scaling path of work play branding, the the the decisions that have to be make the bigger ones. Right?
Like everything in it's not like a SOP. Like, do this, do this, do this. I would love if it was like that, but it's not.
Kate Northrup: Excuse me, spirit. Could you deliver the SOP? Oh, my god.
Lyrik Fryer: Maybe that's what I should ask myself.
Kate Northrup: That's amazing.
Lyrik Fryer: Yeah. I mean, and like if you could have written format and video format, that would be great.
Kate Northrup: And also deliver it in a Google sheet. Thank you.
Lyrik Fryer: Yes. Thank you. And maybe in a click up space as well. That could just be in my click up space. That would be great.
No. It doesn't work about that, unfortunately. It's more of, like, here is the path. Here's here's the possibility. So it's casting that vision really high and wide.
And when it comes from, like, spirit, it's almost like this is what you have to do. This is like and it's it's never the thing that you want you to be. It's never the, oh, go partner with this person. Right? It's always the more of, like, the you in order to do this, you have to be connected here.
And in order to do this, you need to solve this almost, like, generational trauma here. And so that was the message that I got. But it was so specific, if that makes sense, to what was being held in in my mind's eye. Because I think the question was like, it was like what do I need
Kate Northrup: in order for Yeah. It was something like what do I need to know in order to expand my
Lyrik Fryer: capacity wider? Yes. And that that question, I think also really helps the the message come through really clear. And so that's how it came through, and it and it's almost it's so crazy because it's like this it's so intangible. So if it happens for you, like, you know.
Like, it's just inner knowing. Yeah. And it's hard to put into words exactly, like, what the steps are because it doesn't come like that. But I know they're, like, you gotta stay connected here, and this generational trauma, you have to break here.
Kate Northrup: Wow.
Lyrik Fryer: And that is what will get you here. And that was it was a very profound experience, because I had never harnessed it in that way. Mhmm. So usually when things come to me, it's like, I'm like, okay, it's here. But I've never actually like harnessed that in that very specific and quick way.
And also not sleeping because usually I do this in like a more subconscious state. Exactly.
Kate Northrup: Yeah. Yeah. It's cool that you could just sort of call upon it Yeah. At will.
Lyrik Fryer: Yeah. Which was really different for me.
Kate Northrup: Yeah. Yeah. And really cool.
Lyrik Fryer: And I was Wow. Really happy that I went to that.
Kate Northrup: I'm so glad you were there. I'm so glad you were there. Okay. I have a I mean, I could ask you a million other things. I I but I will ask you this.
For somebody who's listening who maybe doesn't get it, why visuals matter. You are such a queen of aesthetics. Like, it's amazing to follow. I know your Workplay branding brand is, like, absolutely incredible. And I really enjoy following your personal Instagram, because I'm just like, this girl is, like, living art.
And I don't have the skill set. I do have the skill set, not like you, but, like, I really don't have the desire for creating that level of aesthetic. But I do understand because when we do our brand shoots for my launches and we do the creative direction and the whole thing, I can see the way that having a strong visual and a strong through line of the essence of that campaign, I can see how it drives sales because it, like, casts a spell for people. So can you talk about why do you love aesthetics so much? Why do you think it's important to business?
How is beauty or just a brand visual related to making money? And what have you seen with your clients around that?
Lyrik Fryer: Oh, my gosh. Okay. So that's, like, a huge question.
Kate Northrup: You could do an entire other episode. Totally. Plus you could write a book about it. Yes.
Lyrik Fryer: And I love it. I love this question so much, because I mean, so many people talk about tactics, right, marketing tactics, but not a lot of people talk about visual strategy. And I think the people that get it when it comes to visual strategy and, like, my whole mission with workplay branding is to actually make that accessible for people. So there's a huge, like it's it costs a lot of money to create a production. And so that's one of the missions of Workplay Branding to actually bring that to people.
But when it comes to visual marketing, I was actually listening to a Joe Rogan podcast. I know that's kinda controversial, but I was. And there was this Do not at
Kate Northrup: me about Joe Rogan Okay. By the way. Just I'm telling people listening. Okay.
Lyrik Fryer: I do not do not. Sorry.
Kate Northrup: No. You can say whatever you want. I actually have a disclaimer because of it it's assuming it's just I have a disclaimer at the beginning of every episode that says can, like, come No. I The people can celebrate whoever or, like, listen to whoever they want to. I'm just telling people, don't send me a DM about it.
Lyrik Fryer: Okay. Sorry. It's not going to be about anything that you think it's gonna be. But I was I was actually I was It was on in the car, and the gas set asked the question is like do are we the only animals on earth that can appreciate beauty or appreciate aesthetic?
Kate Northrup: What an interesting question. And I
Lyrik Fryer: was like my ears perked up those because that's like not your normal programming on Joe Rogan.
Kate Northrup: No it is not.
Lyrik Fryer: And I was like I was like, oh my god. I'm like I don't know the maybe. Actually, maybe. Yeah. And so there is, like, this innate almost thing in our brains humans have where we can appreciate something that's cohesive, something that that's beautiful.
And that in itself can really draw someone in. So the just the beauty of visual marketing draws people in. Now there's another whole element of storytelling to visual marketing that you can't really do, with words. And I know that you've been on our podcast talking about this idea of metaphor in your visuals. Yeah.
Kate Northrup: We'll put it in the show notes.
Lyrik Fryer: It's amazing. And and you you were so spot on about this, and it's like, how can you bridge the gap between what you actually literally do and, like, an emotion behind the result that you're creating for your people? And there's a lot of bridging that you can do there with visuals. So if you were to say for your plenty campaign in your actual word marketing. Right?
Like, oh, and talk about bubbles, and you're like alter ego. People would be like, what are you talking about? Like, I thought we were like going into like a book.
Kate Northrup: It would not make any sense in writing. It would
Lyrik Fryer: not make any sense. But when it comes into a visual, you're telling a story, a storyline about the end result that you give people, and then you can get, like, really creative with that story. You can create a whole world with that story, and people get drawn into that world. And then they their ears perk up. Their their their eyes are like, woah.
Like, what's this? Like, I I wanna be a part of this. Even though it's not that they wanted to be bubbles or, like, on a vintage car. It's that they really dropped into what it meant to be in that visual world. And then they're like, oh, yeah.
Abundance, money, like that. Yes. It's resonating. So it's it's like this bridge. And then from more of a, like, a just a tactical marketing strategy with visual marketing, if you look at I like to use the Coca Cola example.
If you look at Coca Cola, they saw the same thing over and over and over again. How often do you see the same Coca Cola commercial every single year? They change it every single year because people get bored of the same story. Right? So on a quarterly basis in your business, how can you create different story lines for your products and your services?
That's the beauty of visual marketing. And that's really where, you know, the method you don't have to use the method to do this, but the method is really good tool to do this on a quarterly basis so that you're constantly telling stories with your visuals that constantly keep people engaged. Yeah.
Kate Northrup: So good. So good. And it has being part of the method has given while I don't do it, you know, precisely the way you put it out, like, I just do enough of it You don't
Lyrik Fryer: have to do it.
Kate Northrup: That no. But I do enough of it that it's given me a sense of freedom and permission to expand my creative edges in a way I would never have done if I didn't have these quarterly shoots. Mhmm. And I don't feel this pressure to, like, make the one shoot I do, like, every 3 to 5 years, which is what I was doing before, be, like, the be all, end all. And so I've been I've given myself permission to be these different characters and to, like, draw on these different visuals and and go for it in a creative way that has really helped our business a lot.
Yeah. And I mean, there's a lot of different factors, but but I I know working with Workplay branding has been one of them. And and since, you know, since the time we started working with you guys, we have doubled our business. And I know that it's like, you know, it's it's one of the contributing factors. So thank you.
Lyrik Fryer: So cool to hear.
Kate Northrup: So cool. So where can people find you? Where can they connect with your business and learning
Lyrik Fryer: more? You can find us at workplaybranding on Instagram. If you d m us brand, we'll just send you all the details. Our chatbot is like automatic. So Love it.
We love ManyChat. So DM us brand. We'll send you all the details right away. You can find out details in written form, video form. You can get on call with us.
Lots of different ways you can find out. We also have a podcast, the Workplay podcast, where you can listen to people like yourself talk about, you know, how they've built these 6 and 7 figure visual campaigns, which is I think is really cool.
Kate Northrup: It was a fun conversation to have. It was like a it's it was a very different conversation than I usually have on podcast, so it was really fun.
Lyrik Fryer: And you are the first episode. So just literally go down to the very first, and you'll find Kate's episode. I love that.
Kate Northrup: I love that. So all that information will be in the show notes for you. Lyric, this has been so fun. I learned a lot from you. I'm really inspired.
I love being your customer. I love being your friend. Thank you for being here.
Lyrik Fryer: Thank you so much for having me. This was
Kate Northrup: so much fun. Oh, thank you so much for listening to this episode of Plenty. Isn't Lyric inspiring? I really highly recommend going to check out Workplay Branding. I also am going to be getting down, sitting down with my team, and thinking more about what can we systemize.
How can we look at our systems and ask, could a 1,000 people go through this? And, also, could multiple people on the team do this as we expand? I mean, that was a huge takeaway. So many takeaways. Thank you for being here.
If you wanna know more about Workplay, you can go to katenorthup.comforward/workplay. And, of course, if you liked this episode, if you found it helpful, text it to a friend. Tell them what you think they're gonna get out of it. Leave a review. Give us a rating.
Subscribe. And I can't wait to see you for the next episode of Plenty. Woo hoo. You made it to the end of an episode of Plenty. Don't you feel expanded?