Case Study: NewBeginnings Spokane
Stephanie was the curveball I didn’t know I needed.
"Now we have one platform that can do everything I’ve ever wanted, and Stephanie is there every step of the way...when you’ve built something over ten years and entrust it to someone else. You need someone you trust — someone you know will be there. That’s exactly what’s been provided.”
Client Overview
NewBeginnings Spokane (NBSPO) is a mission-driven organization providing student loan advocacy and financial education. They came to KaizenCRM by referral from a business consultant who recognized the organization was ready to scale, but lacked the systems, clarity, and internal capacity to do so.
The Situation Before KaizenCRM
NBSPO had been using HubSpot for several years, but in practice it functioned as little more than a basic email tool. The organization didn’t have the bandwidth, internal expertise, or support needed to build or manage the CRM beyond entry-level use.
At the same time:
Marketing efforts were not producing measurable leads or ROI
Lead generation relied almost entirely on word-of-mouth and referrals
Leadership was deeply embedded in every aspect of day-to-day operations
There was little space to think strategically about growth, hiring, or future opportunities
The organization had momentum — but not the infrastructure to support it.
The Core Constraint
The primary constraint wasn’t motivation or effort. It was capability and visibility.
Like many growing organizations, NBSPO’s leadership was deeply embedded in day-to-day operations. Decisions about systems, marketing, and growth were being made reactively, without the time or framework to step back and evaluate what the business actually needed next.
Didn’t have a clear way to leverage its technology beyond basic use
Lacked the insight needed to effectively direct or evaluate marketing efforts
Was paying for services without clear visibility into outcomes or impact
Without a clear operating system — and without dedicated space for strategic business thinking — scaling felt risky rather than empowering.
The Approach
The work began with a foundational step: mapping the customer journey.
Like many organizations, NBSPO’s leadership understood their customer journey intuitively. The first priority was to externalize that knowledge, put it on paper, and evaluate the journey's effectiveness.
From there, the work focused on:
Translating the customer journey into systems and processes
Identifying where human judgment mattered most
Determining where automation or AI could reduce workload and errors
This clarity gave leadership the confidence to make key strategic decisions. With the right foundation in place, they could either manage internally or engage future partners with clear expectations and accountability.
What Was Built
Because their previous CRM had been underutilized, this was not merely a migration — it was a full systems build using KaizenCRM.
The engagement included:
End-to-end CRM configuration
Automated email follow-ups and invoicing
Customer journey–aligned pipelines and workflows
Reduction of manual administrative tasks through automation
Internal documentation for clarity and employee onboarding
Everything was built to support daily operations, reduction in human errors, and to support future growth.
The Outcome
The impact extended far beyond technology.
As a result of the work:
Leadership gained a clear, documented understanding of how the business operates
Manual, repetitive tasks were automated, significantly reducing workload
Systems created consistency in follow-up and billing
Leadership regained the capacity to think creatively and strategically
Documentation improved communication and onboarding
Most importantly, the organization moved from reactive operations to intentional growth.
In Their Words
“Stephanie was a curveball — I didn’t even realize how rudimentary, archaic, and difficult our old CRM was until Stephanie and Kai came into our business.
Now we have one platform that can do everything I’ve ever wanted, and Stephanie is there every step of the way. There are things as a business owner that I don’t know how to do and don’t want to do — and Stephanie has been incredibly supportive, consistently letting me know she’s got it handled.
What Stephanie does for our business mirrors what we do for our clients — alleviating stress, fear, confusion, frustration, and overwhelm. When it comes to our CRM, I know I’m in good hands.
That matters when you’ve built something over ten years and entrust it to someone else. You need someone you trust — someone you know will be there. That’s exactly what’s been provided.”
- Carey Donaldson, Founder, NewBeginnings Spokane
