The story of Task Lemonade
by trish & kate
BATTLING BURNOUT
We think life is amazing when you do what you love. Trish started this business to make life easier for small business owners, and while it has evolved, it’s one thing that’s never changed. Because business owners are stretched way too thin.
You started your business because you’re passionate about being a photographer, but sending invoices, constant marketing, and an overflowing inbox were not how you thought you’d be spending your days. You never imaged you’d spend more time staring at your computer than behind the camera.
And sometimes, there is no time or energy left at the end of the day. Did someone say burnout?
We get it, and we aren’t immune to the struggle! It’s almost impossible to avoid. That feeling that no matter what you’re doing, you could be doing something else, you probably should be doing something else, you have a long list of other things you need to do, and congratulations - you’re an entrepreneur!
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
IN A PAST LIFE - AS TOLD BY TRISH
I’ve worked in corporate offices, small businesses and it feels like everything in between. Every position, every boss, and each business taught me so much about systems, connectivity, and most importantly big picture thinking.
In what seems like another life, I had another business of my own. I worked an esthetician striving to build a clientele, market the business, add to my skill set, and create experiences that wowed everyone who sat in my chair. (Fun side note, I am still licensed!) It was all exhausting but I had moved from a hair salon into a spa with a great team of estheticians. I had recently added new services. If I could figure out marketing I might just have a full client list!
I was trying to navigate all of it when the spa I just started working in unexpectedly closed.
So here I was, feeling like I had begun to build momentum and no place to work. I considered opening my own spa. I searched for a new location that was a good fit. Then I realized I just didn’t have it in me to start over at a new location so I walked away.
Letting go of something I loved was hard. I had put so much in and had plans for new services to grow my business!. Yet, no matter which way I turned, I knew that not only did I need a solid spot to house my business but I needed a stronger business foundation.
My background had given me the confidence to go from esthetics school to working for myself, and it got me pretty far, but it didn’t give me the know how to deal with the day-to-day challenges of managing a business. When everything fell apart, I didn’t have the resources or support to change directions. All the things I didn’t know came into focus, and I lost sight of what it was I loved about what I did.
Years later, I had the “If I had it to do over again,” line of thinking. I was now clear headed about what had taken the wind out of my sails, about the things that would have made a difference. Then we had a pandemic and like many, it changed me. I felt ready to jump back into entrepreneurship. I knew I wanted to support other business owners as they build a business one piece at a time. I knew that this time I was going to help others work through the pitfalls and overwhelm that caused me to let go of my business, be the cheerleader, sounding board, task master, the team member, I wished I had.
When I started this, I was ready to help any small business by managing their mundane tasks. They’d be ready to grow, feel overwhelmed, and I’d be there to help. Then in 2023 I started working with a photographer (Shout out to Amy @ Kinship Photo!) to help manage her backend and to free up time so she could have a more balanced schedule.
After about six months, I knew I loved working with creatives. My brain processes similarly, our energies are similar and I really consider myself to be a creative person. It felt like I had found my people. So, I began to shift my clients to photographers; and just like that I found our niche.
THE JOURNEY - ACCORDING TO KATE
I spent my entire young adult life in management, climbing the corporate ladder. HR at Target at 20, Operations Manager at Old Navy at 21, Training Manager at Old Navy at 23, Store Manager at Starbucks at 25. I was really freaking good at managing people. I loved teaching and training. And I thought I would be at Starbucks forever.
Running my own location taught me to trust my instincts, reinforced the value of prioritizing the happiness of your team, and showed me the best path to a thriving business was truly connecting with your customers.
I tried a lot of out-of-the-box ideas to really ingrain the store into the neighborhood and community around us, but the one that really stuck (and had the best results) was Instagram. We were the only Starbucks around using Instagram as a marketing tool, from early morning posts reminding the doomscrollers to stop by for their cup, to introducing new team members as part of their orientation, and even announcing who won Customer of the Month on our Instagram page. We weren’t just focused on selling coffee, we were bringing the friendliness that customers felt IRL to their screens, and the results were easy to track at the registers.
I loved the genuine friendships I built with my customers in the 8 years I was there, and the amazing and hardworking team I had built. (All this time later and we still stay in touch!) But I didn’t love working for a corporation whose whims changed every other month, I didn’t love the lack of work/life balance, and I didn’t love that decisions that I knew were right had to go through layers of corporate approval.
And then my son was born, and my world was rocked. The priorities that I considered foundational to who I was as a person suddenly shifted overnight, and my drive for to reach career success at Starbucks practically evaporated. So when they asked me to return to work at a store an hour away from home, where I’d be working 8-10 hour days before driving an hour back home, I accepted that my time there had come to an end.
All that being said, I knew that being a full time stay at home mom wasn’t quite the right fit for me. My drive for career success was still there, just in a different way than before. But I didn’t want to work for someone else and end up in the same situation I had just walked away from. I had watched my mom start her own business fearlessly, and decided to follow in her footsteps, taking the passion I had for community building on Instagram forward.
I spent months taking courses and devouring all the training I could find between feedings and nap schedules, so that when I started working with clients, I was able to have both the passion and the knowledge to get them results. And when I felt ready, Task Lemonade brought me on as a partner, so we could grow into the next era together.
Other than Trish (who was more than happy to handover marketing to me), my first client was an amazing lifestyle family photographer who had perfected the art of taking photos that felt like captured moments, and the families she served told her again and again how meaningful it was to have these memories preserved. Seeing her impact on these families, at the same time I was watching my little dude growing and changing every day, felt like a magical parallel. It gave my work meaning.
And beyond that, I discovered a whole new world of photography. I had no idea that lifestyle newborn photography existed, and it was a bittersweet lesson. I had decided not to get newborn photos taken because sleeping babies posed in baskets was never my thing (not knocking it, I just don’t like posed photos in general). Those precious moments were gone forever now, and I couldn’t get them back.
But I could make sure that it didn’t happen to other moms like me. By helping photographers strengthen their marketing systems, I could make sure they reach the people like me, who were searching for something they just don’t have the words for.
And since then, I’ve dedicated my “free” time to furthering my education in organic marketing, so I can help as many photographers (and the people searching for them) as possible. And I’ve been loving every moment!
THE TASK LEMONADE TWIST
Since 2025, we’ve joined forces to offer complete operations and marketing support for photographers. We’re a mother-daughter power duo here to partner with our clients, offering customized packages to meet their business needs. Our motto is, do what you love and we’ll manage the rest.
No more days of doing it alone, that’s the Task Lemonade difference. We work with you, as part of your team. We aren’t just checking off tasks on list, we’re learning what is important to you, working with your goals in mind, lightening your load.
Systems management and organic marketing for your business with a strategic partner not only means better work-life balance but also gives you the opportunity to scale with ease. Doing what you love doesn’t have to mean doing it all yourself. We can support you and your business through it all!
