Case Study: How Gretta Built a Signature Assessment That Customizes Every Client Journey
Gretta Ford, a strategy-led business coach specializing in courses and websites for dog trainers and behaviourists, came to me with a clear challenge: her business felt scattered, and she needed a way to bring clarity, structure, and scalability to her offerings.
The Problem: A Scattered Business Ecosystem
Before we began working together, Gretta’s business was thriving — she had a rich library of content, a hybrid 1:1 program, and years of expertise in supporting dog trainers and behaviourists to build powerful, profitable businesses. She had multiple courses and services, but no clear way to help potential clients understand the full scope of what she offered. More importantly, it was difficult for Gretta to explain how her services worked in a way that felt aligned with the results she was delivering.
Gretta shared that without a framework, her business ecosystem felt “muddled and overwhelming” — she knew she had the talent and expertise, but it didn’t always come across in a structured way.
“I feel like this solution beautifully incorporates the framework I created with you and is now really clear and personalized, instead of feeling muddled and overwhelming.” - Gretta
Her signature offer blended a semi-linear curriculum with coaching, but Gretta really wanted to further personalise the learning journey. Some clients needed foundational support, others were further along, and Gretta found herself continuously adapting the path in real-time. It was working, but she wanted it to be a transparent and client-led experience where the client could fully take ownership over their learning journey.
What she needed was a solid structure that could support personalized experiences without having to individually create a path for each new client — a way to hold her brilliance and guide her clients through it, without compromising on high quality and deep value.
“I was like, oh my God, this is genius. It felt like a light bulb moment where it all came together in a way that was really meaningful and really cohesive.” — Gretta
Focus 1. Creating a Signature Framework That Aligned With Gretta’s Values
The first and most important step was to create a signature framework that would serve as the backbone of Gretta’s entire business. This framework needed to reflect her unique approach and values, incorporating both the strategy and the holistic aspects of her work.
Through our process, we worked on defining the core pillars that underpin every aspect of her offer ecosystem — not just the “what,” but also the “how” and the energy behind it. We dived deep into her approach to business coaching for dog trainers and behaviorists and identified the essential pillars that could be used across all her offerings.
Focus 2. Crafting an Assessment Tool for Client Clarity
One of the most powerful parts of our work together was developing a strategic assessment tool — a business audit grounded in the pillars of Gretta’s newly clarified framework. This tool gives her clients a structured way to evaluate where they are in their business, what’s working, and what needs focused attention.
We worked together to map out the progression matrix of each of the sub elements of her framework, and then Gretta connected with a Google Sheets genius to bring the tool to life.
More than just a quiz or intake form, this audit acts as a diagnostic — helping clients immediately see where they stand and what’s missing. For Gretta, it means having a strategic architecture to hold her full body of work - from the micro experience of the client journey, through to the macro integration across the whole brand.
This level of clarity creates confidence on both sides: her clients feel seen and understood, and Gretta knows she’s guiding them with precision.
“Now when someone starts working with me, they have this real clarity about what we’re going to be working on, and they can see it through the lens of the framework.” — Gretta
Focus 3. Turning the Framework into a Personalized Client Pathway
Once the framework and audit were in place, we focused on embedding them into Gretta’s signature coaching offer — not just as onboarding tools, but as the foundation for a truly customized learning experience.
Rather than offering a generic, one-size-fits-all program, the audit automatically provides a tailored pathway through the curriculum for Gretta’s clients. The assessment results guide the journey, helping clients focus on the exact pillars they need to strengthen — and giving Gretta a clear map to support them with intention and nuance, without having to manually process the responses.
Even better? Clients can revisit the audit as they grow, making it a powerful tool to track progress and reorient over time.
“They’ve got this really nice baseline assessment where they are really considering where their business is against each of these criteria… and they’re able to go back and track their progress too. I think that is so incredibly valuable.” — Gretta
Gretta Took It Even Further: Self-Directed Integration Across Her Brand
While our work together laid the foundation, what’s been incredible to witness is how Gretta ran with it. After we wrapped, she took the framework and expanded it across her entire business in some brilliant ways.
She created a public-facing quiz (a simplified version of the full audit) to help potential clients self-identify which pillar they need to focus on. She reorganized her website so that all of her courses and services are now filterable by pillar. And every time she creates something new, she knows exactly where it fits.
This is the power of a well-designed framework: it doesn’t just support your current offers — it becomes the container for all future growth.
“Now everything in my business fits within this lovely framework. Blog posts, offers — it all connects. And I can easily add more over time.”
— Gretta
The Results: Clarity, Confidence, and Growth
The results speak for themselves. Gretta now has a clear, cohesive structure for her entire business, and she’s able to present her offerings with confidence. Her signature framework not only helps her understand where everything fits, but it also gives potential clients a clear roadmap of what they need to work on.
“Now, everything in my business fits within this lovely framework. Whether it’s blog posts, courses, or offers, they all connect back to this one core structure.” — Gretta
Since incorporating the framework, Gretta has seen smoother client onboarding, more engagement with her content, and greater ease in scaling her business. She’s even set up her courses and services to be filtered by pillar, ensuring that every new offering she creates naturally fits within the established ecosystem.
“I now can't imagine my business without this framework. It holds everything together and makes it so much easier to scale and connect with my ideal clients.” — Gretta
What Gretta Says to Others Considering Working with Me
You know that everything is going to be done strategically and in a way that aligns with what you want for your business that works for your ideal clients.
You're in really safe hands. There's a real sense of Emily's true, deep expertise in this area which I think is unparalleled. On top of that she is just the most delightful kind and loving and giving person.
There’s confidence in knowing that Emily is working with you because you know that everything is going to be done thoroughly. Time and money spent with Emily is always well worth it in my view.
Curious about what your own framework could look like?
Whether you’re craving more structure, dreaming of scaling, or just want a clearer way to show people how you really help - there’s space for that here.
You can explore this work inside The Art of the Framework self-paced course, or through 1:1 coaching if you’re ready to go deep together.
Let’s shape something that holds your brilliance, your vision, and the transformation you’re here to lead.
xox,
Emily