Systems and Processes: Your Business Roadmap

[00:00:02]
Thank you for tuning in to Wed Pro Business Solutions. I'm your host, Kristina Stubblefield. And I've had so many people ask me about systems and processes Is. So I want to just take a few minutes on this episode to really explain that. Because since I've been talking to people more and more about that's what I really specialize in, most people don't realize I have an It and marketing background.

[00:00:34]
And I say to people that I specialize in systems and processes as well as online visibility, content creation, they kind of look a little puzzled. And I had someone recently approach and say I've been wanting to ask, but I didn't want to sound like I didn't know anything right there. I always say there is no silly question when it comes to business. Business can be overwhelming and a lot of small business owners may not know very much about systems and processes. So let's just start right there.

[00:01:15]
And I found a really good explanation that I like, and that is a system is the core element that you want to have or implement in your business. It's something that helps your business run. The processes are the things you do in order to make this system work most efficiently. And I really like that explanation, but of course I'm going to give you my own. So here's what I do.

[00:01:53]
When I start to talk to someone that they're overwhelmed in their business, they want to grow their business wherever you're at. You don't have to implement systems and processes because you want to grow. You can actually implement them to streamline your workflow, to save you time, money, to really set your business up, to take on more business. These are used to make here's the simple thing. You use systems and processes to run your business more smoothly.

[00:02:37]
And I'm going to be 100% honest, as I am always. It has taken me a long time to get to where we have core systems that we use and documented processes for different services, different courses, different speaking engagements that we have documented step by step what we do. And here's the reason you do this. When you sit down and you document out how you want to do something, how it's best for you to do it. Okay?

[00:03:23]
So let's just take for an example onboarding a new client. Now that's a big one that I'm taking on because that's really an episode on its own, but you need to write down the steps you have for Onboarding a new Client and I'm going to give you an example. So let's just say that a new client is ready to book you and they've sent you an email and you need to email them back with a contract attached for them to sign as well as maybe an invoice for them to pay their deposit and then a welcome packet or a next steps packet. And I'm just giving you an example whatever that process is, you should take a piece of paper. Or if you prefer using technology, you can use the notepad in your phone tablet, or you can even use a Google Doc, get those documented down, however many there are, and you probably don't even realize how many actual steps there are.

[00:04:31]
I started to find that I've done things for so long that I'm just used to doing, clicking, doing, using different software. When I documented those steps down, I was like, Holy shit. Like, this is 30 steps. I didn't realize it took me this long. And when you document this, it allows you to analyze it.

[00:04:56]
And you don't have to be an expert in anything to look in your own business process and say, There it wait. This is a lot of steps. What can be merged together? What could be automated? Does it really need to be all of these steps?

[00:05:19]
What could be just marked off? If you're like me, you've probably done the same thing over and over for however many years. And hell, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? That's the saying. You start messing with something, and you're asking for some trouble.

[00:05:39]
But when it comes to systems and processes, that's not the case, because technology is ever evolving. There are so many different tools out there to make your life easier. And when I work with a client, most of them don't want to have to do all the steps they do here's. The one thing I hear is, I hate doing the office work. Like, I love events.

[00:06:06]
I hate doing the office work. But guess what? You have to do the office work. That's where you get your signed contracts, your deposits, your payments invoicing. Let's start throwing on the hats, because they start to stack up.

[00:06:18]
But when you can really look at that list, that's what I do with clients, is I sit down and I say, just tell me, how does it work? What's the client journey from start to finish? Just give it all out. Let's get it all out. And I start writing it all down, sketching it out, and then I put that into what I call it's a mind map.

[00:06:41]
I map out that journey, and then I print it out, and most of them say, oh, my, I had no idea why? Well, you're focused on your events, running your business. A lot of people don't want to put that business owner hat on to really pull back all the feelings, put aside the events that are coming up, put them on the shelf for just a couple of hours to really put that business hat on and say, is the steps that I'm doing in my business the most efficient? And heck, why you're asking it are the most effective. There are so many different tools out there to help you, as I mentioned.

[00:07:26]
And when you can sit with a piece of paper and really look down that list, I bet you're going to think to yourself on one, two, or maybe more of those items, why do I not do this at the same time? Why is this two steps? Why is this three steps? Then when you start to open your mind up or maybe work with someone like me who can really listen to what goes on in your business, your own process, however helter skelter they may be and really help you develop a workflow that is streamlined. What streamlined means to me the main steps, what are the steps that have to be done?

[00:08:13]
Can they be automated? Can they be delegated? Can they be cut? Most of the time people that I work with, over half of the steps can be combined and or automated. And what automated should mean to you with what I'm saying right now saves you time, potentially saves you money because when something happens, something else automatically happens.

[00:08:40]
And that can be scary for a lot of people because they're not used to automations. You start saying the word automations funnels all in one software.

[00:08:52]
I still like dealing with my paper contracts and getting my checks in the mail.

[00:09:01]
If we're being honest, don't necessarily welcome change. I'm the first to admit it, but when you start to get a glimpse at what you can get back and it's different for most people. But the clients I've worked with, most of them have saved a number of hours a week, which if they're paying someone, that also saves them time and money. But what I've heard them say is, wow, now that we've done this step, I'm really thinking about it and I think that I could streamline down more like this. They're excited about it because they see just a little glimpse of the possibilities.

[00:09:49]
And to me it's an impact for a business owner that can carry on for years to come. It's not just something for a week or a month is the process to really figuring out your workflow, your client journey, is it the easiest thing? It just depends. I've had people say to me, thank gosh you were a guide with me along this journey because I wouldn't have known where to start. So that's what I want you to be able to take from this episode, where to start with systems and processes.

[00:10:29]
Don't let those words scare you. I want you to have a better understanding and I want you to know where you can start to get a glimpse of how it can help when you're onboarding a new client or offboarding a new client or if you want to live on the edge and you want to document every single activity you do. Whether it's posting on Facebook. Creating a tik tok doing your boards for Pinterest. Onboarding a new client.

[00:11:01]
Off boarding a client. The event day. Whatever it is in your business. Pick one and document down the steps on a piece of paper. Like I said.

[00:11:13]
Or if you're more tech savvy and you want to use Google Docs. You want to use a checklist system. You want to use a Note system. However it works for you. Do it on your own way.

[00:11:26]
If it's a piece of paper and pen, go for it. I still do that myself. I'm not afraid to admit it. That's the very first step. Now, after you do that, then look at that list and see what could be automated, what could be delegated, and what could be rich cut from the list.

[00:11:56]
I think that you will find immediately there's a couple of items that could be condensed, could be merged with one of the steps, or could not need to happen anymore. Times are ever changing with technology. You will probably want to do this for all of the activities in your business. But remember, I'm just giving you a place to start because I know how it feels for someone to say, you need to do this, you need to do that, you need to do this. Everything I'm sharing with you is to help you in your business.

[00:12:38]
You might not think this doesn't sound fun whatsoever, probably won't be. And you might think, she's telling me to do this and it's going to take extra time, but here's my promise it will be worth it. It was a long time since I had done this and myself, even being with technology, there were some things I was doing that I was like, what the hell am I thinking? Why is this not automated? Why do I have five steps?

[00:13:12]
And it should be two? And it can be frustrating. You will probably have those feelings like, why did I not do this sooner? There's nothing you can do to change about how you've been doing it. Think about this as a step forward in your business.

[00:13:25]
Don't be hard on yourself. I was very frustrated with myself. And here's the reason. As you go forward, whether you want to grow, you want to streamline, you want to cut back on events, but you want something in place to help you with running your business, whatever it means. When you document those processes, you review them.

[00:13:47]
You fine tune them. You're building your own book, basically your own guide to how your business runs. And maybe down the road you hire an assistant. You hire an Admin, a VA, whatever it may be. How great.

[00:14:16]
You've documented your system. You've documented your processes, you've reviewed them. You have fine tuned them. And now when you bring someone on to help you, they have an encyclopedia of exactly how you want your business ran. And what that starts to mean is the client journey is the same.

[00:14:43]
No matter if it's you working in your business, an Admin or a VA, the same steps are happening for each client that makes your whole client experience the same. And when you can really look at your clients journey in a snapshot on a piece of paper that you've sketched out.

[00:15:12]
It will help you with so many other aspects of your business. And I know that this can be a lot to take in, I get it. But this will open the doors to so many opportunities to be able to save yourself time, energy, effort and money. I've had people say to me before I was going to use a system, but it's going to be 200 $300 a month.

[00:15:47]
Have you documented out how much every day or every week you work in your business and how much time that is? And what is your time worth per hour? I actually had some clients do that before and that amount of money that they thought it was going to cost. And I'm not saying that that's what systems out there cost by no stretch of the imagination. I'm giving an example.

[00:16:16]
That amount was well worth the money spent because of how much time they were able to get back. They were able to focus more on the events or more time with their family. Whatever it is you want with your time, time is the one thing we can never get back. And that to me, is why I've really embraced helping people with their systems and processes because I fully understand it. I understand what it means not only to map that out, to put automations in place, delegations in place, it's a collaboration with my clients.

[00:16:53]
But it's something that you can start doing immediately. And you can pick just one activity in your business to document the steps that it takes you to complete that task. And I think you will be very surprised, I hope, that you have found this beneficial. And I know this may be one of those episodes that you're like, she wants me to do something else. Remember, you're working towards making your business more organized, more efficient.

[00:17:27]
You're really working on fine tuning it. And I think what you'll find is it also helps you with your relationships with clients and to strive towards helping your business run on some kind of autopilot. And it might not be completely automated. So many people say to me, I don't want to lose that personal touch. That's why clients that I work with, it's really important for them to be in the part of the process with the email wording, the verbiage that's used when their proposals go out.

[00:18:03]
In my opinion, it needs to represent your business and it needs to come with wording that it is you talking to your client. That is the big thing for me is I don't want to script people's emails from start to finish. I'll help, my team will help. But it needs to come from you. It needs to have your personality, your business's personality as part of it.

[00:18:32]
So I hope you found this helpful. Please, if you haven't already, joined the free Facebook Group. I encourage you to do so. I cannot wait to hear some feedback on this episode. I hope this helps explain about systems and processes.

[00:18:46]
Just go to KristinaStubblefield.com and get a link to the Facebook Group. Start documenting, and I cannot wait to hear how it's going. Until next time, take care.