Do you ever feel like you’re always working, but not getting anywhere? Maybe you started your own business because you wanted the freedom to choose how you spend your time; perhaps make more money. But now you find yourself stuck in the never-ending grind, working late nights and weekends, with your to-do list getting longer every day.
This happens to too many business owners. The good news is: it doesn’t have to be this way. There’s a secret to working fewer hours AND making more money. The secret is… systems. That might not sound exciting, but it can give you the freedom you want.
What’s a system?
This sounds basic, but let’s start here anyway. A system is a set of steps or a process that makes things run smoothly without your having to be hands-on all the time. When you have great systems, you can grow your business without working crazy hours.
How Jenna went from burnout to freedom
Jenna, a graphic designer, started her own business because she wanted to have more control over her schedule and make more money doing what she loves. At first she did everything herself—client calls, designing, sending invoices, social media, emails—working around the clock. Whenever she thought she’d catch a break, a new project would pop up. It was as if she were on a hamster wheel—running fast, never advancing.
She was in the typical start-up phase of being an entrepreneur: No one could do anything better than she.
When she was just about to throw in the towel, she met an advisor who counseled her on creating systems and allowing those systems to run her business. She learned that systems would show her staff what great service is, and her customers all about consistent delivery. She started small:
- She set up a template for her invoices so she didn’t have to create a new one for each transaction;
- She created a standard process for designing projects;
- She used an automated email response to let new clients know she’d get back to them within 24 hours.
Within a month Jenna realized she had a little more time on her hands. No longer was she spending hours on repetitive tasks. Moreover, because her processes were more straightforward, she started to attract better clients who knew what to expect. She eventually hired an assistant to handle her emails and scheduling. This allowed her to take on more high-paying clients without adding more hours to her week.
Why you need systems
Every business needs systems. Here are three big reasons why:
Save time on repetitive tasks. Think about all the little tasks you do every day—sending emails, scheduling meetings, creating reports. If you’re doing these manually each time, you’re wasting hours that could be spent on bigger things. A system helps you automate or streamline those tasks.
Get consistent results. When you do things the same way every time, you get more consistent results; your product or service has a uniform standard; your customers are happy, which leads to more repeat business.
Free yourself to focus on growth. When you’re stuck in the day-to-day muck, you don’t have time to think about the big picture—for example, how to get new customers; creating new products; taking a well-deserved vacation! Systems allow you to step back from the everyday grind and allow others to do what you thought you had to do yourself.
Building your first system
Here’s a simple way to start building a system:
Pick a repetitive task. Look for something you do often, like responding to the same types of emails or posting on social media.
Write down the requisite steps. Write down every step required to complete that task. For example, if you’re sending a welcome email to new clients, write down what you say in the email, when you send it, and how you send it. Making a video of your steps is a simple way of creating the steps.
Find tools to help. Can you use a tool to speed up this process? For Example, an email platform that sends automatic responses or a social media scheduler.
Test and tweak. Try out your new system and see how it goes. Does it save you time? Do you need to make any adjustments? Keep tweaking it until it works smoothly. We call this inspect and adapt to fine-tune your system.
The magic of automation
Automation is like having an extra team member who never sleeps. It can save you a ton of time and make your business feel more professional. Software and apps can automate many business processes, including:
Emails. Set up automated responses for common questions or use a tool to send out newsletters to your customers.
Invoicing. Use a service like QuickBooks or FreshBooks to automatically send invoices when a project is complete.
Client scheduling. Use an app like Calendly to let clients book their own appointments without all the back-and-forth emails.
Project management. Use a tool like Monday or ClickUp to schedule repetitive work that others can do.
Don’t let perfection hold you back
You’re probably thinking you don’t have time to build all these systems. You don’t have to build the perfect system right away. Start with one small change. Think fail cheap/fail fast when starting. Some systems will work and some not so well. Even small changes can make a big difference. And once you get a taste of what systems can do, you’ll be excited to keep improving them. Setting them up may take a little effort, but once you do, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without them.
Josh Patrick is the founder of The Sustainable Business
