From Chaos to Clarity: Systems That Save You

This podcast episode tackles the common struggle many entrepreneurs face—feeling overwhelmed and stuck in constant chaos. We talk about how endless to-do lists and the pressure to stay busy can actually hurt productivity and well-being. Instead of getting caught up in the noise, we share simple, repeatable strategies to help bring order to your day-to-day tasks. By pinpointing key problems and creating clear systems, you'll learn how to work smarter, not harder. The goal is to help you take back control of your time and enjoy your work again. From Chaos to Clarity: Systems That Save You.
Check out the full podcast episode here
Chaos is a common struggle for many entrepreneurs and professionals, turning each day into a constant battle to keep up. This episode opens with a relatable look at a hectic morning filled with emails, deadlines, client demands, and personal tasks—all creating a sense of overwhelm. Living in this state of constant busyness can be exhausting and frustrating, making it feel like you're always behind, chasing a finish line that never comes.
To break free from this cycle, we introduce a powerful solution: creating simple, repeatable systems. Whether it's for onboarding clients, managing emails, or producing content, these systems bring order and clarity to your daily routine. They help you save time, reduce mistakes, improve consistency, and make delegation easier. More importantly, they give you back your peace of mind and the joy of doing work you love. This episode walks you through practical steps to identify your biggest challenges and start building systems that truly support you.
Takeaways:
- Chaos in our daily routines often leads to a feeling of being overwhelmed, preventing us from achieving meaningful productivity.
- Implementing simple systems can transform our approach to managing tasks, offering clarity and control over our daily operations.
- By establishing a structured process for client onboarding and offboarding, we can significantly reduce chaos and enhance client satisfaction.
- Effective email management requires a systematic approach, including setting designated times for checking emails and utilizing the two-minute rule for immediate responses.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Grit and Growth Business
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00:00 - Untitled
00:02 - The Chaos of Morning Routines
04:58 - Transitioning from Chaos to Systems
08:38 - Breaking the Chaos: Effective Client Onboarding
18:01 - Systemizing Actionable Steps for Clarity and Control
22:37 - Documenting and Optimizing Business Processes
33:03 - The Power of the Pause: Embracing Intentional Rest
Okay, let me paint a picture for you.
Speaker AIt's the morning your alarm goes off and before your feet even hit the floor, your mind is racing.
Speaker AYou've got those emails, those deadlines, those calls to return, those client requests, marketing ideas, bills to pay, the kids schedules, that thing you forgot yesterday.
Speaker AIf you're like me, it feels like you're constantly putting out fires, isn't it?
Speaker AMaybe.
Speaker ALike a lot of people, you feel like you're just chasing your tail.
Speaker AYou're running in circles, just trying to keep your head above water.
Speaker AAnd you promised yourself you'd get organized, you'd be more productive.
Speaker ABut every single day feels like a mad dash, a reactive scramble from one urgent task to the next.
Speaker AYeah, yeah.
Speaker AYou start with a plan, but by mid morning, it's already derailed.
Speaker AHey, that train has wrecked and the day exhausted.
Speaker ABut this is nagging feeling that feeling that you really didn't accomplish anything truly meaningful.
Speaker AIt's a chaotic dance, isn't it?
Speaker AIt's a constant state of overwhelm.
Speaker AAnd let's be honest, it sucks that remaining joy right out of your work and often out of your life too.
Speaker AThat feeling of being forever behind is soul crushing.
Speaker AToday we're going to talk about how to stop that madness.
Speaker AHow to get off that digital hamster wheel we discussed last week where talking about finding peace in the middle of your busy, ambitious life through something deceptively simple.
Speaker ASystems.
Speaker AI'll talk about what they are here in a few minutes.
Speaker ABut we're going to go from chaos to clarity.
Speaker ASo stay with me today because this isn't just about your business.
Speaker AIt's so much bigger than that.
Speaker AIt's about your peace of mind.
Speaker BRunning a business isn't easy.
Speaker BIt's long hours, tough calls and relentless pressure.
Speaker BNo shortcuts, no handouts.
Speaker BJust grit, grind and the will to keep going when most would quit.
Speaker BWelcome to Grit and Growth Business.
Speaker BThe show for entrepreneurs who know success is built the hard way.
Speaker BHosted by Ralph Estepp Jr. A seasoned business coach, accountant and fellow fighter in the trenches, each episode brings you real talk, proven strategies and the unfiltered truth about what it really takes to build something that lasts.
Speaker BBecause if you've got persistence, perseverance and determination, this is the place for you.
Speaker BThis is grit and growth business.
Speaker AHey, welcome back to Grit and Growth Business.
Speaker AI'm Ralph Estepp Jr joining you again for another episode of how to take your business to the next level.
Speaker ANow, if you missed last week's show, I I'm encouraging you to go check it out.
Speaker ABut we had a crucial conversation about shifting our focus from those feel good followers to real revenue.
Speaker AYeah, we talked about dispelling all those myths of those YouTube likes and those followers and really looking at the bottom line and that real revenue.
Speaker AAnd I also hope that you downloaded last week's action plan sheet.
Speaker AYou can do that by going to gritandgrowthbusiness.com action because listen, that's a game changer for really focusing your efforts.
Speaker ABut today we're going to kick it up a notch.
Speaker AWe're talking about another silent saboteur of success, something that impacts every single one of us.
Speaker AAnd I don't care who you are, whether you're running a thriving small business, maybe you're managing a side hustle, or maybe you're just navigating demands of modern life.
Speaker AAnd that one word is chaos.
Speaker AIt's that feeling that you're constantly reacting, constantly putting out fires.
Speaker AYou feel like a full time fireman.
Speaker AAnd if you're like me, you're always busy, but not always productive.
Speaker AIt's that feeling of overwhelm that.
Speaker AWe talked about this a few minutes ago, that digital hamster wheel.
Speaker AAnd if you're like most people, you start off the day with good intentions.
Speaker AYeah, you're dedicated, you work hard, you work really hard.
Speaker AIt often feels like you're just running endlessly and you're getting nowhere, anywhere meaningful by the end of the day.
Speaker AAnd I remember many times looking at my desk covered with papers, the inbox overflowing, and then I just had to sit there and I felt this feeling of being completely paralyzed.
Speaker AAnd I was working 12, 14, 16 hour days.
Speaker ABut when I look back at it, it was like I wasn't even making a dent.
Speaker AAnd the problem is there's a much deeper cost to this.
Speaker ASee, this isn't just about productivity.
Speaker AThat's one part of it.
Speaker ABut it's about your mental health, your spiritual well being and your relationships.
Speaker AYeah, hear me on that one.
Speaker AMental health, spiritual well being, your relationships.
Speaker AI think those are pretty big things.
Speaker AAnd when chaos reigns, when chaos is in control, it steals your joy and it steals your peace.
Speaker ABut I've got a solution.
Speaker AIt doesn't have to be this way.
Speaker AAnd the secret isn't working harder, but it is working smarter by implementing simple, repeatable systems.
Speaker AThat's exactly what we're going to talk about next.
Speaker ASo now you might be saying, Ralph, what in the world are you talking about?
Speaker AWhat are systems?
Speaker AYou lost me already.
Speaker AWhat do I mean by a system?
Speaker AI mean it's a simple, documented Process.
Speaker ADon't think any bigger than that.
Speaker AJust a step by step method for completing a task or achieving a goal.
Speaker AThink about it like you're in the kitchen.
Speaker AIt's a recipe for repeatable success.
Speaker AThings like how to onboard a new client, or maybe how you manage your daily emails.
Speaker AFor you, maybe it's how you plan your social media content or how you handle customer inquiries.
Speaker AAnd for some of us, it's even how you prepare for your workday.
Speaker AAnd why are these systems so important?
Speaker AWhy do they matter?
Speaker AThe save you part is the big thing here.
Speaker AThey save you time.
Speaker AYou stop reinventing the wheel every time.
Speaker ALess thinking, more doing.
Speaker AIt reduces that decision fatigue.
Speaker ASo many of us suffer from that decision fatigue.
Speaker ALike we just don't know what to do next.
Speaker ABecause you don't have a system in place.
Speaker AAnd when you have that system, you don't have to remember every single step, every single tiny step.
Speaker AAnd when you can break free of that, it frees up your brain for creative strategic thinking.
Speaker AI also think it improves your consistency and quality.
Speaker AI just think that's part of what it does.
Speaker ABy having a system, your tasks are done the same way every time.
Speaker AAnd in a business, that leads to predictability and high quality results.
Speaker AHere's another great benefit of systems.
Speaker AThey reduce errors.
Speaker ASee, when you've got a system, there's less room for mistakes.
Speaker AWhen you follow a checklist, that checklist becomes the way to double check the qa, if you will.
Speaker AAnd it also helps you enable delegation.
Speaker AWhen you have a system in place, you truly can hand off tasks to others without lengthy explanations or feeling like you gotta have just another meeting to go over something and you know it's going to be done right, because there's a system in place.
Speaker AIt also provides a great deal of clarity because you know what needs to be done, you know when it needs to be done, and you know how it needs to be.
Speaker AA no more guessing games.
Speaker AAnd the Big One kind of alluded to this at the beginning.
Speaker AIt provides peace.
Speaker AWhy?
Speaker ABecause it replaces that feeling of chaos with control.
Speaker AHey, that's what we want to do.
Speaker AWe want to move beyond chaos and get back into control of our business and back in control of our our lives.
Speaker AAnd it just gives you this overwhelming feeling of calmness because there's a system in place.
Speaker AIt gives you back your time and it gives you back your peace of mind.
Speaker AWell, let's talk about some of the most common areas where I think you can really put systems together to truly take your business to the next level.
Speaker AThe first one.
Speaker AAnd I use this in my own practice.
Speaker AClient onboarding and client offboard.
Speaker AHey, nobody wants to offboard clients.
Speaker ABut guess what?
Speaker AIf you're in business for any length of time, it's going to happen.
Speaker ASo let's start talking about that chaos in the onboarding and offboarding process.
Speaker AThink about it yourself.
Speaker AYour, your new client signs up.
Speaker AYou're, you're so excited.
Speaker AHey, I got a new customer.
Speaker AMaybe you were really working hard to get that.
Speaker ABut then you're scrambling to send them the right forms.
Speaker AYou're trying to figure out what accounts to set up, you're trying to explain the next steps.
Speaker AThat's just chaos right at the beginning.
Speaker ASo how do we break that?
Speaker AWell, we create a checklist for every step from client signing to first deliverable.
Speaker AYou have a plan in place, you're intentional about it, and built into that is a welcome email, maybe some scheduling tool, some resource sharing.
Speaker ALet me give an example.
Speaker AWhen I have a new coaching client, join me and if you're interested, I do coaching.
Speaker AIf you're interested in finding more, go right to the show notes or you can, you can go right to the website gritandgrowthbusiness.com and book a call with me right at the top.
Speaker AWe'll do a 15 minute discovery call.
Speaker ABut anyway, let me get back to what I was talking about.
Speaker ASo when I onboard a new coaching client, I've already got a pre written welcome email sequence.
Speaker AI'm going to bring them on.
Speaker AI'm going to talk about all the things that I do.
Speaker AI've got a shared folder template and I got a clear getting started guide that goes out automatically.
Speaker ASee, there's a system in place.
Speaker AI worked really hard to get that person on board to do some business coaching to show them how to take their business to the next level.
Speaker AThe worst possible thing I can do.
Speaker AHey, if I'm trying to sell them a product that helps them be more efficient, I've got to show that efficiency myself.
Speaker AAnd in the end, that program saves me hours and makes that new client feel instantly valued.
Speaker AHey, Ralph's got this whole thing in place.
Speaker AWow.
Speaker AI just signed up today.
Speaker AI've already gotten this email.
Speaker AI've got a how to get started guide.
Speaker AI've got all those things in place about how important that is for that onboarding process.
Speaker AAnother area I think there's a great deal of room for is content creation and marketing.
Speaker AThink about the chaos for a second.
Speaker AYou wake up asking, what should I post today?
Speaker AHey, we did a show about this.
Speaker AA Couple weeks ago.
Speaker AThere's no reason you can't plan that out.
Speaker AOr maybe like a lot of people, oh, wow, I got to get this out, Ralph.
Speaker AI said I had to post something today.
Speaker AYou're just rushing to create a blog, last post at last minute blog or record something real quickly to put out on social media.
Speaker ABut the problem with that, it ends up being mediocre because you haven't put any time into it.
Speaker AYou haven't thought through the process.
Speaker ASo one of the ways that you can find clarity is plan content, themes quarterly, map out your topics monthly, and then batch create those things weekly.
Speaker AThere's great templates out there for social media posts, for blog outlines, but again, it comes down to being intentional and planning those things out.
Speaker ALike, for example, this very podcast.
Speaker AI've got a system in place.
Speaker AI've got a theme for the month.
Speaker AThen I break it down into weekly episode topics.
Speaker AThen I do an outline.
Speaker AHey, then I'm right in front of you.
Speaker ARecording.
Speaker ABy doing that, it keeps me consistent and it reduces that last minute stress.
Speaker AI'm not fumbling when I sit down at the microphone here and say, hey, what am I going to talk about today?
Speaker AThat wouldn't be beneficial for either one of us.
Speaker ASo that's where these systems come into place.
Speaker AHey, as an accountant, the next one is huge for me.
Speaker AAnd that's financial management.
Speaker AThis is things like invoicing and bill pay and bookkeeping.
Speaker ASee, because absent this, you live in this chaos.
Speaker AYou, you send invoices late, the bills pile up, Tax season is a nightmare.
Speaker ATrust me, I'm on the other side of desk with that.
Speaker APeople come to me.
Speaker AYou laugh about this, but it's the truth.
Speaker AI've got clients coming with shoeboxes just full of receipts.
Speaker AThat's a nightmare.
Speaker AAnd it's, it's completely preventable.
Speaker AIt's absolute chaos.
Speaker AAnd here's the thing, if you think that's chaos, this business owner has no idea what's going on with their business throughout the year.
Speaker AThey're just, they're just scraping at that last minute right before the tax deadline.
Speaker AOh, Ralph, I got all these receipts.
Speaker AWhat do we do?
Speaker ASo in order to break that chaos, one of the things that I recommend all the time to my clients is schedule dedicated times for invoicing.
Speaker AMaybe it's a Friday afternoon or a Friday morning thing.
Speaker AAnother thing.
Speaker AAnd a lot of clients are hesitant when I tell them to do this, but automate bill payments, hey, the worst possible thing you can do is start getting behind on your bills.
Speaker AYou can automate that.
Speaker AAnd another big takeaway is use accounting software to track expenses daily, weekly, right at the point of when they happen.
Speaker AI don't know how many times I've worked with clients, their stuff was complete chaos and they onboarded with us.
Speaker AAnd just after a couple of days, yes, a couple of days, they'll say to me, ralph, I don't know how I ever got by without you.
Speaker AI don't have I ever got by without this tracking mechanism.
Speaker AMan, I know exactly where my things are.
Speaker AI remember when I first started my practice, I used to dread invoicing.
Speaker AI hated doing this.
Speaker ABut now I have a set schedule.
Speaker AIt's done the same day every month and it's just, it's just set it and forget it.
Speaker AEverything gets sent out on time and my mind is clear for the, for the weekend.
Speaker AAfter that it gets out there, it gets into the client's hands.
Speaker ABecause here's the truth.
Speaker AIf you're not sending your invoices, your customers aren't going to pay you because they don't know to pay you.
Speaker AHere's another one.
Speaker AI'll tell you what, this is an area where I think a lot of small business owners could really find a way to break that chaos.
Speaker AAnd that's the email management.
Speaker AHey, it's like the bane of our existence anymore.
Speaker AI open up my inbox and it's like a black hole.
Speaker ASomebody will say, hey, did you get that email?
Speaker AImmense.
Speaker AHow many?
Speaker AHundreds others Now I've got a system in place to beat that.
Speaker ABut for most people, they've got one email account and it just piles up and piles up.
Speaker AAnd the problem with that is there's no differentiation.
Speaker AThe important emails just get lost in the shovel with everything else.
Speaker AAnd then when you finally sit down to start looking at these things, you're overwhelmed by the notifications.
Speaker ADing, ding, all day long.
Speaker AThat is such a distraction from your work.
Speaker AHey, one of the ways I think can really beat this is what I'm going to call the two minute rule.
Speaker AAnd just get a timer, simple timer work.
Speaker APut it on your desk, set it for two minutes and then set specific times to check your email and only dedicate two minutes to it because you can get lost in that.
Speaker AIt's kind of like that death scroll on social media.
Speaker ABut then I'm going to encourage you.
Speaker ATake your email, whatever email client you're using, set up folders, set up labels, set up autoresponders for common queries.
Speaker AHey, listen, unsubscribe to stuff you don't need to see, see, I have this one touch rule and it works like this for me.
Speaker AIf an email takes less than two minutes, I deal with it immediately.
Speaker AI don't look at it and say, yeah, I'll get back to that later.
Speaker AHey.
Speaker AI try to touch every single thing.
Speaker AWhen I one time or I put it into a folder and say, hey, this is flagged for my dedicated email hour later in the day.
Speaker ABecause I also carved out time to handle those things at the end of the day.
Speaker AAnd for me and for a lot of other small business people, it transformed my inbox from this monster.
Speaker AAnd it was a hairy beast of a monster, just constantly filling up with more garbage.
Speaker ABut I was able to transform that from a monster to a tool.
Speaker AHere's another one that I think we really need to focus in on and that's meeting preparation and follow up.
Speaker AI don't know.
Speaker AI just had a meeting with a person the other day.
Speaker AHere's a great example of this.
Speaker ASomebody was trying to sell me some services.
Speaker AWe had the meeting scheduled several days in advance.
Speaker AI get to the meeting, this person is completely unprepared.
Speaker AThey didn't have any discussion points.
Speaker AThey're like, raph, what do you want to talk about?
Speaker AI'm like, you're the one trying to sell me something.
Speaker AThere was no clear action.
Speaker AThere was no clear, no plan, there was no preparation.
Speaker AThat's complete chaos.
Speaker AAnd we got to the end of meeting, I said to him, what's the next steps?
Speaker AHe goes, I got to think about that again.
Speaker AYou're trying to sell me professional services and you got to think about it.
Speaker AThat's insanity.
Speaker AHow do you get past that?
Speaker AI got a great idea for you.
Speaker ACreate a simple template for meeting agendas.
Speaker AIf you're routinely doing meetings have an agenda.
Speaker AListen, I do a staff meeting with, there's just three of us in my office.
Speaker ABut every week in our staff meeting, we have an agenda.
Speaker AWe have discussion points.
Speaker AWe talk about where projects stand.
Speaker AI also have a system for capturing notes and signing action items immediately after the meeting.
Speaker AIn my particular case, I take AI notes.
Speaker AThose AI notes get compiled.
Speaker AThey get sent to my secretary.
Speaker AMy secretary then reads through them.
Speaker AShe sets up to do items.
Speaker AShe sets up follow up items.
Speaker AShe follows up on all those things.
Speaker AI'll give you an ex a great example of this.
Speaker AEven for quick calls, I do a 15 minute discovery call.
Speaker AAnd like I said at the beginning, if you're interested in getting on a call with me to tell so I can tell you how to take your business to the next level, just go to gritandgrowthbusiness.com and right at the top, book a call with Ralph.
Speaker ABut anyway, so even for those quick calls, I got a tiny checklist that I put right in front of me when I go to make that call.
Speaker AStarts off with something simple.
Speaker AWhat's the goal?
Speaker AWhat's the goal of the call?
Speaker AWhat's my one or two key messages I want to convey?
Speaker AAnd at the end, what are the next steps?
Speaker AAnd if you put that in front of you, if you have that as a cue card in front of you, it keeps the conversation focused and you keep from rambling on.
Speaker AThat's one of the most annoying things that I've.
Speaker AListen, I've been doing this for a long time, been in a lot of meetings.
Speaker AI get so frustrated.
Speaker AYou're probably thinking, I agree with you on this one.
Speaker AI get so frustrating when there's, when there's no program, when there's no protocol, there's no agenda because things just spiral out of control.
Speaker AThere's nobody to take the reins and there's no follow up.
Speaker AThere's.
Speaker AThere's no way to keep that conversation focused.
Speaker ASo I've given you some great ideas, but now I want to talk about how to start systemizing these actionable steps.
Speaker ABecause I bet right now you're probably like, Ralph, man, you, you hit, you nailed it.
Speaker AA bunch of those.
Speaker AI'm sitting here, Ralph, I'm, I'm nodding my head right now.
Speaker AMaybe you're feeling a little exposed too, like, wow, I never thought about it like that, man.
Speaker AI waste a lot of time doing that.
Speaker ABut I'm hoping you also felt this spark of hope because guess what, you're in the right place.
Speaker AAnd it's time to stop letting chaos run your life.
Speaker AStop living in that chaotic putting fires out situation.
Speaker AThe minute your feet hit the floor in the morning, morning, it's time to start building the clarity and the control you deserve.
Speaker ASo here are some concrete actionable steps that you can take today, this week, to begin systemizing your business and your life.
Speaker AFirst thing you're going to do, big hairy, audacious goal for this week is identify your biggest pain point.
Speaker AI want to encourage you to start small with this.
Speaker AYou don't want.
Speaker AHey, I hate everything about my business, Ralph.
Speaker AThat's my biggest pain point.
Speaker ANo, that's not what I'm talking about.
Speaker AYou cannot try to systemize everything at once.
Speaker AThat right there, you talk about a recipe.
Speaker AThat'll be a recipe for overwhelm.
Speaker ALet's start Small.
Speaker AAsk yourself this and really think about this.
Speaker ABe honest.
Speaker AWhat task or area in my business or my life causes me the most frustration, the most stress or the most wasted time?
Speaker ARepeatedly, because all those things are important.
Speaker AFrustration, stress, wasted time.
Speaker AIs it client inquiries, Ralph?
Speaker AI feel like I can't get anything done because I'm always answering the calls from clients asking simple questions.
Speaker ABut those simple questions, Ralph, they take me on tangents.
Speaker AI get distracted.
Speaker AI don't know what to do by the end of the day.
Speaker AThat's one.
Speaker AHow about those daily social media posts?
Speaker AYou say, oh, you know, I made a commitment, I'm going to post on social media, which isn't a bad thing.
Speaker AI covered that last week.
Speaker AI've got some constructive things you can do about that.
Speaker AI would encourage you to check it out if you missed it.
Speaker ABut maybe that becomes this sucking sound of frustration and stress because you haven't thought that through, you haven't planned it, or maybe you're one of those folks.
Speaker AListen, I got a lot of small business clients, they just don't want to send out their invoices.
Speaker AI guess they don't want to sit down to do it.
Speaker AThat's a, that's a point of stress for them.
Speaker ASo as I said, just pick one thing, just one thing.
Speaker AAnd for me, like I said, for me it was always invoicing.
Speaker AThat's where, that's where I wanted to start.
Speaker ASo that's where I started.
Speaker ASo that's the first thing.
Speaker APick that frustration point.
Speaker APick that thing that causes you frustration, stress or wasted time.
Speaker AJust one.
Speaker AAnd like I said, keep it small.
Speaker AYou don't want that recipe for overwhelm.
Speaker AYou don't want that cake that's overflowing the cake tin when you put it in the oven.
Speaker AAnd then the second part of this document, your current process.
Speaker AYou know the how you do things, grab a notebook, open a Google Doc or even record yourself.
Speaker ATake, you know, talking yourself through it.
Speaker AI think that's a great idea.
Speaker AOne of the things when I first started my career, and this is going to age me, right, it's going to tell you how old I really am.
Speaker AUsed to have one of those tape recorders, they call it a micro recorder and had them them small little reel to reel cassettes.
Speaker AI say reel to re, but you know what I'm talking about little cassette tapes, they weren't the standard and some people listen probably what in the world, Ralph, is a cassette tape anyway, it's a little tape.
Speaker ASo they had these micro recorders and I Used to keep that thing I carried around with me all the time.
Speaker AAnd as something came to mind, I would talk into it.
Speaker AThen at the end of the day, I kind of unwind.
Speaker AThere's a lot of better things for that.
Speaker ANow there's a whole bunch of AI note takers, but you don't need to go that fancy.
Speaker AJust write it down.
Speaker ASo document how you're doing things every single step.
Speaker AStep one, we do this.
Speaker AStep two, we do this.
Speaker AStep three, we do this.
Speaker AEvery single piece that completes that one painful task.
Speaker ADon't skip anything, no matter how small it is, no matter how frustrating.
Speaker AIt's like, I really hate that part.
Speaker ARalph, write it all down.
Speaker ABecause once you do that, you're going to see the inefficiencies and you're going to identify the missing steps.
Speaker AFor example, talk about my invoicing again, it might be here.
Speaker AI'm going to invoice somebody.
Speaker AOpen a spreadsheet, find the client, check their outstanding projects, pull the rates for those things, calculate the total, open the invoicing software, input the data, attach details.
Speaker ANow listen, I'm going through this long explanation.
Speaker ASome great systems out there to do it, but anyway, so I get to the point, I input the data, hit send, mark it is set in a spreadsheet, every tiny step.
Speaker ANow there's a lot of inefficiencies there, but just listen to me for now.
Speaker ADocument it step by step.
Speaker ASo once you've identified the thing, you've documented a thing, then we're going to talk about how to make it work.
Speaker AWe're going to optimize and simplify.
Speaker AWe're going to talk about that big why of it.
Speaker AI want you to look at your documented steps, every single step and ask yourself these questions.
Speaker ACan any step be eliminated?
Speaker AAs I'm looking at this, I'm thinking, do I really need to do this?
Speaker AIs this really necessary?
Speaker AThen ask yourself this next step.
Speaker AAre there steps that can be combined together?
Speaker AHey, you know what I notice?
Speaker AI do this, I do this.
Speaker AOh, I can combine those two things and save myself some time.
Speaker AHey, time waster.
Speaker APerfect.
Speaker AAsk yourself, can any steps be automated?
Speaker AMaybe like I talked about there a few minutes ago, use software, use QuickBooks online.
Speaker AThere's a whole bunch of systems that are already pre designed templates, all those kind of things.
Speaker AAnd ask yourself finally if you're going to be effective in business.
Speaker AOne of the things, and it's been a struggle for me because I'm a control freak, that's what my wife says all the time.
Speaker ARalph, you got to be in control of everything.
Speaker ABut ask yourself, can any steps be delegated?
Speaker ANow, we'll talk in another show down the road about effective delegation, because you can may say, well, I'm going to delegate something if you don't know how to delegate it, right, Making a nightmare for yourself.
Speaker ABut at the end, the goal is to make that step by step process lean, make it efficient, and honestly make it as simple as possible.
Speaker ASo for example, maybe I can connect my project management tool directly to my invoicing software or use a preset template.
Speaker ASee, those things will cut two manual steps right there.
Speaker AAll right, so you've decided on the thing that's annoying you.
Speaker AYou've stepped out the different pieces to it.
Speaker AYou've looked for optimization and to simplify it.
Speaker AAnd now what you're going to do is create your own system.
Speaker ACreate a new system.
Speaker AThe what?
Speaker ASo you flaunt.
Speaker AYou made a lot of notes on the side of this, probably, but now I want you to just go back and write down that optimized step by step process.
Speaker AClearly, if you want to be real effective, I think you make it a checklist or maybe a simple flow chart or even a bulleted list.
Speaker ANow look, that's part of it.
Speaker ABut then put it somewhere where you can get to it.
Speaker AMake it easily accessible.
Speaker AMaybe Google Docs or Trello or some physical binder.
Speaker AHey, when we first started our practice, we had a physical binder of.
Speaker AOkay, when this happens, go to the binder.
Speaker AHere's how you handle that.
Speaker AWhat is it?
Speaker AThink about it for a second.
Speaker AIt's like my wife, my wife loves to cook.
Speaker AWell, she's got recipe books.
Speaker AIt's the same thing for your business.
Speaker AYou have a recipe for each of these tasks.
Speaker AThat way, if you want to show somebody else how to do it.
Speaker AOh, I got a recipe for that.
Speaker AOh, you want to show, you want to show somebody else how to make it more?
Speaker AOh, I got a recipe for that.
Speaker AAnd getting back to my invoicing system, it might be just three steps.
Speaker AReview open projects and software, auto generate the invoice, send and mark paid.
Speaker AIt's done.
Speaker ASo document the new process.
Speaker AAnd then finally, once you've documented it, I'm going to encourage you to do this last step.
Speaker ATest, refine and automate.
Speaker ABecause listen, if you're in business, one of the things you've got to embrace, and a lot of business people don't understand this, they do it one time like, hey, I got this solved.
Speaker ANo, that's not going to be effective.
Speaker AFor long term business thriving.
Speaker AIt's all about continuous improvement.
Speaker ASo you've built this system.
Speaker AUse your new system for a week or two, or maybe three weeks, and then just do an audit of it.
Speaker AAsk yourself, does it work?
Speaker AIs this an easier process?
Speaker AAre there still pain points?
Speaker AHey, if you just build a new system and you're like, ralph, this system is worse than the other one.
Speaker AObviously you haven't solved any problems.
Speaker AThere's still pain points.
Speaker ASo tweak it.
Speaker AYou don't just have to set it and forget it.
Speaker AThese systems are living documents.
Speaker AThey change, they evolve.
Speaker ABecause, listen, the way we do business now is not the same way we did business a year ago, five years ago.
Speaker AAnd guess what?
Speaker AIt's not going to be the same way we do business 5, 10, 15 years from now.
Speaker AAnd I'm going to encourage you while you're doing this, look for opportunities to introduce automation tools.
Speaker AMaybe calendar reminders, autoresponders.
Speaker AWe use a product called Zapier.
Speaker AYou can integrate it with a bunch of software and it lets things talk to each other again.
Speaker AIf you're a small business person, you're looking for somebody to help you navigate those things.
Speaker ABook a call with me.
Speaker AThe goal at the end is to take more off your plate.
Speaker ASee, in my example, after a few tries, I realized I needed a step to follow up, if not pay within seven days.
Speaker AIt was great that I was sending out those invoices.
Speaker AYeah, I was making sure I was billing them, I was marketing sent.
Speaker ABut hey, was anybody following up to see if they actually paid me?
Speaker ASo what did I do?
Speaker AI added that to the system.
Speaker AAgain, I'm using software that does that.
Speaker ABut again, I've got a lot of clients out there using QuickBooks Online, and they never look at their accounts receivable report to see who owes them money.
Speaker AI said, well, do you realize this person owes your money?
Speaker AWell, I didn't get around to looking at that.
Speaker AYou got to look at these systems, build the systems, check the systems, and then go back and refine them and make sure you haven't missed something.
Speaker AMy friend, the relentless pursuit of hustle, that glorification of busyness, is a trap.
Speaker AListen to me loud and clear.
Speaker AIt's a trap.
Speaker ASee, a lot of people just work.
Speaker AOh, I'm gonna work really hard, Ralph.
Speaker AI'm gonna stay busy, you know, head down to the grindstone.
Speaker ABut they're not getting anywhere.
Speaker AThey're on that digital hamster wheel.
Speaker AThey're busy, sure, but they're trapped in that.
Speaker AAnd when you're like that.
Speaker AIt keeps you overwhelmed, it keeps you exhausted.
Speaker AYou never get past that exhaustion.
Speaker AAnd often, many times, you stay stuck in the mire of where you are.
Speaker ABut there's a better way.
Speaker ABy embracing simple, smart systems, you're not just building a better business.
Speaker AAnd hear me on this one, it's not just a better business.
Speaker AYou're building a better life.
Speaker AYou're reclaiming your time.
Speaker AHey, you only got so much time on this earth.
Speaker AYou're reclaiming your energy.
Speaker AYou only got so much energy in the day, too.
Speaker AAnd if you're exhausted, you're not going to.
Speaker AYour business isn't going to improve.
Speaker AAnd the big piece of takeaway, as you build these systems, you're building your peace of mind.
Speaker ASee, this isn't about being rigid.
Speaker AReal good business owners are not rigid.
Speaker AThey're flexible.
Speaker ABut it is about becoming free and growing into freedom.
Speaker AWhen I started this show a couple weeks ago, I said one of the things I wanted to really nail was how to make your business serve you instead of you serving it relentlessly.
Speaker AAnd that's what we're talking about today, is how to transform your journey from this point of chaos.
Speaker AListen, if you're listening right now, my guess is there's a lot of chaos going on.
Speaker AThere's a lot of those pain points, a lot of things that are driving you absolutely crazy in your business.
Speaker AI meet with business owners every day.
Speaker AChief complaint.
Speaker ARalph, I really hate this business.
Speaker AThey didn't start off that way.
Speaker AThey started with a passion for it.
Speaker ABut unfortunately, nine times out of 10, when I talk to those people, it's because their systems are lacking.
Speaker AYeah, they hire employees to do stuff, but there's no system in place to show their employees how to do it.
Speaker AYes, they're bringing on new customers, but there's no system in place to onboard those customers.
Speaker AMaybe they're losing a customer.
Speaker AAnd guess what?
Speaker AThere's no system to offboard.
Speaker AI was meeting with a client a couple weeks ago, and he pays money for each of his clients.
Speaker AHe buys some.
Speaker ASome compendium software, some.
Speaker ASome subscriptions he had to have.
Speaker AAnd I said to him, I said, hey, when's the last time you looked at that invoice?
Speaker AOh, Ralph, that's a really good point.
Speaker AWell, guess what?
Speaker AHe was paying for subscriptions for customers he's not had for two years.
Speaker AWhy?
Speaker ABecause there's no system in place for offboarding.
Speaker ASee, the onboarding is just as important as the off boarding.
Speaker ABut I really want to help you.
Speaker ASo I've created a simple Systemization starter sheet for this episode.
Speaker AIt's all part of those action plans.
Speaker AAnd this free downloadable sheet will guide you through identifying your biggest pain points.
Speaker AWe talked about that.
Speaker AToday.
Speaker AI'm going to help you find those things.
Speaker AI'm going to help you document your current process and help you create your first optimized system.
Speaker AI'm going to give you a practical tool designed to give you that immediate win.
Speaker AHey, listen, as a business owner, we love those wins.
Speaker AI want to give you that first taste of control and that first taste of breaking out of that chaos.
Speaker AAnd you can download it right now by visiting our website.
Speaker AThat's@gritandgrowthbusiness.com action.
Speaker AAgain, that's gritandgrowthbusiness.com action.
Speaker AHey, I got another little bonus for you.
Speaker AYou probably didn't know this.
Speaker AOnce you go there, you can go see all of my action sheets from the previous episodes.
Speaker ABut I really want to encourage you today to download that systemization starter sheet and start bringing order to your world today so that you can get out of bed tomorrow morning.
Speaker AMaybe it won't happen tomorrow.
Speaker AWithin the next couple days, you don't feel like you're putting out fires.
Speaker AYou're not living in that chaos.
Speaker AListen, I want you to remember this.
Speaker AYour efforts are valuable, but you need to understand that your time is finite.
Speaker ALike I said a little while ago, you've only got so much time.
Speaker AI'm just going to encourage you today.
Speaker ADon't let endless tasks consume you, because they will consume you.
Speaker AThey will eat you alive.
Speaker AYou will end up down at being completely broke down and completely drained by your business.
Speaker ABut there's a better path today.
Speaker AChoose clarity.
Speaker AChoose peace.
Speaker AChoose to work smarter.
Speaker ABecause I know it.
Speaker AYou've got the grit to build something amazing.
Speaker ANow build it with efficiency and build it with grace.
Speaker ABecause you've got this.
Speaker AAnd I'm here walking alongside you every step of the way.
Speaker AI just want to thank you for joining me today on Grit and Growth Business.
Speaker AAs always, I'm committed to bringing you honest conversations and practical strategies every single week to help you build your business the right way.
Speaker ANot the easy way, not the shortcut way.
Speaker ANot the way that you're constantly working and you feel like you're not getting anywhere.
Speaker AThe right way.
Speaker ANow, next week, we're going to discuss a vital topic that underpins true financial freedom and true financial peace.
Speaker AReady for this one?
Speaker AI'm calling it the Power of the Pause, Rest, Reflection and Re Engagement.
Speaker AWe're going to explore why intentional rest.
Speaker AListen, it's not a luxury, but it is a non negotiable strategy if you really want to live in your business and see long term success and have spiritual well being and and emotional well being.
Speaker AAnd listen, you want to save your relationships, you better tune in next week.
Speaker AAnd again, don't forget to download your free systemization starter sheet for this episode.
Speaker AAgain, that's@gritandgrowthbusiness.com action.
Speaker ANow as I always end this show, intentions are great, but you got to put this stuff into action.
Speaker ASo go put it into action.
Speaker AGod bless you and you have a great week.
Speaker ARA.