“A lot of my work is one-on-one, so the thought of making a system is just too hard”.
This is a sentence I hear entrepreneurs say all the time.
It’s easy to get caught in the trap of thinking that your business processes are truly unique and not eligible to systemize, especially when a big part of your work is one-on-one.
You’ll be surprised to hear that actually, 90% of your business is probably the same as everyone else’s. Yes, the way you mentor your coachees or the individual designs you create for your clients might be unique but the way you engage with, onboard and invoice your clients (aka the business fundamentals) stay constant.
And the good news: creating a system is not too hard.
Here are my top three ride or die systems that you should get started with if you’re ready to streamline your business and make it run like a well-oiled machine.
RECURRING TASK MANAGEMENT
There are certain tasks in your business that you do on a regular basis. At least, you should. But likely, you find it hard to stay on top of the game because you don’t have a system in place. It’s time to create a Task Management System.
The easiest way I found to do this is in the form of a checklist that I can save in my Project Management Tool and assign dates to it.
Here’s how I created a simple but effective task management system in 5 easy steps:
- Writing down a list of all the tasks that I perform regularly in my business (invoicing clients, creating tax reports, scheduling team meetings, updating my calendar with holidays)
- Categorizing the tasks based on how often they occur (yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly, daily).
- Creating a checklist in my Project Management Tool. I personally use Asana, but there are plenty of other tools available.
- Assign the date when the task has to be completed and the team member who is responsible for the task.
- Set to repeat (daily, weekly, etc).
RESULT: All my recurring tasks are documented and scheduled in my Project Management Tool and I’ll never have to worry about them again as I (or my team members) will be automatically reminded when they are due.
ONBOARDING PROCESS
Having a system for your onboarding process in place doesn’t only save you crazy amount of times but will guarantee you a professional first impression on your clients – aka the deal is half closed.
If you are providing one-on-one services your process most likely will look like:
- Client signs contract
- Client pays invoice
- Client books coaching call/strategy call
There are different tools to complete this process and I personally use Dubsado as it’s an all-in-one solution.
In the backend, I’ve set up a template for a contract that I use with all of my clients. This legally binding agreement includes everything from warranties & liabilities to office hours and turn-around times. By adding “smart fields” you don’t have to worry about your client’s name and initials, or any date specific information as these will be filled in automatically. In the end, I add a signature area for my client as well as my signature and it’s ready to be sent out!
As a second step, I set up invoice templates as packages that include the service details & pricing.
Lastly, I set up the email templates as canned emails for step 1 (contract) & 2 (invoice) as well as one that includes a link to book their call via my appointment scheduling system (Calendly or Acuity). Again, I’m using smart fields so this email will be sent out automatically with the correct name and details once the client has completed a step.
In the end, I create a workflow in Dubsado so that all the different steps are logically automated.
RESULT: Onboarding my clients one by one has been taken off my plate by creating a system for the whole process. Now, all I need to do when I sign a new client is to add the client details to Dubsado and start the workflow.
P.S. Other great & more advanced tools for these processes are Ontraport or Keap (Infusionsoft).
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT
Feeling like there are so many social media accounts to be present on? And don’t know how to get to them all on a regular basis in a truly efficient way?
Likely, a lot of what you’re doing is already following a system, you just haven’t documented and automated it!
When I first got started, I noticed that I spent a big junk every day on creating content, posting it on my social accounts and sharing it into groups. Not the best use of my time 😉 So I sat down and created a system for managing my social media that not only saves me time but that I can easily delegate/outsource to a virtual assistant to get it fully off my plate.
I started by batching my content creation and creating my daily posts in a Google Doc sorted by date. (Personally, I create my content monthly but many of my clients prefer to create them weekly).
I also saved different CTA’s in a separate Google Doc that I can always go back to and pick one that’s fitting.
Since I use Canva to create my graphics and I also store all of my graphics there in folders labelled by weeks. I used to have a Google Drive folder for my graphics but found it an unnecessary step to download them from Canva and upload them to Google Drive.
At the beginning of each month, I schedule all my content on Facebook and Instagram (via Planoly). If you are also present on LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter there are other great tools to schedule your content as auto-posts and evergreen content. My favorites are Smarterqueue and Recurpost.
For all of the tasks above (creating content, creating graphics, scheduling on social media), I’ve assigned a recurring task (see above) to myself in Asana.
RESULT: What probably took me about 30min each day now takes me less than 2 hours a month!
STUCK IN CREATING SYSTEMS?
“I don’t know where to get started with systems”
“I’m not good at systems”
“I don’t have the time to create systems”.
If you identify with any of the above statements, then I would love to personally invite you to have a 20 minute FREE Power Call with me!
A Power Call is basically just a chance for you to chat through with me about what’s going on in your business, and where you’re currently stuck when it comes to creating systems!
I’ll also share with you a super simple 3 step process to get started with systems today.
Please also know that I am not going to sell you anything! If you would like to know how you can work with me then, of course, I will assist you in that too, but this is not the point of call!
I have availability this week and early next week. Let me know below and I’ll send you a link to my calendar.
P.S. I’ve currently limited this opportunity to 3 spots. So if you’ve been on the fence, this is your chance.
