3 Myths That Are Keeping Your Biz Small
Posted on October 28, 2013 by Gretchen Duhaime, One of Thousands of Entrepreneurship Coaches on Noomii.
If you've ever thought "I'm not ready for that" or "I'll do that when..." then read this article
What do you think of when someone asks about the systems you use in your business?
If you’re like most of the people I talk to, your mind goes to the computer. Whether you love tech or hate it, we’ve been conditioned to think of technology when it comes to making things easier.
Here’s the truth – systems are the way you do things. True, technology can make it easier, but there are tons of “old-school” tips and tricks to help you spend more of your time and energy focused on DOing your business instead of RUNning your business.
When I consult on systems for entrepreneurs and small business owners, I almost always end up busting these three myths – and all of them are keeping you playing small, and waiting for “When I…”
Ready? Here they are:
1. I’m not ready for a system to manage my customers’ information
While you might not be ready for a big technology package with all the bells and whistles (rhymes with Confusion Loft), if you don’t have a system for keeping track of customers and prospects, your business will have a really hard time growing.
The trick is to find the way to organize the information that works for you. In my many years of sales operations experience, I have seen it all – from old fashioned rolodexes to meticulous notes on a voice recorder to quick tags in an online database.
2. I don’t need to know about systems because I have a VA or OBM
Yes you can absolutely have someone else taking care of the computer stuff for you, but if you are not organized yourself whatever they set up for you won’t make sense and frankly won’t work.
When I work with my clients to align their Spirit and systems, I show where things can be streamlined and we work together to do it in a way that feels easy and natural. When you have a good flow to your work style, it’s so easy to hand off the back-end processes to someone else – and feel confident knowing they are running with it the way it needs to be done.
3. I don’t have time for systems
I love doing time audits with my clients so they see how much time a system will save them. I’m not giving cookie cutter advice about batching or peak performance time – we look together at what you really do on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis, and how it can be easier for you to spend more time in flow.
It’s really common for people to get back 10-15 hours a week with those systems they didn’t have time for. Here’s the key – adopting someone else’s tips and forcing your habits into their structure doesn’t work, and that’s why it often feels like systems take more time than their worth. Here’s a bonus tip – when you have a process structured and laid out, it’s infinitely easier to delegate it which gives you more time to do your thing.
