Episode 5
How to Structure Your Systems so You Have Time to Start a Second Business
If you’re dreaming of starting a second business but feel stuck in the day-to-day chaos of running your first one, this episode is exactly what you need.
In Episode 5 of The Operations Fix, I dive into how you can structure your systems to free up the time and mental energy needed to pursue your next big idea. Whether you’re a multi-passionate entrepreneur or simply know you’re meant for more, this episode lays out exactly how to make it happen—without sacrificing the quality of your first business.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- Why documenting your service delivery process is the key to consistent results.
- How to hire doers to take client work off your plate.
- The power of having an oversight leader in your business.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Transcript
Welcome to the Day to Day Assist podcast.
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:I'm your host, Jennifer, here to give
you bite sized tips on how to transform
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:your workday with strategic processes,
technology, and human resources.
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:My goal is to help you run your
side hustle, six figure, or multi
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:million dollar business chaos free.
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:Right now, you want a second business.
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:You're multi passionate and don't want
to choose between one or the other.
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:But your work days are way too
busy for you to even think about
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:starting another business right now.
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:That doesn't mean that you
want to let that dream die.
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:You know deep down that there's
more impact and more money
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:you're supposed to be making.
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:You just need help getting your first
business running smoothly on the back end
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:so you can move up to the next big thing.
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:In this episode, I'll share how
you can structure your systems
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:to free up time to start a second
business without sacrificing the
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:quality of your first business
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:The first thing you need to do to
structure your systems so you can
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:free up more time is document your
service delivery process so they can be
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:delivered the same way every single time.
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:Anyone on your team should eventually
be able to perform the service
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:without your constant guidance.
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:And when I say document, I mean you
need to establish a set way of doing
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:things in your business and write
down the steps into standard operating
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:procedures or SOPs in a way that
anyone can understand and follow.
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:Then create a place to
deliver those steps.
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:It can be in some type of manual
or a video training library.
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:Finally, hold the people on your
team accountable to following the
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:standard and the steps that you set.
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:For example, if you own an event
photography business that covers large
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:corporate conferences, you would document
your preparation before the event.
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:Maybe you need to charge camera
batteries or pack an event bag with
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:lights and different camera lenses.
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:This should all be written in a
checklist that your team can follow.
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:You would also document standards
and expectations for interacting
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:with your corporate clients.
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:Maybe you host a call with the client
to gather more information about
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:how the event will be structured.
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:The outline of this call should
be written down somewhere.
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:You would also create shot lists
that are required for every client.
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:If you use something like a Pinterest
board or a spreadsheet to keep a list
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:of photos you need to capture, create
a template of this shot list so your
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:team can use it for every client.
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:You would document your editing
and photo delivery process as well.
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:If you use presets or AI to edit faster
and then upload photos into some type
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:of gallery for your clients to review
them, write these steps out so the
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:photographers or editors on your team
know how you want this to be completed.
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:And lastly, you would
document off boarding steps.
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:Things like gathering feedback and
staying in touch with the client.
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:You write these things down so
you can pass the instructions
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:off to someone else on your team.
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:This keeps you from having to spend
time explaining things over and over.
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:While they handle all the service
delivery, you You can be confident that
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:the service will be done in excellence,
as if you were the one doing it yourself.
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:Which gives you time to
start that second business.
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:After documenting your service delivery
process, the next thing you need to
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:do to free up more time is hire doers.
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:These are the people on your team
who will deliver the services
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:following the guidelines you created.
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:It can be someone like an administrative
assistant who's doing repetitive tasks, Or
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:maybe a specialist who can do what you do.
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:For example, if you're an esthetician who
does facials and waxing, you would hire
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:another esthetician to do those things.
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:You might even hire a spa manager,
someone who can sit at the front
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:desk and answer incoming calls, book
appointments and accept payments.
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:respond to emails and social
media messages, things like that.
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:If you're a marketing agency, specializing
in organic marketing and search engine
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:optimization, you may need to hire a
graphic designer, a blog writer, a social
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:media manager, and other specialists to
perform the core tasks for your services.
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:These people do not have to
be full time W2 employees.
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:They can be part time employees
or contractors who work a certain
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:amount of hours per week or step
in on certain projects as needed.
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:The reason you hire doers is so you can
be out of the weeds of doing client work.
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:This frees up your time because
you're no longer the main
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:person delivering the service.
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:Eventually, it'll get to a point
where you as the owner don't
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:have to deliver services at all.
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:And if you have everything documented,
like I mentioned earlier in this
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:episode, You should feel confident
that work is getting done in the way
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:that you would want it to be done.
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:Don't jump to this step
without doing the documenting.
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:It'll create more work rather
than giving you more time.
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:After you have doers on your team,
the last thing you need to do to
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:structure your system so you can free
up more time is hire someone in an
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:oversight position to manage the doers.
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:This person can be an operations
manager, an online business manager,
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:an executive assistant, a director of
operations, or a chief operations officer.
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:You'll have to figure out which title
works best for your business model.
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:But all of my clients who have
successfully started a second business
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:while maintaining their first one
have these types of people in place
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:that can manage everything happening
on a day to day basis for them.
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:You need someone in this oversight
position on your team, So you don't
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:have to worry about the quality of the
service dropping when you're no longer
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:the one making sure everything is good or
being done according to your standards.
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:This frees up your mental space to
be a visionary because you trust
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:the person in this leadership
role to make sound decisions.
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:So if you've documented your services
well and handed them to doers in your
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:business, this person can then do the
project management aspect and quality
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:assurance so that you can walk away for
the time you need and focus on building
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:that additional business without having to
worry about client satisfaction dropping.
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:When I was an operations director for
a real estate company, my boss was able
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:to start three additional businesses
over a span of two years because
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:she had me as her oversight person.
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:She already had doers on her team
before she hired me, like other real
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:estate agents to work with clients
and someone to help with managing
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:the paperwork that comes along
with buying and selling a house.
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:So, when I got there, she was able to
fully remove herself from having to
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:oversee every aspect of the day to day.
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:The person you have overseeing your
doers can also help you with strategy
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:and the direction of the business.
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:These people usually come with lots of
valuable work experience that they can
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:bring into your business to help it grow.
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:Because I have experience working
in operations for several different
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:industries, When my former boss wanted
to start her coaching company, I was
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:able to advise her on how to do it in
the most effective and efficient way.
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:We created systems around how services
would be delivered in the coaching
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:company from the very beginning,
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:that way the time she gained from
having me oversee her real estate
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:business was not just replaced with a
bunch more stressful tasks to manage
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:the additional coaching business.
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:This goes to show that having an
operations leader on your team will
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:100 percent speed up the process
of establishing systems for your
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:second business so that it functions
just as smoothly as the first one.
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:And that's that.
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:If you want to start a second business,
you now know how to structure your
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:systems so you have time to do it.
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:You need three things in place.
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:A documented service delivery process.
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:Doers, like admins and specialists.
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:and a person to oversee your
doers, like an operations director.
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:Now that you've listened to this
episode, I want you to do a self
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:assessment and see where you are in
the process of freeing up your time.
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:Do you deliver your services the
exact same way for every client?
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:And if so, is this process documented?
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:Do you have doers on your team
to follow these procedures and
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:deliver services to your clients?
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:And do you have an oversight
person to manage the day to
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:day aspect of your business?
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:I know you have big goals and right now
you don't have enough time to reach them.
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:I want to help you with that.
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:If you're a service provider in the
real estate, consulting, or creative
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:industry wanting to work with an
operations consultant like myself,
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:who has helped many business owners
structure their systems and free up
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:their time to start second businesses,
There are two ways we can get started:
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:done for you systems where we fix the
nagging operations problems Your business
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:has been experiencing within two months.
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:We'll simplify your processes Set up all
tech tools and document everything for
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:you and your team so that you can improve
the way your business Operates and retain
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:more clients all while removing yourself
from the day to day work that you hate
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:If you're more of a do it yourselfer, the
Systems for Solo CEOs Advisory is for you.
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:It's a self paced course, resource
library, and on demand consulting solution
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:to help you improve how your business runs
with efficient processes and tech tools.
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:You'll also learn how to grow
successfully by hiring the right team
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:members and get all your operations
questions answered by experts.
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:More information about these
services is listed in the show notes.
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:Thank you so much for listening and
I will see you in the next episode.
