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157: The 5 systems every online business needs to run smoothly · Online Business Uncovered: Simple Strategies for Female Entrepreneurs

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to Online Business Uncovered.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: This is episode 157, and in today's episode, I'm going to be talking about the five systems that every online business needs in order to run smoothly so that your business can actually support you.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: So let's jump right in and let's get started.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Online Business Uncovered, the show that lifts the lid on what it really takes to turn your brilliance into digital products, passive income, and time freedom.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: I am your host Karen, an online business strategist, course creation expert, and your go-to for building a business that works for you and not the other way around.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: If you are an ambitious entrepreneur feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, or maybe you're just ready for a smarter, more sustainable way to grow, then you're in the right place.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Because each week I'll be bringing you inspiring conversations, practical strategies, and step-by-step guidance to help you create scalable, repeatable digital products that sell even while you sleep.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're ready to stop trading your time for money, reclaim your time, and finally build a business that gives you the freedom that you deserve, hit subscribe and tune in every Thursday.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: Let's uncover what's truly possible for you starting now.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to another episode of Online Business Uncover.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: This is the show that helps you turn your expertise into digital products, passive income, and time freedom.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host Karen and I am so glad that you've hit the play button on today's episode because this one is going to be one of those conversations that can genuinely change how your business feels day to day.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: Because if your business is currently feeling chaotic or like everything depends on you being on all the time, then this should land for you today.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: So before I dive into today's episode, I want to start with a question.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: Would things keep moving?
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: Would people still find you?
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Would you still have sales coming in?
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: Or would everything just stop?
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not asking that to make you feel uncomfortable, but to bring awareness to something that I think so many entrepreneurs are experiencing right now.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Their business is working for them, but only when they are working, and that's where burnout and exhaustion comes from.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Now I speak from a place of knowing because there was a point in my business where everything relied on me.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Every piece of content I created, every client, I had to deliver everything for them, every sale, I had to be present for it in order for it to come through.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: And from the outside, it looked like my business was going well because I was busy, I was booked, I had money coming in, I was showing up, I was being consistent.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: But behind the scenes, I was exhausted because ultimately there was no breathing room, there was no space, and there was no sense that the business could run without me constantly having to feed into it.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember thinking that surely this isn't what I've built this for because ultimately my business had been built to give me freedom.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted to be around for my children, I wanted to be able to do the school run.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted to be able to take time off when I needed to take time off.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: Here in the UK, we have a lot of half-terms, and I wanted to be present for my children and not having to compromise that because I was working.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: That was why I left my job in the first place, was to give me that flexibility.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: And because I got busy, I got booked out, I had good money coming in, but I was exhausted and I was finding that I had less and less time because everything was so reliant on me.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: Even when I was delivering projects, I had a team of associates and I still had to be around for them to support them.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: So even when I thought that the answer was building out my team and bringing more people on board and getting support to help me, that shifted into having to support them further, which meant that I still had loads to do.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: And then having to deal with the human aspect of running a business, it just was a lot, and it felt very heavy.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: And it wasn't until lockdown happened and I had some space that I realized just how burnt out I actually was.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: Now I made a shift in my business back in 2020 and it didn't come from doing more, it didn't come from working harder or even showing up more.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: It came from starting to build out systems in my business, sit really simple ones, nothing too complicated, nothing fancy, but systems that allowed my business to start supporting me instead of depending on me in order to get things done.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: So today in this episode, I wanted to just walk you through the five systems that every online business needs to run smoothly, and I want you to listen to this through the lens of your own business.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: Not I need to go and build all of this today, but instead working out where your gap is and how you can fill it in a way that aligns with you.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna dive in to the first system.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the first system that I want to talk about is the audience growth system because this is how people will find you, and I think this is where a lot of people feel like they're doing all the things without a clear system behind it, and it's really interesting because it was only yesterday I had a conversation with somebody who we were talking about list building, and they were building their list, but they had a really small list, which is not a problem, it doesn't matter about size, but that they had had no system around building their list.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: They didn't have any system in place that was giving them consistent growth.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: There was no real structure on how it was growing.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: So your audience growth system is really important if you're wanting to build a business online because this is about answering the question about how new people are going to discover you because your business needs fresh eyes coming into it consistently, and this doesn't mean about being on every platform, I'm not talking about that.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: It means choosing one or two places where you show up consistently with a clear message where you get to speak to the right person.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: This might be Instagram, you know.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: It may be LinkedIn, it may even be TikTok or Facebook, could even be X, it could be a podcast.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's not just about the posting, it's about knowing what you're known for, what you talk about, what people come to you for, why do they listen to you?
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: What are they consuming?
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: Because when that becomes clear, your growth will become a lot easier.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: I have spent well, I've been in business nearly 10 years, and I would probably sort of say that maybe about nine years I've been building my email list, and this is something that's really important to my business because it's about having the right people in your world.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I recently recorded and published a couple of episodes on this about building your email list because it's so integral to the growth of your business, and what I know to be true from my own experience is that when I'm hosting events or I'm presenting an offer or I want to generate sales, the first place that's gonna happen is from my email list because those people on my list are the people that are most interested.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: So if you are not building your email list, then I encourage you to check out my previous episodes.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I think it's 155 and 154, where I talk about getting started with building your email list so that you can start building in an audience growth system in your business.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, the second system that I want to talk about is your lead generation system.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: Now, once people find you, what is then going to happen?
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: Because this is where so many people lose potential clients.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: They're getting the views, they're getting the engagement, but they're not capturing those people anywhere.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Those people are just hanging, and this is where your lead gen system comes in.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: This is about taking someone from I like your content to I want to hear more about you.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: This could be through a free guide, a training, a checklist, something that gives them a reason to take the next step, and then having a simple way for them to opt in.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't need to be complicated, it could just simply be a landing page with a clear message and a way to deliver that value because your email list is where relationships are going to deepen, it's where trust gets built, and it's where sales will often come from.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: In my own business, just to give you an example, I run monthly masterclass, and what's great about running these masterclasses is that I build my email list and I attract people that are interested in the topic that I'm speaking about.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: So I have people coming into my world that are interested in what I do because they're signing up to an event that I'm hosting, and I do this on a monthly basis.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: The other thing I have is I have free resources that support people on their way to building an online business, so I often promote those resources online.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: So there's various ways where people can come in and I can grow my email list.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I know there's a temptation to jump on ads, Facebook ads, Google ads, all of that.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: But I would encourage you to start small, stay organic, and test things that will grow your email list rather than putting a ton of money behind ads for that for you to um spend a lot of money without getting the results because ads takes time, and if you don't test your content in the free sense, then there's no point putting ad spend behind it because you may lose money there.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: So I would encourage you to do this organically first and build your email list from there.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: You you can always work with ads later on.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: The third system I want to talk about is your sales system.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this is the one that I think people tend to overcomplicate the most because there's so much noise around funnels and strategies and what you should be doing in the online space.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: But your sales system is simply this: how does someone go from being interested to actually buying?
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: That's it, and that should feel really clear, it should feel simple, it should feel aligned with you.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: You want to find a system that works for you so you feel good when you're rolling it out.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now, it could be a webinar, it could be a low-ticket offer, it could simply be a sales page that you direct people to.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: But what really matters here is that it makes sense that someone doesn't have to try and figure it out.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: They can clearly see that it's for them and how they get started.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: Because if your sales process feels confusing, then people will not move forward with it.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: Not because they don't want to, but because they don't know how to, and then you could be leaving money on the table and losing out on sales.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: So think about what it is that you could put in place that is going to generate you sales.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: Now, again, just for me, um, I use webinars.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: Webinars are awesome, I love them, I run monthly masterclasses, but I also network as well.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: Do not underestimate the power of online networking because I grow my membership through networking simply by having a conversation, it's the easiest way to do that.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: So think about what you feel comfortable with and just implement a very simple system that can drive sales.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: The fourth system is your product delivery system.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: This is where you start to get your time back because this is how your business delivers value without needing more of you every single time.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: So if every new client or customer creates more work for you, then your business isn't scalable yet.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where digital products, online courses, and memberships are so powerful because you can create them once and then you can sell them on repeat, they can support multiple people at the same time, so you're creating a bigger impact in people's lives.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: So this might look like a course area on a learning management system, it may be a membership platform, or it could simply be automated emails that guide somebody through.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: Now it doesn't have to be perfect, but it needs to be repeatable so that your business can grow without your workload growing at the same time.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: So if you are not delivering in an automated way where you have something somewhere that people can get access to, then I encourage you to really think about your delivery system and how you can create something that's going to support you.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: And there's lots of platforms out there, you know, it's a saturated space now.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: Because of the rise of online courses and memberships, we have so many products available to us.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: I've mentioned it in many episodes before.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: I love a platform called System.io.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: I would encourage you to check it out.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'll put the link in the show notes you can get started for free.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's by far one of the best systems out there.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so the fifth and the final system is your content system.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: Because content is the thing that connects everything together.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's what's going to bring people into your world, it's what's going to build trust, and it's going to be what drives people towards your offers.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: But without a system, content can become really overwhelming very quickly.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: You sit there wondering what to post, you second guess everything, you feel like you need to be everywhere.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where having a really simple structure changes everything.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: Knowing what you're talking about each week and knowing what you can repurpose as well, that's going to ultimately save you time.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's things like taking a podcast like this podcast and repurposing it into posts, having themes or pillars that guide your content because this is going to remove daily pressures of knowing what to say online, and it allows you to show up consistently without it taking over your life.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: Now, for this, I use a system in a platform called Notion.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: Again, I love Notion.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: Notion is where I plan all my content.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_00: I use that to uh develop my sort of weekly, monthly, quarterly content, and then I will write my posts out before I then go ahead and schedule them.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: And the great thing about Notion is that you can display your content in different ways.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: So if you like Trello for Kanban columns, you can do that in Notion.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: If you like tables, if you like empty pages, or you like the gallery setup, you can do all of that.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: Notion is very dynamic and it's just a brilliant platform that you can use to plan everything out.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: And what I really like about it is that when you create a table, you can actually set it up like a calendar, and that's what I do.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: I have my content within a calendar so I can see the month, and then I use themes and topics to determine my content, and often my content is determined by my podcast, which is ultimately my hero content, it's my main content for that week.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: So create a system and use that system to help support yourself when it comes to delivering that content because content, really good content, is going to connect with your audience and bring more people into your world.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: Now, here's the bigger picture with all of this: you do not need more ideas, you do not need to be doing more, and you don't need to be overcomplicating this.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: You just need your business to be structured in a way that is going to support you because when these systems are in place, things will start to feel different because you'll feel more organized.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: You can then be more predictable in terms of what you're doing, and it's more sustainable for long-term growth.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: You're not constantly reacting to stuff, you're building something that is actually going to work for you.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's you need to get your time back.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: Burnout is so real in business.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: Most entrepreneurs, business owners are probably on the edge of burnout because they're doing so many things in their business.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: So we need to put these systems in place that is going to support us so that we can show up and do what we need to do to grow our businesses.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to say this as well that you don't need to implement all these five systems at once.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, I don't want you to because it's too much.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: Because this is where overwhelm is going to creep in and it's going to keep you stuck.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, what I encourage you to do is look at your business and ask, where is the biggest gap right now?
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: Is it that people are not finding you?
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: Is it that you're not capturing leads?
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: Is it that you don't have a clear way to sell?
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: Start there, build a system for that, and then move on to the next one.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because this is how you go from running a business that depends on you all of the time to a business that actually supports you, and that's where you can then start to build out freedom.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if this episode has resonated with you and you're thinking, I know I need this, I just don't know how to put it all together in a simple way.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: This is exactly what I help my members with in Sell Your Brilliance Online, which is my membership.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: We focus on taking you from where you already are to turning what you know into a scalable offer and then putting the right systems in place so your business can grow without you having to do more and more all of the time.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: If you are interested in finding out more, then head on over to my website www.sellyourbrilliance online.com forward slash membership.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: I hope this has given you some clarity and spark some new ideas for your business.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if you found this helpful, then I would love you to share with a friend or a fellow entrepreneur who is also building their business online because it might be exactly what they need today.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: And if this episode has you thinking that you're ready to start turning your valuable expertise into income, then check out my membership, sell your brilliance online, by heading over to my website www.sellyourbrillianceonline.com forward slash membership.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: I will be back next week with another episode, but until then, have a wonderful Easter.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for tuning in to today's episode of Online Business Uncovered.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: If today's conversation has sparked an idea or gave you a dose of clarity, then please make sure to check out the show notes for all the links and resources mentioned.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: New episodes land every Thursday, so hit follow or subscribe to stay in the loop.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're loving the show, a quick rating or review goes a long way in helping more brilliant entrepreneurs like you find this show.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, keep showing up, keep sharing your brilliance, and remember, freedom in business is possible, and it starts with taking the next right step.