Latest / Online Business Tips: Mind Your Time / Business Tune-up Series: How to Change the Way Your Online Business Runs Without Starting Over

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Business Tune-up Series: How to Change the Way Your Online Business Runs Without Starting Over · Online Business Tips: Mind Your Time

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: If you've listened to the first two episodes of this series, you've probably started noticing some things about the way your business operates.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: And now you're ready to make some changes.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: But before you do that, I want to remind you that you do not need to replace your software, rebuild your processes, or completely reorganize the way you work.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the change you need is much simpler.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: But you have to understand what's causing the problem before you can decide what to do about it.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: That's what we're talking about today in the final episode of the Business Tune-Up series.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: So let's get into it.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Online Business Tips, Mind Your Time.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Shannon Baker, your coffee loving host and capacity system strategist.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: If you're an online business owner and too many questions, decisions, and next steps still come back to you, you're in the right place.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: On this podcast, we talk about what's happening behind the scenes of your business and the practical changes you can make so it doesn't depend on you for everything.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: So grab your cup of coffee or your favorite beverage and let's get into today's conversation.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: We've reached our third and final conversation in the business tune-up series.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: But before you jump into making major changes in your business operations, you need to answer another black coffee question.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: Have you paused long enough to understand what's actually causing the problem in your business?
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: Now I want you to think about that for a minute because when something in your business isn't working the way you want it to, it's easy to start looking for a solution before you actually identify the cause.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Here are a few examples of what I'm talking about.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe your project management software is frustrating you, so you decide you want to start looking for another platform.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: It could be that your client onboarding process feels a little bit too disorganized.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: So you decide you want to scrap it and rebuild it from scratch.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: Or you may be tired of being interrupted throughout the day with calls, so you start looking for a new scheduling tool.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: But what if the tool itself isn't the problem?
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: It could be that most of your process is working and there's just one part that's causing the frustration, but you won't know that until you pause long enough to look at what's actually happening.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: And when I talk about pausing, I'm not suggesting that you put your business on hold or that you spend weeks auditing and analyzing everything.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'm talking about giving yourself enough time and space to understand what's actually happening before you react to it.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I've talked about the power of pausing on this podcast before because I believe it's one of the most overlooked and necessary parts of running a business.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: See, when you're responding to client requests, answering questions, and trying to keep everything working, it's really easy to focus on just getting through the day.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: So when something isn't working, you find a workaround.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Someone needs information, so you stop what you're doing and you just give them the answer.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe a process is taking longer than expected.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: So what do you do?
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: You step in and you just finish it yourself.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: See, that's what I call duct taped operations.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes that may be what you need at that moment.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: But if you never go back and look at why those situations keep happening, you can spend a lot of time managing the same problems without identifying the source so that it can be corrected.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what I want you to change because this series wasn't about creating a perfect business where nothing goes wrong.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's actually about recognizing those everyday situations that make running your business harder than it needs to be so that you can make practical changes that support the way that you actually want to work.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: So before we get into today's conversation, there's something I want you to remember.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: You are the CEO of your business.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: That means you have the authority to decide how it operates.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: That includes how your clients work with you, how responsibilities are handled, and when you're available and when you're not.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely, it includes the processes that you use to deliver your services.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: Most importantly, it means you have the authority to change all of those things and more.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's important for me to remind you of this because I've worked with a lot of business owners and teams that continue operating a certain way simply because that's how they've always done it.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: See, when you first started your business, you probably made yourself available whenever a client needed you.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: But at that time, you had fewer clients, fewer responsibilities, and more flexibility in your schedule, not to mention you were handling all the work yourself.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: Now, at that time, that decision made sense.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: But since then, your business probably looks a lot different.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: I know you've added services, you've probably bought on a person or two to help you, you've taken on more clients, and you've probably even changed the kind of work that you do.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: Your personal responsibilities, I'm quite sure those have changed as well.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: That could mean that you want to work fewer hours, you want to have more time for your family, or you simply want to stop spending so much of your time during the day responding to things that could be handled differently.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: But unfortunately, the way your business operates hasn't necessarily changed with you.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: So you're trying to work differently, but you're continuing to fulfill expectations and use processes that you establish when your business and your life look very different.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: So even though you want more time for your priorities, you've built a client experience around being available whenever someone needs you and wants you.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: And you may want the people that you've hired to take on more responsibility, but your processes are still requiring you to approve every decision or explain every step.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: So that frustration that you're experiencing is a sign that the way that you've been operating really needs to catch up with the business that you're running now.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: And that doesn't mean you have to start over.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: It just means you need to look at what you've already established and decide what still makes sense and what doesn't.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: So let's go back to our first conversation in this series.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: In episode one, we talked about what happens when you hire someone to help, but you're still the person making sure everything gets done.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: One of the examples used was the social media manager who can create content, but they still need an established process for receiving information, getting approvals, and knowing what happens next.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: We also talked about the questions that keep coming back to you because information either isn't documented or someone doesn't know which decisions they're allowed to make.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: So now imagine that you've been dealing with that for months or even years.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: Your virtual assistant keeps coming to you with the same questions.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: You answer them when you can, but sometimes you're in meetings or you're working on client projects, so you're not available in the work weights.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: So later in the day or later in the week, you finally catch up on your messages, answer the questions, and maybe even complete a few things yourself because you just want it finished and checked off.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: But after you do that for some weeks, you decide that you have had enough.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: So you determine in your mind that you need a better project management system.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: So what do you do?
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: You start researching platforms.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: You look at the features, you look at the price, you think about how you're gonna get everything moved into that system and it's going to work better and make everyone's life more simple.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: But I want you to pause right there.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: What problem are you actually trying to solve with that decision?
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: Is your current software preventing people from doing their work?
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: Or is the work getting stuck because someone needs information or approval from you before they can complete their work?
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: Because those are two different types of situations.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: And if the problem is that your VA doesn't have the information or the authority to handle certain responsibilities, moving things into a new tool is not going to change that.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: Sure, you may have a nicer dashboard and a few new features and it may be pretty and cute, but your VA is still gonna be waiting for you.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: So you haven't solved the real problem, which is you're the bottleneck.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's why I want you to start by looking at where the work gets stuck.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: Think about the questions that repeatedly come up.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: What information does the person need?
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: Which decisions genuinely require your involvement, and which ones could be handled without you.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe in this process you discover that your VA keeps asking how to respond to routine scheduling requests.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: If that's the case, you don't need new software.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: You need to establish guidelines about what they can handle independently, when they should offer an alternative appointment, and when something needs to be brought to your attention.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: Or if they keep asking where to find information because things are scattered across emails, multiple shared drives and old messages, that might mean you need to organize the information into one accessible place.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: And if the issue is that nobody knows when a task is supposed to be passed on to the next person, then that is a handoff issue.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: See, notice what's happening with this approach.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: We're not trying to fix every process in the business.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: We're identifying the specific point where the work stops and deciding what needs to change to prevent that from happening again.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if in this process you discover that your current software really doesn't support the process that you need, then replacing it probably is the right decision.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: But then we have to look at timing.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: But at least you're making a decision with a clear understanding of the actual problem and not simply hoping that a new tool is going to solve something that you haven't identified yet.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's talk about the consultant from episode two.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: She was the one who wanted to develop a new service.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: So she knows she needs uninterrupted time to work on it.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: She starts reserving time on her calendar, but then someone asks for a meeting.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: A client wants to change her appointment, another request comes in and she makes another exception.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: So before she knows it, that time on her calendar, it's gone.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: And we also talked about why making time for something and protecting time are two different things.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: Now, let's say our consultant has decided she's going to protect Tuesday mornings for more focused work in her business.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: That definitely is a good decision.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: But what needs to change about how her business operates so that she can actually follow through on that?
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: Because she can block Tuesday morning on her personal calendar and on her business calendar.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully she's doing both.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: But if her scheduling link still allows people to book appointments during that time, she's going to keep getting requests in that time block.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: And if clients are used to sending her a message whenever they want to meet, she's still going to have to decide how to respond to those requests.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: So protecting that time, it actually requires more than just making a commitment to yourself and putting it on the calendar.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: So in her case, before she changes her entire schedule, I would recommend she look at why she's getting so many meeting requests in the first place.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: Are clients asking for calls because they don't know where to find project updates?
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: Are they scheduling meetings for questions that could be handled through a more established communication process?
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: Or are those meetings genuinely necessary for the type of work she's delivering?
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: Because if clients are repeatedly requesting calls just to find out where their project stands, changing your availability may reduce the number of appointments that you have to accept, but it doesn't address why those clients keep asking for the updates.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: So she may need to change how project information is shared, which is actually a communication problem.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: And that could be a much simpler adjustment.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: So at this point, I hope you understand that the goal isn't simply to make the calendar look less crowded.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's really to create a way of working that gives you enough capacity to serve your clients and make progress on the work that requires your expertise.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now, in this case, this consultant may already have the tools that will support that.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: She would just need to use them differently or adjust the process around them.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: Now I want to spend a little time on two things that I see business owners confuse quite often because it's industry lingo that I understand.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, I didn't know the difference until I niched down in my business to focus on strategic operations.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: A process and a tool are not the same thing.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: A process is how work gets done in your business.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: So that includes the steps, the information that's needed, the decisions that have to be made, and it identify who's responsible for making sure the work gets done.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: Now, a tool, it automates a step in the process to complete the work.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: So here's some common tools and processes that you should have in your business.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: One, recognize that your scheduling software is a tool.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: The way appointments are requested, confirmed, prepared for, and followed up on, that's the process.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: Your project management platform is a tool.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: The way that work gets assigned, completed, reviewed, and handed off, that's the process.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: And your email platform, that is a tool as well.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: How you receive and respond to client requests is part of the process.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: So one thing I need you to understand is you can have excellent software and still have a process that creates unnecessary work.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: And you can have a good process that's being held back by a tool that no longer meets your needs.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: Both are possible, but if you don't understand how the work is supposed to happen, how are you going to know which one you need to change?
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: So here's an example to help you kind of think through this.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe your client onboarding process is working pretty well.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: A new client signs the agreement, they receive the invoice, they make their payment, and they get a welcome email explaining what happens next.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: And all of this happens consistently and pretty much automatically.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: But then when it's time to start the project, you're always waiting for information from the client.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: You need their brand assets, account access, answers to questions about the work.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: And every time you begin a new project, you find yourself sending the same follow-up emails to collect the same information.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: Now you're frustrated with the onboarding process.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: So you start thinking you need a new client management platform, maybe, or a completely different workflow.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: But let's take a closer look at what is actually happening.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: Your agreements getting signed, your invoices being paid, the welcome emails going out.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: So those parts of your process, it's working.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: So instead of so the problem is happening when you need to gather data from the client before the project can actually begin.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: So instead of rebuilding everything, maybe you need to change when and how you request the information.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you need a more detailed intake form.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe the client needs clearer instructions about what to prepare before their project begins.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you should, and I strongly recommend, you incorporate a kickoff call to start the project.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: Because, see, this is just one part of the process, and adjusting that part may solve the problem without you having to change anything else.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: That's why when I'm helping a business owner improve their operations, I don't automatically recommend new software or rebuilding their entire workflow.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: We need to understand what part isn't working and what part is.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: Are your clients confused about what happens next?
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: Is some detail information missing?
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: Are there delays from one step to another?
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: Because depending on the answer to those questions, we may only need to adjust one step in the process.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: And if a larger change is necessary, we'll have a much better reason for making that change.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: That's the difference between reacting to the frustration and making a very intentional operational decision.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: Now, there's another part of this conversation that I don't want to overlook.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the process isn't the only thing that needs to change.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you need to change an expectation that you've established.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: And that can feel uncomfortable, especially when it involves clients that you've worked with for a long time.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you have a client who's been with you for several years.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: And when you first started working together, you were available for calls whenever they needed something.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: So you responded quickly, you made adjustments on short notice, and you handle a lot of things personally.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: And over time, or for some time, that worked for you.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: But now things have changed.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: You have more clients, you have more responsibilities, and you have a different understanding of how you want to spend your time.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: You know, most importantly, that continuing to operate this way, it's affecting your capacity.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: But you're really concerned with changing that experience and how it's going to make the client feel.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: Like, will they feel like they're receiving less support?
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: And that is valid.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I understand that that's why it can be difficult to make these changes, but I also want you to remember this the quality of the service you provide isn't measured by how much access someone has to you, it's reflected in the experience you create and the work that you deliver.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes a more consistent process actually creates a better experience than you being available whenever someone wants you to be.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: So if a client knows how to request support, they know when they can expect a response, they know where to get updates about their project.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: They don't have to wonder whether or not they can reach you at any given moment.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: And you won't have to interrupt whatever it is you're doing every time they need something.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: You can simply announce that you're changing your availability and assume that everything will work itself out.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: You need to think about what happens next.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: So if clients are going to submit requests through a very specific channel, is that channel set up and how is it going to be monitored?
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_00: If you're changing your response times, have you explained what the client will should expect?
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: See, if someone else is handling routine questions, do they have the information and authority that they need to do that?
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're changing an existing agreement, do you need to discuss that change with the client before you put it in place?
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: And the answer to that question is yes.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: All of these details matter because a boundary isn't very useful if the way your business operates doesn't support it.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: So this brings us full circle to clarity, boundaries, and structure.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: You need clarity about what's changing and why it's changing.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: You need boundaries around how responsibilities, availability, and decisions will be handled.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: And you need structure which allows everyone involved to work within those expectations.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: So you don't necessarily need to redesign your entire client experience.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: You may just need to update one part of it and communicate that change clearly.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: That's how you make the adjustment practical for you and understandable for the people you serve.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: Now, something else we need to talk about is when business owners finally recognize the problem.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: They generally get excited about fixing it.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I understand that because once you see what's not working, you will start to notice other things that you want to improve too.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: You want to update your onboarding process, reorganize your files, change your scheduling availability, and create new procedures for your team.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_00: And then suddenly you will have an entire operations project on your hand.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of doing that, this is what I want you to consider.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: How much time and capacity do you actually have to make these changes?
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: Because you still have to run your business while you're making the changes.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: You still have clients to serve, you still have work to deliver, you still have responsibilities to manage.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: And if you try to change too many things at once, you're going to create more work than you have the capacity to actually handle.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: So you're going to make it harder to tell which changes are actually making a difference for the better.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's why I prefer starting with just one adjustment at a time.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: Not because every problem can be solved with a small change, and not because you should ignore something that genuinely needs a larger solution.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: But when you make one intentional adjustment, it gives you an opportunity to see what happens before you commit to changing something else.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: So let's go back to the example of our business owner whose virtual assistant keeps waiting for answers.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe she decides that her VA can handle routine scheduling requests without checking with her first.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: So they agree on which situations that VA can handle, what information they should use for reference, and when something needs to be brought to the owner's attention.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: Then they put that change into practice.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: So a few weeks go by, the owner pays attention to the changes.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: Is the VA able to respond without waiting for approval?
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: Are routine requests being handled more consistently?
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: And is that business owner spending less time answering the same questions?
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: When the answer is yes, the adjustment is helping.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_00: And if the VA is still coming back with the same questions, they can look at what's causing that.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe there's another decision that needs some clarification.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe some information is still missing, or maybe they've discovered that the process requires something their current tool can't support.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: Now they have useful data for deciding what to do next.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's very different from just scrapping everything and replacing an entire system because the way things were working was just frustrating.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: And something else you need to remember is you don't have to know every adjustment your business will ever need.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: You make a change.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: Then I want you to pay attention to what happens and use what you learn to decide what comes next.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: If it works, then that change is worth keeping.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: If it doesn't work, then you have the data that you need to help you make a better decision and make some more changes.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: That's how you build operations that can continue supporting you as your business evolves.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: Now, since this is our final conversation in the business tune-up series, I want to bring everything we've discussed together with one last business tune-up.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: And if you've listened to the first two episodes, I want you to start with something you've already identified.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: You don't need to go looking for another problem.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe in episode one, you realize you're still managing a responsibility that you've already delegated.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: Or in episode two, you recognize that you keep giving away time that you've dedicated for work that requires your expertise.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: Or it could be that today's conversation just helps you notice that one of your client processes no longer supports the way that you work.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever it is, I want you to choose one.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: And just like we've done throughout this series, set a timer for five minutes and focus on one question.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the question: What's one thing about the way your business operates right now that keeps making work harder than it needs to be?
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: It could be having to answer the same questions for your virtual assistant, constantly rearranging your calendar to accommodate client requests, or chasing down information every time you onboard a new client.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: Think about the one thing that you've identified and write down what's happening right now.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want you to worry about figuring out how to fix it.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: Just focus on being specific about the problem.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_00: Be specific, as specific as you can possibly be.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: Now, when the five minutes is up, I want you to consider what you wrote down.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_00: When you look at things, notice is the problem with the tool, or is there something else about the process that needs to change?
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: Is there a decision that hasn't been made?
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: Is information missing?
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: Or is there a step in a process that's creating unnecessary work?
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_00: And you don't have to get all the answers at one time.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: The point is for you to start looking beyond the frustration so that you can understand the symptoms that are causing it.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_00: Once you have a better understanding of that, you can decide what adjustments you need to make.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: You can put it into practice, and you can pay attention and see whether or not those changes are helping.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: So that's your final business tune-up.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_00: You're not trying to fix everything in five minutes.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's just to help you identify one problem that's worth you taking a closer look at.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: And if it turns out that the solution requires a bigger change, that's okay too.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: The point of this exercise is for you to be able to make a decision based on what you've learned about your business instead of reacting because you're frustrated.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if you've listened to all three episodes in this series and you've recognized that something about the way your business operates needs to change, but you're not sure how to make that adjustment, this is something that we can work on together inside the operations reset.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's a 14-day done with you experience where we focus on one specific operational problem and we focus on making one practical change.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: It starts with a 45-minute session where we look at all of those details, identify the problem that's having the biggest impact, and determine what needs to change.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: Then, over 14 days, we focus on getting those changes in place.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: See, we're not trying to rebuild your entire business.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to look at what's already working, identify what's getting in the way and causing problems, and then make adjustments so that your business better supports how you want to operate.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_00: And if you don't know the solution before you book, that's okay.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: You're going to answer a few questions when you schedule your reset, and we're going to use those answers to help us identify what we need to focus on.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_00: You can find the link to book your operations reset in the show notes.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now, before we wrap up, I want to bring us back to where this series started.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: In our first conversation, we talked about why having help doesn't mean that you've stopped managing everything.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: You can delegate tests and still be responsible for keeping everything moving.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_00: If responsibilities, information, and decisions aren't clear, your business is still too dependent on you.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: In our second conversation, we talked about making time for the work that only you can do.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_00: We looked at why having hours on your calendar doesn't necessarily mean you have the capacity to use them and why protecting that time requires more than just putting an appointment on your schedule.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_00: And then today we bought those two conversations together because once you recognize where you're still holding on to responsibilities that could be handled differently, and you can see where your time and capacity need more protection, you can start making decisions about what needs to change in the way your business operates.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's why clarity, boundaries, and structure have been a part of every conversation in this series.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_00: They influence how work gets done, how decisions are made, and how much of your involvement your business actually requires.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I want you to leave this series remembering something.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to keep operating according to the decisions you made when your business looked different.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_00: As the CEO, you have the authority to decide how your business operates, and you can make changes that better support how you want to work and live.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: But remember, you don't have to change everything at once either.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: Start with one thing that you've identified, pause long enough to understand what's actually happening, make one intentional adjustment, and pay attention to what changes.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: And use what you learn to decide what comes next.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: Because the business that you're building should support how you want to live and work, not force you to adjust your life around it.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: And with that, we've reached the end of the business tune-up series.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: So my hope is that these three conversations have helped you recognize where your business is asking more of you than it needs to, and it's given you somewhere practical so you can start making changes that make a big impact.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_00: So until next time, remember to mind your time because your time is accessible, but it's not open access.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for spending part of your day with me.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_00: If something in today's conversation made you think differently about how your business is operating, don't stop there.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_00: Decide what needs your immediate attention and take one small step to change it today.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_00: You'll find resources in the show notes to help you keep going, and when you're ready for more support, we can work together.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_00: And remember, your time is accessible, but it doesn't have to be open access.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, keep calm and streamline.