If you’re a solo entrepreneur, efficient business systems don’t just save you time, they help you earn more money. I’m breaking down step-by-step how your systems can streamline your revenue generation.
I call these money systems. (I wish someone had broken this down for me years ago. I had to research, receive coaching, mentorship, think deeply, try and fail, and experiment in my own business (and life) to fit the pieces together bit by bit and construct my money systems). Yours won’t look exactly like mine, but they’ll have at least these 5 components:
1
Efficient business system: your marketing
Do you have a system for getting attention and being visible? Many people find the word marketing intimidating. Some think, ‘Oh, I don’t have money for ads’ or ‘I hate social media marketing.’ If the word marketing makes you break out in a sweat, replace the word with attention-getting. That’s all it is, getting (and holding) people’s attention. And you need to have a system for doing so.
You need what I call, a high-value attention system.
High-value attention comes in two main forms (your system may or may not include both but it needs at least one):
Form #1: You get (the right) eyes on your messages (for example, through organic or nonorganic social media marketing or speaking at events or something else). When those eyes see your ads or read your articles, they’re interested, they want to know more. It starts with you getting—and holding—their attention.
Form #2: You have meaningful conversations with prospects (for example in DMs, emails, sales calls, and/or in person at local events).
Most solo entrepreneurs with growing businesses are doing both form #1 and form #2. Whether you do both or focus on one, you need to systemize it. Here’s how:
Let’s apply the Joyful Systems Framework
Step one: Do you have a set of repeated steps for your attention activities? What are you doing, in what format, how frequently, on what platforms?
Step two: Are your activities being done efficiently?
What can be:
→ Eliminated.
→ Automated (for example, using tools like systems.io to repurpose content across social media if you post on multiple platforms).
→ Delegated.
Step three: Where does this attention activity and plan fit?
a. How does your attention plan fit into the larger ecosystem of your business and lifestyle goals? (Your goal is to live a life beyond your laptop. How much ‘free’ time you want varies from person to person, but get clear on your desired lifestyle and how your business is either allowing or disallowing it.)
b. Does your system contain steps for monitoring, tracking, and measuring? Again, how frequently will you do this and with which tools?
2
Efficient business system: your sales
How do you turn people’s attention into money? Of course, not everyone who gives you attention will buy. It’s mostly a numbers game. That age-old concept hasn’t changed. So, how do you get more sales? You want to make the following loud and clear:
- You sell stuff (you have paid offers).
- Who you sell this stuff to (the specific people who your paid offers help).
- The specific problem your offers solve.
What’s your system for sales conversion? Let’s layer on the Joyful SystemsFramework again…
One: What are the repeated steps you take to convert lookers, readers, watchers, and/or prospects into buyers? And what are the steps they can take from when they start consuming your content, or see your ad, or have a conversation with you to buy? Some people call this a funnel. I think of it as an ecosystem.
Two: What are the things you do to carve out and maintain this pathway? How do you maintain the path so it’s a clear, unobstructed journey for your audience and prospects? Don’t just get clear on what the potential customer/clients steps are, what are YOUR steps? And are they efficient?
Three: How does your sales conversion system fit into the larger ecosystem of your business and lifestyle goals? Does your system feel like a drain or like joy? Can you directly feel how your business systems impact your life in a joyful (or draining) way? My systems approach is different than what you may have encountered before. I’m all about efficiency but I’m also all about joy.
3
Efficient business system: your product creation
What are the steps for creating and refining your product(s)? These steps typically include learning and listening to the needs of your potential/current/past clients.
This applies even if you’re a service provider (for example, coach, consultant, trainer). Your product is your service. It’s what you deliver to your clients. You (hopefully) have a methodology, a framework for guiding clients from where they are to where they want to be, or at the very least, holding space for them to think through and integrate change.
Before you deliver your product, you’re in the creation phase (which should be ongoing as you refine your product long-term).
Have you documented the steps, the interconnections, and the dependencies? How are you measuring client satisfaction and using that data during your product creation and updates?
4
Efficient business system: your delivery (and distribution)
This is the gold of your systems and your business. What do you do to ensure your product/service experience is of top-notch value?
The better your delivery (the experience the client goes through), the more referrals and repeat clients you’ll get. You’ll also get raving fans, testimonials, and foot soldiers (who spread the word about what you do).
Now, of course, this happens to scale. If you only have a few clients and customers, you won’t ever have many foot soldiers and vice versa.
So, what are the series of steps you have in place that ensure top-notch customer and client experiences? This includes:
1 Client onboarding
2 Service delivery
3 Client offboarding
→ List the steps.
→ Streamline them.
→ Monitor and improve them.
5
Rest
You didn’t expect this one, did you? Many would argue that it’s not a system. I’m cool with that. But here’s, the thing, we’re not machines. We’re humans running a business. We function best when we have adequate time and space for rest.
All the systems in the world are useless if we’re running on empty. I help midlife women entrepreneurs. One of the reasons is that I’m fully aware of the energy shift we have post-40 (for some of us post-35). Men have an energy shift too, of course, but with women, there’s a massive hormonal transition that occurs (perimenopause, menopause, post-menopause). We cannot ignore this.
Create a system for rest to give your body and mind the renewal it needs. There are multiple types of rest (resting doesn’t just mean sleeping).
I have a system that ensures I get enough rest. For me, this looks like:
*Working in cycles (I explain how to do this in the Marketing Rest System Guide).
*Tracking how I feel day-to-day.
*Setting specific days and times for deep rest.
What do you do (and not do) to get deep rest?
Efficient business systems have a direct impact on your revenue, your time, and energy. Take it step-by-step and follow a guide. Systems take time to set up, but just like anything worthwhile in life, when you plan and systemize ahead of time, it’s worth the effort.
[…] and external factors to pay attention to. I detailed some of these factors in the article on Efficient Business Systems. When you pay attention to these factors, it may mean making changes to your processes and systems […]