The Simple Machine of Smart Business
I spent the first four years of my business half-ass attempting to implement everyone else’s systems—and it sucked. Late nights, money stress, racing to meet deadlines, and having zero confidence about everything because it felt like I was doing it all for the first time. I definitely was not being a smart business professional in those early days!
It really wasn’t until I hired my first coach and then got into Client Attraction Business School with Fabienne Fredrickson that I figured out the only way to make any system work was to take it and make it my own.
Smart business is all about creating repeatable systems and employing them in a way that works best for you to magnify your efforts. And that’s the origin of the concept of smart business as one of the simple machines of business.
Listen to Season 1: Episode 2
Stop “Should-ing” on Yourself
It seems crazy that it took me ages to recognize that I was completely “should-ing” all over myself and my business. And it was wildly counterproductive.
But the fact is that business, marketing, and the internet are all filled with these kinds of messages of what you should and shouldn’t do in your business. It shows up for us and for our clients as:
- Taking poor-fit clients
- Choosing systems that you don’t use or that don’t work
- A lack of confidence in your ability to deliver
- Feeling stressed, frustrated, and anxious about your business
Sorry, but it’s simply not smart business to keep “should-ing” yourself. And it certainly won’t help you succeed when you keep second-guessing every choice you make.
Creating Balance Is Key
I don’t know any business owner who dreams of working all the time or solving problems that aren’t fun. Certainly, some of this is required on the journey, but the right structure and support ensure those are seasons, not decades.
We want to solve fun problems and make the world a better place through applying our ideas and talents. That’s the purpose of smart business.
What Is Smart Business?
Yes, smart business is a pretty generic label. What it means here is employing systems and processes in a way that makes sense for you and your unique business.
Coming from a background that included manufacturing power supplies, I am intimately aware of how important documentation is to quality. (Let me know if you’d ever like me to bore you with my thoughts on UL certification and plastic molding injection tolerances.) But I HATE creating documentation. If there were a million dollars on the line, I probably still wouldn’t be willing to detail a process by typing out all the steps and putting screen shots in a Word doc.
Thinking about this now, that might be due to a traumatic experience with creating user guides in my early days. Also, I’m lazy.
Anyhow… I’m a human and I have hang-ups. And I let those hang-ups get in my way for a long time—until I gave myself permission to do it my way. And I also discovered Screencast O’Matic and then Loom. Then I started being able to document and delegate in my business because I could just turn on a screen recorder, blather on about what I needed or how to do something, and send the video.
But It’s More than That
Smart business has been far more reaching than just systems and processes—both at our companies and for clients. It affects sales, marketing, customer service, everyday effectiveness, delegation, and overall happiness.
When you stop “should-ing” on yourself and embrace the permission to do it your way (as long as “your way” is accessible by other people; no, you can’t just keep it in your head), you open yourself up to new ways of thinking and solving challenges. What in your business is feeling difficult at the moment? Might you be “should-ing” there? What would it look like if you ignored everything you “should” do? Hit me up on social and let me know!
