SYS 196: My Journey From Solopreneur to Business Owner: How SOPs and Systems Have Saved Me Thousands of Hours - The Ultimate FD Podcast Interview with Josh Keegan
🎙 In this episode of the Systemize Your Success podcast, Dr Steve Day is interviewed by Josh Keegan on the Ultimate FD Podcast, where they delve into essential topics for entrepreneurs looking to scale their businesses. They discuss the importance of creating effective systems, particularly in managing virtual teams and documenting processes to free business owners from being overwhelmed by daily tasks.
Steve shares practical tools such as screen capture software and flowchart techniques to help entrepreneurs delegate effectively and streamline operations. The conversation also covers strategies for managing remote workers, enhancing communication efficiency, and the significance of establishing a supportive company culture.
Tune in for valuable insights to help you optimise your business processes and improve team performance.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
💡 Importance of Systems: Establishing clear systems and processes is crucial for business owners to avoid being the sole knowledge repository. Documenting tasks ensures that operations can continue smoothly even when key personnel are unavailable.
💡 Utilizing Tools for Documentation: Screen capture tools and flowcharts are essential for capturing processes. Recording tasks while performing them and creating visual representations of workflows can help train new team members and maintain consistency.
💡 Delegation and Team Empowerment: Encouraging team members to document their processes and create systems fosters a culture of ownership and efficiency. This alleviates the burden on the business owner and empowers employees to take initiative.
💡 Structured Communication: Implementing a structured meeting framework, such as daily stand-ups, weekly one-on-ones, and project meetings, helps maintain clear communication and accountability within the team. This structure minimises interruptions and ensures that everyone is aligned on priorities.
💡 Effective Management of Virtual Teams: Understanding the cultural context of team members and developing management skills are vital for leading virtual teams. Setting up a supportive environment with clear expectations and regular check-ins can significantly enhance team performance and morale.
BEST MOMENTS
02:16 - 💬 “Getting stuff out of people's heads and down in a way that anyone can do it without the involvement of the business owner or the knowledgeable worker is key to us not leading or finding ourselves in really sticky situations.” - Steve Day
03:20 - 💬 “The more that I've delegated over the years, the more I realise if we have a good way of getting stuff out of our heads and hand it over to somebody else, they have more time to think about it and do it, and often they'll end up doing better than we could.” - Steve Day
07:52 - 💬 “One of the first systems I ever created was aptly named the system for creating systems. And so when somebody joins our company... the first thing they learn is how to document what they do in such a way that it will be done in the same way by everybody.” - Steve Day
20:41 - 💬 “If you can afford to hire somebody with the expertise, knowledge, experience, know-how, aptitude, integrity... then you're probably not at the stage in your business where you can afford that sort of person.” - Steve Day
35:04 - 💬 “I get my comms manager to sit in on that meeting with me... and so to go from the situation where I was doing everything myself to now where I just do a few things that need either... there's no process for it.” - Steve Day
TIMESTAMPED OVERVIEW
00:00 Systems are crucial for business resilience.
05:30 Use standardised flowcharts for efficient business systemisation.
07:51 System for Crane Systems teaches consistent documentation.
12:13 A Simple documentation system saves countless hours yearly.
16:21 Managing entrepreneurs, effective communication, delegation, virtual teams
18:27 A Structured, organised environment fosters successful professional relationships.
21:43 Hire reliable, instruction-following assistants for consistent results.
25:37 Daily brief meetings to discuss work updates.
29:16 5-star structured weekly meetings for longer projects.
32:37 Delegate tasks to focus on future priorities.
36:06 Virtual assistant usage for social media messaging.
37:41 Transitioning to an AI-driven knowledge base with SimpleBase.
41:55 GoHighLevel allows manual scheduling overrides; Calendly doesn't.
VALUABLE RESOURCES
Dr Steve Day
- Free access to our RecruitRight Framework
- Free access to our DIDACT Framework
Josh Keegan
- The Ultimate FD Podcast: https://www.ultimatefd.co.uk/podcast
LINKS TO CONNECT WITH DR STEVE DAY
- Website: https://www.systemizeyoursuccess.com
- Facebook Group: https://facebook.com/groups/systemsandoutsourcing/
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/systemsandoutsourcing/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/systems_and_outsourcing/
- YouTube: https://youtube.com/@drsteveday42
ABOUT THE DR STEVE DAY
Steve used to be a slave to his business, but moving to Sweden in 2015 forced him to change how he worked. He switched to running his businesses remotely. After totally nailing this concept, he spent his time helping other small business owners do the same. Steve has been investing in property since 2002, has a degree in computing, and worked as a doctor in the NHS before quitting to focus full-time on sharing his systems and outsourcing methodology with the world. He now lives in Sweden and runs his UK-based businesses remotely with the help of his team of Filipino and UK-based Virtual Assistants.
Most business owners feel overwhelmed because they don’t know how to create systems or get the right help.
Our systems and outsourcing Courses and coaching programme will help you automate your business and work effectively with affordable virtual assistants. That way, you will stop feeling overwhelmed and start making more money.