Your life and business are a SYSTEM | 99

Stop winging it. Every part of your electrical business needs a system — from quoting to collecting payments. Keep it simple, stay consistent, and watch your profit grow.

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Transcript

Assist a little old lady across the road. Welcome to Simplified Sparky Marketing.

Before I get into this podcast about systems, I’ve got to tell you a funny story that happened last week. So a referral came in from Beacon Lighting — great start — and the lady called up, spoke to my receptionist, booked the job in. My receptionist then sends me an email saying it’s for a 96-year-old lady, lovely woman. Fantastic.

So me being soft as shite, I’m thinking in my head, I’ll do this for half nothing. You know, good deed for the week. Make myself feel better. Do something nice for the old lady.

I rock up to the house, knock on the door, and sure enough — this tiny, shriveled little old lady answers with a big smile on her face.

So I greet her politely like we’re best mates, and she shows me what she needs done.

On that note — how cliché is the phrase little old lady? Where are the big units at? Where’s Big Mama, or Nona, or well-fed Frances? It’s always “the little old lady got ripped off.” What about the big ones? Where are they hiding? Anyway, back to it.

All she needed was a ceiling fan replaced. There was already one there — simple job. I walk in and she says, “Oh, I just want a quote.”

So I go, “Look, I’ll pop it up for you. Not a problem. Just call it fifty bucks cash. Happy days.” Should’ve done it for free, I know. But hear me out — I’m glad I said fifty. Because when I got to her living room, she had waterfront views. I was like, yeah, I don’t think you’re short of a bob, love.

So I do my good deed, fit the fan, and her daughter happens to be there. Which got me thinking — why the fuck didn’t the daughter ring up on behalf of her 96-year-old mother? But anyway. Job done, everyone’s happy.

Then it comes to payment. I say, “Just call it fifty bucks cash, that’s perfect.” And she goes, “Oh, do you accept card?”

Beautiful. My good deed has now been taxed. So yeah, the tax man got a slice of my charity. But you know what? Still counts as a good deed.

Anyway, I want to talk about systems — and this popped into my head while I was booking flights, cars, and a bunch of stuff earlier today. The truth is, everything you do in life is a system.

The way you get up, brush your teeth, have a shower — it’s all a system. If you stop and think about it, you shower the same way every time. Shampoo first, maybe body wash first — whatever it is, you follow your own little process. Same when you brush your teeth — you start on the same side of your mouth every time. That’s a system.

And it’s the exact same principle you need to take into your business.

You do a lot of repetitive stuff — most of it boring — but all of it needs structure. The electrical work itself is the easy part.

Take a switchboard, for example. You’ve got a process: mark out the holes, mount the enclosure, feed the cables, install the breakers, maybe the buzz bar last. That’s a system. It’s repeatable. It works.

And that’s how your business should run. Every part of it — from marketing, to quoting, to invoicing — should be systemized. But what shits me is how many people get scared off by the word systems.

The gurus out there make it sound like it’s rocket science. It’s not. Systems are simple.

You’ve got to remember — the people doing the work already know how to do the work. You don’t need to tell them to turn a screw seventeen times or double over copper before tightening it. A system is not a training manual — it’s a framework.

It’s there so that everyone in your business gets the same result, every time. That’s what consistency is.

Look at my own business. Every part has a system:

• Leads come in from marketing channels.
• They get filtered by phone or email.
• There’s a system for qualifying, quoting, delivering, invoicing, collecting payment, and getting reviews.

That’s how you build a business that runs smoothly. Most businesses just wing it — that’s why they get stuck.

If you don’t have a process for collecting payments or sending quotes, you’re just making life hard for yourself. If you’re rewriting the same email from scratch every time — you’re wasting time. Create a system once, use it forever.

Even your personal life runs on systems. Think about it. Going to the toilet is a system. Whether you’re a folder or a scruncher, you’ve got a process. And if you didn’t — you’d have piss on the walls.

Everything you do, every single day, follows a system. You just don’t think about it.

The goal is to bring that mindset into your business. Most of what you do is repetitive — which means it can be documented, delegated, and improved.

And if you’re solo, it’s even more important. Because when you start documenting your systems — whether it’s how you quote, how you book jobs, or how you collect payments — you can start outsourcing that to other people. VAs, bookkeepers, accountants — whatever.

That’s how you get your time back. That’s how you make more profit with less stress.

My business is lean. Low numbers, high profit. And that’s exactly what Simplified Sparky is about — simplifying the chaos.

Your entire business should be a system.

If you need help setting that up, check the links in the description. I’ll chat to you next week.