CFO Chronicles: The Secrets Behind Success

The Importance Behind Systems: How to Keep Your Business Running—Even When You Can’t

• James Donovan • Season 2 • Episode 24

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When unforeseen challenges strike—like losing your laptop and being out sick for a week—your business systems are put to the ultimate test. In this episode, we explore how our tried-and-true processes kept the wheels turning during a tough time. We also share actionable strategies for delegating tasks and creating systems that empower your team to step in seamlessly. Tune in for candid insights on fine-tuning your processes, ensuring your business not only withstands setbacks but flourishes through them.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to CFO Chronicles the secrets behind success, the go-to podcast for fractional CFOs and accounting firm owners who want to attract more high-paying clients and increase their revenue. Hosted by James Donovan from Nine Two Media, this podcast dives into marketing strategies specifically designed for lead generation and client acquisition. In each episode, you'll hear from industry leaders sharing their success stories, and I want to take the time to speak about some of the things that I've been doing in the to your bottom line.

Speaker 2:

I want to take the time to speak about systems and processes and why they're so important for growing a business and why they're so important to get you out of the business. Last week I was reminded how how awesome my team is and how blessed I am to have the team members that I do, and just how solid some of our systems and processes are. Before getting into what some of those systems and processes look like, I'll just take the time to discuss how I got here in this podcast to reflect on this and why I want to have an episode on this. Last week was a challenge of a week, to say the least. I went to bed Sunday night sending an email to a client, getting ready for Monday morning thought everything was going to be great, before getting ready to spend one final week in Playa del Carmen before going to Colombia for a week and then Mexico City for a week on vacation and then continuing to work remote from there. However, when I woke up Monday morning, I went to go turn on my MacBook and there was no power, so a bit of a curveball. Monday morning I had to run around town trying to find a new charger, which was no luck, met up with a couple of friends who had chargers. No luck with those ones Eventually had to go all the way out to the Apple store. Had to go all the way out to the Apple store, which I then realized, after diagnosing and speaking with the workers at Apple, that the computer was fried in a power surge. So this is about Monday afternoon, now 2 pm, so not in basically, majority of Monday. Let the team know hey, I'm not going to be around, my laptop's broken, so that's Monday. And then figure out all right, there's going to be no laptop for the week. So you know, a bit of panic sets in. What am I going to do? So I let the team know hey, look, I'm not going to be around. I need to try to figure out a laptop situation so that I can work.

Speaker 2:

Thankfully, again, I have an amazing team in place who was able to take on everything and make sure our clients are looked after, the fulfillment, the deliverables are being met and we're still moving the ball down the field. What also was a reminder of the solid systems we have in place and why they're so important and what systems were highlighted that need to be optimized. I was, to make matters worse, extremely sick all week. So not only was I unable to work from a laptop and potentially just do a lot of things from my phone, I was actually bedridden for the better part of the week only taking Zoom meetings from my phone. So the great piece about this and the reflection that I had last week was we have so many systems that have been put in place over the last couple of years that have allowed me to step away for the week and things are going to run awesome and it was a great reminder again with the team that's in place. But we have really solid systems that, as long as they stay up to date, people can come and go and the business, the work itself, will still get done, and I really want to emphasize that because we're still learning, we're still growing. There's systems that were highlighted of my week being out that, okay, we need to get these fixed so that the next time this happens things run a little bit smoother. But there was a lot of things I was extremely impressed with that ran for the week I was gone and having no laptop.

Speaker 2:

I think something that a lot of business owners can take from this is, whatever tasks you're doing, that you think, hey, I'm the only one that can do this. You're holding on. You're not delegating it. Test out your team members. They're there for a reason. If you don't trust your team, why are they even there?

Speaker 2:

To begin with, record what it is you're doing Screen share yourself working on Zoom. Use that as a document. Take the time, the thing you're doing that you think nobody else can do or that you find yourself consistently doing, day after day after day. Take the time to record yourself on Zoom doing it. Open up a Google Doc and type out the steps as you work through that doc, going through it, so that now you have a repeatable process to pass off to one of your team members. When you have that, walk through that with a team member, show them what it is you're doing. Then the next time you watch them go through it, and then the third time, they do it on their own with the SOP that you've made, and if they have any questions they come back to you, but they refer to that document. As long as that document stays up to date, you can step away. You don't need to do that task anymore. You have a repeatable process.

Speaker 2:

Your quality assurance is built in, because you shouldn't be moving on to the next step in that process unless the step above has been completed. And when you have those in place and you have solid team members who you trust, it makes the situations where when your laptop breaks and you're in a remote country or you're sick all week and you can't get in, there's significantly less stress because you know the right things are going to get done, because you have the right processes there. A lot of businesses run into bottlenecks and they can't get past that hump or it goes into full panic mode. When the owner's out, it's because there's no trusted team members there, there's no systems that are documented, there's no processes to rely on so that that job can be done. I'm sure if you think, what do you do in the run of a day? There's multiple tasks that you think your team members can't do, and I want to challenge you to record those processes and pass them off to your team, and challenge your team to do them, to come back and say I did that.

Speaker 2:

I also want to take on something else. What else can I take off of your plate? That is how you're going to get out of that feeling of overwhelm and maybe you're doing a lot of the in the business tasks on a daily basis. Document what you do, walk through the process with a team member, hand that over to them with full ownership of that new task, and then you can step away from that and you're there to support and answer the questions. But if you continue to just do the work without recording yourself doing it, without building that SOP, you're forever going to be stuck in the day-to-day. You're forever going to be stuck doing that task. I've learned this the hard way. I've also experienced this on the other side of the coin by being able to take two weeks off from the business and everything still runs smooth. Unfortunately, having my laptop break and being sick for a week business and everything still runs smooth. Unfortunately, having my laptop break and being sick for a week, but everything still runs and it's incredible how strong your business is. With the right systems in place, you don't need a lot of team members to make great things happen. So that's the message I really wanted to focus on today as I was going through this last week Systems, systems, systems, processes, processes, processes. The nice thing about all of this is we are also blessed with being able to identify where some of our gaps in our systems are when is some of the tech that's breaking in the automations? What's not working?

Speaker 2:

There's a great book I read a couple of years ago called the Two Week Vacation Test. I strongly encourage any entrepreneur to read this book. It allows you to set up your business so that you are working towards being able to take two weeks off from the business and everything's going to run without you. Not to get into the whole book, but you don't start right away by just disappearing for two weeks. You can start by taking a night off. You can do that throughout the week and then you take your weekend off and then from there you work up to maybe a long weekend and et cetera, et cetera.

Speaker 2:

But as you're going through this, the time that you're taking off, also be checking in with your team to see, hey, what worked when I was gone, what didn't work, what did you need me for? And whatever worked awesome, cool. Those are the systems that you know are working and you just double check them to make sure everything's happening correctly. And what didn't work, build a process around it. And the more of those processes you get built, the more and more you can start stepping away from the business or stepping in the direction of focusing on those higher leverage tasks. So I hope this is helpful. I hope there's some insights that anyone listening can take away from this, from my past week of not having a laptop and being sick and taking Zoom calls from my cell phone. It's all about your systems. Document your process, pass it off to your team, walk through with them so they understand, have that transfer of ownership and watch your business grow. It's truly remarkable what can happen when you're able to step away and start focusing on those higher leverage tasks. If you find yourself being stressed on a day-to-day basis, record your processes so you can pass it off to your team and you can get more done in the run of a day. I hope this was helpful.

Speaker 2:

Thanks for tuning into this episode of CFO Chronicles the secrets behind success. I hope you found value in today's conversation. As we wrap up, I'd love for you to do two things. First, make sure to subscribe to this podcast so you don't miss any future episodes. If you enjoyed today's discussion, please rate and review the show. It helps others discover the insights we share here. Second, if you're ready to take your business to the next level and attract the high-end clients you deserve. Head over to accountingleadsnowcom or click the link in the show notes to book your strategy. Call it's time to position yourself as the advisor your clients need. And don't forget you can connect with me on LinkedIn to stay up to date on what's happening in the world of accounting and financial growth. We've got more exciting topics coming up, so stay tuned for the next episode of CFO Chronicles. Until then, keep pushing forward. Your growth is just one strategic move away.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for listening to CFO Chronicles, the secrets behind success. Your growth is just one strategic move away. And leave a review or comment to join the conversation. Your feedback helps us bring you the best insights in finance and marketing. Until next time, keep striving for success and unlocking your business's potential.