03 | Systems and SOP Basics for Life Coaches to Start Systemizing Your Coaching Businesses

00:00:03
Are you ready to work less, feel more organized and productive, streamline repetitive tasks, and implement systems that allow your coaching business to run smoothly even without you? If so, you’re in the right place. Welcome to the Organized Coach Podcast, your go-to source for practical tips and solutions. I’m your host, Tracy Hoth, a professional organizer, certified life coach, simplifying expert, and most of all, a down-to-earth fellow coach just like you. No matter if you think you’re missing the organizing gene, have ADHD, or just love anything organizing, I’m here to help you become an organized coach with a business that works for you.

00:00:45
Pull up a seat and let’s get started. Are you ready to talk about systems? Do you even know really what a system is? We talk about standard operating procedures, writing systems, and processes, and it all sounds so boring. And all I can do is picture people in blue suits, like three-piece suits that are writing these systems and working on all this code on the computer.

00:01:14
That is not at all what I’m talking about. In this episode on the Organized Coach podcast, we’re going to talk about what is a system, and how will they help. Where should we start to systemize our business? Did you know that systems are assets in your business? They are so valuable, they’ll make your business more valuable.

00:01:36
They’ll make your life easier. Do you know why? Because once you document what your system is for carrying out a task, or accomplishing a goal, then you can let someone else do it. Someone else can do the task as well as you by following your system. So what is a system?

00:01:55
A system is a set of procedures by which something is done. An organized framework or method. Here’s the crazy thing. You already have a system. You already have systems in your business.

00:02:08
So I want you to think about something you do. Let’s just say writing a weekly email. Probably a lot of us do that. How do you do it? When you decide you’re going to write your weekly email, how do you do it?

00:02:21
What do you do first? When do you do it? What do you do second? Do you have someone proofread it? Do you proofread it?

00:02:27
Do you do it at a certain time each week? Do you schedule it? Is there a format you follow in your email? I am working on becoming an email marketing specialist right now and getting certified in that. And there’s a formula, there’s a format that I’ve just created for my weekly emails.

00:02:44
If you’re not on my email list, go to Simply Squared Away and opt-in on one of the places on that homepage or DM me at Tracyhost on Instagram and I will add your email. Give me your email and I’ll add you in. Or I’ll give you a link to do it. What do you do? How do you carry out writing your weekly email?

00:03:05
The answer to those questions that I ask. How do you do? What do you do? 1st, 2nd. That is your system.

00:03:10
You may want to improve your system. That’s fine. You may want to hand off this task to someone else. You may want to create a more efficient system, as I do when it comes to writing my email. But the fact is, you do have a system right?

00:03:26
Now. I remember the first time someone showed me this. I don’t even know who I was talking to. Maybe it was a coach, maybe it was in coach training or I don’t even know. But I think it was around laundry.

00:03:38
And I was saying, I don’t really have a system for laundry so that I could teach someone else. I just do laundry when I want to. And when the basket in our room gets full, I go do the laundry. I sort it in the hallway because our laundry room is upstairs by our bedroom. And I sort it in the hallway.

00:03:57
And then I put a load in and then I work and I just run in there and switch the loads. I fold everything straight out of the dryer. I hang most things that can be hung. And then I carry the clothes in our bedroom and my husband puts them away. When he gets home, I put them away and they’re done.

00:04:12
And they’re like, that’s your system. I just thought I did it when I felt like it. Well, that is my system. So the same thing goes for you. You have systems.

00:04:21
So don’t think that you don’t because that will keep you stuck. So I showed this to my client the other day. She was saying that she didn’t feel like she knew how to create steps. She didn’t have a system for this program. And I said, well, how do you do it?

00:04:36
And she just started telling me how she went about planning. And I said, well, that’s it. That sounds amazing. That is your system. And she’s like, yeah, but you just pulled that from my head.

00:04:47
And I said exactly. That’s a lot of what system specialists do. They pull things out of your brain that you already do and don’t even realize it. So that’s the first step, is to realize that you do have systems. And remember, a system is just a set of procedures in which something is done.

00:05:07
So it’s you getting something done and it’s the steps to get there. That’s it. We can improve it. We might want to make it more efficient, but that is a system. So what I think that you should do is pick three tasks that you work on and write down the steps you take to complete them.

00:05:24
The first time I actually documented a system in my own business was when my sister, who is my VA and graphic designer, she actually made my podcast Cover Art, which I love. She works, she’s a contract employee for me. And we were having her start out and I can’t even remember if it was I think it was posting on social media or it was turning my Facebook lives that I had been doing into blog posts. And we just sat down and said, okay, what do we do? 1st, 2nd, 3rd.

00:05:56
We put it in a Google document. We made little square checkboxes, which is an option instead of one, two, three or bullet points, you actually can make little squares like checkmark boxes. And we put them all down in there. I put next to it how long I thought each one of them would take. And she went and worked through the list and she loved it.

00:06:18
She’s like, it’s so great to just be able to check off a list and go through it. Right now I’m helping a coach systemize her business, and we’ve created a system for quality-checking her email. So she’ll take her email, she’ll send it to her marketing assistant, and then they’ll use that checklist to quality check it and make sure everything’s done correctly. But you just go down the list and check it off. It’s such a great thing to do.

00:06:44
So this is my challenge for you. If you want to work on this task of putting some systems into your business. Now, relax. It doesn’t have to be long and boring. It doesn’t have to be that you systemize your entire business.

00:06:59
This week, I just want you to think about three tasks that you work on. What’s on your calendar this week? It could be something if you have one on one clients. It could be what you do before the call and after the call. That could be what you document.

00:07:14
It could be writing your weekly email. It could be creating content. Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. Pick three tasks that you work on and write down the steps that you already do to complete them. Don’t try to change anything and make them better before you even write down what you do.

00:07:32
Just write down what you currently do. And guess what? You’ll have three documented systems. Isn’t that great? And from there you can evaluate next week, maybe evaluate how and if you want to improve this system.

00:07:45
Do you want to change any of the steps? Do you want to break them down so they’re easier? Then you could actually record a loom video screen, and share a video of you doing the task. If it’s something you do online, maybe it’s setting up a landing page or a funnel. You could just record yourself doing that and you could pull the steps out of the recording.

00:08:03
But I like to try to keep it very simple. If you’re trying to start documenting a system that you have, the other question you could ask is, if I was hiring someone, what tasks could I hand over to them? And then when you’re doing the task, just write down the steps that you do. Keep it super simple and you will have some documented systems that you could have an assistant then start working on. This is what I help clients do, putting systems in their business.

00:08:30
Remember, systems are assets to your business. They’re so valuable, they’re going to make your business worth more because someone else could come in and work on your business. Because of these assets, and the systems that you have documented, I help my clients organize and systemize their businesses. So if you think you’re ready to explore how documenting and improving systems will help create time freedom for you, they actually can help make you more money. They’ll definitely reduce your stress and maybe even eliminate overwhelm.

00:09:02
You can book a call with me at simplysquaredaway. com/call. And on the call, we’re going to create an organized file structure for your specific business, and we’re going to explore, okay, what’s the next step and what are you ready for help with and what would that look like? You can also DM me on Instagram at Tracyhoth, and we can get connected there also. And, of course, you’ve heard it before, but I would love it if you would leave me a review.

00:09:30
I am just launching the podcast, and if you’re listening to this during the launch in May of 2023, I would love it for you to leave me a review. And I will take anyone that’s left a review and put them into a drawing and have a giveaway. So if you could do that, I would appreciate it. Thanks for listening and we’ll talk to you next week.

00:09:55
Thanks for listening to the episode. Please share this episode with your coaching bestie and tag me on Instagram at Tracyhoth. And of course, I would be so grateful if you could subscribe and leave a written review on Apple podcasts. It’s the number one way you can thank me. To thank you, go grab the file naming formula cheat sheet and watch the workshop replay three secrets to organizing your digital files.

00:10:18
Both are linked in the show notes. Until next time, have a beautiful week.