Creating (or updating) systems for your business feels really positive, like you’re properly scaling at last.
After all, that’s what they tell you, isn’t it? Don’t just do the work; build the systems. Train the team to use the systems and you have a scalable business which runs like a well oiled machine whether you’re there or not.
Having created many systems in my business life – some for me, some for a 20-person agency, and now for an agency with a smaller core team and many supporting contractors – I’m starting to suspect that simpler is better.
You’ve heard the KISS acronym before, but I never liked the second ‘S’. Sounds pretty rude to call someone, or even something, stupid. But i like it applied to systems. Keep It Simple, System. Or maybe KYSS: Keep your system simple. This means instead of a detailed list of every single item which could go wrong, or ever happen in the life of any client, you focus on a few core things:
- The system’s goal (why it matters)
- The context (how it fits in)
- What success is (how you know it’s working)
- The boundaries (like guard rails, or yes/no gates)
- The system’s value (how it helps you make profit)
- The responsibility (who owns it, who manages it)
- Where it lives (apps, systems, folders, files)
You can of course create checklists or videos to support this summary, but those can (and do) change often. The app or software you’re using is different, or the last three times you ran it for a client you discovered something that needs to be added. This is why listing every single item becomes too prescriptive: because everything is changing at top speeds and you’d spend a lifetime rewriting systems that way.
So if I’m creating a system for this email newsletter, it might look something like this:
GOAL: Stay in touch with clients & contacts to support book sales & promotion
CONTEXT: Connects KLR as owner to PF marketing (newsletter, social) and vice versa
SUCCESS: Email sent out every Saturday morning; replies received
BOUNDARIES:
- Okay to:
- Send on another day if needed
- Be put together & sent by someone else
- No particular length required
- Not okay to:
- Skip more than 1 week in a row
- Be written by someone besides KLR
- Be sent without a sketch
VALUE: Builds connection for future book publications
RESPONSIBILITY: Owned by KLR, supported by PF Marketing Coordinator & Marketing Assistant
LIVES: Google Doc for content, Google Drive folder for sketches, Keap for email
The system could be supported by a video of how to take the content from the Google doc and put it into our CRM system, and schedule it to send.
This is a very simple system, only used by one or two people. The more people involved, the more detail you may need: but still, think about how to simplify it right down. Otherwise you spend your life creating detailed systems which change because of your services, client need, new AI tools or apps, changing roles or people, and profitability.
