This episode’s title can be a little scary, I know. But calm down and do not freak out. The truth is you are surrounded by elements that can threaten your business if, and only if, left uncheck. So how do you avoid potential disasters and continue to enjoy growing and scaling your business?
Overview & Episode Content
- The Value in Maintaining Business Flexibility During Client Exits
- Why it is Never a Good Idea to Put All Your Eggs in One Basket
- In-House Business E.A. Versus Remote-Based V.S.A.
- How Do You Avoid Potential Threats to Your Business?
The Value in Maintaining Business Flexibility During Client Exits
You might be wondering, “What is up with this very interesting and very scary title?”
Well, it is simply the hard truth.
Today, we are going to talk about an experience with a former client. He is a super nice guy, wonderful to work with, and I have nothing bad to say about him at all. This guy is simply a wonderful person.
A while back, his company stopped working with our VSA. So, I had been on the phone with that client for quite some time—along with Paul Tran. We were encouraging him to align his mindset with processes and business systems creation.
The goal was to automate the client’s business so he no longer is his own bottle neck. We were doing so much to help this guy. But in the end, it simply was not landing at all. He wanted to learn but for whatever reason, our ideas simply were not sinking in.
The client finally withdrew and said, “Hey, we want to move in a different direction. I actually have some executive assistants in-house. It’s going to be great.”
Now, I totally understand him. It was simply part of the Pro Sulum flexibility. Clients can start and go—and that is totally fine! It is simply a part of our process at Pro Sulum. But despite all this, I did stress out, “You must get your systems and processes documented step-by-step. Process Documentation will be the most beneficial factor in your business.”
Why it is Never a Good Idea to Put All Your Eggs in One Basket
Months passed and I got an email from him. The email read, “Hey, I have this great idea and I want to run it by you. We were working with these in-house executive assistants and we’re just relishing the time we’re working with them.”
Immediately, knowing something must have gone askew, I said, “Okay, so what’s the problem?”
He continued to say, “But I had one executive assistant leave and it crippled my business. All of the stuff was in her head! She left, and now I am screwed.”
Then, I wondered how he was “relishing” working with them? What he described was a horrible experience! I thought to myself, “Dude, do you hear what you’re saying? You have someone who essentially took down your entire business simply by leaving.”
That is the whole reason why Pro Sulum and Freedom In Five Minutes exist in the first place. And the reason why we have Virtual Systems Architects who document everything so that you, the business owner, never run into this situation.
So, long story short, he wanted to know if there was training they could take to do what our VSAs can do. Basically, he wanted all my secrets and he’ll pay me for it. Of course, I would say no.
In-House Business E.A. Versus Remote-Based V.S.A.
The thing is that in-house personnel are working physically in your office. And being restricted to a physical set-up makes you vulnerable to unforeseen events such as the global covid-19 crisis. Physical office settings are prone to shut downs and on top of that, you will have to deal with the EDD fining you for doing 1099s instead of W-2. You would be fined for such mistakes!
And next, you have to do the workman’s comp insurance, the payroll tax, and all these different things while paying 7x more for that in-house personnel with all that risk when you could have just had a Virtual Systems Architect who would not put you in that situation.
So basically, he was trying to tell me, “I love working with these executive assistants But I’m screwed! I have no way of training someone because all of the stuff is in her head.”
It really spoke to me because this is exactly what I have been preaching and building for 30 years. I want to help you think in terms of systems. That is exactly the whole point of this podcast! The more that you get things documented, the more you are ready for disaster. And disaster comes in so many forms!
How Do You Avoid Potential Threats to Your Business?
Why is this important? It is important because there are so many things out there today that are trying to take your business down.
Do not let anything topple what you have worked so hard for! You have state and federal governments that want their cuts. There are employees your business relies on completely and would leave anytime if denied a raise.
Now, imagine if you have all your business systems and processes documented. You can avoid these huge disasters that could cripple your business. This is why it is vital that you, the business owner, must start thinking in terms of systems and processes.
As soon as your business seems like it has become fully dependent on one person, that is when you are putting yourself and your business at such a huge risk. You might enjoy a great year but with just one little change, you could lose so much!
You have to realize that this is a battlefield. The fact is, there are people or organizations trying to take from you. It’s war! And one of the best ways to hedge against that is through creating documented systems and processes.
As an example, we recently had a major update in our business and guess what was the first thing I said to my guys?
“Document it. Make sure that the changes are documented, okay? Because that will save us!”
If you wrote everything down step-by-step and a year later it’s old, who cares? Constant process updates and improvements are vital in keeping your business running smoothly; ready against any type of disaster coming your way.
Resources and Links
So, what are you going to do today? What are you going to do this week? And what are you going to document this week? Or, what book are you going to read to get your mind around systems?
There’s Clockwork, Work the System, Built to Sell, and a whole host of different things out there that will give you that “Aha!” moment. Put this into practice and turn that into a habit that you always, always do.
This is Dean Soto. Check out FreedomInFiveMinutes.com and ProSulum.com. And I will see you in the next Freedom In Five Minutes podcast episode.