Case Study: Systems Audit aka “Digital Spring Cleaning”

I love systems, full stop.

I love falling down the rabbit hole learning about them; how to use them, how to make them more efficient, and how to connect them. 

I love the efficiency a great system and suite of programs can bring to a business. 

Bonus points if it involves color coordination that would make Clea and Joanna from the Home Edit teary-eyed. 

But this is one area where LESS IS MORE.

Much like our closets, we tend to collect programs with the highest of hopes but they seem to go in and out of fashion like crop tops and wide-leg jeans. 

Not that you asked but as a grand Millennial those last two are a BIG no for me. 

I have learned that simple can be best and FOMO is not a good reason to feed our bad program habits.

I’m looking at you App Sumo! 

Recently I helped a good friend, dig through her digital closet and complete some spring cleaning. That left her feeling like her suite of systems went from

“herding cats to training them like the most well-behaved dogs!”

Tell me if you can relate.

She is a service provider who is a brilliant marketer and web designer and uses a handful of systems. Recently she added new consulting and coaching services to scale her business. 

During her training & certification, they offered their recommended systems with a discount or trial. The risk was minimal since she could always cancel later.

They even offered her assistance to partially set them up for her. 

I mean, free labor? How can you say no to that? 

Now enough time has passed, the free trials have ended, and with every new hit to her financial statement these once “no-brainer” offers left her with fewer answers and more questions: 

In short, are my systems preventing me from being as PROFITABLE as possible?

I may be biased but my friend is very smart and very talented.

As a CEO (Chief Everything Officer) the problem was this project quickly turned into an endeavor that she didn’t have the time or desire to complete. 

Even if she did, she dreaded having to do this again in 6 months or a year when her business has grown and her needs may have shifted. 

Of course, my data-loving heart got goosebumps and said, “Me, me, me, I can do it!”

One week later her outlook completely changed:

She walked away with more . . .  

Confidence in her systems 

Clarity in the role her systems play in her  growth strategy

Peace of mind about her profitability

Targeted benchmarks to know EXACTLY when to upgrade and financially plan for it

ACTIONABLE steps optimize her systems

2 weeks of additional email support & accountability to help her complete the top 3 priorities on her optimization list

AND

a potential savings of $2,500 a year based on her custom recommendations. 

“As a business owner, you tend to just only look 30 degrees in front of you while putting one fire out at a time. It educated me not only on where I’m at but allows me to forecast my growth and do it in a smart way when my business is ready, not willy nilly playing a guessing game and hiring help or adding systems without being financially prepared.”

How did we accomplish this in just a week?

We completed a full systems review using my 3-step method:

1. Identify

2. Simply

3. Magnify

“Working with you has allowed me to intelligently forecast when I can take action based on data and not based on emotion or overwhelm, which I feel is huge for a solopreneur.”

Your turn.

Have you asked yourself any of these questions?

Are you so busy feels like you aren’t running your systems but your systems are running you?

It may be time for your own digital closet clean-up.

Click here to book a free assessment call to see if Systems Audit is right for you.