The Wool We Pull Over Our Own Eyes...

"NO ONE TOLD ME RUNNING A BUSINESS WAS SO HARD."

REALLY? You spent 4 months planning your kid's birthday party, and 1 year planning your European vacation. Yet you woke up one day and decided to start a business, with no plan except that thing you are good at and love doing... and thought it would all just, work out??

It's not all your fault though- we've been fed this pack of lies our whole lives:

"DO WHAT YOU LOVE AND YOU'LL NEVER WORK A DAY IN YOUR LIFE."

I choose violence against whoever coined that idiotic, false phrase.

I was inspired by a Facebook post in the Social Collectives made by a savvy entrepreneur about businesses needing systems to make back end operations smoother and more efficient. Of course, she's 💯 right!

The significance of this step isn't something intuitive when you start a business from the ground up, but the importance becomes clearer very quickly as your client list explodes.

When my husband's and I started our tour business, a word doc was our contract, a spreadsheet was our calendar, and outlook folders were our CRM. It wasn't a great system, but it WAS a FREE system, and we had more time than money- at the beginning.

In less than a year, we outgrew this process with a calendar full of tours and a world full of collaboration opportunities. I knew we needed to automate admin, track revenue, and more efficiently manage operations on the back end. On the front end we had to decrease friction and book guests in less than the ten steps and 2-3 days required by the docs and sheets approach.

THIS is where many entrepreneurs fail to plan for success and only succeed at failure:

THEY DON'T INVEST IN THEMSELVES.

Do they think there's some glory in gutting it out, that google fu and gpt advice is aaall they need to succeed? Is there some reward for staying in the struggle? SPOILER ALERT: NO. no there is NOT.

The same person who spent $5,000 on Li'l Susie's kindergarten graduation party is trying to run a for-profit venture on free trials and the good will of others.

Suddenly (NO IT ISN'T. ) they are drowning in running the biz instead of doing what they love- you know, that thing "THEY" said wouldn't be work?!?! ( cruel, filthy, liars.)

It's a self-inflicted wound. :) Of course building systems are a HUGE factor in business success and sanity.

But if the systems aren't built on a SOLID business foundation, that system is just one more tool that they won't "listen" to.

"I CAN MAKE WHAT I'M ALREADY DOING WORK, I DON'T NEED TO WORK AT DOING IT DIFFERENTLY."

Oh, REALLY...? Story time.

I had a client in another state who came to me when they were struggling to do it all, which- we all hit that entrepreneur wall when growth outpaces capacity.

I call it "outgrowing your stretchpants", can't unsee THAT, can you?

They sent up the SOS and asked for help- that's hard step as an entrepreneur- much respect to them for reaching out!

When I accessed their back end to understand their process, I found 50 LEADS they hadn't answered! Money just stagnating in a beautiful lead funnel with excellent follow up automations- all they had to do was click a button to accept the lead into the fitting program and the funnel would do the rest.

No- AI could NOT replace this step- they NEEDED to know who they were dealing with, it was a required, valuable, human connection step. The funnel was FABULOUS.

"Why??" I asked them, incredulous that they hired me to attract more business, yet- What's wrong with these 50 in the funnel?!?!

They said I just didn't have time to use the system and didn't even realize they were there. Soooo, They spent thousands of dollars to continue the same behaviors that got them in trouble to begin with.

I was GOBSMACKED. (FINALLY, I get to use that word again... it's my one of my favorites. )

When I said "It's not that you don't HAVE the time, it's you didn't replace time you spend repeating your habits that GOT YOU HERE with a NEW habit- using the system that you invested in."

Well. They didn't like THAT feedback. They dropped me a month later and went out of business soon after... glad I always receive payment up front...

I, and whoever built that funnel, led that horse to water and they used it as a toilet.

They NEVER used that system. But guess who did- ME. I absolutely found that I could implement some of those smart automations and my biz and time to build Bizlationships®️ GREW.

When DIY started to cost me too much time and effort, I invested in an expert who saved me both. As revenue increased, so did the time I got to spend with my family, on vacations, and sometimes, doing absolutely NOTHING.

My Bizlationships®️were built stronger because I was present when crafting partnerships, not wondering if my business was on fire while I wasn't stuck in the middle of running it.

Media opportunities weren't interrupting operations, they were expanding visibility and credibility.

Long way to say that a system build on a foundation of sand will SINK.

If you are a business coach reading this, I hope save yourself heartache and frustration by making sure your client is ready to make a change in order to succeed.

Ask questions to ensure they are as committed as you are to their growth, and will create the bandwidth to implement your approach.

Few coaching moments suck more than realizing you spent hours working for a client who won't spend minutes working for themselves.

If you're an entrepreneur who sees themselves in this, BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF. Invest time, money and effort into your growth as a business, or google fu and gpt yourself into your joy as a hobby.

THE LATTER is how you aren't "working a day in your life while doing what you love"-

NOT the former.

photo credit: Studio 151 Photography

Renee Ventrice is an award winning entrepreneur, best selling author, and community marketing strategist. Connect with her if you want to continue this conversation.

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