When was the last time you set up systems in your business and asked yourself “Does this support the life I’m trying to create?”

If I could venture a guess, I’d say that’s one of the last things you think about when creating systems for your business. But it should actually be one of the first things you think about.

I could go through all the cliches floating around along the lines of “You didn’t start your business to work 24/7”, but I’ll avoid that. Instead, I’ll just say this:

I believe that strong systems start with YOU.

If you’re trying to build your business to fit your life and not the other way around, there are 5 questions to ask yourself. These questions will help you move forward in the direction of your dream business. 

Let’s dive into the 5 questions to ask yourself when creating systems from a holistic perspective:

What are your personal and business goals, and where do they overlap

This is such an important question and the first one to ask each time you’re creating anything new or adjusting things in your business to be life-first focused. In order to build something that fits your business and your life you need to start by looking at your goals for both.

How do you want your life to look on a daily basis

With this question, you can get as granular or high level as you’d like. For me, I know what my capacity per day is and what kind of rhythms and routines I want to have, so I start with those. From there I build in the kind of work I want to be doing and lastly, I add some space for those last minute tasks that will inevitably pop up. If you’re someone who enjoys batching tasks or setting themes for each day, take that into consideration when figuring out how each day would look like.

What do YOU want to be doing in your business

We all know you don’t want to wear 562 hats every day. Sooner or later something is going to drop, or you are. Neither of which we want happening. 

Once you get to a point in your business where you’ve got a team taking more responsibility, it’s inevitable that you’ll need to look at what you want to be doing and what only you can be doing.

Are you wanting to stay the face of your business, or are you interested in letting your team become more of the focus? Do you want to handle the strategy side of what you do (ie. the Creative Director role) so your team can take the vision and make it a reality? Or do you still want to have a hand in it?

There’s a lot to consider when looking at what role you want as it will lead to the next question…

Who do you want on your team (are they long term or per project)

This is a big question to ask yourself whether you have or haven’t started hiring team members. If you’re trying to remove yourself more from the client deliverables and shift into a strategic role, then you’ll want to focus on someone (or multiple someones) who can take your vision and run with it. And so you can focus on the strategic, high-level tasks and maintaining the vision of your business, you’ll want to bring in someone who can manage your team so you don’t have to.

If you already have a team, ask yourself if they are the right person for the position. If they aren’t, it’s time to decide if they are just not in the right seat or if they don’t belong on the team at all.

If you don’t yet have a team, there are going to be a lot of things to consider for your first hire so start small. If you haven’t delegated or managed people before it can be daunting, so starting small is a great first step.

Where are the snags in your current systems

When was the last time you looked at the systems you have? Do you (and your team) actually follow the processes you’ve outlined or are they outdated? Are there things that keep getting dropped during the delivery process that need to be reevaluated so that they are actually smooth? 

To build systems that are holistic, you need to be intentional. There’s an art to crafting the system that’s right for you, but you need to ask yourself those foundational questions first. Knowing those answers will allow you to give your clients the best of you and your work.

This featured article is brought to you by Liz Strong, Online Business Manager.

Liz Strong is a website designer turned OBM with a desire to help creative entrepreneurs build simple, organized, and thoughtful businesses that work for you — even if you’re not a ‘tech person’. 

She partners with designers and copywriters who are looking to get out of the weeds of and back to what they love. In addition to client and project management, she helps her clients create sustainable systems that give them the freedom to grow their business while bringing consistency, organization and fun to the things they find mundane.

>>>>>> Download Liz’s Readiness Assessment for High-Level Business Support here to determine if you’re ready to add a Business Manager to your team.

>>>>>> To learn how you can work with Liz, download her services guide here.

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