The Six Core Systems to build and grow your business
When you feel scrambled, squeezed, or stagnant in your business, it’s easy to buy the program that promises quick and easy results.
But no one is teaching you to answer the fundamental question: “WHAT DO I DO? FOR MY BIZ, WHAT DO I DO?” For all the secrets focused on growth, very few people ever learn how to actually run a business.
We’re not taught how to think about business. Thinking is working ON the business. Thinking is seeing how all of the parts of your business are connected. Thinking is knowing what to do next that will really have an impact.
And until you learn how to answer the question of “What do I do for my business?”, you’ll be trapped on the surface, never breaking free of this stagnant, squeezed, or scrambled state.
Your business is a collection of systems, all operating together as one coherent system. To work on your business is to work on systems. Period. To do anything else is like adding a spoiler when you need a better engine.
When something about your business isn't working for you, that's not a tactics problem. That's a SYSTEMS problem.
Tactics aren’t repeatable.
But systems? Systems compound over time.
And when you see how all of your systems intersect, you can focus on building what’s missing or strengthening what’s weak - knowing that the effort you’ll put in matters.
The Six Core Business Systems
For each system, I invite you to read more and answer a few questions to assess your systems’ stage at each linked blog post.
The Growth Systems: The front-end systems to bring in consistent revenue
Authority: Develop your positioning, methodology, body of work, and social proof to become known as the obvious choice to hire
Revenue and Profit: The business model, offer structure and pricing that meets your needs and fits your market
Client Conversion: Repeatable, simple marketing and sales actions that reliably bring in business
The Scale Systems: The back-end systems that create the structures and support for you to keep growing - without burning out or losing your cash
Business Operations: Aligned tasks, time, processes, and tools for Smooth Delivery and Behind-the-Scenes Operations
People: Defined roles, responsibilities, development, and communication rhythms to build your team and ease the burden of running the business
Management and Strategy: Clear goals, plans, scorecards, forecasts, and a review rhythm, so you’re always managing what matters in alignment with your vision and values
Each business and each system has three phases: Build, Grow, Scale
Build Phase:
You’re in the beginning stages of building your business, where all businesses start. And by approaching your business as a set of systems, you’ll focus on what’s most important from the start.
The focus of the Build phase is to figure out what actually works for you and your business in your front-facing systems: Authority, Profit, and Client Conversion. Testing out the clients you want to serve, your point of view and message, and the ways you like to market and deliver.
Focus on getting practice and experience serving clients and customers as quickly as possible, instead of over-engineering your branding, packages, pricing, or tech and tools.
Grow Phase:
You’re past the beginning stages, with enough experience to see patterns in how you work best and what your customers value.
The focus of the Grow phase is to take those patterns and build the front-facing systems for predictable revenue: Authority, Profit, and Client Conversion. Getting more specific about your client, honing your message, aligning your offers, and building repeatable marketing and sales systems.
Avoid the temptation to delegate core marketing and sales activities, outsource delivery, or automate activities with tech and tools until the front end of your business is predictable and stable.
Scale Phase:
Now that the front end of your business is stable, with predictable revenue, clear offers, and core marketing and sales activities, it's time to focus on your business operations.
The focus of the Scale phase is to strengthen the back-end systems for a sustainable business that doesn't just rely on you: Business Operations, People, and Strategy/Management. Building smooth client delivery, streamlined business operations, a right-sized team, and clear plans to move towards your vision.
Codifying and strengthening your business systems allows you to scale if desired - or simply to sustain at your current revenue level with more ease and profit. The choice is yours.
Review each of your business systems.
What’s working that you want to build on?
What systems are weak or missing that need to be developed?
How can you take on fewer, but better commitments?
And if you’re looking for help, invest in support tailored for your stage of business.
At the Build Phase? Consider joining Deeper Foundations, a 6-month program designed to build the foundations for each of these systems.
At the Grow or Scale Phase? Consider Deeper Growth, my tailored 1:1 consulting designed to help you focus on exactly what you need to do next, for your specific business growth.