Business Systems for a Growing Business

I am lucky that I am a naturally organized person. Always have been, even as a young child. So keeping up with the administrative work in my business has been fairly easy. I have several systems in place to help me track clients, monitor website visitors, reports on my ezine, monitor overall metrics on various marketing efforts, bookkeeping, etc.My business is growing fast, however. And I'm noticing that things I am doing manually that were perfect when I only had a few clients and ran a few workshops are now slowing me down. So it may be time for new systems. Ones that will take me to the next level and beyond.So what are business systems?

Entrepreneurs often don't take the time to write down what they do. It seems unnecessary when their business is run solely by them or is very small. However, writing down our business systems helps us to think through processes clearly so they are designed efficiently. This can be a huge time and money saver, both of which are critical to a business's success.

Business systems are the tools, processes and procedures that we use to run our business. They may be used in all areas of our business: sales, marketing, accounting, operations, production, etc. Examples might include using Quickbooks for your accounting and bookkeeping and tax reporting. Of course, just using Quickbooks is not a system. There has to be a regular routine around it such as entering receipts each day or each week. Printing reports weekly or monthly and at tax time. Another system might be the metrics by which you measure your business's success. This can be a spreadsheet or program report that gives you the critical information needed to see if you are on target with your goals. For example, I measure how many workshops I have given, average number of attendees, how many people are on my ezine list, are added to my ezine list and have dropped off my ezine list, as well as lots of other factors. I track my income, my marketing efforts, both what and how productive. I review the counts each week. Your own systems may include sales, tracking a particular marketing campaign, expenses, new products added, products retired, customers added, complaints, etc. Almost anything can be counted, but you don't want this to be so unwieldy you never get anything else done. Just count what is critical to your business success. A third system might be how you handle payroll or even update your website or perform data back-ups on your computer(s).

So a system consists of what is being done, who does it, when they do it, where it is done or kept, using what tools and why, because you don't want to develop unnecessary systems.I find it best to have these systems written down. And when your business is big enough to start hiring help, such as an assistant or virtual assistant, you'll already have training material to hand over. After all you want everyone who works with you on the same page.

Business systems can be an entrepreneur's best friend, making your business run more smoothly, helping you manage your time productively and insuring you always have the information you need to run your business and have the most success. If you aren't using business systems today, try it.

All blog content is copyrighted, all rights reserved, Mary Anne Fields and Life Unfolds, 2006

Three Tips for High Achievement Goal Setting

"Goal setting", just the phrase puts me to sleep! Somehow it relates for me to being regimented, task-oriented and even boring. You know the kind, write down your goals, break them into smaller goals, put due dates on it and get busy. But that may be because most of the goals that we choose are not goals of the heart. We choose goals because we are supposed to or because we are asked/told to at work or at school. And the goals we set are often other people's goals pressed on to us from our parents, teachers, bosses, mates and our cultures via the media and churches. Even late in life, we find that we may not truly be in touch with our own real desires, those from the heart or the soul or the spirit. When the goals are your own personal, true desires...now these goals are not boring! They can enable you to soar, get you up and moving in the morning, help you to be happy and joyful and to succeed in new and amazing ways.

Here are three tips to set your goals in a way that you can achieve them with the least effort and in the fastest way.

First tip: Choose your goal wisely. The closer your stated goal is to who you really are inside, the easier it will be to accompish. So discover who you are, what your life purpose is, and what you desire most to create a joyful, creative life. If you are lost on this, there are lots of books on the subject. See http://www.lifeunfolds.com/books.htm for some suggestions. A coach (like me!) can help as can workshops and supportive friends. When your goals are in alignment with the real you, the person you are meant to be, you will be amazed at how quickly and easily they can be achieved.

Second tip: Dream big, but set reasonable goals. Dreaming big can help you break through your own personal limitations, get you really excited and highly increase your motivation to achieve. However, I believe that when you set a goal, it should be slightly outside your comfort zone, not way, way outside it. This is because the easier it is for you to believe that you can accomplish your goal, the more likely it is that you will accomplish it. When dreams are so big or so vast that you have a hard time believing that it can all be yours, it is impossible to achieve it. So even if your dream is huge, break it down into smaller goals that you totally believe are achievable. You'll find that this speeds up the process and gives you practice and confidence in doing what you set out to do.

Third tip: Narrow down the number of goals you work on at any given time. Select one or two, give it or them your entire focus and energy. Be consistent and persistent. The primary reason people fail at goals is that they give it attention sporadically then give up too soon. You will want to start on a new or different goal when you have accomplished your goal or you decide you don't want it anymore. Don't just let it drop or fade away as this decreases your confidence and teaches you that you cannot achieve your goals.

If you are interested in changing your life or lifestyle in a big way, you may want to check out my Quantum Goal Setting group coaching sessions. A new group starts in April. See http://www.lifeunfolds.com/quantumgoalsetting.htm for more information or to register.

All blog content is copyrighted, all rights reserved, Mary Anne Fields and Life Unfolds, 2006