Systems, Processes & Automation for Your Business
If you haven’t guessed it by now, when systems, processes and automation are used efficiently, they can save you a lot of time and increase your earning potential. Which is what we all want, right?
I decided to write this post because I’ve been getting a lot of questions like “how do I manage my time and balance work with wellness?” Basically, by creating these systems, processes and automation, I was able to create an “assistant” just by using technology.
If you haven’t guessed it by now, systems, processes, automation all mean different things, but they come together for a similar objective. When they are used efficiently, they can save you a lot of time and increase your earning potential. Which is what we all want, right?
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PROCESS
So, a process is a series of steps that are designed to accomplish a specific goal. I want you to think of it kind of like a flow chart; Step 1, Step 2, Step 3, Step 4…We’re running through a series of steps that can be documented and replicated in order to accomplish a desired objective.
SYSTEMS
You’re going to have processes in different systems of your business so let’s also talk about systems. A system is a group of interacting, interrelated or interdependent elements organized to meet business objectives. So instead of the idea of a flow chart where one thing leads to another, this structure is more like your business sits in the center and there are elements around each side that are leading in. For example: accounting, payroll, HR, operations, marketing. All of these different systems contribute to the business’ success.
I have all of these different platforms I use that support the systems and then there is a process for how I get those things done. So, let’s dive deeper into that.
Marketing is a system, then I have a process I use to market on social media, from ideation to publication. I will use Google Docs to outline the content that I want to provide and create for the month and whatever the business objectives I have that are related to that content. I use Canva to create graphics, my phone to record videos, I schedule and curate everything in my Later account. So the social media marketing itself is one of the systems of my business and the ideation to publication is a step-by-step process that I use to reach a desired objective. Various platforms that I use support me in that process, within that system.
AUTOMATION
When we can replace doing things manually with an automation supported by technology, now we’re in the automation game. Automation is the use of technology to execute reoccurring tasks or procedures in order to replace manual labor. I’ll give you an example: when I first started, I was teaching yoga classes at the park which required I be there 100% of the time; I had to plan the class, take down email addresses when I got there, I had to interact with the folks, take the picture – I did everything!
When I started my online studio last year, I was able to use technology to automate a lot of those processes. There is an initial investment of time in order to put these things in place and prepare them for automation. These could include recording the yoga classes, creating PDF downloads, setting up a landing page, connecting the payment processor. All of those platforms assisted with this process of automation. Once I got all of the videos recorded, I added them to the website and added whatever content I wanted to accompany them, included links, made it a password protected page, set up the landing page and payment processor to make sure I was receiving my monthly subscriptions from my members. Then I needed to promote it via social in order to gain members so I could actually generate income from it, right? So in all of those early steps I had to be involved but the platforms supported me in the process of automation.
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So, somebody goes to my website and they want to join and become a member, they’re going to land on a landing page. That landing page tells them everything that’s included in the studio, they click a button and then they can go and purchase the membership. Then they become a member and get that PDF download that I created in Canva and now they’re able to access the studio: all the videos, all the recipes, all the guided meditations. I no longer have to do any manual labor as opposed to me always having to show up to a yoga class in order to generate income, having a studio online allows me to not have to show up physically in order to gain that income.
One thing that can become difficult when you set up automated processes is that you can lose the personal touch. For me it was really important to make sure I still had that, so I continue to offer bi-monthly live classes on my studio to make sure I still had a touchpoint with my community and be able to connect. I do the same thing with social, I may curate and start to schedule on Later so that I can see how things are coming out, but I post it, I show up and interact, there’s no bots responding to my comments – I want to be sure I’m still in community. So there is a fine balance between automating systems and making sure you don’t lose the personal touch.
If you’d like to dive deeper into this subject, I have a 2-part webinar series inside of B-School you can check out here.