76 - Keeping Track of Systems

Welcome back to the Scale Your Small Business Podcast with your host, Jillian Flodstrom. Last week, we dove into assessing all the systems you may have in place. This week, we're going to talk about the feedback that we received from the community.    Many folks were wondering where to get started. It’s important to have a baseline so you can work in a system to your business, assess how it’s going, and pivot if you need to. Otherwise, it’s hard to tell where the holes are.   To demonstrate a place to get started, we can look at scheduling--specifically with Google Calendars and Calendly. In combination, not only can you have a highly-customizable and shareable calendar, but you also allow people to schedule themselves into your day. Be mindful, though, to block out time in your day for appointments, travel, etc. so clients are booking themselves at a time where you’re not available. In return, you’re saving time scheduling, plus people can write themselves in after your office is closed. Plus, they can reschedule too! Calendly also allows you to be available for a specific kind of appointment--so you can further narrow down what you’re spending your time doing every day. From there, it’s all automated--reminders, invitations, etc are all taken care of. All you have to do is show up!   Another question that came up is how to manage what systems you’re using and paying for? Best practice is a Google Spreadsheet. Keep columns of what the system is and when you’re paying for it. Have sheets for each month!    Key Takeaways   Having an online calendar is a great place to start implementing systems.  Calendly is a great tool to give your clients flexible scheduling. Keep track of your systems and when you pay for them in a Google Sheet