197. Solopreneurs, Stop Winging It and Get Your Systems Together

Ready to stop reinventing the wheel every time you work? In this episode, Carly and Joe are talking about why solopreneurs need to embrace systems from day one!

Whether you're managing your social media, responding to client emails, or handling finances, consistency is key. And trust us, it’s not just about saving time, it’s about building a business that runs like clockwork.

Hear how documenting your processes can free up your schedule, boost your brand, and give you more time for what matters. Tune in for the must-have tips to make your solo business smoother and stress-free!

Being a solopreneur is awesome but it’s not easy. It's hard to get noticed. Most business advice is for bigger companies, and you're all alone...until now. LifeStarr's SoloSuite Intro gives you free education, community, and tools to build a thriving one-person business.  So, if you are lacking direction, having a hard time generating leads, or are having trouble keeping up with everything you have to do, or even just lonely running a company of one, be sure to check out LifeStarr Intro!

Access LifeStarr Intro

Episode Transcript

Carly Ries (00:00):
Are you a solopreneur who left corporate

(00:02):
life behind only to now findyourself drowning in
disorganized chaos? Well, inthis episode, we break down why
doing things your own waydoesn't mean playing solo
without a plan. We've revealedthe not so secret power move
from corporate America thatevery solo business owner should
adopt, which is systems. Fromdocumenting your daily tasks to
prepping for scale andoutsourcing, this episode is

(00:24):
packed with real talk, personalstories, and practical tips
that'll save your time and yoursanity. You're listening to the
Aspiring Solopreneur, thepodcast for those just taking
the bold step or even justthinking about taking that step
into the world of soloentrepreneurship.
My name is Carly Ries, and mycohost Joe Rando and I are your

(00:45):
guides to navigating this crazybut awesome journey as a company
of one. We take pride in beingpart of LifeStarr, a digital hub
dedicated to all aspects ofsolopreneurship that has
empowered and educated countlesssolopreneurs looking to build a
business that resonates withtheir life's ambitions. We help
people work to live, not live towork. And if you're looking for

(01:07):
a get rich quick scheme, this isnot the show for you. So if
you're eager to gain valuableinsights from industry experts
on running a business the rightway the first time around or
want to learn from the misstepsof solopreneurs who paved the
way before you, then stickaround.
We've got your back becauseflying solo in business doesn't
mean you're alone. Okay. So Joe,I think this is so funny because

(01:29):
I see this from time to timewith solopreneurs as they leave
corporate America and they thinkI'm gonna do things my own way.
I have my own way of doingthings, yada yada yada. And they
get so anti corporate that theyforget to implement some things
that may actually be beneficialthat corporations do, such as

(01:50):
implementing systems.
And you may be thinking, oneperson business, I just get
things done the way that I wantto, but that's a mistake. And
you need to get those systems inplace from day one for a variety
of reasons. Joe, what are someof those reasons you think that
people need to implement systemseven though they are running a
one person business?

Joe Rando (02:10):
Well, the problem with not having systems is that
when you're doing a lot ofdifferent things since I mean,
some of the things you're doingall the time, but a lot of them
you're doing maybe every once aweek or once a month or
something or a few times a monthor as needed. And if you're
remembering how to do thosethings, using your frontal lobe
to figure it out every time,you're taking way more time than

(02:34):
if you create, you know, ascatter operating procedure, or
SOP, that tells you how to getthat thing done, and you can
just pull that, it's a templateor a checklist, you can just
pull up and work through thatthing, and not have to think.
Because look, it takes more timeto think through something. It
costs you energy, mental energy,that you could be better used

(02:56):
doing something more creativeand useful. So, just having that
little checklist or templatethere at your fingertips to do
whatever it is, you know,updating your website, or
creating your financialstatements for the month,
whatever it is, it just aworthwhile investment of time
because it just keeps givingback time as you use it.

Carly Ries (03:19):
Absolutely. And let's say you do have a
photographic memory, and you canremember everything you do for
every single task. If that isyou, good on you, and I would
love to have a conversationbecause I am envious of that
skill set. But I think the otherthing and the other important
reason you wanna document all ofthis is because if you wanna
scale your business and not hireemployees at some point, you're

(03:39):
gonna have to outsource. And ifyou outsource, it's gonna be so
much easier to do that if youbring on somebody to do your
marketing, if you bring on a VAto handle your emails.
If you already have thoseprocesses documented, you can
just say, hey, this is how Irespond to this email. This is
how I create social media posts.This is how I do x y z. And it's
already there. And as you dothese things, jot it down so

(04:04):
you're not taking really anyextra time.
It might be a little bit of workat the beginning, but oh my
goodness, it'll save you so muchtime on the back end. And let's
say writing these processes downisn't your thing, record it.
There are tools like Loom whereyou can just record what you're
doing while you're doing it.With whoever you pass it off to,

(04:25):
they can just watch the videoand there's no extra time
involved because you're justdocumenting it on your screen
for somebody else. So I thinkthat is another really big
reason to document early andoften, so that eventually you
have the ability to hand thattask off to somebody else,
should the time ever come, whichfor a lot of solopreneurs it
does.

Joe Rando (04:45):
Absolutely. It's a great point. Plus, you know, you
can tweak it. You get better,you figure out what's working
better and you tweak it and itgets better over time, and then
when you hand it off, you'vegiven them an optimized system.
So, yeah, I totally agree

Carly Ries (04:59):
Well, the other thing is if you document things
that are client facing, theconsistency and the repetition
will really help build yourcredibility. It'll separate you
as a solopreneur from you as afreelancer. You will look like a
real efficient business asopposed to just sending one off
things and being inconsistent. Imean, people look at your brand,

(05:20):
they want that consistency. Theywant to know what to expect from
you.
And if you have these processesin place, that's a really great
way to do it, to build rapport.

Joe Rando (05:30):
Yeah. you think about it like McDonald's, right? It's
by no means close to anythingnear the world's best hamburger.
I mean, one might argue it iswell below average, but it is
consistent. You can go toMcDonald's in Hoboken or Tokyo,
and you're gonna get a verysimilar product so people know

(05:50):
what they're getting, and thatconsistency builds trust. not
that I'm suggesting you have abelow average product, but
clearly there's a benefit tobeing consistent in what you
deliver to your customers andhaving these, standard operating
procedures and templates reallyhelps to achieve that and can
really help build that trust.

Carly Ries (06:10):
Joe, it's so funny you mentioned McDonald's as the
example for that because I'm nota huge McDonald's person. you
won't see me driving there on arun Tuesday night to grab a
burger. However, my family and Iroad trip all the time. We love
seeing the quote unquote flyoverstates. it's just kind of our
jam.
And when we're on the road, wealways stop at McDonald's for

(06:36):
bites to eat because theyconsistently have clean
bathrooms. I know that is likewild, but when you go to a fast
food place when you're on theroad, it's a wild card. You
never know what you're gonnaget. And for us, McDonald's
always has the cleanestbathrooms across the country,
which is so weird. Because ofthat, we end up getting a burger

(06:56):
when we're road tripping.
But it is that consistency. Theyobviously have a process in
place, like go check everythirty minutes or whatever, but
you know what to expect. And sotaking that analogy and applying
it to your business, whetherit's digital or brick and
mortar, that's my connotationnow with them. it has nothing
even to do with the burgers.

Joe Rando (07:15):
It makes sense. It makes complete sense. You just
know what you're gonna get, andif you know you're gonna get is
something you want, you'rethere.

Carly Ries (07:24):
Mhmm. And Joe, in my opinion, perhaps the most
important reason to set upsystems and processes is that
everything will start to seemlike clockwork. And as a
solopreneur, a lot of you gotinto this type of business
because of lifestyle, and youwant to be able to pick your
kids up at a soccer game, or goon a hike with your dog whenever
you want. And if you can predicthow things are gonna work

(07:49):
because you've documented it,and because you have it all down
to a science, it really frees upthat time to achieve that
solopreneur lifestyle that a lotof you are looking for.

Joe Rando (07:57):
You know, I think about when we first started
doing the free events we do forsolopreneurs, and do you
remember how much work andstress it was in the early days?
I was like, oh, and all thisplanning, but we figured it out,
we put together a whole process,we've got two different events,
and we have a whole process forhow it works. And now it kinda
feels pretty I mean, it justfeels like kind of, riding a

(08:20):
bike.

Carly Ries (08:21):
I mean, to the point, we had an event today,
and while the event was goingon, I knew what stuff I had to
do that needed to be done afterthe event. And I was doing it
during the event because I cananticipate it and I know what
steps are in place and what myresponsibilities are because it
just becomes such repetition.So, yeah. Great great point.
Anyway, solopreneurs do notneglect this. We know so many of

(08:44):
you do. I have in the past. Weare not immune to it. But please
do not forget to document thesesystems and processes.
And don't forget to joinLifeStarr Intro. It's
lifestarr.com/intro
We have an awesome community ofsolopreneurs. We have awesome
resources for solopreneurs,events, and it is all free, and
it will be free forever. Thatlink is in the show notes as

(09:06):
well.
And be sure to leave that fivestar review. Share this episode
with a friend. It helps with ourrating so that more of you can
find these episodes. we will seeyou next time on The Aspiring
Solopreneur. You may be goingsolo in business, but that
doesn't mean you're alone.
In fact, millions of people arein your shoes, running a one
person business and figuring itout as they go. So why not

(09:29):
connect with them and learn fromeach other's successes and
failures? At LifeStarr, we'recreating a one person business
community where you can go tomeet and get from other
solopreneurs. Be sure to join inon the conversations at
community.lifestarr.com.