Coffee Chat Take 5: I Had to Reset My Own Systems (Yep, Even Me)

Welcome to another Coffee Chat Take! A bite-sized episode designed to feel like a quick voice note from a friend who gets it.

If you’ve been feeling the weight of growth and wondering why it doesn’t feel as good as it looks, this is your reminder: you don’t need to work harder. You need the right structure.

Today, I’m talking about a trap I see way too many consultants fall into, doing CEO-level work without the CEO-level systems to support them. On the outside, things look great. You’re booked out, clients love you, and the opportunities keep coming. 

But behind the scenes? You’re juggling endless details, repeating the same tasks, and cleaning up problems that shouldn’t exist in the first place.

If you’re tired of your days being filled with chasing client info, fixing preventable mistakes, or typing the same email for the tenth time, this one’s for you. I’m sharing a real client story that might sound a lot like yours and the one shift that helped her stop working harder and start leading her business like a CEO.

In this short but powerful episode, you’ll learn why success can start to feel heavier instead of lighter, how to pinpoint the process that’s draining you the most, and the simple way to start building systems that give you back your time, energy, and focus.

Resources Mentioned:

EP 217 - You’re Not Behind, You’re Just Building Without Support

🔍 Want to see exactly what’s going on behind the scenes in your business?

Grab the Back Office POWER Checklist which is a simple, fillable Google Doc you can complete right on your screen. It will help you spot what’s working, what’s missing, and where your systems are quietly slowing you down, so you can focus on fixing the real issues instead of chasing surface-level solutions.

Let’s Stay Connected:

Follow @mindyourtimepodcast and @the_shannonbaker on Instagram

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Thank you for joining me for another Coffee Chat.
Take Just a reminder these areshort, bite-sized episodes that
feel more like a quick voicenote from a friend who gets it,
and if you're listening withyour morning cup of coffee, that
is even better.
Now, today, I have a confessionto make.
I have had to reset my ownsystems.
Yes, even me.
I have had to reset my ownsystems.

(00:22):
Yes, even me.
Now, before you start thinking,well, if Shannon had to reset
her systems, then I don't standa chance at getting that right.
Let me stop you right there.
I want you to remember what Isaid in last week's episode
You're not behind, you're justbuilding without support.

(00:42):
That truth, it also applies tome, because the truth is we all
outgrow the very systems that webuild.
That's why we have to reviewthem and make updates at least
once a year.
But I do remember life before.
I had things like a realonboarding workflow in place and

(01:06):
let me tell you it was crazy.
I would book a new client, butthen I would spend hours
manually piecing everythingtogether the contract, the
invoice, the emails, getting thekickoff call schedule and every
single time I reinvented thewheel and I always forgot
something important.
So the client experience alwaystook a hit, and this wasn't

(01:30):
intentional, but without adocumented process that was
automated, things slippedthrough the cracks.
The same thing happened with mydiscovery calls.
I used to end up on calls thatnever should have made it to my
calendar anyway.
You might be thinking why.
Well, for one, I didn't haveclear messaging in my marketing

(01:52):
and I kind of had a screeningprocess, but it wasn't as
thorough as it needed to be.
So I ended up spending time onconversations that were never
going to move forward in thefirst place.
That left me drained,frustrated, and I even started
to question whether my marketingwas even working.
It was working, it just wasn'tworking the way that I wanted it

(02:12):
to.
So if you're booking calls butyou're not talking to the right
people, or your onboardingclients but the process feels
like it's kind of duct tapedtogether, then I hope that what
I've shared with you gives yousome relief, because you're not
alone and, although you'reprobably working harder than

(02:34):
ever, the back end of yourbusiness it's not set up to
actually support you, and that'swhat we need to fix.
So here's what I had to learnResetting your systems or even
having to build them after beingin business for a few years, it
doesn't mean that you failed.
It means that you're growing andyou need systems to support

(02:57):
that growth.
Really, it's a growing painthat no one can avoid, but this
also actually means that the waythat you've been doing things,
it got you this far, but nowit's time for you to change the
way you operate.
So see, for me, that resetlooked like creating a simple,

(03:20):
repeatable, automated onboardingworkflow Not just the checklist
, because you can absolutelystart with that, but I needed a
real process that outlined everysingle step, that's, from when
the client signs their contractto the kickoff meeting and
beyond, and it needed to be aprocess that didn't require me

(03:42):
to manually complete each step.
So that looked like getting mymessaging clear enough that,
first of all, the right peoplestarted finding me and
contacting me, and then the restof the process would be smooth.
This also required me to set upa screening process, so I will
only take calls with people whowere actually a pretty good fit,

(04:04):
and if they weren't, I couldhelp them make progress on their
own or I could connect themwith someone who could assist
them, based on where they wereat the time.
That's why I wanted to sharethis story with you now.
It's because next week we'rekicking off the systems reset
series.
I'm going to walk you throughhow you can look at your own

(04:27):
systems, spot what's not workingand reset them so they actually
fit the business you'rebuilding today and into the
future.
Not the one you had two yearsago and definitely not the one
that only exists in your mind.
So if you're feeling likeyou've been scattered or like

(04:48):
your back end is duct tapedtogether or you've hit a wall
where things just don't flow theway that they used to, but you
want to fix it, you are going tolove this series.
So make sure you subscribe onyour favorite platform and then
put a reminder on your calendarto tune in each Thursday.
But now here's my challenge foryou for today.

(05:09):
Before we get into that series,I want you to take a look at
one area of your business whereyou keep saying, oh, I'll just
fix it later, but you keepputting it off.
Is it your onboarding process?
Is it how you schedule calls?
Is it the way files and clientinformation is scattered across
your desktop or in multipleplaces online?
Just pick one, write it down.

(05:32):
That's your reset startingpoint.
And if you want some helpfiguring out where the cracks
are showing up in your backoffice, grab the back office
power checklist today andcomplete it.
It's a simple, fillabledocument that will walk you
through your backend piece bypiece and help you identify
what's working right now, what'snot and what's missing.

(05:53):
Go to theshannonbakercomforward slash checklist and grab
your copy, or you can click thelink in the show notes.
As I want you to remember,systems are not about perfection
, but they are about getting youthe support that you need, and
sometimes the most powerful moveyou can make as a business
owner is saying the way I'vebeen doing it isn't working

(06:15):
anymore and that's okay, it'stime for a reset.
So all right, my friend, keep aneye for next week's episode.
We're diving into the firststep of the systems reset series
and you don't want to miss it.
So be sure to subscribe if youhaven't already done so.
But until then, keep buildingwith clarity and confidence and

(06:36):
don't be afraid to reset whenyou need to.
That's your coffee chat.
Take for today.
No pressure, just progress.
See you next time.