Systems Reset Series: Being Great at What You Do Isn’t Enough (And That’s Not Your Fault)

Do you ever feel like being great at what you do should be enough, but behind the scenes your business is still a hot mess? 

If that sounds familiar, this episode is your wake-up call! I’m kicking off the Systems Reset Series with a real conversation about why talent and hustle can’t carry your business forward on their own, why it’s not your fault if things feel scattered, and how the right systems can finally give you the freedom you’ve been chasing.

The truth is, when your backend is duct-taped together, no amount of effort will make things easier. You’ll keep spinning in survival mode until you put the right structure in place. This episode will help you uncover what’s really draining your time and energy, show you how to break free of the chaos, and give you a simple first step to start leading your business with confidence.

3:23 – Why being great at what you do isn’t enough to keep your business running smoothly

6:14  – The real reason discovery calls are draining and projects require more work than they should

8:48 – How one of my members shifted from being “not a systems person” to booking more aligned clients with ease

9:59 – The moment I realized systems give you freedom and build confidence

11:32 – A quick win challenge to help you create your first system without overwhelm

13:12 – The simple next steps you should take to uncover the gaps in your back office and finally put systems in place

Resources Mentioned:

🔍 Ready to get clear about what’s really happening in the back end of your business?

The Back Office POWER Checklist is a fillable Google Doc you can complete online (no printing, no overwhelm).  It helps you uncover what’s working, what’s missing, and where your systems are silently slowing you down so you can fix the real problems, not just the symptoms. 

🔧 Ready to simplify your back office and finally feel in control?

Join The Mind Your Time Society , your space for smart systems, sanity-saving tools, and real support. You’ll get plug-and-play templates, strategy driven resources, and access to expert guidance so you can run your business like a pro without the overwhelm.

Let me know your thoughts! Click here to send me a text.

Leave a Rating and Review: https://ratethispodcast.com/mindyourtime

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
If you're great at what you do but you still feel
like things are falling apartbehind the scenes in your
business, then this episode isfor you.
This is actually the very firstepisode of my brand new Systems
Reset series.
It's a four part seriesdesigned to help you uncover the
cracks in your business, fixthe ones that are holding you
back and step into Q4 withclarity and confidence.

(00:23):
Can step into Q4 with clarityand confidence Now, in this
episode, we're going to dig intowhy being talented just isn't
enough to build a sustainablebusiness, why it's not your
fault and how you can startshifting things so that your
back end actually supports yourgrowth.
Welcome to the Mind your Timepodcast.

(00:44):
I'm Shannon Baker, yourcoffee-loving host and business
operations strategist.
If you're a service providerwho's great at what you do, but
stuck with misfit clients, messyonboarding or draining workdays
, this show is for you.
Each week, I share boldstrategies and practical
insights rooted in my power andmotion framework to help you
streamline your backend, protectyour time and lead your client
experience with confidence,because skills got you clients,

(01:07):
but systems will take youfurther.
So grab your cup of coffee oryour favorite drink and let's
dive in.
I'm going to start by lettingyou in on some information that
most people don't know about me,even if you've been listening
to the podcast for a while.
I didn't always have systemsand I definitely did not always

(01:29):
love them.
See, when I started my businessas a virtual assistant over a
decade ago, I didn't even reallyknow what a system was.
And when I say system, I'mtalking about a documented
process, automating with stepsyou can, with tech, and then
delegating what's left tosomeone else.

(01:49):
So when I decided to start mybusiness, I did all the research
.
I registered my business, Iopened a business banking
account and in my mind I thought, if I just showed up and did
great work and kept my clientshappy, everything else would
somehow fall into place.
And the truth is I landed someamazing clients.

(02:13):
In fact, I still work with oneof those very first clients
today, but now I support them ina much more strategic capacity.
But back then, behind the scenesof my business, everything was
a total mess.
My inbox was disorganized andoverflowing all the time, my
onboarding was scattered andinconsistent, and I said yes to

(02:35):
way too many projects thatdrained me and monopolized my
time and attention, because Ididn't have anything in place to
keep control of my businessengine, because I didn't have
anything in place to keepcontrol of my business.
And it wasn't that I was bad atwhat I did I was actually
really good, if I say so myself.
But the problem was that myback end really was duct taped
together and until I faced thattruth, I kept hitting wall after

(02:59):
wall, booked way too many ofthe wrong clients, and that's a
story for another day.
Booked way too many of thewrong clients, and that's a
story for another day.
But I don't want you to makethe same mistakes.
So let's start by talking aboutthree lessons that I learned in

(03:21):
my journey as an online serviceprovider and how you can avoid
making some of those mistakes Idid, making some of those
mistakes I did.
Lesson number one is thatmeaningful work does not
guarantee a smooth back end inyour business.
Neither your skill set nor yourservices are the problem either
.
You can be absolutely amazingat what you do and you can still

(03:42):
feel like you're drowning inyour business.
That's how I felt.
I actually remember sitting onthe sofa with my laptop on the
dinner table after dinnerredoing another email newsletter
for a client.
Now, they had missed thedeadline to approve their
content again.

(04:02):
And, instead of enforcing thatboundary, I ignored it, like I
had done so many times before,and I just made it work.
And I remember thinking tomyself man, I really love what I
do for this client, but why isthis so hard and why do I keep
having to deal with this sameissue?

(04:23):
Well, guess what?
The problem wasn't the clientand it wasn't my skillset.
The problem was that I didn'thave a system in place to
protect my time, set clearexpectations, reinforce my
boundaries and make that processrun smoother.
See, without systems, I keptfinding myself in the same cycle

(04:45):
of mis-deadline, stress andfrustration.
That's the disconnect that somany business owners I meet run
into.
This alone proves thatmeaningful work doesn't
automatically create structurein your business, because you
might love your clients and lovethe work that you do, but if
every new client, new project orevery task forces you to

(05:08):
reinvent the wheel, you're goingto stay stuck in survival mode
and eventually burn out.
And that's not because youaren't capable, it's because
your business doesn't have thefoundation it needs to support
you or protect you.
And that's the part no onetells you about when you start a
business.
No one told me that, and I'vetalked to hundreds of business
owners who've had the same typeof experience.

(05:30):
So being great at your craftit's not enough to carry your
business forward successfully.
You need systems to make surethe business runs while you
deliver your brilliance insteadof your business running you.
Now, if you are not in yourhead, because this sounds like
you, don't worry.
You don't have to fixeverything at one time.

(05:51):
That's exactly why I createdthe Back Office Power Checklist.
It's a tool that shows youwhere the cracks are in your
business back end, so you canstop spinning your wheels and
start fixing the right thingsfirst.
Okay, the best part is it onlytakes a few minutes for you to
complete and it will save youweeks of guessing.

(06:13):
Now I'll tell you how you cangrab that a little later in this
episode.
But let's talk about lessonnumber two, the real reason
discovery calls.
You're having feel off in yourwork days, feel so draining.
I remember a time in mybusiness when my calendar was
booked like packed withdiscovery calls.

(06:35):
That's everyone's dream, right?
So at first it was realexciting.
I thought it meant my businesswas going to grow.
But the truth is, too many ofthose calls were with people who
were either not a good fit,weren't quite ready for my
services yet, and a few otherreasons.

(06:55):
So it wasn't because my skillsweren't strong enough and it
wasn't because I didn't know howto explain what I did.
The real issue was that I didn'thave a system in place to
filter people out before theylanded on my calendar.
And let me tell you, when youspend your energy talking to
people who were never meant towork with you, you walk away

(07:17):
from those calls feeling drained, not energized.
And it didn't stop there.
When I was onboarding those whodid say yes, it was just as
messy because I didn't have aconsistent process.
So expectations weren't clearfor me or for my clients.
Even when they were right fitclients, the projects felt a lot

(07:39):
more draining than they shouldhave because we were constantly
chasing clarity instead ofstarting.
From that point, neither of usreally knew what we needed to do
to work together successfully.
So here's the lesson in anutshell when your back end is
missing structure, you pay theprice in time, energy and
credibility.
And it's not that you'reattracting the wrong people

(08:04):
because you're good at what youdo, but it's because your
systems aren't doing their joband protecting your energy and
setting expectations from dayone.
That is exactly why I createdresources like the 90-Day
Roadmap and the Welcome Kit andOnboarding Process Workbook
inside the Starter Stack in theMind.

(08:25):
Your Time Society Members usethese tools to get clear about
how they want clients to movethrough their business from the
very first touch point, and theroadmap helps them focus on
building one system at a timewithout being overwhelmed.
And then that workbook helpsmake onboarding consistent,
professional and crystal clear.

(08:47):
As a matter of fact, one of themy Year Time Society members
recently told me she didn'treally think she was a systems
person, because she really isn't.
But once she used the backoffice power checklist and the
onboarding workbook, sherealized that she wasn't the
problem, it was her process.
Now she's closing more alignedclients with ease and efficiency

(09:10):
.
See, when you've got thosekinds of tools at your
fingertips, discovery calls stopfeeling like wasted time
because your back end is alreadyfiltering out the wrong people
and the right people moveforward with you, and then
onboarding stops being a drainbecause you've already set the
tone and expectations right fromthe beginning.

(09:31):
That simple shift allows you tostop being reactive.
Your business stops feeling sodraining and you are more
focused and confident.
Now, if you want to learn moreabout the my your Time Society,
go to theshannonbakercom forwardslash membership for more
details on what you can findwhen you join, because I'd love

(09:54):
to see you inside.
Now for lesson three Systems.
Protect your peace and let youshine.
The turning point in my businesscame when I finally started
creating systems and to mysurprise, they didn't make me
feel boxed in like people thinkthey will.
They actually gave me freedomto do my best work without

(10:18):
having to carry the weight ofeverything else on my shoulders.
Once I put simple workflows inplace, created templates, my
days felt lighter and I was ableto work less my discovery calls
.
They were more aligned becausepeople knew what to expect
before they even got on thephone with me, and so did I.

(10:39):
Onboarding that shifted frombeing a guessing game to a
clearly defined process.
That set both me and my clientsup for success.
From the very beginning and thepart that surprised me the most
my confidence skyrocketed.
It went through the roof.
Systems didn't make me lesscreative or make things less

(11:02):
flexible.
They made me feel moreprofessional, more trusted and
more effective in delivering myservices.
Systems gave me the peace ofmind I needed to focus on
delivering my brilliance andcaring for my clients.
That's the biggest lesson I wantyou to take away today.

(11:23):
Systems aren't about makingyour business robotic.
They're about protecting yourpeace and creating space for you
to shine.
So to prove this, I have aquick, one challenge for you,
and this isn't just some helpfulexercise.
It's the first step towardbuilding real clarity and saving
you hours each month.
This week, I want you to writedown the top three things you

(11:48):
repeat for every one of yourclients.
That's whether it's a questionyou answer on a call,
instructions that you send or areminder that you find yourself
giving over and over again.
That list will be key tocreating your first system, and
then, once it's on paper, youcan turn it into a template or a

(12:08):
checklist that saves you timeand energy with every client.
See how simple this can be.
So let's recap what we've talkedabout today.
Lesson number one being greatat what you do isn't enough to
keep your business runningsmoothly.
Without systems, you're goingto stay in survival mode and

(12:31):
your business cannot thrive thatway.
Lesson two if your discoverycalls fill off and your projects
, they feel more complicatedthan they need to be, the
problem is not your skill set.
It's the missing system thatshould be filtering out the
wrong people, letting the rightones through and setting

(12:53):
expectations as you startworking with new clients.
Lesson three systems do notrestrict you.
They protect you.
They create the clarity andconfidence you need to lead your
business instead of yourbusiness running you.
So if this episode has yourealizing your back end is

(13:17):
what's holding you back, thebest thing that you can do is to
start by grabbing the backoffice power checklist.
It's a fillable Google doc.
It only takes you a few minutesto complete.
But once you do that, you'regoing to walk away knowing
exactly where the gaps are inyour back end.
I don't want you to just nodalong.

(13:39):
Grab it today so that you knowwhat to fix first, before you
waste another month duct tapingthings together.
Go to theshannonbakercomforward slash checklist or you
can click the link in the shownotes.
Pause this episode if you needto.
I'm not going anywhere Now.

(14:00):
Once you've done that, the nextstep is to close those gaps with
real support, and that's whereFounders Circle inside of the
Mind.
Your Time Society comes in.
It's where you stop trying topiece things together on your
own and finally get the tools,templates and guidance you need
so that your back end can matchyour brilliance.

(14:23):
If you join us inside, you'llget access to resources like the
90-Day Roadmap, the OnboardingWorkbook, many more resources as
well, and you'll have theconfidence that comes from
knowing your systems are workingfor you, not against you.
So don't stop at awareness,let's move into action mode.

(14:46):
Grab the back office powerchecklist.
Then join me inside the Mindyour Time Society so you can
finally feel like you're leadingyour business instead of
scrambling to keep up.
And let me tell you, this isjust the beginning.
Make sure you don't miss thenext episode of this system
reset series.
We're going to have aconversation about client

(15:08):
onboarding and how to turn itfrom a time suck into a
strategic advantage that wowsyour clients.
Thanks for tuning in today.
If this episode hit home, it'sbecause you already know you're
ready to stop patching up theproblems and start running your
business like the pro you are.
But listening won't fix thecracks.

(15:28):
Action will your next step.
Grab the back office powerchecklist at theshannonbakercom
forward slash checklist.
It'll show you exactly what'sworking, what's missing and
where your back end is silentlyslowing you down.
And if you're ready to go deeper.
Founder Circle inside the Mindyour Time Society is where we

(15:48):
can fix it, together with theSystems Insanity Suite, and
you'll get the clarity thatyou've been craving.
Not quite there yet.
Come say hi to me on Instagramat the underscore, shannon Baker
.
I would love to hear whatresonated with you the most and
if you're loving the podcast,please leave a quick review,
because it goes a long way inhelping more service providers

(16:10):
like you find the podcast.
You can do that right now atRateThisPodcastcom.
Forward slash.
Mind your time Skills got yourclients.
Systems and your expertise arewhat's going to help you keep
them.
So until next time, keep calmand streamline.