January 18, 2024 • 15 mins
Ready to break free from the bottleneck holding your business back?
You are your business's worst enemy! So in today's episode, we will discuss how you can build a business that thrives without you having to be chained to it around the clock.
I understand the frustration of being a hindrance to your own success. That's why we're going to take off the kid gloves and talk about the importance of streamlining your workflows, investing in expert help, and the art of team building.
Whether you're expanding your team or making long-term investments with positive ripple effects, this episode is your roadmap to success. Join me to unlock the door to a smoother, more efficient business that liberates you from constant demands.
Stop scrolling and start thriving – let's break free from the bottleneck together! Tune in to see where to start.
2:47 What happens when you are the bottleneck
3:53 Where to start making changes when you want your business to grow
6:32 Why building a team is not enough
7:29 Two solutions that can help you remove yourself as the bottleneck
9:53 How a back office assessment will jump-start this transformation process
11:04 How Jodi felt after after booking a back office assessment
13:32 The truth about removing yourself as the bottleneck
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Episode 117 - How to Calm the Chaos In Your Back Office with Jodi Silverman
Episode 127 - What Happens During a Back Office Assessment
Episode 128 - How to Use An Action Plan to Strategically Prepare For Business Growth
Learn More About a Solo Power Assessment (Back Office Assessment)
Learn More About the MY-T Society Membership
Let me know your thoughts! Click here to send me a text.
Leave a Rating and Review: https://ratethispodcast.com/mindyourtime
Resources Mentioned In This Episode:
Check Out The MY-T Society Membership
Listen to My Free Audio Masterclass
Schedule a 20 Minute Chat with Me
Let’s connect online:
Follow Me On Instagram: @the_shannonbaker
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I hate to break it to you, but it has to be done.
You're the bottleneck in yourbusiness.
If you're working withoutprocesses and systems and if
you've started building a team,even if you're just working with
a virtual assistant, they arefrustrated because you're the
bottleneck.
So today we're going to talkabout what you need to do to fix
that, so that everyone can behappy and your business can grow
(00:22):
.
Welcome to the Mind, your Timepodcast.
I'm Shannon Baker, your hostand coffee aficionado.
Whether your goal is toincrease your side gig income or
scale to six figures, you're inthe right place.
You will learn about the tools,actionable strategies and
tactics you can use to take backcontrol of your time and life.
(00:43):
I specialize in helpingpurpose-driven women like
yourself work smarter and tapinto the growth potential their
business holds.
So if you're ready to make abigger impact and achieve
business growth without beingtied to it 24-7, then stick
around.
Let's dive into today's topic.
Well, let's kick things off bydiving into the concept of a
(01:06):
business bottleneck.
I mean, it's critical for us tobe on the same page about this
term, because our discussiontoday really revolves around
that word.
So if you're not entirelyfamiliar with what a bottleneck
is and the impact it's having onyour business.
That's okay, I'm going to breakit down for you.
Simply, being the bottleneck inyour business means you're
(01:27):
hindering its growth.
So I'm going to paint a pictureto help you visualize this.
Think of your business as aStarbucks my favorite place for
coffee as a coffee enthusiast.
Now, as you step into the store, you can fill the energy with
the baristas taking orders andthe other baristas crafting
(01:50):
those wonderful tasty drinks.
But here's the thing do youremember days at Starbucks
before the app?
You had to physically go in,stand in line and then wait for
your drink.
Talk about a huge bottleneck.
Right, it definitely was notthe most efficient process and
(02:14):
even if it made you late forwork if you're like me, you
would endure it.
But let's fast forward to today.
Many of us just order ourcoffee in advance through the
app, which has been a gamechanger because it cuts down on
the bottleneck most of the time.
But let's be real.
Processes fail.
So there are still moments whenyou order in advance and you
(02:37):
have to wait for your order.
But let me really hone in onthis illustration of using
Starbucks.
When you're the bottleneck inyour business, you begin to slow
down the entire process, whichis like those old days of
waiting in line to order yourcoffee.
(02:57):
It's like being stuck in theslow lane on the highway and
it's holding your business back,and our goal really is to break
free from that by streamliningyour operations so that your
business flows smoothly like awell-oiled Starbucks and it's
serving success in every cup.
So to drive this point homebeing the bottleneck in your
(03:19):
business means that you areslowing down the flow,
especially when it comes to yourgrowth, so it's like putting
the brakes on your business'sability to move full steam ahead
.
So how exactly can you removeyourself from being that
bottleneck?
Well, you've got to start byinvesting in your business, and
you do this by investing inothers, and I'm really referring
(03:42):
to investing in people who haveexpertise and experience in
areas that are not your strongsuit.
Free is great, but when youreally want to grow your
business, you have got to getsome skin in the game and pay
for help to shorten the learningcurve for you.
Investing in others and in yourbusiness really marks a crucial
(04:05):
stride towards you achievingsuccess.
I've been through this processmyself and let me tell you why.
I was afraid to invest themoney in my business.
It has been a game changer, andit's because it's being open to
the risk of trusting others tosupport your business so that
(04:25):
you can concentrate on growingyour business.
So this means that you have tomake the time to articulate your
needs to someone else, but youalso have to get the right
systems in place for yourbusiness.
And then this absolutely thisis non-negotiable.
You have to do this before youstart building a team.
(04:46):
I've seen too many businessowners fail at this and make
other people's lives measurable.
When you start building a team,think of that as a long-term
investment with a positiveripple effect on your
overarching goals if it's doneright.
So let's talk about building ateam.
(05:07):
It really requires moreplanning and preparation than
most entrepreneurs realize.
So don't feel bad if you'rethinking this isn't a big deal.
You just hire a VA, whoeverelse you need, and it's okay.
No, now I'm not going to go alldeep on this subject and get on
the soapbox, because I'vetalked about the art of
(05:29):
delegation in another episode ofthe podcast and I'm gonna put a
link to that in the show notes,but I want you to understand
that if you start building ateam and your back office has no
processes in place, no systemsin place, and you're already
working in chaos.
You're bringing someone elseinto that foolishness and it's
(05:49):
just going to get worse.
So, again, you can go back andlisten to that episode, where I
really share some key pointsthat you need to keep in mind
when you wanna start expandingor building a team and
delegating tests.
The moral of the story is youhave to have processes
documented and in place beforeyou start hiring, and this also
(06:13):
requires you to stop and investthe time in creating job
descriptions that identify therole that you wanna hire for.
Do not hire someone and theninsist on just spawning out
tests to them one at a time.
That is inefficient and it'sjust ridiculous and it's gonna
fail.
So here's the thing investingtime and resources into building
(06:35):
a team in your business is notjust a step.
It's an important step that youreally need to consider if you
wanna achieve sustainable growth.
But you have to remember thatin this journey and during this
process, hiccups happen.
You can't avoid it.
But when they do happen, it'san opportunity for you to refine
(06:56):
your processes so that youdon't become the bottleneck
again, and this means you needto actually follow your
processes when they're in place.
So let's have some more blackcoffee talk.
If you could organize your backoffice on your own, get your
processes in place and implementthe six core systems that your
(07:19):
business needs on your own, youwould have done it by now.
But let me guess you haven't.
You're not alone.
So now we're going to talkabout how I can help you get
over this hurdle, because it hasto be done, and I mean do this
quickly, stop delaying it.
(07:39):
I offer two key services thatcan make a significant
difference in your businessoperations.
It's a solar power assessment,which I also call a back office
assessment, and a VIP day forimplementation.
So let's start by talking aboutthe back office assessment.
I want you to think about itlike a checkup for your business
operations, because we divedeep into your current
(08:01):
operations and identify pointswhere you're the bottleneck kind
of like.
You know the areas that need totune up and in the end, you get
a tailor made action planthat's crafted specifically for
you in your business, yourunique.
Your business is unique and ithas its own set of issues that
need to be addressed.
So the action plan that Icreate after that call is like.
(08:24):
I'm giving you a roadmap toclean up your back office,
streamline your operations andwave goodbye to those bottleneck
issues that are blocking yourgrowth.
So if you want more informationon that, go to
theshannonbakercom forward slashassessment.
(08:45):
But here's the truth A planwithout execution is useless,
and that's where the VIP day forimplementation comes in.
That's like a power pack daythat accelerates the
implementation process, savesyour time and gives you
immediate relief from thebottlenecks that you're
experiencing in your business.
(09:05):
Imagine getting your onboardingand offboarding process in
place in one day, or having aninbox that it's automatically
sorted so that you can quicklyrespond with templates, or have
your leads logged automaticallyso that you can follow them
through your customer journeyAgain all done in a day.
(09:29):
And those are just a few of theoptions that are available.
Not to mention, you get accessto my strategic brain for the
entire day and my tech skills toturn your project around
quickly and efficiently.
And you don't have to do muchwork.
I do the heavy lifting, but itstarts with the assessment, the
back office assessment and theVIP day.
(09:50):
They go together like peanutbutter and jelly.
So let me give you a little bitmore information about the
assessment.
It's a two hour recorded callwhere we sit down and really
look at everything in yourbusiness, talk about your goals
and what we need to do so thatyour business operates more
efficiently.
(10:10):
After that call, I take all thedata that you share and I
create your custom action planto help you improve your
business operations.
But it considers what's goingon in your personal life as well
, because your personal lifeaffects your business and your
business affects your personallife, so we want to make sure
the two are integrated together.
(10:31):
Now, when it comes to theassessment, it really helps you
get more clarity in yourbusiness, so it's not just about
your back office operations.
It really helps you focus in onthe best path forward to grow
your business.
So I want you to hear this Fromthe mouth of a person who has
(10:53):
experienced amazing results, andthat's Jodi Silverman.
I actually had her on thepodcast last year to talk about
her experience.
I'm going to put a link to thatepisode in the show notes, but
this is what Jodi had to say.
Quote After the assessment withShannon, the action plan was a
wow.
Not only was it presenteddigitally in a professional and
(11:14):
organized fashion, it wascrystal clear that Shannon truly
understood from our assessmentcall what I was in need of if I
was going to grow and expand.
After reviewing the details andthe breakdown of our plan of
attack, I knew I was in goodhands, end quote.
So that's the assessment.
(11:35):
Now let's talk about the actionplan a little bit.
If you want to hear what youcan do with the action plan,
I've got you covered.
I've got an episode that goesthrough that.
I share the three options thatare available for us to work
together to implement the actionplan.
Or you can walk away with itand do this on your own, which I
don't recommend.
But your options are a VIP day,a three month minimum project,
(12:00):
which right now I'm booked out,or you can self implement using
the mighty society membership.
So I'm going to put a link tothe episode where I specifically
talk about how to use an actionplan, as well as a link to the
mighty society membership so youcan check that out.
Or you can go totheshannonbakercom forward slash
(12:22):
membership, because inside ofthat membership are a ton of
resources that you can use toself implement that custom
action plan, and it still givesyou limited access to my
technical brain.
So, look, I want you to knowagain, I'm only booking VIP days
(12:43):
for implementation right nowbecause I limit the number of
retainer clients that I takelong at a time and I am at that
maximum number right now so thatI can enjoy life and my
business as well, but I stillwant to make sure that I can
assist you with a shortertimeline so you can get your
back office operations in order.
(13:04):
So let me help you, in alltransparency, that services that
I've talked about today,they're not just about
overcoming bottlenecks, butthey're really about future
proofing your business so thatyou can achieve sustainable
growth.
So with the back officeassessment and a VIP day, you're
not just breaking free fromthat bottleneck or removing
yourself as the bottleneck.
(13:25):
You're setting the stage for abusiness that thrives and
propels you forward towards yourgoal, but your business will
not be dependent on you.
So, if you're ready to moveforward, these two services I
talked about today, they'retailored solutions to unlock
efficiency, save your time andset your business on a
(13:48):
trajectory of continuous growth.
So let's transform yourbusiness into a dynamic, well
old machine that's ready to soarto new heights.
I want you to fly like an eagle, so thank you for joining me
this week.
If you have any questions aboutanything that I've said today,
please feel free to reach out tome on Instagram, at the
(14:10):
underscore Shannon Baker, andget them answered, because just
listening to this is not enough.
I need you to take action.
If you found this episodevaluable, please go to
ratethispodcastcom forward,slash mind your time and leave
me a rating and review so thatothers can see the value in the
episodes of this podcast and Ican help more entrepreneurs like
(14:34):
yourself.
And please share this episodewith your business besties or
someone else that you feel couldbenefit from it.
Take a screenshot, post it onInstagram stories and make sure
you tag me.
And again, if you have anyquestions, feel free to just DM
me.
And you can also just let meknow one thing that you decided
to take action on today, even ifthat choice is to just start to
(15:00):
look at your back office to seewhat you need to streamline.
I can't wait to hear from youand I look forward to you
joining me back here next week.
So until then, keep calm andstreamline.
I hate to break it to you, but it has to be done.
You're the bottleneck in yourbusiness.
If you're working withoutprocesses and systems and if
you've started building a team,even if you're just working with
a virtual assistant, they arefrustrated because you're the
bottleneck.
So today we're going to talkabout what you need to do to fix
that, so that everyone can behappy and your business can grow
(00:22):
.
Welcome to the Mind, your Timepodcast.
I'm Shannon Baker, your hostand coffee aficionado.
Whether your goal is toincrease your side gig income or
scale to six figures, you're inthe right place.
You will learn about the tools,actionable strategies and
tactics you can use to take backcontrol of your time and life.
(00:43):
I specialize in helpingpurpose-driven women like
yourself work smarter and tapinto the growth potential their
business holds.
So if you're ready to make abigger impact and achieve
business growth without beingtied to it 24-7, then stick
around.
Let's dive into today's topic.
Well, let's kick things off bydiving into the concept of a
(01:06):
business bottleneck.
I mean, it's critical for us tobe on the same page about this
term, because our discussiontoday really revolves around
that word.
So if you're not entirelyfamiliar with what a bottleneck
is and the impact it's having onyour business.
That's okay, I'm going to breakit down for you.
Simply, being the bottleneck inyour business means you're
(01:27):
hindering its growth.
So I'm going to paint a pictureto help you visualize this.
Think of your business as aStarbucks my favorite place for
coffee as a coffee enthusiast.
Now, as you step into the store, you can fill the energy with
the baristas taking orders andthe other baristas crafting
(01:50):
those wonderful tasty drinks.
But here's the thing do youremember days at Starbucks
before the app?
You had to physically go in,stand in line and then wait for
your drink.
Talk about a huge bottleneck.
Right, it definitely was notthe most efficient process and
(02:14):
even if it made you late forwork if you're like me, you
would endure it.
But let's fast forward to today.
Many of us just order ourcoffee in advance through the
app, which has been a gamechanger because it cuts down on
the bottleneck most of the time.
But let's be real.
Processes fail.
So there are still moments whenyou order in advance and you
(02:37):
have to wait for your order.
But let me really hone in onthis illustration of using
Starbucks.
When you're the bottleneck inyour business, you begin to slow
down the entire process, whichis like those old days of
waiting in line to order yourcoffee.
(02:57):
It's like being stuck in theslow lane on the highway and
it's holding your business back,and our goal really is to break
free from that by streamliningyour operations so that your
business flows smoothly like awell-oiled Starbucks and it's
serving success in every cup.
So to drive this point homebeing the bottleneck in your
(03:19):
business means that you areslowing down the flow,
especially when it comes to yourgrowth, so it's like putting
the brakes on your business'sability to move full steam ahead
.
So how exactly can you removeyourself from being that
bottleneck?
Well, you've got to start byinvesting in your business, and
you do this by investing inothers, and I'm really referring
(03:42):
to investing in people who haveexpertise and experience in
areas that are not your strongsuit.
Free is great, but when youreally want to grow your
business, you have got to getsome skin in the game and pay
for help to shorten the learningcurve for you.
Investing in others and in yourbusiness really marks a crucial
(04:05):
stride towards you achievingsuccess.
I've been through this processmyself and let me tell you why.
I was afraid to invest themoney in my business.
It has been a game changer, andit's because it's being open to
the risk of trusting others tosupport your business so that
(04:25):
you can concentrate on growingyour business.
So this means that you have tomake the time to articulate your
needs to someone else, but youalso have to get the right
systems in place for yourbusiness.
And then this absolutely thisis non-negotiable.
You have to do this before youstart building a team.
(04:46):
I've seen too many businessowners fail at this and make
other people's lives measurable.
When you start building a team,think of that as a long-term
investment with a positiveripple effect on your
overarching goals if it's doneright.
So let's talk about building ateam.
(05:07):
It really requires moreplanning and preparation than
most entrepreneurs realize.
So don't feel bad if you'rethinking this isn't a big deal.
You just hire a VA, whoeverelse you need, and it's okay.
No, now I'm not going to go alldeep on this subject and get on
the soapbox, because I'vetalked about the art of
(05:29):
delegation in another episode ofthe podcast and I'm gonna put a
link to that in the show notes,but I want you to understand
that if you start building ateam and your back office has no
processes in place, no systemsin place, and you're already
working in chaos.
You're bringing someone elseinto that foolishness and it's
(05:49):
just going to get worse.
So, again, you can go back andlisten to that episode, where I
really share some key pointsthat you need to keep in mind
when you wanna start expandingor building a team and
delegating tests.
The moral of the story is youhave to have processes
documented and in place beforeyou start hiring, and this also
(06:13):
requires you to stop and investthe time in creating job
descriptions that identify therole that you wanna hire for.
Do not hire someone and theninsist on just spawning out
tests to them one at a time.
That is inefficient and it'sjust ridiculous and it's gonna
fail.
So here's the thing investingtime and resources into building
(06:35):
a team in your business is notjust a step.
It's an important step that youreally need to consider if you
wanna achieve sustainable growth.
But you have to remember thatin this journey and during this
process, hiccups happen.
You can't avoid it.
But when they do happen, it'san opportunity for you to refine
(06:56):
your processes so that youdon't become the bottleneck
again, and this means you needto actually follow your
processes when they're in place.
So let's have some more blackcoffee talk.
If you could organize your backoffice on your own, get your
processes in place and implementthe six core systems that your
(07:19):
business needs on your own, youwould have done it by now.
But let me guess you haven't.
You're not alone.
So now we're going to talkabout how I can help you get
over this hurdle, because it hasto be done, and I mean do this
quickly, stop delaying it.
(07:39):
I offer two key services thatcan make a significant
difference in your businessoperations.
It's a solar power assessment,which I also call a back office
assessment, and a VIP day forimplementation.
So let's start by talking aboutthe back office assessment.
I want you to think about itlike a checkup for your business
operations, because we divedeep into your current
(08:01):
operations and identify pointswhere you're the bottleneck kind
of like.
You know the areas that need totune up and in the end, you get
a tailor made action planthat's crafted specifically for
you in your business, yourunique.
Your business is unique and ithas its own set of issues that
need to be addressed.
So the action plan that Icreate after that call is like.
(08:24):
I'm giving you a roadmap toclean up your back office,
streamline your operations andwave goodbye to those bottleneck
issues that are blocking yourgrowth.
So if you want more informationon that, go to
theshannonbakercom forward slashassessment.
(08:45):
But here's the truth A planwithout execution is useless,
and that's where the VIP day forimplementation comes in.
That's like a power pack daythat accelerates the
implementation process, savesyour time and gives you
immediate relief from thebottlenecks that you're
experiencing in your business.
(09:05):
Imagine getting your onboardingand offboarding process in
place in one day, or having aninbox that it's automatically
sorted so that you can quicklyrespond with templates, or have
your leads logged automaticallyso that you can follow them
through your customer journeyAgain all done in a day.
(09:29):
And those are just a few of theoptions that are available.
Not to mention, you get accessto my strategic brain for the
entire day and my tech skills toturn your project around
quickly and efficiently.
And you don't have to do muchwork.
I do the heavy lifting, but itstarts with the assessment, the
back office assessment and theVIP day.
(09:50):
They go together like peanutbutter and jelly.
So let me give you a little bitmore information about the
assessment.
It's a two hour recorded callwhere we sit down and really
look at everything in yourbusiness, talk about your goals
and what we need to do so thatyour business operates more
efficiently.
(10:10):
After that call, I take all thedata that you share and I
create your custom action planto help you improve your
business operations.
But it considers what's goingon in your personal life as well
, because your personal lifeaffects your business and your
business affects your personallife, so we want to make sure
the two are integrated together.
(10:31):
Now, when it comes to theassessment, it really helps you
get more clarity in yourbusiness, so it's not just about
your back office operations.
It really helps you focus in onthe best path forward to grow
your business.
So I want you to hear this Fromthe mouth of a person who has
(10:53):
experienced amazing results, andthat's Jodi Silverman.
I actually had her on thepodcast last year to talk about
her experience.
I'm going to put a link to thatepisode in the show notes, but
this is what Jodi had to say.
Quote After the assessment withShannon, the action plan was a
wow.
Not only was it presenteddigitally in a professional and
(11:14):
organized fashion, it wascrystal clear that Shannon truly
understood from our assessmentcall what I was in need of if I
was going to grow and expand.
After reviewing the details andthe breakdown of our plan of
attack, I knew I was in goodhands, end quote.
So that's the assessment.
(11:35):
Now let's talk about the actionplan a little bit.
If you want to hear what youcan do with the action plan,
I've got you covered.
I've got an episode that goesthrough that.
I share the three options thatare available for us to work
together to implement the actionplan.
Or you can walk away with itand do this on your own, which I
don't recommend.
But your options are a VIP day,a three month minimum project,
(12:00):
which right now I'm booked out,or you can self implement using
the mighty society membership.
So I'm going to put a link tothe episode where I specifically
talk about how to use an actionplan, as well as a link to the
mighty society membership so youcan check that out.
Or you can go totheshannonbakercom forward slash
(12:22):
membership, because inside ofthat membership are a ton of
resources that you can use toself implement that custom
action plan, and it still givesyou limited access to my
technical brain.
So, look, I want you to knowagain, I'm only booking VIP days
(12:43):
for implementation right nowbecause I limit the number of
retainer clients that I takelong at a time and I am at that
maximum number right now so thatI can enjoy life and my
business as well, but I stillwant to make sure that I can
assist you with a shortertimeline so you can get your
back office operations in order.
(13:04):
So let me help you, in alltransparency, that services that
I've talked about today,they're not just about
overcoming bottlenecks, butthey're really about future
proofing your business so thatyou can achieve sustainable
growth.
So with the back officeassessment and a VIP day, you're
not just breaking free fromthat bottleneck or removing
yourself as the bottleneck.
(13:25):
You're setting the stage for abusiness that thrives and
propels you forward towards yourgoal, but your business will
not be dependent on you.
So, if you're ready to moveforward, these two services I
talked about today, they'retailored solutions to unlock
efficiency, save your time andset your business on a
(13:48):
trajectory of continuous growth.
So let's transform yourbusiness into a dynamic, well
old machine that's ready to soarto new heights.
I want you to fly like an eagle, so thank you for joining me
this week.
If you have any questions aboutanything that I've said today,
please feel free to reach out tome on Instagram, at the
(14:10):
underscore Shannon Baker, andget them answered, because just
listening to this is not enough.
I need you to take action.
If you found this episodevaluable, please go to
ratethispodcastcom forward,slash mind your time and leave
me a rating and review so thatothers can see the value in the
episodes of this podcast and Ican help more entrepreneurs like
(14:34):
yourself.
And please share this episodewith your business besties or
someone else that you feel couldbenefit from it.
Take a screenshot, post it onInstagram stories and make sure
you tag me.
And again, if you have anyquestions, feel free to just DM
me.
And you can also just let meknow one thing that you decided
to take action on today, even ifthat choice is to just start to
(15:00):
look at your back office to seewhat you need to streamline.
I can't wait to hear from youand I look forward to you
joining me back here next week.
So until then, keep calm andstreamline.
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
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Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
3. Crime Junkie
If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people.