Systems

Let’s step outside of business for a sec and talk about hair washing. 

Yes, hair washing.

My guess is, you do pretty much the same thing every time you wash your hair. 

You have a system for how you wash your hair. 

You know what shampoo and conditioner you like, and you keep a nice big bottle of both in the same place in your shower — all the time.  You have a certain way you wet your hair down, a certain thing you do with your hands to lather your hair, and a certain way you rinse your hair to get it feeling just right before you exit the shower.  Your hair comes out feeling pretty much the same every time you wash it. You could wash your hair without thinking about it.

You repeat this system every time you wash your hair. You’ve probably been doing it this way for years. 

You can say to yourself: “it’s hair washing day” and step into the shower and the rest is auto pilot. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Now imagine if you did not have a system for washing your hair. 

Imagine there are tiny bottles of different kinds of shampoo and conditioner hidden all over your home and you have to find and match a new pair each time you want to wash your hair.

And imagine that some times you use your shower water, but sometimes you have to fill a bucket in your kitchen sink and bring that into the shower, and sometimes you have to go outside and use your garden hose to wet down your hair.  And imagine you never know which one you’re going to do until it’s actually time to wash your hair.

Imagine sometimes you have to wear gloves, sometimes you are only able to use one hand, and sometimes you have to call somebody else to wash your hair for you. Or sometimes you have to wash your hair blindfolded.

With all these unpredictable combinations, it would be quite an adventure to wash your hair any given day. It would always take you a different amount of time and you would always be having to re-invent a way to get your hair to feel just right when you’re finished.

I bet you are feeling a new appreciation for your big shampoo bottles right now.

Okay all that was pretty ridiculous.

…But so is not having systems in your business.

Are there any areas of your business where you are having to re-invent a way to get something just right each time you do it?

Are there any areas of your business where, even if you have to ________ on a regular basis, you find yourself doing this differently every time?

If I asked you “how long does it take you to __________” (answer emails, post to social media, edit and deliver a session….) would you be able to tell me, or would you say “it depends...”  

How can you create a system that lets you wash, rinse and repeat when it’s time to complete the same task again? Take some time right now to do a self-assessment of the areas of your business that you could create a better, more consistent, system for yourself.

Holler if I can help!

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