Camille: My guest today, well, I'm gonna say you're a guest slash co-host because today I'm doing the pod without my brother. Because he has been running for school board and he's a very busy dude right now.
LT: Fantastic.
Camille: So I called upon my good friend LT who's here to be guest slash co-host with me today to talk about systems as one of the three elements of a high performance business because she's one of the people that I think does an amazing job.
Camille: Welcome to The Belief Shift. The show that explores. What you really need to know about building a successful small business.
Camille: I'm your host, Camille Rapacz: small business coach and consultant who spent too much of her career working in corporate business performance.
George: And I'm George Drapeau: your co-host and her brother. I'm a leader in the tech world bringing my corporate perspective, but mostly my curiosity.
Camille: Together, we're exploring beliefs about success and how to achieve it. But mostly we're bringing practical solutions so you and your business can thrive.
Camille: So I know her as LT and all of her friends and clients call her LT, but her real name is Lara Lee Taylor and I just think of her as copywriter extraordinaire.
Camille: But I will let you really talk about what it is that you do and actually it would be really great to just give us a little bit of the like journey of how you got to be a business owner cuz you have really navigated changing and adapting and moving through it as you are a business owner, what is my business about? I've watched you even in a short time, I've known you really just redefine it in a really cool way. So give us that story.
LT: All right, well pull up a chair, grab a drink, get comfy, because I got my coffee.
Camille: We go.
LT: I've certainly pivoted a few times. I think the most exciting thing for me is that I've landed in a really good place right now. So reflecting upon the various pivots that I've had, the nuances that have brought so much to my life.
LT: I started out and copy kind of landed in my lap because of all the other businesses that people were doing, and they're like, What the heck do we say?
LT: How do I talk to my customers, my clients? And I always loved writing. Did that in university as well. And when I really started a buisness, the big thing for me was recruitment. So I came from the corporate space. I hired a lot of the social workers that we had and went through everything with them and was always doing report writing and everything in corporate.
LT: So I started out with the recruitment piece as a side business. And then it molded into doing like career coaching and all through that I was doing all the copywriting for that and all the copywriting for friends and family that had businesses.
LT: And then I got really big projects and started actually charging for this because you were being really nice and didn't charge your friends or your family, and I thought, Why am I doing this? I can get paid for this.
LT: So I started doing this for myself and things just really took off. But at the time, that's when kind of everything was up in the air. And even though I had other businesses for copywriting, you can get into a place where you just do a bunch of everything. Sales pages, emails, websites, reports, courses, you name it, people come to you with so many requests. And so I thought, oh my gosh, like how do I manage all of this?
LT: That's when I really reflected on what worked well, what didn't work well in my previous businesses and corporately speaking . Cuz I was always very very organized.
LT: Really loved engaging with clients and drawing out the juicy bits. Like who are they really, the really deeply rooted piece of who they are? And that's how I've brought it into my business today. But as you know, Camille, the systems for me and being organized 100% have brought me to where I am today.
LT: That has been a godsend. It just saved me especially throughout this past year.
Camille: Yes, I mean that's really why I picked you is I was like, Man, if anybody has really leveraged systems recently , it has been you. You have a great story about that.
Camille: Since I have known you, your key focus on exactly what you want your copywriting to be about, it's made some shifts and changes. How did that manifest? How did you make these choices of like, Oh, I need to pivot over here and I need to do that.
Camille: How much of it was driven by, what your business needed versus what you actually wanted? Talk about it from those two perspectives.
LT: I think a lot of it too though, has been soul searching. So much of it for me was that I always say, which I'm kind of sassy. So for people that are listening today, Prepare yourself, but I I can be a little sassy here and there.
Camille: This is the sassy episode of the podcast.
LT: That's right. I always say that I never want to go back to a traditional nine to five, and if for some reason I had to do that, I think I'd rather sell cute little pictures of my nice little painted toes to some one online, wink, wink.
LT: Then go back to the traditional nine to five. The big thing for me is that I've just had to dig really deep and find out what do I really love to do? What works for me? And what do my clients really appreciate?
LT: I think there's no better feeling than knowing that you've served your clients well.
LT: When you know a client or customer comes to you and you're able to deliver exactly what they want and maybe even a little bit more. You know, over deliver kind of thing. I'm
LT: really big on that. But my whole thing is I'm nothing about BS fluff, the sleaze, like bro marketing, I don't want anything to do with that.
LT: So we've had a number of conversations in various groups, Camille, where, you know, I'm, I think, oh my gosh, you know, this client came to me and. We are so not a fit. So that has also been a process of my systems that I've put through worth the initial conversation. And even in my copy on my website, like you either know if you want to work with me or you don't by reading what's on my site.
LT: You just get it, because it's about ethics. It's about like not being sleazy, it's being truthful and to the point. And. And those heartfelt messages. It's not all lovey-dovey, but it's being genuine and really caring about those you serve. And I think that's part of the, you know, social work slash therapist part of me where if you're in this, be in it for the right reasons.
Camille: I love that. This's one of the reasons that you and I connected was just that wanting to have that no BS way of doing business. We always hear when it comes to marketing, most people are like, I don't know if I wanna do that.
Camille: I hear business owners actually not really wanna run a business cuz they don't wanna do that part because what they're exposed to most of the time is that stuff that looks and feels sleazy, right? Like that just really turns them off. And so I've been gravitating towards, the people who wanna do this from a more genuine, and authentic perspective and not that crazy sleazy bro marketing.
Camille: It's like just this fast, quick way to do it. And it doesn't require a lot of genuine thought and energy, which is maybe why this version of marketing is not as prevalent, because it takes a little bit more work to get that right. But that other version, it doesn't last. And you're gonna pay the price eventually.
LT: And people see through that. When clients come to me, they may be a little confused on, you know, what their messaging is or really they don't know how to draw out. I say those juicy bits and by juicy bits it's kind of a play on things, right? It's just to say like, let's dig a little deeper and find out who you really are and what you wanna serve, and you know, what is gonna move the needle, but also make you feel good at the end of the day?
Camille: Yes. So let's talk a little bit more about systems in your business. Before I get into that, I'm gonna give a little bit of a just refresher. So for people who maybe skipped ahead and are only listening to this episode.
Camille: So one thing I wanna say about this is when I was putting together my framework around a high performance business, and coming up with this, you were actually instrumental in helping me get this three word framework around it, so thank you. You're welcome. And really figuring out that it was about Clarity and Systems and Mindset and that those three elements, if you continuously developed in those three areas, then you would be in the process of developing a high performance business.
Camille: There's a lot that goes into those three, so it can feel a little oversimplified. But I wanted it to just be simple enough for us as business owners to think, Okay, I got these three areas and am I putting enough energy equally into all three of them in order to make my business work?
Camille: So today we're focusing on just one of those, which is systems. And I like to think of this as a couple ways.
Camille: So it's basically, this is how we keep our businesses from making us crazy. Which can very much happen. It's how you're creating stability and it's how we're also setting our business up for growth and scale.
Camille: Without having good systems, it's really hard to grow or scale because you are just barely getting by every day. When you don't have good systems, you're just scrambling to keep that next client coming in and that next dollar in your bank account because you don't have good systems that are freeing you up to then work at the next level of your business or even to work on your.
Camille: So that's why it is so important to think about systems and it includes a whole bunch of stuff. It can include planning is a system. You have a system for planning. It's how you would implement, change or implement anything new in your business. Say like, you know, launching a podcast. It's all your business processes, so accounting processes onboarding, hiring, customer service, marketing.
Camille: There's all these processes that are running your business. So it's about getting those to run well and effectively and efficiently. There's a daily management, How am I managing my day? Then technology is involved. How am I using technology to improve how I run my business? And you can also have systems for accountability, systems for reflections, systems for doing the things in your business that you need help doing.
Camille: So systems can help enable those things that maybe don't just come naturally to you. Like I don't do a good job of holding myself accountable unless I have a good system of accountability for myself. So kind of encompasses all these different things when we talk about systems.
Camille: So as we're thinking about that, I wanna hear your story, LT, of how this year you really had to lean on your systems.
Camille: Talk about what even had you create those businesses in the first place?
Camille: Whatever happened in the past that made you go, Ooh, processes are important and systems are important, What were they? And so maybe explain the exact systems that you had to rely on and, and how that all played out for you this year in your business.
LT: Oh my goodness. Okay. I think the biggest thing for me was really reflecting on, what has worked and what hasn't in the past? And that is just so huge. And even looking at some of the data that I had collected over the last few years of, you know what I had done and how, like what the return investment was for my clients.
LT: So was I really zeroing in what matters most or say what made the most money for them, money for me, the time spent. So I broke it all down. And even working, with you, Camille, in the group that you had , focusing on
LT: building those systems. So taking a step back when I looked at us doing all of the things, I thought, okay, this is too way up in the clouds. We need to really break this down, have a manageable, step by step actionable system that if I need to ever step out of, things are gonna run really smoothly without me.
LT: It's like what we said before you always think that it's never gonna happen to you. Everything's gonna be great. I'm always gonna be healthy, and everyone around me is gonna be fine. I'm gonna be always in my business. Well, that's just not the case.
LT: And certainly for me, this past year, I did need to step away. So in reflecting on what needed to happen, I knew that I needed a piece right from the get go.
LT: So that being the first contact with any client or customer, I need to know that they were right for me and I was the person for them. So essentially I broke it down with my assistant. We went through it and we jotted down all the values that I would really love to see in a client.
LT: I highlighted all the things that I would be able to deliver for them, what we really enjoy doing and what we wanted to spend our time doing. Because I never wanted to have this business and not want to love what I do. Of course, there's gonna be things like tech issues or taxes and all that stuff that no one loves to do.
LT: Well, perhaps some do, but not everyone. But there's things that you just need to get done, so you need to have a process for that. So I went through all of that.
LT: So it was that piece of are they a fit for me? And then when yeah, they're a fit, then it's a really detailed onboarding system. And for that I use Honey Book.
LT: Honey Book has been like a lifesaver with me. I know Camille, that you're familiar with that too. It's wonderful in terms of, it holds all the contracts that we have. So I have very detailed contracts. All the emails go through there and all the invoicing, billing reminders, the calendar, you name it, everything is in there.
LT: So wonderful. That has saved me. And you can also have admin people popping in and out of that. So that is wonderful.
LT: But then I've also broken it down in terms of projects. I'll speak to what I have now in terms of, you know, if you're doing emails or website copy, we have a thing where, Okay, who are the clients that they're serving?
LT: So we speak to that. We like, what are your goals and how deeply do you want your stories to go? There's so much detail of that.
LT: And then if it's a website refresh, it's like, okay, so these are the budgets. What kind of story do you wanna tell? What do you want people to walk away from?
LT: So it's a very detailed questionnaire and information gathering session that is so essential that if I'm not here, my assistants are able to step in for me.
Camille: So when you were building that system and that questionnaire out, if you had to guess, how many iterations of that did you go through? And are you still iterating?
LT: I'm always iterating. I think everything is always evolving . I actually encourage that because when I'm working with people, I always ask them, What worked well for you and please let me know what didn't. What could I tweak that next time we work together it'll be so much better?
LT: Because you always wanna deliver the very best that you can. So please let me know how I can do that.
LT: Also for those people that I work with, even, if it's another colleague or someone that you're just brainstorming with. Those kind of things, you need to really take note of that and implement.
LT: I think that was the key for me. So I did all this work and then when I look back on my other businesses, I did the work. And it sat.
LT: This time, I did all the work and implemented it. So I implemented those processes. I ensured that those systems were really good and error free. And they are always evolving and people understand them as well.
Camille: You just said something so important, I do not wanna gloss over it. When you said, the first you did it and it sat versus you did it and then implemented it. What caused you to implement the second time around where before that wasn't happening?
LT: Well, remember before when I said going back to that nine to five, I'd rather post a picture of my pretty little painted. Yes. I think it's that in the back of my mind.
LT: I've got something really good going here. This business can be really big. In order to get there, I need to make that happen.
LT: So before it was a good little side gig. Yeah. Okay. You made a couple thousand here and there. You did well. Like, oh, you'd hit X number throughout the year. Awesome. That's over and above. Now it's like, okay, next level.
LT: So when I plan, I'm always like, Okay, so you've hit level one, Laura, now level 2, 3, 4. Okay.
LT: By Q4 you wanna hit level six. So I make all of those next steps. And I know step by step what I need to hit. So I have targets that I work through every quarter.
Camille: Oh, this is so good. Because sometimes we think, Oh, we're growing our business. It's because we're out there hustling and marketing and selling, and that's the focus.
Camille: But all the marketing and selling in the world isn't gonna grow your business if you don't have those systems underneath that you're talking about that support. This is back to supporting growth and scale.
LT: It's so true because you know, you look at social media and you see people that have like a hundred thousand followers or 200,000 followers, whatever.
LT: I hardly have any followers. I know that's an area which is on my list to get better at. But I have a really good referral rate.
LT: I hear from people like, Oh, hey, we've worked with Lara Lee. Try her out. This is what we've done. This is the return on investment that we've received.
LT: So that has really carried my business through. And then networking and being in some really wonderful groups. That has paid off tremendously. The work that you put in pays off. Hundred percent.
Camille: Yes. And this is just a note to everybody that just because people don't have big followings on social media doesn't mean they don't have super awesome kick ass businesses and are really successful.
Camille: It's similar for me in my business to what you just described, which is I don't have big social following and I'm working on growing it, but my stuff is pretty much referral, which to me is like the best client.
Camille: So that's almost like level one weeding out. For our type of business and how we wanna do it. There are other types of businesses that really do have to rely on that social media cuz they're selling different things. But ours is very relationship based. You're building trust. You really have to have the right kinds of clients.
Camille: And so the referral it's a much more valuable way I think for us to get clients in this.
LT: And one thing I wanna really touch on is building trust and being very genuine because there are so many copywriters, there are so many coaches, that are out there online, whether they're fly by night or they've been around for quite a while. People can call themselves pretty much anything these days.
LT: But I think the big thing for me is that when I connect with someone, I want them to know that, Hey, I'm here for you. I'm really interested in your business and I have your interest at heart, but also the clients that you serve. So that's why we're going to do really great things together because I generally care that we give 110%. So we're not gonna walk away and leave you hanging.
LT: We do that deeply rooted session, like I call it the DR3. We really focus on our framework when we work with you to ensure that what you need is what you get, and then some.
Camille: So now we're getting to another level of system, which is the system you have for how you actually take care of your clients.
LT: We really get to know our clients and some of the clients, we've been with them for quite a while now, which is fantastic. And we see how they pivot and how they grow and even just how their brand voice evolves.
LT: It's just really cool because at the beginning they wanna sound like everybody else. And I know you had people here on the podcast talking about messaging before. It's so important to ensure that your voice is out there because then it sounds genuine. It sounds like you, it is authentic. And I know that's a word that's overused. It's really key to delivering your message.
LT: So I think the big thing for me is just that we focus on strategy. Cuz I really need to know for the client, why are you doing what you're doing? What are you after? What do you wanna walk away from? What are you putting out there? What's the value that you're offering and do you know the values of those that you serve?
LT: That is so key to tie those in. So when people come to me, I'm like, Oh, I have no idea. That's a problem. So we often really work on that. It doesn't take a long time, but we need to nail that down in order to push through.
LT: And then storytelling, people go, great. Let's make up a brand story.
LT: Now. We're not gonna make up a brand story. We're gonna talk about what your story is and how you engage with those clients. Because if you resonate with them, that is golden. And you know, Camille, I always talk about what are those golden nuggets that we can share with people that really draw them in? And they just get really excited about what you offer and who you are, and they walk away and they remember who you are.
LT: You're not just another brand that, okay, next. And when they click off your website, they're never gonna think about you again. You need that special something that really draws them in and they remember you. Or that tagline that they're like, Oh yeah, that was so clever. Or they laugh and they're entertained and that's when we really hook them with emails too.
LT: But the other really important thing is like the stance you take. Like I said before, I'm a no bs, I'm straight up. When you come to us you know how we work and what we offer. Step by step you'll know where we're at every single week you get feedback.
LT: It's really important to take a stance and say why you're doing this and putting a positive emotional charge out there. And by that I mean are you in it for all the right reasons? Are you saying all the right things? Are people believing you when you're putting a product or service out there? That's so key. So we really draw in on that.
Camille: This also reminds me of how there's so often this misunderstanding about what you actually do as your writing copy, which is you're not there to make up a story. You don't just invent something out of thin air.
Camille: Cuz that's how it becomes bro marketing, right? That's the I'm gonna rent a Porsche and take a picture in front of it so it looks like I'm super successful. Or I'm just gonna find one parked in a parking lot, even worse, right? So whatever you're doing, that's, that's not genuine.
Camille: That's putting up a facade and that's not what good copywriting actually does. Sometimes people get into it and aren't really clear what's going to happen in that process. And I know for me, when I first did that with you, it was a very enlightening experience of like, Oh, I have to have all these answers.
Camille: It's great because it really forces you to think through what do I wanna stand for and how do I wanna this to come through for people and all of those things. So if anybody out there is thinking about this and you're trying to figure this out it's a worthwhile endeavor because it might feel like just something on the surface. If I need somebody to update my website for me, but if somebody's doing it well, the way LT does it, they're gonna take you deeper into your business, into actually one of the other of the three that we're not focused on today, but is related.
Camille: Which is one of the three elements in a high performance business, which is clarity. And that's really what you end up speaking to when you talk about copywriting, is now we have to get clarity around that actual message. You want to send. That authenticity, that genuineness, but also that little bit of flare that you wanna put into it.
Camille: And it has to be flare that's of your own. It can't just be any old random thing you think is gonna grab attention. What are those things called at the car sales lots or whatever. Those big, tall, like wavy dudes, they're just floating around in the air rights there.
Camille: Those big, tall, skinny like things, there's air blowing up in them and they're flopping around. I always think like there's like that kind of marketing just to get attention. It has nothing to do with anything that they sell. Or there's the genuine version. That part of it is really important too.
Camille: What's interesting here is what you were just describing is you have a system for helping people to develop that clarity in order to get their message out. And this is why I think about all three of these aspects of a high performance business. They're all closely connected together.
Camille: That system can drive clarity, but also clarity is what's gonna help you develop better systems. Because what we don't want people to do is sometimes people will develop systems. So like planning, I think of as there's a system for how you plan in your business and all the different.
Camille: There is such a thing as doing too much. There is such a thing as over processing something. So it's also this tricky little balance between all of them.
Camille: And how you figure that out. I'm curious about your, since I just talked about planning and I know you're like to be a planner like I do . What do you do? What works really well for you in planning for your business?
LT: Well, , I think planning how things are gonna move forward throughout the year. And I think the important piece that I have learned over, I would say even the last eight months, this has been so significant in my business, is giving myself grace. That if you don't hit that target but you have been working toward it, that's ok. You are still going up, up, up. You're still moving in that right direction, so it's all right.
LT: Whereas before I'd be like, Oh my gosh, we did not hit that. How could I have let that happen? And then you have this weight on your shoulders and it doesn't feel good. And then you have everything else that you have to manage and that's just not good mental wellbeing.
LT: For what we've gone through in the last year. It has been absolutely life changing to know that it's, it's okay that you're moving in the right direction, that you can rely on these systems to get where we need to be. And I think it's so great that you focus in on the clarity, the strategy, and the mindset, because everything we do in my business each and every day, incorporates all three of those all the time. Especially when we're talking to clients. That's exactly how I break it down all the time, all the time.
Camille: Yep. And what you just said reminded me of when we were talking to Jim in a previous episode and we talked about how in the beginning of his business, he time after time kept missing his goals and yet he was actually achieving the bigger picture.
Camille: And it was this idea of setting that stretch goal. And, you know, we talk about this a lot in the membership. We talk about with the group, set that goal. And every time we assess it every month, we go in every month and we assess these goals and say, Well, how did we do? And the purpose of that isn't to say you know, well, shame on you for missing your goal. How are you gonna do that next time? Do better?
Camille: Which really just makes people set smaller goals. Which isn't actually helping you in the long run. Instead, celebrate how far you got towards that really cool goal you set. And even though you didn't hit it, tons of progress happen.
Camille: You don't have to have made a goal in the timeframe you defined in order to make really good progress. And I think changing our mindset, you're saying the perfect story of how giving yourself that grace, how much of an impact does it have on your mental health.
Camille: Just as a business owner to just free yourself up from I have to make these quarterly goals, or else I'm a failure.
LT: I'm like the ideal candidate for that because , as you know, Camille, this past year has been a very difficult one. And even in fact, having me having to step out of the business for several months at a time and knowing that I was able to do that and everything ran smoothly.
LT: And in fact the emails that we got from clients to say wow, Laura, like I know that you had to step out, but your team was just so spot on and in fact they did everything that you do. And as a leader, you have to be okay with that thinking like, Oh, okay, well, I wasn't in there, but whatever. I guess it was good.
LT: No, I was totally fine with that because I think that that compliment in and itself is like, Wow. All this planning, all these systems that we now have in place that took so long to pull together. But we're well worth doing have now paid off. So whether it's onboarding a client or it's onboarding a new employee, or I would say contractor, cuz I always have them on contract, having bringing someone on like that, you know that as long as the steps are followed and implemented. And they're confident in those.
LT: That's a real big one too, because you can have an onboarding process or a process, but if it's not great, then it's not gonna work and people aren't gonna believe in it and they're not gonna implement it.
Camille: At the heart of this, what you're talking about is good leadership. It starts with hiring well, and then having a really good onboarding process for them. Having clarity in the expectations you have for them, setting up the systems so that the work can flow between all the parties, you and any of your, whether it's employees or contractors or vendors or whoever it is that is supporting your business.
Camille: This counts for everybody that you need to support your business, right? So you have to have good systems and processes and expectations are clear within those, and that's how the work flows more easily. And I think this is a struggle. You talked about all the work that went into doing it, and I think that's the hesitation that business owners have.
Camille: I don't have time to do that. And I get it. We're also trying to run a business. But I think the hard part is, and maybe there's an aha moment or something that you can speak to in when you had the moment of: I have to get off this hamster wheel of just every day trying to get the next client and just start building these systems.
LT: Yes. So I've had many aha moments where you just have something where you're like, Okay. This process worked really well last time. Let's implement this. Let's tweak it a little bit. Let's try it with our next client. Well, wow. The next time you try it, it was brilliant. The client was like, Wow, I've never had anyone go through this process so easily.
LT: The feedback you get is life changing because it makes your day to day so much easier. And yes, I could say all the work that it took to get here, but it wasn't like I spent three months just doing that every day. It was like piece by piece and adding and tweaking.
LT: And I wanted to bring up one other thing too, is that it wasn't only me as a leader. As a leader, I bring people on that may not have the most experience at times, but they have a wonderful attitude. And their personality is so amazing, I think. Okay. You're gonna be able to really work with anyone and serve anyone.
LT: That's what I want. I don't want someone with an attitude. I don't want someone that's not gonna show up. I want someone that is invested in my business almost as much as me. Of course they're not going to be because it's mine, but they're gonna give me a hundred percent and that's all I can ask for.
LT: But when they come to me and say, Hey, Laura, Would you mind if I tweaked this a little bit? Or we could say it this way, or perhaps we could add that on? I go, What a fabulous idea! How come I didn't think of that? And we've added it in.
LT: So there are so many pieces and nuances and just everything that happens day to day that as long as you're open minded and really want the best for your client and for your business, then it comes together quite easily, really.
Camille: Yes, yes, and yes. Even though you said it's not just your leadership, it is your leadership that is making these choices of who are the right hires for you? And that is a number one thing to do, whether it's a vendor or a contractor or an employee.
Camille: Whoever's gonna support your business, you had to be really clear about what kind of person you wanted. Yes. And then get that right person. Have the patience. Cuz I know you've hired people and been like, Nope, that didn't work out. Right. Oh boy. We've all been for a handful. Yes. Yes. And that I think is also part of this process is to remember that there's two ideas in this one thing.
Camille: The first is that as you're hiring, you're creating a system for hiring. So how am I going to find them? How am I going to interview them? How am I gonna find those right people? And then you gotta improve that process constantly. Because you're gonna make some mistakes.
Camille: If you're just starting a business that is hiring people, again, vendors or whoever. Getting people to help you in your business, know that you are gonna make some mistakes. That's kind of part of this journey is I had to make a bunch of hiring mistakes in my past in order to get really good at finding the right people, and I know it's the same for you. So I just wanna encourage people to not get frustrated if they've made a mistake, it's okay.
Camille: You kind of have to do that to recognize like, Oh, this is where that was wrong, because you don't know what you don't know when you're starting out.
Camille: And then improve that system for hiring as you're going. But back to that idea of iterating. I know a lot of businesses really struggle to define a process because they'll say to me, but it changes all the time.
Camille: I just wanna really focus in on this idea of yes, and your processes should always be improving. But if you don't actually set a standard for what should happen, there's nothing to improve on. It's just chaos. The changes don't have a direction. It's just willy-nilly.
LT: And I keep all of those. So even the processes that I've used years ago, I don't just delete those. I keep those and then, it's either in our system or even if it's like in a file and a star saying this was difficult and this is why. And always include an example because that just sparks something.
LT: Oh yes. Oh my goodness, that's what happened. I remember now. And then you don't fall back on that, but then you also grow from it. I think there are so much to learn from previous processes, but also the emotional aspect of it. In terms of what was the response? Either from a client or from those online or for someone that you were working with.
LT: What was the feedback? What was the emotional response to that? Were they reactive or were they appreciative? Did they come back right away? Did elicit a comment later on?
LT: So I think to collect all that information, that data that I was speaking to earlier is so imperative to ensure that you are moving forward and doing all the right things.
Camille: This is really highlighting an aspect of systems that I don't know that I mentioned earlier, which is the data that you're talking about.
Camille: Having data, being able to make informed choices based on data's so hugely important and I know that it's a struggle to do for small business owners, who has time to do it? But there are ways to set up systems for collecting that data so that you will be able to use that.
Camille: It might not be serving you right away. Like sometimes we're looking for the data to mean something in month one, and that just doesn't happen. But you need to be consistently collecting certain types of data in your business to actually see how it's performing and then be able to make improvements. And this is that space where you might need a little bit of help trying to figure out what's the right data for me to collect when I do this.
Camille: And to not overdo that. So we can also overburden ourselves with too much data. But most businesses are actually lacking in data. They don't have enough.
Camille: So I love your emphasis on, I keep that information, I use that as data that informs me when I go down the path.
Camille: All your improvements are always just a hypothesis. I think if I make this improvement, I'm gonna get X better outcome. The more data you have, the closer to accurate your hypothesis is gonna be, right? You're giving yourself a much better chance at success.
LT: Yeah, I really appreciate data and I think that's where my framework came from because that deeply rooted system is all about the data that you collect from your client. And about their clients or customers they serve.
LT: So we collect all kinds of information. Really doesn't take that long, but we're able to break it down in a way that we can really highlight those special items. Those little nuggets that can really elaborate and differentiate the business.
LT: Whereas AI and things like that, it doesn't do that. So when people say, Oh, Lara are you worried about AI taking over? Absolutely not. Because we are able to delve into that kind of information and really make something special.
Camille: I can't believe we're almost at the end of this podcast recording time. But couple things I wanna mention: one is just sort of relating this back to the belief shifts. The topic of our podcast, the title of our podcast.
Camille: So obviously it relates to systems over chaos. So that's kind of the main, like if you're gonna develop these systems, primarily we're trying to just get out of the mode of running in chaotic business.
Camille: Which I think we've all had that experience. Whether you're experiencing it now or experiencing it in the past, or it's waiting you down the road, right? That's right. Chaos is waiting to just jump in and happen.
Camille: But it's also planning it over winging it. So planning it is about really having a system for how you're gonna make that plan. Obviously also the system for how you will adjust that plan. Cuz we believe in iterative improvement.
Camille: And process over outcomes. Like focus on developing the processes that you need and not just on that outcome, cuz the process is what will sustain you as a business. The process is what creates the stability. It makes it possible for you to grow and scale.
Camille: If all you do is focus on I need more clients. I need more clients, you're gonna hit a wall where you just can't do that anymore. As, you've described. You just get to a point where gotta do something different. I just can't keep doing this in the same way.
Camille: If I was to grab onto like the three main belief shifts, I think those are the ones that I would highlight in here.
Camille: Do you have any words of wisdom, pieces of advice, anything that you would offer to other small business owners around systems in their businesses?
LT: I would say one is don't be scared to implement a system. I think that's the thing is just start creating what you do day to day. I think that's the easiest thing is look at what needs to be done or what you're comfortable doing. Can you draw someone else in to help you a little bit? Or reach out to a coach to really make that happen?
LT: And then the follow through. It's okay if it doesn't work. Try it from a different angle, but always keep it ever evolving. We all need to have systems in place and so each and every day I arrive at my office and I know what I'm gonna do from like morning to end of day because I have a system in play.
LT: So no matter what comes to me, whether it's fun or challenging or what have you. Maybe even the thing that I think, Oh Lord, here we go. I have to do this again. But I know the steps that need to be tackled in order to get it done, and it just makes life so much easier.
LT: I can think back on times when even in other businesses where working day to day I had chest pain. Like I did not feel well. I had migraines. I just thought, oh my gosh, there's no way that I'm gonna leave a nine to five to do this all the time and feel this way.
LT: But now that systems are in place and I know who I can rely on, what they need from me, what I can deliver, how I can over deliver, all of those steps, I don't have that anymore.
LT: Like, yeah, we all have challenges. We all have stressful days. That's just, you know, being human and being part of owning your own business. But having those processes, being clear, having a strategy, being in a good place with mindset, you are gonna carry yourself through that day really easily.
LT: It's almost like a routine, right?
Camille: It is. And I think the key here is that business owners get to choose. You are in control of the systems you set up and the routines you set up. And I remember saying to somebody it's not that having my own business isn't stressful. But the stress It's what you just described, right?
Camille: The stress doesn't feel the same because I'm in control. There's stress that can be positive, right? I'm kind of put myself in this stress and this strain of growing my business. But it feels good. It's a challenge for me to work through.
Camille: Some days are a little, like less good stress than other days, but it never feels like it did before because I'm not in that toxic environment where expectations are being set and routines are being set for me, and in a way that weren't supportive to what I needed. And I know a lot of business owners, they go out and do their own business just cuz they're like, I don't fit into that corporate paradigm of how I'm supposed to do work.
Camille: I never did. Cuz I was always one asking questions, Hey, there's a better way for us to do this. What the heck are we doing way for? I had ideas and, this is not to say not all men are like this, but in a lot of the meetings that I was in, in this corporate space, women with let's say big voices and big ideas, they were like, Mm, okay, let's park that for a minute and then 20 minutes later he's saying what I had just said, and everyone's like, Oh, great idea.
Camille: And it's not that it was my idea, it was just that that's so inappropriate. Like that heap heeding is what they call it. Right? I just think, no, that is not okay. Let's give everyone their space to voice that.
Camille: But I think if there was one thing I would love for people to walk away from today from what I've learned is that if you find something that's really difficult and you keep putting it off, Even if you have a processor systems and you think, Oh my gosh, like, Oh, I still have to do that one thing today.
Camille: Yuck. Like, I know I have to get it done. You need to really ask yourself why you're feeling that way. I think that really saved me because there are some really difficult days. There are, and there are some things that are really hard to work through.
Camille: If you have a system, you know what needs to be done, but then you also ask yourself, Okay, how come I'm feeling this way? Why is it making me feel so bad or ick, or do I need help? It's okay to ask for help.
Camille: It's okay to break it down step by step. It's okay to do half of it at 10 o'clock in the morning and the other half at one. Like I said, you can give yourself grace. You are in the driver's seat. I think that's the big thing, and before I would just tackle everything and no wonder why I had chest pain.
Camille: Now I know that I can break it down, rely on my systems, and move forward. I think that's been my saving grace.
Camille: Perfect advice. All right, LT, where should we send people who wanna learn more about you and what you do and copywriting and all that good stuff?
Camille: Where should we send them?
LT: For Instagram, it's @IAmLaraLeeTaylor. And for website it's laraleetaylor.com.
Camille: We'll put links to both of those in the show notes for people. So if you wanna go learn more about LT, you can go there.
Camille: Also, before we cut out, I have been putting together a little workshop for people because of this need for people to understand how do I build the systems that I need in order to get the clarity that I need to move myself forward for 2023?
Camille: So I'm gonna be doing a little two part workshop. It's free. The first one will be November 29th. The second part will be on December 1st. There'll be a link in the show notes for you to sign up. But if you're feeling any anxiety about 2023, cuz you know the world's a little bit crazy. And you're like, what's this mean for my business next year?
Camille: If you've been listening to us today and you're thinking, I need to get myself some more of this systems thing that they're talking about, if you really know that you've got some good clarity of your business, but you struggle to implement it, ala what LT was talking about earlier. I had this good stuff, but didn't get to implementing it till the second time around.
Camille: If you need help with any of those things or just wanna have a good solid plan for your business in 2023, I'm gonna dive into that workshop and show you how you do that. What are the steps for how you actually get to making that happen? So that is coming and I look forward to people jumping in there cuz it's more than I think I could cover in a podcast.
Camille: I thought about doing like an episode or two that was like that, but I wanna talk to people. It's too hard to teach people to do this when it's just a conversation. So that will get us on Zoom talking and actually working through, how do you set these plans up? So that is my stay tuned in what's coming and later in the month.
LT: Fantastic, and I'll probably jump into that just because you think you've got everything play and everything's great. I think it's always great to revisit and pivot.
Camille: That's such a good point, LT. Thank you.
Camille: Even if you do have a process for this that you can rely on, there's always something, a new perspective, I'm not saying I have a better way or a smarter way, Right?
Camille: But just a different perspective can help you find ways to improve on your own process. So definitely join it, even if you're like, I'm not sure if I need this. You never know. That's kind of part of the challenge we have as business owners is we don't know what we don't know, so we kind of have to get out there and explore some different things just to find out.
Camille: All right. Well thank you so much LT. Thank you! Could have kept going on at the end there. I was like, Oh, we probably need to do a whole podcast that's just on women in business and those challenges.
LT: Oh, I would love that. Let's do that.
Camille: That'll be a whole topic. We have to do that one with George though, cuz he asked a really good question in a previous pod related to this.
Camille: So that could be a whole other one. Maybe we'll do that next year. That would be super fun cuz there's a lot to dig into with that. And I think just because you run your own business doesn't mean that that stuff has gone away, right?
Camille: Oh goodness. No, I know some of us started our own businesses to escape that, but yes, there's more to be, more to be discussed. So we'll do that in the future.
Camille: So thank you, thank you, thank you. You are the best. And hey, have a great week everybody, and I will be back in your ears with George next week. So we'll talk to you then. Bye LT.
LT: Bye.
