Hey there, and welcome to the Fun Business Fun Money podcast! I’m your host, Deirdre Amies.

If we’ve not met yet, I’m a certified business and money coach on a mission to make sure online service professionals are maximising their business and money potential without burning themselves out – or their clients! – in the process.

I’ve actually just celebrated 6 years as a coach last week! Its not something I make a big deal about TBH, its more that I see the first week of January 2024 and go “oh yeah thats right!”

I’ve talked a lot about goals and intentions in recent episodes, if you’ve been tuning in.

But I’m not really a fan of or even very good at setting a specific date to achieve things. Like, by 6 years in business I want to have achieved X, Y and Z. I’m not that rigid or structured lol!

 

Systems WILL set you free

Where I AM structured is with systems and workflows. I LOVE the freedom to be creative and be guided by my intuition. But everything, including creativity, works so much better when you’ve got structure and systems in place.

I’m not talking about SOPs, or standard operating procedures, although any system or workflow can become an official SOP as your business grows. When you have a support team everyone needs to know how you like things done, so there’s a consistent standard of work.

What I mean by systems and workflows is mapping out the steps you take to complete a project, especially something you do on the regular. Yes, thats a project! Its second nature to you, but when things get busy its easy to forget or miss a step because you’re on autopilot and not paying as close attention as you normally would.

Its so easy to end up feeling overwhelmed trying to keep track of all the things, what stage is this at, don’t forget that part over there, you know what I’m talking about!

 

Getting yourself organised with simple systems will sound ridiculously simple to many, but its a really big sticking point for the creative thinkers of this world.

One of the most common problems clients come to me with, whether they realise it or not, is organising themselves. A lot of them are super creative thinkers, they’re web designers, copywriters, online coaches, people who have all the ideas on the front end, but no structure to hold it all together behind the scenes.

In this episode we’re going to take a look at some essentials for your online business to help you feel more organised and structured, like you’ve got your shizz together (even if you don’t!) And I’ve got a simple process you can apply to almost anything to set yourself up with a decent workflow.

 

In a nutshell, what you need is a template and a plan to follow.

Think of it like your business GPS that keeps you focused and moving forward so you can achieve your goals without burning out along the way.

There are a gajillion templates out there in the world, many you wouldn’t even think of as a template, but they are.

We’re talking things like your calendar, whether its online or on paper. Side note, if you’re still relying on a paper diary thats cool, but I promise you’ll free up a LOT of time and energy if you use a digital version.

Spreadsheets are an obvious template choice, I’m a big fan of them having used them since the late 90s in my corporate career. Showing my age here!

I remember one co-worker who had to put together a report every 6 months from manual records. That took him 3-4 days until I set him up with a spreadsheet to record the info instead. From then on his reports took him less than an hour to compile from the data.

But the thing about spreadsheets, or anything really, is you still have to USE THEM! I’ve created some beautiful spreadsheets and templates over the years with good intentions, but a lot of them are just hanging around empty, gathering internet dust in cyberspace.

 

There are endless tools and software available online these days for taking notes, getting organised and freeing up your time.

Notion, Evernote, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Calendar. Some people use AirTable, all the scheduling software, Calendly, TidyCal, take your pick and try something.

If it doesn’t float your boat, try something else! What REALLY matters, regardless of the software or anything else you prefer to use, is the WORKFLOW you use alongside it.

 

The Queen of Content Master Index a template AND a workflow

I’ve mentioned a few times recently about my workflow for managing my content which is something I think every online entrepreneur has to deal with these days!

You write something and share it with the world. But if you don’t have a system for managing and organising it, you’re creating extra work for yourself in the long run. Knowing where your content is and being able to find it quickly means repurposing it everywhere is a breeze!

I’ve dubbed my template and workflow the “Queen of Content Master Index“. Why? Because it makes me feel like the Queen of MY Content, and thats such an empowering feeling I want to share that magic with you too!

Its a simple template with full instructions plus a series of short videos to walk you through my workflow, with real life examples you can click through to see how it works.

You’ll find all the info about the Queen of Content Master Index and how to get your hands on it in the description and in the show notes of this episode.

 

How DO you create a workflow?

You might be thinking “DUH! Thats easy peasy, who doesn’t know that?” A lot of people, thats who! lol

For logical thinkers its generally second nature, it makes perfect sense. You’ll just map it out from the starting point all the way through to your end goal. You fill in the gaps and break down each step to a timeline, and hey presto, done!

But for the creative thinkers of our world, its not that clear cut. They have ALL the ideas, they want to do all of them at once, and they want to share everything with the world because they’re just so darn excited about it. They don’t have the time or inclination to follow a plan or a workflow!

 

How do the money archetypes react?

To put it into a money archetypes perspective, Accumulators, Mavericks and Rulers tend to be fairly logical thinkers, certain things just make sense and they get on with the work.

Those logical processes form the basis of their money making abilities. They make it look easy because it IS easy for them.

On the other hand, Alchemists, Nurturers and Romantics lean more towards the creative end of the scale, with loads of ideas and thoughts about the actual people involved in a process.

How it actually comes together isn’t always clear or important to them, they’re able to wing it pretty well. But even that only works up to a point.

Of course, thats a complete generalisation based on common traits, every individual human is different.

But I can tell you as a Connector money archetype, I walk the line between super organised and existing in creative chaos, so I totally understand both perspectives!

Then if you factor in things like ADD and other neurodiverse diagnoses, which a lot of entrepreneurs are coming with these days, it really does make sense why it DOESN’T make sense to everyone!

 

The system for creating a workflow

So let me share with you a simple system or workflow to help you map out YOUR system or workflow. There are 6 steps to this.

 

1 – BRAINSTORM

Get all the ideas about this project or concept out onto paper or into a document on your computer, however you like to work. I tend to revert to paper for this stuff. There are too many distractions if I’m working on my laptop.

Don’t try to organise anything at this point, just make a list and download everything. The purpose is simply to get all the pieces out of your head so you can even start to make sense of them.

 

2 – SET GOALS FOR EVERY STEP

What’s the purpose of each step you’re taking? There has to be a point to it, otherwise its a pointless waste of time, energy and creativity! You can chuck it in the bin!

What do you want the end result to look like? Don’t over think it, it just has to be a standard thats acceptable to you.

You might be imagining some beautifully polished professional creation, but the reality is a simple outline with clear steps and actions can be far more useful to your clients, or audience, and to you.

Take my Queen of Content Master Index for example.

I could add fancy formatting and drop down menus to it, conditional formatting to change colour when certain things happen… but that’s not the purpose of it. Its a starting point to help you manage your creative chaos.

You can customise it and add bells or whistles if its right for you. I don’t want to overwhelm you!

 

3 – PUT IT IN ORDER

Take all those ideas and things you’ve brainstormed, and shuffle them around until you’ve got a logical order.

I find this is way more fun if I write each thing on a separate piece of paper and lay them out on the floor. Or use post it notes on a wall.

You can literally walk through the process step by step, both physically and mentally.

Missing pieces and gaps become a lot clearer when you do it this way, rather than cutting and pasting things in a document on your screen and just thinking about it.

This is also one of the most important things to get an outside perspective on.

 

Imagine you’re someone brand new to your work. Ask yourself if this is going to make sense to THEM.

In most cases we’re too close to our own stuff and can’t see those gaps for ourselves. It makes perfect sense to YOU, but you may have missed something that will ultimately trip your clients up and have an impact on the results they can achieve in the end.

I sometimes feel like a school teacher checking homework when I do this process with my clients, but theres no right or wrong here.

I’ll ask questions about the gaps I’m seeing, and you tell me more about your thought process around it. There might be something you can tweak or add, or take away, and the end result is always something magical.

 

4 – WORK OUT YOUR TIMELINE

How much time do you actually have to achieve your goal and finish your project? That has an impact on the amount of time and energy you need to put into it each day, each week in the lead up to it.

Theres nothing quite like a deadline, actual or self imposed, to get yourself into action and keep you moving forward.

 

CASE STUDY: My Sacred Money Archetypes program

As an example, back in 2020 I decided I was going to streamline my Sacred Money Archetypes program with recorded trainings that clients can access any time.

Up to that point I was doing live calls where I was teaching the content in the moment.

But I wanted clients to have access to the info beforehand so I was no longer repeating myself, they had the same consistent info no matter when they were working on it, and we could then use our live call time for implementation or Q&A. It became a whole lot more fun for everyone.

I had a hard deadline to have new modules completed because they were being released every Friday night my time, during a live round.

Nobody set that deadline for me, it was completely self imposed, but theres something powerful about knowing people are expecting something to be ready on a certain day at a certain time.

The first few modules were labour intensive in that there were at least 8 videos for each one, and each of THOSE ended up about 10 minutes long.

 

Don’t underestimate the time you need

If you’ve ever recorded videos for a course you’re creating, you’ll know thats the easy part! Editing and creating thumbnails, graphics and all the other stuff is time consuming, so you’ve got to allow at least double the length of your video for all that stuff.

I smashed out the first batch of videos in a couple of hours, and then spent the next TEN hours editing and uploading lol!

So there’s a bonus tip for you – be realistic about deadlines and how much time you need to complete something without feeling like a crazy person. That’s the fastest way to kill any joy or happiness you feel about your project.

 

How it impacts your client results

If the project you’re working on is your client roadmap, the process you take YOUR clients through, how much time and energy do both of you need for that?

The worst thing, especially for a service professional, is to overwhelm your clients with too much ‘stuff’ and they end up doing nothing, or very little.

That leads to them asking for a refund because theres no way they can achieve their goal in the time they have available. And thats not cool!

If your goal is to create more time freedom in your business for yourself, you have to be mindful of how much of your time its going to take to deliver your service or project. Its not just the face to face work, its all the behind the scenes stuff as well.

 

5 – BOOK TIME IN YOUR SCHEDULE

Make an appointment with yourself and get it done! I know this is totally obvious, but all the planning in the world doesn’t mean a thing if you don’t then take action on it.

 

6 – REVIEW

Every time you complete something, you get to the end and give yourself a pat on the back. Go back to the start and take some time to review how it went.

• How do you feel about it?
• Did you give yourself enough time?
• What could you do differently in the future?
• Did you achieve the outcome you wanted at the start? Did you go off on a tangent?
• If you took a few tangents, what would you do differently next time that will help you stay on track?
• If it was for a client, what was their feedback? What did they think?

 

That’s pretty much the workflow for creating your own workflow.

Here’s those steps again all together…

1. Brainstorm ALL your ideas, get them out of your head
2. Set goals for every step. If everything has a purpose, you’re less likely to faff about or go off on tangents.
3. Put it in order. Make sense of your creative chaos by stepping into someone else’s shoes and walking through it.
4. Work out your timeline. When do you need this by? How much work will this take? Be realistic about it and don’t overcommit!
5. Book time in your schedule and get it done!
6. Review how it turned out, both from your own and your clients’ perspective. Spot the gaps and how you can improve it next time.

 

Like I said earlier, all ‘basic’ stuff, but that also means its easy to overlook or dismiss. Don’t sweat the small stuff, but don’t ignore the small stuff either.

Not gonna lie, I LOVE getting into this process, both for myself and with clients.

I see your mess and my brain instantly gets busy putting everything in order, decluttering and simplifying everything. Its a real buzz!

If thats something you could do with some help on, lets talk!

I have space for new 1-1 clients in my IGNITE business and money coaching program beginning in February 2024.

We can also spend a Business Alchemy Day together on Voxer mapping this out. No calls, just ideas and strategies flowing via voice note and text.

Send me a DM for a quick chat about either of those options. I’m @funbusinessfunmoney, all one word, on Facebook and Instagram.

You can DM me on LinkedIn, I’m Deirdre Amies there.

You’ll find all the info about the different ways you can get my help with your business on my website over at deirdreamies.com/work-with-me – the link is in the description and in the show notes.

That’s what I’ve got for you today!

Systems really will set you free, and workflows really do make your work flow easily instead of feeling like a log jam of ideas and ‘stuff’.

Don’t beat yourself up or feel bad about operating in creative chaos, not everyone’s brains are made to be organised. Just know that there are logical brains out there that can help you make sense of it all.

Take care, have fun getting yourself into a beautiful workflow, and I’ll catch you in the next episode.