A frequent question that I get asked is how in the world did you become a systems strategist and coach? Here’s the story behind my journey…
I started my business in April of 2020 when my position was eliminated due to Covid. My position was Benefits Administrator, but I was big into the tech side of HR. Because of that, I was asked to help set up and onboard two HRIS systems in our company.
Many companies weren’t hiring and in-person interviews weren’t happening. “How the heck do you look for a job in a pandemic?” I asked. I started looking around online and discovered a Virtual Assistance course. I signed up for that and started working as a VA.
The Very First System I Set Up in my Business was Dubsado
The course I took had a section on tech and what tools were necessary to start a VA business. I remember the course going something like this…
You’ll need to take payments… Dubsado does that.
You’ll need to be able to digitally sign contracts… Dubsado does that.
You’ll need to collect client information… Dubsado does that.
Everything that I needed to do to start my VA business was in Dubsado. Why I thought, would I buy a bunch of other tools, when I could just buy one.
I set up Dubsado and used it to manage my VA clients easily. I was working hourly at that time. When you’re working hourly, spending a lot of time doing admin work isn’t helpful to make money. So I did EVERYTHING I could to automate as much as I could so I could focus on client work.
I Specialized and Pivoted A LOT
I started out as a general VA. (This means I did a little bit of a lot of things.) As I spent time doing different tasks, I realized that I should specialize in order to charge more. I tried several specializations (each time re-working my Dubsado account to fit the new business.)
I tried blog management, social media management, copywriting, and nothing really felt like me. In the midst of all this, I was in the backend of A LOT of businesses. I used A LOT of tech tools. Ex. Kajabi, Keap, FloDesk, Kartra, Thinkific, Canva, ClickUp, Zapier, Asana, and Trello (just to name a few).
I Wrote a List of Everything I Had Done in the Past
I thought “I need to stop pivoting and find something that I really love to do.” When I thought about it, I realized that I had a talent for systematizing and automating things. Honestly, I HATE doing repetitive tasks and I’ve always loved to find ways to automate them so I don’t have to do them myself.
How Can I Put My Love of Systems to Good Use?
Next, I asked myself, how can I put my love of automation to good use? I remembered Dubsado. I did some research and quickly realized that A LOT of people find it completely overwhelming to map out their client journey and figure out Dubsado.
In fact, they spend months to years sometimes trying to figure it out. OUCH!
I knew I could help. So I started to focus on systematizing creative businesses. I saw them thrive and grow because of the work I’d done. I developed a process to help small business owners be more organized, feel less overwhelmed, and get out of the day-to-day admin work so they could focus on the things that they’re really good at.
That’s When I Decided to Become a Systems Strategist and Coach
I’ve spent a lot of time learning systems and putting my knowledge to work for myself and my clients. Each client has their own unique business and unique way of doing things. Sometimes, I have to advise them to change things to make the best use of their systems. (That can take a bit of coaching through the process because it’s not always easy to change your way of doing things.)
There You Have it! That’s How I Became a Systems Strategist and Coach
I love being a systems strategist and coach! It’s been so awesome sharing what I know and helping other small business owners to use tech to work less, make more and create client experiences that WOW. I feel truly blessed and lucky!