When I first started making the transition from therapist to speaker, Somers White offered me the opportunity to visit his office where he was running his successful speaking and consulting business. I came away from my visit with one basic rule (and a multitude of tips) firmly in mind: get your systems in place first.



Somers' advice is as timely today as it was then. Get your systems in place first, especially if you want to automate your business.

The myth of automation says computers will solve all our problems. Not so! If we don't have good systems before we automate, we'll have terrible ones, unworkable systems, after we try to put them on a computer.

Good systems keep us on track. They outline all the steps of a task or project, remind you of the details, build in back ups and benchmarks.

The most important technology tools for defining a system? A pencil and a piece of paper. If you can't sketch out the work flow for a task, project or process on paper, you'll never be able to do it on a computer.

The most common complaint I hear from One-Person Business owners is how to take care of all the details of running the business while they are busy providing products and services to their clients. Usually this question comes after missing a deadline, not returning a crucial phone call, or bringing the wrong materials to a client meeting. Each of these "mistakes" costs big. We look like we don't walk our talk, aren't truly professional or aren't worth the investment our clients make in our services. Good systems, keep track of details, mean we don't have to remember to remember. Our systems do it for us.

So, get your systems in place first, before you make one of these mistakes. Or, if you're in rehab mode, do it now.

Establishing a system is a "sharpening the ax" activity. Initially, it takes time, but quickly saves much more time than you invested.

Let's use your new client forms as an example of getting a system up and running. This will start building your tool kit of standard forms, letters, responses, and procedures.

Collect the letters, questionnaires, invoices, agreements, you used for your last three or four new clients.

(Your fees and prices don't matter for this activity. We'll get to setting costs and pricing later.)

What information did you ask for from the client? What information did you miss and have to go back for? What letters did you send? Agreements? What kinds of people did you need to talk to? How did you arrange for expenses? Reproduction of materials?

New client packets represent all the details of making sure both you and the client are on the same page: you both know who is going to do what, at what cost, when and where; how you're going to get there and what you're going to leave behind.

My new client packet includes templates for a proposal, letter of agreement, and the cover letter that accompanies it, an inquiry response, check lists, a background questionnaire, invoices, invoice cover letters, travel itinerary, and so on and so on. I sometimes don't use each form for each client, but I hate to start writing letters from scratch when I've got a lot to do.

Use your pencil and planning paper to sketch out the formats you prefer for each form you'll use. Highlight the phrases you've used that you want in your standard forms.

Now, go to your word processor. Open a new file, format it like you sketched, whether a letter or a form, and "save as" a file in your New Client Packet folder in the folder called Speaking Admin.

Use place holders for information that varies with each letter i.e. name of contact, amount of fee, date of program. I use CAPITALS or a series of XXXXXX to indicate data needs to be filled in.

When you're satisfied with a form or form letter file, "save as" instead of "save." You'll see a scroll window with format options, usually close to the file name box. Scroll down to stationery or template, highlight this option and then click on the save button. (When you save as stationery or template, the new file will automatically open with not file name. You are forced to save it as a new file, leaving your stationery file unchanged and ready for next time.)

Next time you need to do the paper work for a new client, just open the New Client Packet folder, chose the letter you need, fill in the specific information and send it off.

As you come on a repeating process, take a few minutes of your week to ensure you've documented all the steps. It makes it much easier than trying to remember to remember.