Schools of Excellence: The No. 1 ECE & Private School Leadership Podcast

253. Stop the Hidden Drain: Admin & Tech Systems That Protect Your Profit


Listen Later

Admin & Tech isn’t flashy like enrollment or emotional like staff culture—but it’s one of the biggest hidden profit drains in schools. In this finale of the Money Leaks series, Chanie breaks down how underutilized software, paper-based SOPs, missing automations, and messy file systems quietly torch your time capacity and cash. You’ll get a simple, CEO-level playbook to audit your tech stack, automate the right tasks, assign platform “champions,” and build rhythms that stop dependency and start true scalability.

👉 Take the free diagnostic mentioned in this episode: schoolsofexcellence.com/moneyleaks

What You’ll Learn

  • The 5 Admin & Tech pillars that protect profit (workflows, utilization, automation, data & file systems, review rhythms)
  • How to audit your tech stack and cut redundancies without chaos
  • Why automation doesn’t replace people—it gives them back time for what only humans can do
  • The “internal platform champion” model that prevents bottlenecks and builds team capacity
  • A simple naming convention + 10-second file-finding standard that ends “final-final-FINAL-v6” madness
  • How to move from dependency (it only works when Sarah’s here) to system (it works when anyone follows the rhythm)

SOE Playbook: 5 Concrete Moves

  1. Run a Software Audit (30–45 min): List every tool, owner, cost, and actual use. Cancel redundancies, downgrade unused premium plans, and standardize what stays.
  2. Assign Platform Champions: One trained “owner” per platform. Share quick wins, create 1-page SOPs, and stop knowledge hoarding.
  3. Automate Repetitive Admin: Scheduling, reminders, links, confirmations, form routing, basic onboarding steps. Free people for gratitude, 1:1s, observations, feedback—the work only humans can do.
  4. Lock File Hygiene: Cloud-first, consistent naming, and a structure anyone can understand. Measure success by: “Can someone find any file in ≤10 seconds?”
  5. Quarterly Rhythm Block: Every 90 days: review tools, subscriptions, automations, and workflows. One block. Same calendar slot. Always.

Case Studies & Wins

  • Sonia’s Tech Tangle → $4,000 Saved: She listed 19 tools; canceled 5–7 redundant platforms, downgraded others, and named champions for the rest—saving nearly $4K/year and loads of time capacity.
  • The $9,000 Surprise: A leader who “couldn’t afford it” did a money leaks audit, canceled 3 subscriptions, and freed up $9,000—just by telling the truth in the tech stack.

Memorable Lines

  • “If it takes more than 10 seconds to find a file, you have a leak—not a library.”
  • Dependency isn’t a system. It’s a risk.”
  • “Automation isn’t about replacing people—it’s about returning time to the work only humans can do.”
  • “When someone leaves, the brain of your business shouldn’t walk out with them.”

Resources

Free diagnostic: schoolsofexcellence.com/moneyleaks

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Schools of Excellence: The No. 1 ECE & Private School Leadership PodcastBy Chanie Wilschanski

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

88 ratings


More shows like Schools of Excellence: The No. 1 ECE & Private School Leadership Podcast

View all
Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast by Life.Church

Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast

10,712 Listeners

That Early Childhood Nerd by Explorations Early Learning

That Early Childhood Nerd

90 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

112,333 Listeners

Child Care Rockstar Radio by Kris Murray

Child Care Rockstar Radio

81 Listeners

Maxwell Leadership Podcast by John Maxwell

Maxwell Leadership Podcast

2,447 Listeners

The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast by That Sounds Fun Network

The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast

2,115 Listeners

On Purpose with Jay Shetty by iHeartPodcasts

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

27,796 Listeners

Flusterclux With Lynn Lyons: For Parents Who Worry by Lynn Lyons LICSW, Robin Hutson

Flusterclux With Lynn Lyons: For Parents Who Worry

457 Listeners

A Bit of Optimism by Simon Sinek

A Bit of Optimism

2,110 Listeners

Childcare Business Growth Podcast by Childcare Business Growth

Childcare Business Growth Podcast

2 Listeners

New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce by Wondery

New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce

18,369 Listeners

The Mel Robbins Podcast by Mel Robbins

The Mel Robbins Podcast

20,347 Listeners

Child Care Genius Podcast by Brian and Carol Duprey

Child Care Genius Podcast

14 Listeners

The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast by Erica Saccoccio

The Child Care Directors Chair Podcast

45 Listeners

The Director's Club by Noelle D'Intino

The Director's Club

9 Listeners