Is running your business stressing you out? Do you feel like you are trapped by the amount of work you have to do?

In this interview, Stephanie Spaan President and CEO of Excel Achievement Center reveals some of the personal crises she experienced and how systematizing her business allowed her to keep going without becoming stressed out.

You will also discover how she was able to encourage her employees to come up with possible solutions to the problems they ran into, how she uses self-evaluation forms to ensure that her employees are on track, and how she was able to create a culture where her employees contribute to the team and feel appreciated.

 

 

In this Episode You will Discover:

* Tips for managing business stress.

* How Stephanie was able to transform her business from a top-down culture to a teamwork oriented business.

* Why Stephanie has manuals for every role in her business.

* How Stephanie encouraged her employees to come up with possible solutions for problems they encountered in her business.

* Why Stephanie believes in staying current with your business and creating systems accordingly.

* How Stephanie uses a database to keep track of the progress of her students.

* How Stephanie uses self-evaluation forms to ensure her employees are on track.

* Why Stephanie hires detail-oriented teachers that pay attention to the details of the systems.

* How Stephanie was able to create a culture where her employees feel appreciated.

 

Episode Transcript:

OWEN: My guest today is Stephanie Spaan. And she is the president and CEO at the Excel Achievement Center. Stephanie, welcome to the show.

STEPHANIE: Thanks so much for having me. I’m really super excited.

OWEN: Awesome. This interview is all about getting guests in here who have been able to systematize their business so that our audience can learn how exactly you did that. And so before we even talk about the actual meat per se that pertains to the content today I want to give the listeners an understanding of what are some mind blowing results that you now currently experience as result of going through that process of systematizing and automating your business.

STEPHANIE: My goodness, there are so many of them. Of course the biggest one is that I don’t have to be here all the time. I’m a single mother. I had some health issues that I’ve gone. I’ve gotten to go on vacations even to far away countries, like I’ve been to France. And my company, there’s not even a glitch in the system. So that’s one of the great big ones. The other huge one is that everyone in my company feels empowered, feels a part of it, and it’s not just Stephanie’s company but it is definitely Excel Achievement, the people. So I would say those are the two huge benefits.

OWEN: How will you say your company has been transformed as a result of systematizing your business?

STEPHANIE: It’s far less top down. I think as a new business owner I definitely wanted to be in control, wanted everything my way and that’s great. I think when you’re first starting off and ensure that it does go according to the mission or your business plan. But then when you start to pull in other people’s point of view you realize that you can brighten and even make better based on other people’s gifts and strengths. And so therefore as I started to put systems in it empowered my employees then to be able to take more ownership and add their own strengths and capabilities.

OWEN: You mentioned during the pre-interview that now it’s gotten less top down and is more team-oriented, right?

STEPHANIE: Definitely less top down. It used to be very much so top down.