Systems Simplified

Liz Hatcher is the Founder and CEO of Women to Women Network, a membership organization for women in business dedicated to building strong connections, referral partners, and friendships. Through various events and social media connections, the network provides a forum for collaboration, mentoring, and sharing ideas, offering resources and inspiration.

As the founder and visionary of your company, how can you empower your team to develop and implement business systems successfully? Is there a secret recipe?

Systems and processes are essential for the growth of a company. However, you need a competent team that understands your company's needs and goals for you to thrive. From experience, Liz Hatcher realized the value of developing the right infrastructure and leadership team to achieve her network's vision. She created and documented systems and processes, empowered her leadership team to make decisions, and leveraged project management tools to help her team execute policies.

In this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, Adi Klevit is joined by Liz Hatcher, the Founder and CEO of Women to Women Network, to discuss strategies for ensuring business systems and processes are implemented. They also talk about the benefits of adjusting business systems as a company grows and how creatives can use systems to execute their visions.

Joshua Keene is an Account Executive at LaPorte Insurance, an insurance agency in the Pacific Northwest. He is also known as the red-bearded risk guy. Joshua helps companies with their insurance needs by mitigating risks and maximizing profits. He graduated with honors from Oregon State University and Mt. Hood Community College.

Which business risks do you face? How can you effectively manage risk to safeguard your company assets?

Risks are inevitable when running a business. If not managed well, risks can affect your employees' productivity and cause losses. However, there are a number of preventive measures you can take to safeguard the well-being of your company and employees from potential risks.

In this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, Adi Klevit interviews Joshua Keene, an Account Executive at LaPorte Insurance, about creating a safety culture. They discuss the benefits of risk management, how to create an effective safety plan, and common risks in the service industry.

Augusto Carneiro is the Founder and Chief Friendship Officer of Nossa Familia Coffee, an Oregon-based roaster that aims to deliver exceptional farm-direct coffee and create positive relationships locally and globally. Augusto's family has been growing coffee in the highlands of Brazil since the 1890s, and he founded Nossa Familia to bring his family's coffee to Portland.

Initially, all of Nossa Familia's coffee was imported from his family's farms, which remain at the core of its direct coffee trade model. Over time, the company has developed deeply rooted relationships with coffee growers around the world.

Successful businesses require strategic processes for task delegation, goal-setting, and growth. While some entrepreneurs excel at these responsibilities, others are more creative and struggle to implement the right systems, remain assertive, and follow through with their practices.

Augusto Carneiro falls under the second category of entrepreneurs. As a creative visionary and people-pleaser, he values the freedom to develop new ideas and tends to delegate tasks too quickly. Yet, systems don't have to be constraining, and after hiring a process-oriented COO, Augusto found that adhering to a regular schedule allows for further flexibility. It's also crucial to develop sound business goals and values so that you can delegate tasks with authority and intention and provide constructive feedback confidently.

Tune in to this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast as Adi Klevit welcomes Augusto Carneiro, Founder and Chief Friendship Officer of Nossa Familia Coffee, to talk about the benefits of processes for business growth, flexibility, and confidence. Augusto shares the inspiration behind "chief friendship officer," how he implemented systems to facilitate Nossa Familia's growth, and how he initiated difficult conversations and overcame the challenges of delegating tasks.

Suzie Hall is an author, speaker, transformation expert, and the Founder and CEO of Cornerstone Design and The Cornerstone Collective, along with two other companies. Celebrating 30 years in business, Cornerstone Design provides interior design services for most markets, including commercial, medical, multifamily, government, luxury residential, and hotels. The Cornerstone Collective is a full-service design and construction solution that accelerates and simplifies the process, bringing proven leadership, outstanding talent, innovation, and optimal resources together to create the ideal project development team.

After receiving her BA in business administration, Suzie moved on to design and development, which gives her a unique view of the industry, allowing her to combine aesthetic appeal with business realities and to view projects through the owner's lens.

How do you show up to work every day? As a leader, do you consistently show up with positive energy? How is the success of an entrepreneur's business impacted by having the right systems and mindset?

To be a great leader, you have to make a deliberate effort to show up as your best self consistently every day. Suzie Hall developed and systemized daily routines and habits to help her show up energized every day by transforming both her personal and professional life. When entrepreneurs prioritize their well-being and take good care of themselves, they are better equipped to amplify the success of their businesses. Creating a culture that provides a structure that also gives your creatives room to roam is integral to success and employee satisfaction. Suzie subscribes to the mantra that having systems for yourself and your business encourages people to clear their minds, recognize opportunities, and be open to new possibilities.

In this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, Suzie Hall, Founder of Cornerstone Design and The Cornerstone Collective, joins Adi Klevit to share her systems for showing up with magnificent energy every day. They also discuss the biggest challenges Suzie overcame growing her businesses, how her morning routine affects her business, and how she structures and uses systems and processes to scale her companies.

Cameron Herold, dubbed by Forbes as Today's CEO Whisperer, is the Founder of COO Alliance, a leading community for ops-minded professionals to help them build better companies and develop revenue and profit-generating ideas. He is a business growth guru and the best-selling author of several books, including Double Double, Vivid Vision, and his latest, The Second in Command.

He has been an entrepreneur for almost 20 years and was second in command at several companies. Throughout his career, Cameron has been the mastermind behind the exponential growth of hundreds of companies. Featured in publications, including Forbes, Inc., The New York Times, and Fortune, he is also a top-rated international speaker and hosts the Second-in-Command podcast, where listeners can tune in for tips and insights from other high-level COOs.

What is the best process for hiring, onboarding, and training your company's second in command? How can you create a trustworthy and mutually beneficial relationship with your COO?

The second-in-command plays a crucial role in the daily operations of a company. From supporting the CEO to acting as an entrepreneur's business partner, a COO helps the business achieve its goals. A valuable and effective second in command must understand and align his or her work with the company's core values, vision, mission, culture, and purpose. This alignment ensures they actively participate in executing the company's objectives and the scaling of the business.

In this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, Adi Klevit interviews Cameron Herold, the Founder of COO Alliance, about his process for unleashing the power of your second in command. Cameron shares best practices for hiring a COO, tips for delegating work and strengthening the CEO/COO relationship, and how to effectively onboard and train a COO.

James McDonough is the Founder and CEO of FAT FINGER, a digital standard operating procedure software platform that empowers frontline workers to work more efficiently. Its easy drag-and-drop builder empowers anyone to create digital procedures in seconds.

James' international industry experience includes internet technology, oil and gas, mining, forest and pulp and paper, and government and consumer goods. He is a passionate entrepreneur, technologist, and past top-tier management consultant. A sought-after speaker, James has held many industry forums and spoken at top universities worldwide on a range of topics, including entrepreneurship, innovation, industrial internet of things (IIoT).

The most successful companies use workflows and procedures to run operations and achieve business objectives. Documenting and implementing these processes save time and money and boost efficiency. So, how can your business get started and take advantage of these benefits?

Creating SOPs (standard operating procedures) requires a time investment, communication, and relevant information. But using automated workflows, FAT FINGER makes it easy for employees to access relevant information to complete their tasks, and its drag-and-drop builder enables anyone to create digital procedures in seconds. According to James McDonough, automating procedures is a great way to empower employees, promote efficiency, and improve communication and collaboration. These benefits positively impact engagement among employees, management, and clients. Investing in automation also helps with time management and reduces human error.

In this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, Adi Klevit is joined by James McDonough, the Founder and CEO of FAT FINGER, to talk about streamlining workflows with his process documentation platform. They discuss the effects of automated workflows on business operations, how FAT FINGER promotes employee empowerment, and the benefits of documenting processes and procedures.

Camela Thompson is the Vice President of Marketing at CaliberMind. This leading B2B revenue analytics platform looks at every sales and marketing touchpoint to help marketers make sense of their data to enable confident decision-making and faster growth. With experience in the marketing world, Camela has also spent over 15 years in revenue operations in the technology industry, growing successful startups such as Qumulo, ExtraHop Networks, and CDK Global (formerly Cobalt). She is also the host of The Revenue Marketing Report podcast.

We've all had experiences when we reach out to a company or a person and never get a response. It makes us feel unimportant, and any chance of them receiving our business is lost. So, what's the most effective process for turning those leads into clients?

With an extensive background in marketing and growing businesses, Camela Thompson knows that if you don't have a responsive follow-up system in place to engage with leads, you'll lose motivated potential clients. The main focus is to have a method of tracking your leads and a system of next steps to engage with them. It's also essential to make communication personal and identify and understand your leads' struggles, desires, and needs to determine if your lead is in your target market. Formulating an organized approach and developing a responsive process will enable you to secure more clients and grow your business.

Camela Thompson, the Vice President of Marketing at CaliberMind, joins Adi Klevit in this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast to talk about developing creative processes for following up and optimizing business leads. Camela shares tips for identifying your ideal leads, determining the frequency of communication, and maintaining an integrated CRM.

Dee Soffer-Ninary is the CEO of Optima Enterprises, a professional real estate and construction management company specializing in providing cost-effective property and project management services. Destined to become a serial entrepreneur at the ripe age of 13, Dee had already started her first business as a math and writing tutor and grew it by having other tutors do it on her behalf.

As an adult, she started her career as a property management consultant, and over the past two decades, she has established multiple successful entities in the real estate and construction sectors. Dee is a board member for the Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) and also the President of her local EO Los Angeles Chapter.

How do you take an idea and turn it into a business? What do you have to do to become a successful entrepreneur? Does entrepreneurship involve simply taking an idea from concept to execution?

As a serial entrepreneur, Dee Soffer-Ninary creates business ideas, but she knows she needs others to take that idea and push it through to execution. You need the finders, minders, and grinders to get it done. She also knows that systems and processes are part of a successful business plan, and serial entrepreneurs need them to move forward and support their other creative ideas. Entrepreneurship is not just about taking an idea directly from concept to execution — you need to have effective systems in place and be willing to take risks.

In this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, Adi Klevit interviews Dee Soffer-Ninary, the CEO of Optima Enterprises, about integrating systems with entrepreneurship. Dee shares her entrepreneurial journey and explains how systems can help you become a better entrepreneur. They also discuss strategies for executing business ideas and tips for balancing your personal and professional life.

Justin Riordan is the Founder of Spade and Archer Design Agency, a home staging company with locations in Palm Springs, Portland, and Seattle. Justin is a thought leader and a trendsetter in the real estate industry. Before opening Spade and Archer in 2009, he practiced interior architecture and interior construction for 12 years. Additionally, he is an accomplished and engaging speaker who regularly presents at real estate industry events, sharing his expertise about home staging.

What strategies can you use to make work easier and more efficient for yourself and your employees? How can you use systems to improve the customer experience?

When Justin Riordan realized his business was leaving a lot of money on the table using tedious processes, he built systems for his agency because customers want to deal with companies that make the shopping experience easy. Justin hired new employees based on his agency's core values, delegated work, and offered employee incentives. He also nurtured leaders from his team and let go of unproductive employees. These strategies enabled Justin to step back from the daily management of his company and gain more freedom.

In this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, Adi Klevit interviews Justin Riordan, the Founder of Spade and Archer Design Agency, about how to use systems to increase efficiency and make business processes easier. Justin talks about his favorite business systems, explains how his company scaled when he started implementing systems, and shares his strategies for training employees.

John Lund is the Founder and Executive Coach of MyB2BCoach, a company that coaches sales teams in small to mid-sized businesses. MyB2BCoach's proven process is built on strategy, training, accountability, and AI sales coaching software.

John is also the President of Entresmart, a company that specializes in helping small and mid-sized businesses grow their top and bottom line through strategic planning, facilitation, coaching, and empowerment training. He also founded OFFWIRE Inc., which was recognized three times on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing businesses. He successfully exited and sold the company after 19 years to a world-renowned distributor.

Additionally, John has been heavily involved with the Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) for 22 years, holding several leadership positions over his tenure.

You'll likely realize some growing pains at the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey, including the feeling that you're constantly putting out fires. So, what can you do to help you grow and scale your business?

With decades of entrepreneurial experience under his belt, John Lund knows that well-established processes can do wonders for a business. When you document and systemize your business processes and then use automation to improve your efficiency and remove redundancies, it dramatically affects your business' profitability and ability to grow. One of the key business strategies that will propel you towards your business aspirations is implementing and integrating automated processes and procedures, so you don't have to rely on the one unicorn on your team who stores the information in her head.

In this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, host Adi Klevit joins John Lund, Founder and Executive Coach of MyB2BCoach. John shares his entrepreneurial journey and what he learned along the way. He details the value of well-documented processes and procedures, how he helps businesses increase efficiency and profitability using automation, how systemizing your business increases its value when strategizing an exit, and identifying and removing redundancies to increase business growth.