Systems Simplified

Mark Miller is the Co-founder and President of Historic, a brand strategy and design thinking group based in Phoenix with clients all over the US. Historic's main focus is primarily on servicing nonprofits and cause-oriented businesses. Mark is a strategic and creative leader with an extensive background in company culture, branding, marketing, creative processes, and systems. He is also the author of Culture Built My Brand: The Secret to Winning More Customers Through Company Culture.

What new processes can you develop to grow and scale your company? Which areas need restructuring to improve operations? Do you have systems and processes in place that are burning cash?

Just because you've been doing something a particular way for a long time does not mean you have to continue. Challenge your standard operating procedures and reexamine your usual way of doing things because you may devise more efficient methods. When you discover a better way to achieve your end goal, developing and documenting a detailed step-by-step process is essential. Using a feedback loop will help your company continue to be creative and improve techniques, especially if you employ a diverse team. Having a diversified team, a great company culture, and solid processes will go a long way toward driving profitable growth. Processes improve execution, promote efficiency, and enhance the customer experience.

In this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, Adi Klevit hosts Mark Miller, the Co-founder and President of Historic, to talk about challenging your status quo and using systems and processes to provide a better customer experience. Mark discusses the steps Historic uses to document processes internally, how to use processes to get unstuck, and the value of having a feedback loop.

Kate Bradley Chernis is the Founder and CEO of Lately, a company that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to generate high-performing, transformative social media content to drive optimum engagement. She is a former rock 'n' roll DJ and served over 20 million listeners as music director and on-air host at Sirius XM. She is also an award-winning radio producer, engineer, and voice talent with 25 years of national broadcast communications, brand-building, sales, and marketing expertise. Kate used her music and radio talents to create Lately's AI.

In a highly competitive world, what can businesses do to cut through the noise to reach a wider audience? How can they create an emotional connection with clients?

The secret to effective marketing is creating an emotional connection with your audience. Reaching a larger audience may require businesses to vary their content. The solution: repurpose old content to suit the needs of a diverse audience.

In this episode of Systems Simplified, Adi Klevit hosts Kate Bradley Chernis, the Founder and CEO of Lately, to talk about creating systems for increasing engagement. Kate explains how the idea for Lately's AI came to fruition, how the platform serves small businesses, and discusses the value of repurposing content.

Adi Kaskavalciyan is the Co-founder of The Wealthy Contractor and gFour Marketing Group. The Wealthy Contractor provides real-world education, training, and best practices to help home improvement and home services business owners achieve more success, wealth, and freedom. Through gFour Marketing Group, Adi and her husband, Brian Kaskavalciyan, help clients nationwide create profitable, long-lasting customer relationships by using their award-winning done-for-you marketing programs. They help contractors bring in more referrals, reviews, and repeat business.

Do you want to become a business owner? What challenges would you face growing your business? Do you work on your business or in your business? Sometimes entrepreneurs think the answers are for them to figure out alone.

As a successful entrepreneur who has "been there, done that," Adi Kaskavalciyan says, the most successful people accept that they don't know everything and surround themselves with people who are experts in the areas where they're lacking. Building a successful business is a journey full of many ups and downs. You have to be committed to it and find the right resources to help you along the way. But what makes this journey easier is having a supportive community.

In this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, Adi Klevit is joined by Adi Kaskavalciyan, the Co-founder of The Wealthy Contractor and gFour Marketing Group, to discuss the value of being part of a supportive community. They also discuss secrets to being a wealthy entrepreneur, what successful and wealthy contractors have in common, and how The Wealthy Contractor supports entrepreneurs.

Jon LoDuca is the Founder of PlaybookBuilder, a revolutionary knowledge management tool that helps drive higher results in organizations by supporting a continuous learning culture. PlaybookBuilder enables innovative organizations to onboard, train, and drive the adoption of their learning content and share it with team members, prospects, clients, and vendors.

How can knowledge be extracted from an individual, packaged, and used as an asset for the company?

Your employees' wisdom, expertise, and knowledge are your company's greatest assets. However, without structured processes in place, this knowledge and expertise can't serve your company well. Not sharing this knowledge and wisdom limits growth and makes it harder to scale operations. It also makes it difficult to exit the business and have a smooth transfer to a new owner. Capturing and sharing learning content and tools with your team, clients, vendors, and prospects is in your best interest. So, what processes do you need to have in place to enable knowledge transfer?

In this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, Adi Klevit is joined by Jon LoDuca, the Founder of PlaybookBuilder, to talk about processes for wisdom and knowledge transfer. They discuss why not having processes in place prevents a company from scaling, the benefits of collaboration, and how Jon's PlaybookBuilder works.

Jeff J. Hunter is the Founder and CEO of VA Staffer, a 170-plus-person virtual assistant staffing and marketing agency. He helps entrepreneurs and startups build and scale remote teams to dominate their brand category through his C.O.R.E. branding method. Jeff's company has been featured in several publications, including Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Inc., as well as on ABC and CBS.

In addition to his VA Staffer business, Jeff is the Founder and Chief Growth Officer of Branded Media, where he creates solid, recognizable, legacy-driven personal brands for companies and influencers. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration, business, computer information systems, marketing, and operations management. He is also the host of the Savage Marketer podcast.

What does it take to become the industry leader in your area of expertise? How does a business stand out and get a fighting chance in a world full of noise?

Companies need to recognize the value of hiring talented people and virtual assistants to help in building a scalable brand. Jeff J. Hunter developed the C.O.R.E. method for hiring, training, and delegating to virtual assistants. Virtual assistants can handle many of your routine tasks — lead generation, advertising, data entry, contact management, and social media marketing — so leaders can focus on growing their businesses. His method helps businesses and entrepreneurs stand out and have a competitive advantage in this crowded marketplace.

Jeff J. Hunter, the Founder and CEO of VA Staffer, joins Adi Klevit in this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast to talk about best practices for hiring, onboarding, and training virtual assistants. Jeff explains how virtual assistants can create standard operating procedures, shares strategies for delegating, and talks about his C.O.R.E. branding method.

Chris Guinn III is the Principal Broker and Co-owner of Dwell Realty, a real estate brokerage firm. He started his entrepreneurial journey 35 years ago in residential sales before starting Dwell Realty in 2009 with his friend Tracey Hicks. Not long afterward, Chris decided to get into property management which led to the founding of Dwell Property Management, where he manages residential and commercial properties in the Portland Metro area.

How can you build a sellable business? What infrastructure do you need to create a transferable company?

Although Chris Guinn III built a successful salon business, he found it challenging to sell it to transition to a new industry. He realized he did not have the proper infrastructure in place to transfer it to a new owner. He learned the importance of having well-documented processes and procedures to make it attractive to buyers.

In this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, Adi Klevit joins Chris Guinn III, the Principal Broker and Co-owner of Dwell Realty, to discuss the lessons he learned about building a sellable business. Chris talks about starting a real estate firm, how he has benefited from property management, and the systems he created for his company.

Dondi Scumaci is the President of Dondi Scumaci, Inc., where she and her team consult with organizations to develop better employees, leadership, and overall company culture through its public and private seminars, keynotes, and management retreats.

Dondi has many years of experience as an executive in the financial industry and transitioned to consultancy to help businesses and people thrive. She is the author of many books, including the best-seller Designed For Success: The 10 Commandments for Women in the Workplace. Dondi is an international speaker best known for her high-energy presentations and workshops designed to inspire employees, executives, and entrepreneurs to reach their potential.

People need to feel connected with others, that their work has meaning, and that they're an important part of the company's vision. It makes employees more productive, communicate and collaborate effectively, and fuels overall engagement. How can that be done?

People feel engaged when they find meaning and purpose in their work, making them want to release their potential. During the pandemic, people became isolated, so companies need to find ways for them to reconnect because collaboration is integral to effective teams. Involvement in the company vision, having processes in place, and receiving support help form employee connectivity and a sense of community. If they know they're part of the bigger picture, it drives their commitment to their jobs, and they feel involved in the meaning and purpose behind their work and the impact of their role in the company. Giving feedback, especially the positive kind, is also key, and companies can support their employees through a mentorship or coaching program to build engagement. Engagement creates a solid company culture, a sense of community and collaboration, and drives the company vision. What else can leaders do to motivate and engage their people?

Dondi Scumaci, President of Dondi Scumaci, Inc., joins Adi Klevit in this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast to talk about systems for creating engagement. They discuss how a sense of community helps fuel engagement, differentiate mentorship from coaching, the art of delegation, and share best practices for a constructive feedback system.

David Brier is the Founder and CEO of DBD International, Ltd., a branding consultancy that helps build brands for clients worldwide, no matter your size, location, or industry. He is a branding expert and the recipient of over 330 international industry awards in branding, rebrands, design, and brand strategy.

He received the Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship medallion and has been featured in Adweek, Forbes, Inc, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, Business Insider, and numerous podcasts. David is also the author of the award-winning book Brand Intervention: 33 Steps to Transform the Brand You Have into the Brand You Need.

Customers buy transformations — products or services that make things simpler, better, easier, tastier, smaller, or bigger. How can you use your company's unique story as a selling point to differentiate itself from competitors? How can your brand add value for customers?

The most essential factor in building your brand is the experience people have with your product or service — the actual differentiator of using it, interacting with it, and the transformation it helps bring about. With a wealth of branding experience behind him, David Brier's advice is to start by focusing on customers' problems and needs. He helps companies create a unique brand that relates and interacts better with customers. Customers look for brands that fill the gap between where they are and where they want to be — they are looking for a solution. Once you can do that for them, your business will grow.

In this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, Adi Klevit interviews David Brier, Founder and CEO of DBD International, Ltd., about his system for creating a differentiated brand. David also talks about his book, explains what branding means, and discusses how companies can become extraordinary and differentiate themselves from competitors.

Cindy Free is the Owner and CEO of HR Annie Consulting, a human resources consulting firm located in Portland, Oregon. She started her career in the ski industry, and after college, she started working in HR. She officially joined HR Annie Consulting in 2012. The company was originally founded by her mother, Ann "Annie" Reed, in 2009. Annie transferred ownership to Cindy in 2016.

HR Annie Consulting specializes in high-quality human resources solutions using a tailor-made approach. The team works with many small to mid-sized clients to help them with their HR needs. Cindy is responsible for all functions of the HR Annie team, including sales, marketing, customer service, project management, and overall customer satisfaction.

Your business requires employees to function, so treating them well is essential. They are your most valuable asset. If you don't take good care of them, they won't be as productive or happy in their roles, and your business will suffer. Does your company need a better HR plan?

Having a human resources infrastructure is crucial not just for the sake of legal compliance but also for the success of the company and the well-being of its employees. Every business needs an HR infrastructure with systems and standard operating procedures in place for guidance. In the long-term, companies benefit from a low employee turnover rate and a more productive team.

Cindy Free, the Owner and CEO of HR Annie Consulting, is Adi Klevit's guest on this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, where she talks about systems for human resources management and how they use a tailor-made approach with companies. Cindy explains how she works with clients, why documentation and systems are vital for a solid human resources structure, and best practices to ensure legal compliance.

Isaiah Nolte is the COO at Traction Tools, a cloud-based software platform that helps organizations implement the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) with ease. It helps businesses manage meetings, operations, member permissions, and communications across the organization. Its "To-Dos" functionality enables users to create a list of tasks during meetings and send automatic reminders.

Isaiah is a Professional EOS Integrator at EOS Worldwide. Prior to his current position, he was the Operations Leader and then the Integrator and President of Traction Tools. Before joining Traction Tools, he was the Sales and Tech Leader at Marketing Concepts.

Are you wasting time in an endless stream of meetings? Do you have trouble staying on task and prioritizing your responsibilities? Is it challenging for you to stay organized? A software systems solution could help you and your company with all those challenges.

Many companies have adopted the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) because it helps prioritize time, execute duties, and achieve better results. Useful software helps promote clarity and accountability to manage workloads, priorities, and goals efficiently. For the EOS system to work efficiently, you need the right software to execute it. Traction Tools allows you to take the components of EOS and use them so everybody in the company can access the areas focused on what they need to know. Once it's integrated into your business, you'll be glad you didn't try to reinvent the wheel.

In this episode of the Systems Simplified podcast, Adi Klevit interviews Isaiah Nolte, the COO at Traction Tools, about the benefits of using its software to implement a business operating system. Isaiah discusses common challenges leaders face with how they spend their time, explains how to use Traction Tools to create actionable items to promote accountability, and how it's used for teams to collaborate on essential company goals.