The Brad Miller Show - Growing You, Growing Your Business

Getting Your Business Out of Your Head

The Expert Download Questionnaire

1.How do you start your day?  Do you have Opening Duties?  Describe them.

2. How do you end your day?  Do you have Closing Duties?  Describe them.

3. Describe your day, what do you do?

4. What are the daily “recurring” tasks of this work?  Those that have to be done every day?

5. What are the “As Needed” tasks?

6. What are the biweekly tasks?  Monthly tasks?  Annual tasks?

7.  What elements of this work should be memorized to be most effective?

8.  What company forms are needed to do this work?

9. What Quick Reference Guides are needed to do this work?

10.  What are the Tools and Equipment needed to do this work?

11. What Supplies are needed to do this work?

12.  What specialized knowledge is required for this work? (Software Programs, Technology, etc.)

13. What skills and/or experience is needed to do this work?  Work that takes time and practice to develop into a skill?

14.What certifications or licenses are required for this work?  (drivers license or industry requirements)

15. What product knowledge is required to do this work?

16. What step by step processes need to be learned?

17. What names and terms should go into a “Glossary of Terms?”

18. What is the Customer communication needed to do this work? (what types of interaction with customers, what types of questions come from customers?)

19. What work areas require “order and organization” to do this work?

20. What mindsets are essential to do this work?  What belief systems?  What attitudes?

SHOWNOTES:

How to create Your lifestyle business, with The Expert Download

The expert in your business has a lot of the work in their head.  Or, if there’s no documentation, all of the work.

Listen…this is why delegation most often fails.

Many times the expert is the business owner.  Sometimes it’s a key employee.

3 – Reasons Why Your Best Efforts to Delegate Failed

“Delegation without systemization is frustration”

Why the Expert Download is important…

Demolishing the Mental Lies and Limiting Beliefs

“Only I can do this work”

SHOWNOTES:

Getting your business out of your head – The Expert Download Process

Module One was The Best Work – you have invested yourself in finding your best work.

THAT is a Big Deal.

If you did that work congratulations – that is huge.

This next module begins the process of The Best Way.

We are after the systems you already have in your business – You already have some systems for doing your work.

Even though those systems are Not Yet documented, you still have some.

1. The Expert –

The premise is someone is Already The EXPERT at the way you do your work now.

YOU, if you’re listening to this podcast are most likely the Expert

I want to Talk to You….

Also, you want this system to WORK without you – It is Your Unique Branded System, BUT it can make you money ….here it is – IN THE HANDS OF OTHERS

2. The Download – begins the process of finding all of those systems and describing them.

That is the subject of the next podcasts!

That is the First step to improving the systems…Find the ones you have, describe them in detail, THEN the innovation naturally and Organically reveals itself.

Organically: naturally, not forced. As elements of an organized whole.

Your work is part of a larger organic world – the world in which we do our work is this miraculous system of systems all working together without any human making it happen.  There are Supernatural systems at work all the time.

Our work happens inside of that system and as we reveal the systems we already use – as rudimentary as they are – newer and more efficient systems will naturally reveal themselves – Organically.

3. The Process –

The Expert Download works with these people in an interview process to ask them questions to reveal the work.

It is more than just describing it, there is a revealing.

Why is this?

THE EXPERT IS TOO CLOSE TO THE WORK

It is the curse of the familiar.

Don’t ask a fish what water is like

Don’t ask a bird what air is like

When you live IN it – you eat, sleep and breathe it, YOU lose a lot of the Magic of what it is you really do.

You take it for granted!

The things you do that BORE you – other people are amazed.

The things that are Easy for you – others are Flummoxed

You have mastery level.

The Expert Download Process

It’s the next step to creating a lifestyle business.

SHOW NOTES:

Creating Your See-Shells – Thoughts Become Things

I love this idea of “thoughts become things”

What was once just an idea in your mind, is now a tangible object that you can see and feel.

Friend, this Step is the Giant Leap to getting your business out of your head and documented so that you can share it with others

AND by share it I mean – – – TRAIN others how to do the work that previously only You knew how to do.

You are creating Training Manuals

What would that mean to you and your business?

What would it mean to your life?

I don’t want this to be lost on you exactly how amazing this really is and what it will do for you and your business AND what it makes possible

What would that make possible?

Creating the See-Shells

The “hold-in-your-hand” systems manuals.

Your systems manuals begin to take shape and what was once only in your head, now is becoming real.  Your thoughts are becoming things – Systems Manual things.

The systems manuals are the home for all of your great work – they are 3-Ring Binders, one for each company division.

10 THINGS ARE HAPPENING HERE

You are creating a Lifestyle Business

What does that make possible for your life

SHOW NOTES:

Division Vision Statements.  The Plan for Your Dream Business.

Your Big Vision requires smaller visions – because  you can’t do it all!

You are the business owner, you are not just an employee of your business.

If you are looking at your Org Chart – your name is in the top box.

That means something! That’s a huge accomplishment.

You are the Leader.  As the leader, you are the visionary.

It is important to remember this – You are the one everyone looks to set the course for the day – or the week.  Or better, the year.

Drucker – Efficiency is doing this right, effectiveness is doing the right things.

You are the one who is responsible for how all your assets of time, money, and most important Energy.

Where the Focus Goes, the Energy Flows.  Energy is a limited resource – YOU Can’t do it all!

It took me a long time to believe that…you can’t do it all.

Last episode, I introduced this idea of your ORG Chart…Your Business BLUEPRINT.

Your Organizational Blueprint.  The giant step towards a business apart from you, and not a part of you.

Now you are going to Think about your business.  You are creating the Blueprints for your dream business – and You as the leader are going to decide what Divisions are part of your business.

Then, you are going to create a vision statement for each of these.

Again, Where the Focus Goes, the Energy Flows.

Here are my suggested base line starting point.  There are 4

You may have more than one box in order fulfillment – especially as your business grows

2. Marketing.  Marketing is lead generation.  You have to be thinking about where your next sale is coming from – so you are planting seeds all the time.

3. Sales is Lead conversion.  You are closing the deal and getting your prospect to say Yes!

About sales and marketing.  Make it a part of learning your business.  If you want to have a growing and thriving business for the long term – this is part of your regular study.

Sales is not marketing and, marketing is not sales …BUT they are very closely linked!

4. Finance and Accounting.  Good record keeping of income and expenses AND…invoicing.  Send out the invoice.  And A/R.  Someone has to be assigned to AR.

Other divisions as your company grows

Staff Development Vision

Quality Assurance Vision

Office Admin Vision

You are writing a systems manual for all the work in each of these divisions.

Think of this as its own Puzzle with a box top and pieces.  You want all of the pieces for this VISION inside the box.

SHOW NOTES:

Organizational Blueprint = beginning to think about your business apart from you, and not a part Of you.

A huge mental shift!

An Organizational Chart is a very important Vision Tool.

It gives you the vision of where your company is going.

It gives you the vision of the business that will be – the business without you doing everything.

You can’t build a home if the only trade you know is Carpentry.

Small business people try to build a business, focusing only on the technical work of their business.

Think about an ORG Chart as Blueprints.

You are the General Contractor

Your name is in all of the boxes – But you know that.

A business has multiple functions

We call it an Organizational Blueprint because you need to see this as the Blueprints for building your Dream Business.

…Everyone is all on the same page – Well then you have to have  a page.  A lot of business say, “we have to get on the same page”  – but they don’t have a page

An Org Chart is just one of the Vision Documents.

The top box is the Visionary

It is the Leader – YOU.

Any time you go below the top box, you are working IN the business.

“Every business two and only two functions, marketing and innovation.  Marketing and innovation make money, everything else is an expense.”   – Drucker

My banker friend…telling him the story of my new company MMT – marketing.

Order fulfillment and Sales and Marketing.

Order Fulfillment is the technical work of your business.  But it’s not the only part of your business.

Next Episode we talk about the Division Vision Statements.

Your business has to have a Vision Statement for each Division

Our Goal – the destination is a Systems Manual for each division.  It is the detailed Blueprints for Each Trade building the house.

SHOW NOTES:

Vision First, Then Completed Product

Create the vision of the Life you want, Then go to work on your business to make that vision a reality.

The completed product is Not the thing you sell, the complete product is your business.

Let me say that again…the completed product you’re working on is your business or your organization, not the thing you sell, or the service you provide.

Huge mental shift that many, if not most business people never make.

Technicians think about the thing you sell

Entrepreneurs – and visionaries think about the business.

You are beginning to think about the business as apart From you and not a part Of you.

Your business works, so that you don’t have to – Gerber

If you’re having a hard time getting your mind around that…you likely have some limiting beliefs.

Last episode we ended on limiting beliefs and mental lies

Beliefs Have Consequences – Your Beliefs will affect your business vision

The completed product is your business.

The Systems Manual Blueprints Course

Think of creating the Blueprints for Your Dream Home

Create the Blueprints for Your Business.

But listen You can’t create the Blueprints until you have your Vision Thinking time.

TO THINK ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS.

Last weeks episode challenged you to think about your life first…

Now you’re ready to think about your Business.

Your business vision is the Blueprints that you are going to create

NEXT Episode is “Your Organizational Blueprints” – that’s where you begin the process creating the blueprints for each Trade – or business division.

Today I am going to take you through a short questionnaire to think deeply about The Dream Business

Your Dream Business Thinking Work begins by answering these questions:

“You can’t sell John Smith what John Smith buys, until you can see the world

through John Smith’s eyes.”  What are John Smith’s pain points?

SHOW NOTES:

Write the Vision and Make it Plain – The Value of vision

“You’re at the right place to, get a bigger vision of Your Life AND Your Business, and THEN, learn how to make that vision a reality.“

Pat Morley – The Man in the Mirror  “Leading an examined life”

Most people live an unexamined life.

Socrates – an unexamined life is not worth living.

WHAT does that mean?  THINK.  Think about the most important ever – your life.

Most people spend more time planning their One week summer vacation, then they do Planning their life – or thinking about their life.

1. You need a vision for your life.  Not just your business. 

 – The Vision for your life must come first!!!

Your vision for your life first.

Once you have the vision for your life – that will inform your vision for your business.

What is the vision you have for your life?

The goal is to separate your life from your business.

What kind of life and life style do I want to live?

2. Your vision for your life MAY Not include a business!

“I can easily imagine a life without a business, but I can’t imagine a business without a life.”

Your vision, however, should include your work.

Not your job, but your work.

Your job is what you do for money, Your work is how you show up in the world to serve others.

Sometimes your work and your job align perfectly – but not always.

Your Job

Your Work – Ephesians 2:10

Your Business

This is where it gets tricky…Track with me:

3. IF your Vision for your life DOES Include a Business, That business should serve your life and not the other way around…..your life should not serve your business.

Your business should make your personal life vision possible.

If your only vision is a business, your life will be out of balance.

“Be careful of the success you desire” – you will most likely get it.

Make sure that when you get the thing you desire – It’s the thing that truly satisfies.

Ravi Z.  The saddest day of a man’s life is when he gets the thing he thought would most make him happy – and it leaves him empty.

4. You need a VISION for your Business

Your Vision for your life – will inform your vision for your business.

5. Your Vision for your Business – needs to be bigger than smaller.  A small vision does not serve you

You’re at the right place to, get a bigger vision of Your Life and Your Business, and THEN, learn how to make that vision a reality.

Most people’s vision for starting a business is to Quit their day job.  They don’t like the boss.

6. Your Vision for your life and your business is either served or limited by your beliefs – Beliefs Have Consequences.  Your vision will Rise or Fall out of your Beliefs.

Vision

Miller Marketing and Training empowers leaders to clarify a bigger vision of their life and business and then train them to create the systems to make that vision a reality.

We set people free from lies and limiting beliefs that are holding them back from becoming everything they were created to be.

Beliefs Have Consequences.  Your vision will Rise or Fall out of your Beliefs.

7. Your Vision will Rise out of Your Uniqueness.  Live into the fullness of your unique YOUNESS.  You are a Masterpiece…Created in Christ to do good work.

The Magnolia Journal front cover – Chip and Joanna Gaines – “The World Needs Who You Were Made To Be”

Show Notes:

Module 1 – Your Best Work.  Your Best Work is Vision

Module 1 is the box top – you have to start with Vision First.

You can’t do a puzzle without the vision – the picture on the box top.

We are talking about BOTH your Life and your Business Visions.  You are Creating the BLUEPRINTS for how you want your life to look.  A puzzle comes with the picture – your life does not!

Your Business does not come with the detailed picture either!

Module 2 is The Expert Download.

The Vision is the BIG Picture.  The box-top.  On the blueprints – IT IS THE ELEVATION VIEW.  The expert download is all the pieces that when put together make the picture come to life.

Create the Vision – and then create the systems to make that Vision a reality.

BLUEPRINTS = all the pages behind the elevation view

All the trades that you need to build the dream home.

Module 3 – The Sifting, Sorting and Naming.

This is likely the most helpful step for a small business owner Who is a technician.

OH…there’s other work that has to be done to create a REAL Business

Work Types.

Module 4 – The Best Way Process.  The Best Way is Systems.

Systems Thinking is the key to everything.

Deming said, “if you can’t describe what you’re doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.”

Matching work types and Template types is our process for creating systems.  We call that  the STO Creation Process.

It is no longer just a task – it is a Strategic Training Objective.

SHOWNOTES:

Get Your Business Out of Your Head – Part 2

6 More reasons to invest yourself in the work of The Systems Manual Blueprints

To get your copy of the “Your Best Work, The Best Way Process” Flowchart send an email to:

[email protected]

7. It will teach you how to create the systems that make your vision a reality.  All work tasks are connected to vision.

8. It will eliminate the overwhelm of creating training manuals by taking you step by step through a simple process.  Your training manuals are 100% done!

9. It will teach you to think about your company as a real business, and not just a bunch of jobs.

10. It will turn you into a systems thinker.  You will reap the efficiencies of seeing everything as a system that can be replicated

11. It will make it easy to scale your business because you can hire and train staff to your documented systems

12. It will teach you how Think Innovation all the time – so that you not only do what you do, Better – but you did more efficiently.  Thus growing your bottom line profits.  Oh yeah!