Today we’re talking about Selecting Your System. Every business has different needs and I share tips on the process on how to select systems that fit right for your business.

We dive into:

• Finding the purpose of the system you are looking at
• Testing functionality
• Process for selecting systems
• Why you should select systems for your future
• How you like to be supported

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Connect with Nicole on Instagram.

Visit Nicole’s Website.

Get the Action Takers Guide to ClickUp here.

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Join the waitlist for The Members Lounge here

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Full Episode Transcription

Welcome to take control with Nicole. As business owners, we experienced firsthand the fine line between our personal and business life. During our conversations, we will look at simple hints and tips to create time, reduce, overwhelm, and help you to navigate through your journey to where you want to be. If you’re looking for smarter ways to work, and create space and time freedom in your day, then you’re in the right place. All right, let’s go.

Hello, hello, and welcome to another episode of Take Control With Nicole. So today is a little bit different. I have been recording some fabulous lives on Instagram over the past few weeks. And this is an episode that where I am talking about selecting your business systems. Such a key important thing for any stage of your business as you’re going to be able to really understand the process and remove yourself from getting stuck in that comparisonitis I vsn never say that. We’re basically having a long list of all the things and not knowing which way to choose. So sit down, grab your coffee, have a listening to the live that I recorded. And if you have any questions, I would love to hear them. So pop on over to Instagram into my DMS and let’s chat systems have a fabulous time.

Good morning. How are you all? I hope you have your coffee or tea or water, whatever it is that gets you kick started in the day. Have you already been up for hours? And you’re halfway through? Or are you just starting? I am a 10 o’clock at starter. So I think for me, I love to get up in the morning and get the kids sorted. I dropped Charlotte to school this morning, well, daycare but we call it school.

Today we are going to be talking about selecting a system of start loving and fabulous. So right back when I started one of my first clients when she came on board, she she arrived with this massive spreadsheet of systems. And in this zone of I don’t know which one to choose, there are so many options. And they all claim to do the same things and that they’re the best one and they solve all the world’s problems. But really, it’s about understanding what your requirements are, there are so many out there. And that can cause that confusion, that paralysis by comparativeitis that is it doesn’t even rhyme but you know what I mean? And it’s really about starting at the start, you know, what are you looking for? What do you actually need? What is the gap in your processes right now in your businesses right now that you are looking at to film. So it could be as simple as looking at a project management tool like clickup that can be fully customizable. Or you may be looking for something a little bit more advanced in regards to a CRM or something with some of those really fully inbuilt automations. But really where we start is looking at the rule of three. This is what I advise anyone who is looking for a new system right now is to shortlist three options. You could have the massive spreadsheet with the hundreds of different options and stay in that cycle of indecision, or you select the three top contenders and you dive into those deeper. And that way you can really clearly say, Okay, well, this one is taking the majority of the boxes, it’s within budget, it’s got room for growth, it’s got the ability to not only be where I am right now, but support my business to grow to wherever that might be in the future. The other thing as well in that, in that first initial stage of those three systems, we want to be able to really dive in and test the functionality. That usability of the systems is really key if you don’t like using it. In the test stage. Imagine once you have that in your business, and each and every day, you will be going into that system with that feeling of Oh, I don’t like it, I don’t like it. Whereas if you have that opportunity and that invest that time in the initial stages of testing, you will once you’ve implemented that system, and it’s already in rocking and supporting your world, you’re going to love being in there. So like every day I open click up I’m like thank you for being in my world like this is amazing. Everything on them. That’s new is amazing. Every time I’m in there, I’m just out I love I love it, I love it, I live and breathe it. So you don’t need to be as excited as I am about clickup about your systems. But even having that initial feeling of oh this is fabulous, is really going to help you along with that selection process.

The other thing is, once you have chosen your system, really know your system, understand all the things that does understand how it all works, how it connects, how you can utilise those particular options, or those functionalities for your business. Now, maybe that all of them you do not require right now. And I don’t recommend going in and you know, setting it all up if it’s not relevant for your business right now. However, having that ability to know all of the things, or and if you are not a person who loves to dive in and investigate, find someone who does who can actually come and teach you how to use your system for the purposes that you need it for your business.

So I talk about the process that I go through when we’re looking at new systems. The first part is is where we start. And it’s understanding the purpose of what you are looking at to fill that gap in your business. Is that that you are looking to create some more automations with your email marketing? Or do you want to capture your client onboarding leads process, the entire CRM client experience journey in one location? Is it that you don’t know what you’re doing every day, and you need to have a system in there that’s actually going to help you to plan your day and get things nice and organised. Once you understand that purpose, that is the first the first point, you now know what you’re looking for the functionalities that are really important to you. So when you go out on that journey, already, things can be crossed off the list, because they’re not going to meet that criteria. I just want to pause for a moment here and just say that there isn’t a solution that’s going to fit and tick all the boxes, unless you’ve got a lovely, amazing big budget and you’re willing to customise those solutions. So there are so many options out there. And it’s about understanding the ones that are going to suit your requirements, and be able to have that thought of Well, okay, this is ticking these boxes, how about over here? How can we connect those in together to really create that seamless experience for not only me, but my team.

Just interrupting this episode for one little message. If you have been listening and love what you hear and want to come in Connect, we have a take control with Nicole Facebook community, right over there on Facebook, that I would love to invite you to come and join us. We are a supportive community, we are looking to really take action in our businesses and change the way or evolve the way we’re working right now. So I invite you to hop on over and join our community and connect with us of community is the essence of everything, your business, being able to really build those relationships that you can nurture, and grow and support and celebrate each other are how fabulous, I hope to see you over there, pop on over to Facebook, take control with Nicole, see you soon.

The next thing as well as, as I mentioned before, is usability. If you don’t like the system, you’re not going to use it. And if you don’t like it, how do you expect your team and your other people around you to enjoy it? You need to really have that feeling about that system? Is it visually appealing to you? Is it easy to navigate? Is it intuitive? Does it make sense for the steps to go from here to there? Is it really easy? And you feel comfortable? The other thing as well? Is that are there multiple accessibility options. So if it is just a mobile app, do you require access on the computer on the laptop to complete your work? If that’s a no brainer, we need to be wiping out one off the list. really thinking about that purpose, that usability, how you want to use these systems each and every day. The next thing to consider is budget. Now, when I talk about budget, it’s not just about the subscription costs for right now. I’m thinking forward more forward than this. So you may be a solopreneur right now and you’ve got a couple of contractors that are supporting you and your business. But how does your business look in six months or in 12 months or in five years? How does it look and can use select a system right now that is going to be able to support you each and every stage of that growth journey, investing time and energy to implement a new system. It’s, it’s a task, that’s very rewarding. But if you can actually make that decision right now, and when you’re going through this selection process, know where your business is heading, it’s going to save you a lot of having to redo the things in, say, three or four years when you’re already at capacity. And the subscription costs for that particular system have skyrocketed, because your business is fabulously growing. But really having that thought about, okay, where are we at right now? Where am I heading? Is the system going to support that? And does the budget per head is that going to be feasible as you continue to grow your business? Now, if you are, your intention is to stay just a solopreneur. And a couple of people, you know, maybe that’s not a big factor. Whereas if you are looking to really expand your team, it’s something to consider right at the start.

So the other thing I just want to mention as well is when you’re looking for these systems, and you’re going through that implementation phase, you’ve chosen the one you like, you’re really learning about it. Support is really key. Now, if that is an external person to come and help you that’s fabulous. However, there’s lots of inbuilt support with all of these systems. There’s, you’ve got the help desks and the you know, the designers, the developers, they’re ready. So how do you like to be supported when you are implementing a system? Do you like a video, zoom implementation, so I just started using kajabi, a couple of months ago. And as part of their onboarding process, they go through all of the settings to make sure it’s really set up for you. And the way that you can really benefit the kajabi software, which was really amazing. However, the other option is that you may prefer a chat function. I know clickup has a fabulous support system within their chat functionality. You type it in, and you’ve got that live chat feed, and that’s absolutely fabulous. They also follow it up with some email support afterwards, which is really amazing. But the key here is understanding how do you like to receive your support, if you come from the corporate world, you’re probably used to picking up that phone to the IT help desk and going, Hey, my emails not working, or Hey, this, the database isn’t working at the moment. So understanding right now how you like to learn and receive that support. So it’s really about understanding how you like to receive that support. Because in that implementation stage, there’s gonna be a lot of information that you’re absorbing. So being able to have that person to support you through that journey is so so key. That might be as I said, you might outsource to a particular expert in that system. Or if you’re going on the inbuilt route with the system support, is it going to actually give you the support for a really successful implementation.

So there’s a few things are just to cap a cap up, Kappa, wrap up. We’ll talk about just highlighting the things that I spoke about throughout the live today. So first of all, we want to understand your purpose. What is the purpose of the system that you’re looking at? What are the functionalities that are really important to you right now, but also, as you grow, and you develop your team? What is your budget? Again, your budget for right now. But as you grow, thinking about that usability as well, for your each of your users? Do you love this system? Is this something that you are going to enjoy clicking that button every day and opening it up and using it? Or is it something that’s going to start to feel a bit achy after a little while, and really thinking about how this system is going to make your life easier, business systems, solutions, processes, all of these things are really important to be able to start to bring that consistency and ease into your every day. And being able to find that solution and have a look at your processes first. and implement those as part of the workflows will really, really create a beautiful experience for you each and every day in your business and for your team as well as you grow and grow and grow. That support element. I think it’s a really overlooked, overlooked area as well. I know that whenever I’m looking to introduce something new, knowing the level of support I’m going to receive and obviously it’s comparative to maybe the cost you’re paying so like kajabi as I said is is a high ticket item. But I know I chose that system because of the functionalities that were available. You know for the members lounge I have all of my members lounge library in there. But not only That I’ve built the my academy website there, I’ve got all my EDM marketing through there. Now, I’m doing all of my freebie downloads. Now I’m starting to build those out. So I know that it’s a one stop shop, and that the investment per month for me is justifiable, because I can see the benefits of using that system. And it’s fabulous. I love being in there, just like click up. kajabi is one of those other ones that I’m really, really loving. It’s funny, I resisted it for the longest time. But now I’m in there and like, it’s fabulous.

I also have to keep out freebies in kajabi, I have a freebie I’ve just added the link into my link in bio there. If you’re looking to create a new final resort system, some of those points and those key elements that we spoke about today, I’ve got a download for you right there. So you can really start to flesh it out and have yourself set up right at the start for the most beautiful experience when you’re looking to select your own system. Alright, everyone have a fabulous day. And I look forward to seeing you soon. Bye. There we go. How did you go with that? Are you ready now to take that action and find your purpose that you’re looking to solve with your new system that you’re wanting to implement as your business? Are you ready to select those three shortlisted systems and dive in deep, do all the testing, do all the things to really get your selection? Correct. And then once you have selected your beautiful new system, it is time to really understand all about it, all the functionalities, all the things and really implemented into your business successfully. So not only do you love what you’re doing in your new selected shining sub business system for your business, but your team, I gotta love it also. Alright, then will everyone I hope you have a fabulous rest of your day, and enjoy creating space and time freedom by now. Well, there we go. Thank you so much for joining me today. It’s been such a pleasure having you on board. Have we connected on social shares? If not, please come on over. Say hi, I’m on all the platforms at the artisan solutions. So I’d really look forward to seeing you over there. And if you enjoyed today’s episode, don’t forget to tag me and I’d love it if you could leave a review. And of course share this with others so others can come and join us next time. All right, then everyone have a fabulous rest of the week and until next time. See you then