What Does It Mean To “Systematize” Your Business?

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What is a “business system?” Let me explain what one is and how they make your business work for you instead of you working for them.

“When people talk about getting their systems in place, what specifically are they talking about? What systems? What choices are there? Just like buying on terms is something I didn’t understand until you explained it, I don’t understand what systems people are talking about and what options are available for investors.” – Heather Fitch

Joe: Let me explain the basics of systems. You might want to get a book called ‘The E Myth’ by Michael Gerber. It’s a great book on systems and it tells you how to structure your business so that things run on autopilot.
 
Joe: Let me give you an example of a system: McDonald’s. McDonald’s is probably one of the perfect system businesses out there today. Every job is very carefully defined. McDonald’s has a 200% turnover in their employees every year, which means they have to have everything systematized in order to get anything accomplished so that the people know exactly what they need to do.
 
Joe: They know that when they put the burger on, they press this button and this button for a certain specific period of time, and there’s a chart in front of them on the wall that says, ‘Time to flip the burger when the buzzer goes off’ and then they flip the burger. Then, they have another little diagram that shows them how the Big Mac is built and they follow that. On the sheets, it tells them, ‘This is a Big Mac sheet’ or the wrapping sheet or the boxes they put them in, it tells them that ‘This is a Big Mac box’. Every little detail, even down to washing the floors in the bathroom is laid out for them.
 
Joe: They have checklists, and they go through these checklists for all of the things that they have to do. As a manager, you go through the checklist, and say, ‘This, this, this, and this is all being done. It’s all being done properly. These got done today. Now I can move onto this next batch of things that I need to do.’ All I have to do is look at the list, make sure that it got done, or followed through with the task exactly the way they were told to do.
 
Joe: What happens is you have a product that’s consistent every time – you can go to Paris and you can get a Big Mac that tastes the same as it does in Italy, New York, Chicago or in California. They taste the same everywhere because they use the same system, the same ingredients and they build them the same way.
 
Joe: I was in a McDonald’s in Italy not too long ago and they took the order exactly the same way (and they did it in English) that they would have taken it here in Indiana. So, it’s a great business system.
 
Joe: If you can build systems around your business, which is what I’ve done with something like the “Push Button Method”, the effect will be the same. It’s a big system and it’s a system for gathering buyer leads, seller leads and then building that list and monetizing that list by sending out email out to then, offering them properties for sale and by offering to buy their properties. It’s a great way to set up your business so that everything is done for you.
 
Joe: Here’s another example – if you look at the guy who’s the plate spinner at the circus, he has this stick and he starts spinning the plate on it, he finally he gets it going, and then when he gets that plate going, he’ll take another plate, put another plate on it and then he’ll start spinning that one, and then he’ll have two plates going. Then, he can go and start doing this and start building another set of plates. He doesn’t start the next plate until he gets the previous plate spinning, but once he gets that plate spinning, it’s going to take care of itself; it’s going to keep going.
 
Joe: And that’s what you’ll want to do with the systems. You’ll want to build one system, get it going and then let it continue to move and make money while you move to the next system. It’s a great way to do business and it lets you extract yourself from the business so that you actually have a business rather than a job.
 
Joe: If your business will collapse if you leave, then it’s a job. If your business will continue with you not there, then you have a system – you have a business, and that’s what you want to create. You want to create something that you can sell later and make money with. Alright, good luck to you.