Conversations with the Courageous Christian Homegirl

Nothing Is Wrong With You. Something Is Wrong With Your System.

Have you ever built a system and three weeks later it was completely abandoned? Nothing is wrong with you. But something is wrong with the system. Today we are talking about why.

We are in Pillar 2 of the Operations Series. If you missed Pillar 1, go back and start there. The playlist is linked below.

In this episode we are getting into the root cause of why the systems you build keep falling apart. And it is not because you are lazy or undisciplined.

Here are the four reasons:

You built it in the wrong season. Most of us build systems when we are drowning, not when things are going well. That means the system is reactive and not built to last.

It lives in your head and not on paper. If you cannot write it down and hand it off, you do not have a system yet. You have an intention.

It was built for who you were not who you are becoming. You outgrow systems. That is not failure. That is growth. Give yourself permission to rebuild.

Ain't nobody checking. Accountability is not a weakness. It is infrastructure. Athletes have coaches. Executives have boards. You are not supposed to do this alone.

Think about the last system you tried to build. Which one of these four reasons is why it did not stick? That answer tells you exactly what to fix next.

Work With Whitney

Ready to stop going at it alone? The Follow Through is Whitney's accountability service where she checks in with you throughout the week on Voxer and helps you build a backend that actually holds.

The Follow Through: https://justwhit.thrivecart.com/the-follow-through/

Book Whitney directly: book.workwithwhit.com

Got a Question?

Text the word PODCAST to (708) 708-9318. Your name stays private always.

Links

• The Follow Through: www.workwithwhit.com
• The Operations Series Playlist: Click Here

Hey, homegirl, quick question.

Have you ever built a system, like, literally sat down and mapped it out, like, doodled it?

Is that the word?

Doodled it on a piece of paper, set it up, or maybe even bought the tool or course, to go with it, and then three weeks later, girl, that thought he was sitting by the wayside, like, girl, it never happened.

Like, oops, that'll do it.

And you were sitting there wondering, like, what is wrong?

Because you could not even stick to the thing you built for yourself.

Child, listen, it's me.

I be preaching to myself, nothing is wrong with you.

Nothing is wrong with me.

But something is wrong with your system.

And today we are going to talk about why.

So, y', all, welcome back to the podcast Conversations with the Courageous Christian Homegirl.

And we are in Pillar two of the Operation series now.

If you're new here, welcome.

My name is Whitney.

I am your host, and I'm glad that you found your girl.

Okay.

If you've been rocking with me for a little bit since about February when I launched, welcome back and thank you for staying.

Y', all.

I'm recording this podcast because the house is quiet.

Okay.

Kid is not home.

And I'm just thinking, like, oh, my gosh, I only have a couple more weeks to until summer camp is done.

And I don't even know what that's going to look like for me.

But more than that, it's some kids that seem like they in my backyard.

They so loud.

I'm like, where are these kids at, y'?

All?

I had to text my husband and be like, bae, do you hear them kids?

He like, no, y', all, they are so loud.

But I love it because they're having a blast.

But anyway, y', all, real quick, real quick.

If you haven't listened to the episodes from Pillar one, I think it was, like, one through three.

I think it was three episodes.

Child.

It's every other week.

Podcast thing is kind of throwing me off.

I want you to go back.

They should be in a playlist.

I'll link it in the show notes because I can't remember quite right now what it's called and all the things, but I'll link it in the show notes.

I mean, you can always start here, too, if you want to.

That's completely up to you.

But we did talk about operational chaos crisis mode and the follow through, like, following through what you're missing.

Okay, so we are going to get to the root cause, because knowing you have a problem is one thing, but understand why.

Understanding why it keeps Happening is really changes those things.

So today we're going to be talking about why the system you and I built, okay, is not working.

My system worked now, and I want to be clear from jump that this is not about you being lazy or undisciplined or whatever other thing that you've thought in your head, but it's about the system that was built in the first place.

So part one, let's get into it.

You built it in the wrong season.

Oh, child.

Listen, listen, listen.

Think about it.

When you build systems, most of us don't necessarily sit down when things are going smoothly.

You're building it out of, you know, chaos, a challenging time when you're drowning.

And so, you know, when we've missed something, a ball drop, lost a client, need a client, or hit a wall, whatever it is, and you built something from a place of panic or exhaustion, and that's how your systems reflect.

It's so funny because that is so, so true.

I remember needing to put together some documents, and I built it completely out of, like, the ball dropping, you know?

And so now I'm like, dang, I need to go back and just look at that and revise it and just all the things.

So again, when I'm talking to y', all, I'm literally talking about myself, okay?

And so if you built it from those places or that place, you're not building for sustainability.

You're literally building for the right now.

A lot of us are just in the right now.

That's why it's important for you to sit down, to take breaks, to reevaluate.

You always want to be reviewing your process.

You always want to do some type of audit of your process, of your customer journey, to make sure it is working.

Because in business, we evolve.

So, you know, maybe one system may have worked for you five years ago, but today it doesn't work.

And there's nothing wrong with doing it.

I know a lot of people are even like, yeah, we're not using Zoom no more.

We're using Google Meet.

Okay, and that may work for you in this season.

I remember there was a time I used Google Meet, and it worked for me, but now I want to use Zoom.

And I know it sounds crazy, but I have to pay for Zoom, but I don't have to pay for Google Meet, but I don't know, it just works for me.

Or another really good example is me paying, you know, for my website yearly.

Like, yeah, at the time, that was working for me because I was generating that income from my Beauty business to pay the monthly fee or whatever for my website.

But I don't have that income, so I had to get rid of it.

Same thing like I've with this service based business, I've really started over.

And so it's like I'm not generating the income to pay for it monthly or even yearly.

So it is okay to start over.

And so the system you create is reactive and it's not intentional when you're in those places.

So it solves that immediate problem.

But it was never built to carry you forward.

So I like to joke, but it's not a joke about my day job.

It kind of is a running joke that we run this billion dollar company on a spreadsheet and we do, and we have band aids all over the place for different things and we're just like, we're waiting for it to pop, but we are so reactive, you know, in sometimes in managing and we just put a fix on it.

It's the truth.

And I get it.

When you got millions of dollars on the line.

Yeah.

You're gonna do what you gotta do to get that thing out the door.

Okay?

But we wanna build from a place of sustainability.

Okay?

So the thing is, when that crisis passes and things calm down, the system you built in the fire does not fit the season you're actually in.

So it gets abandoned because you're like, child, I don't even need that website no more or I no longer need that VA or whoever.

It might even be somebody you hired.

Right?

So you no longer need it because now you're in a different season.

I needed this person because I was like, oh my gosh, all these things are happening.

So this, this, this.

But then when you slow down when that fire was over, you like, I really need it.

Right?

But also it makes you look back when you've built the system and you're no longer using it.

You're like, did I fail?

Did I do something wrong?

But I just truly think it is just building the wrong thing at the wrong time.

Okay, so here's the Next part.

Part 2.

It lives in your head and not on paper.

Oh, my gosh, y'.

All.

As I get older, I'm having to write everything down.

But not because I can't remember, but because I can't remember.

Okay?

I don't want to remember everything.

I want to write it down.

I'm starting to brain dump a lot more.

And that's simply for my sanity as well.

So the second reason is that your system was never actually written down.

We have to learn how to write things down.

If your process only exists in your head, it's not a system, it's a habit.

And habits break the moment life gets loud.

A real system is documented.

And I've worked in so many places, y', all, where the process was not written down.

And so every time that, at least back in the day when I had that kind of time, and I'm starting to get back to it as well.

But when I'm put on a project that's like, long term, even though project is not the right word for it, because a project ends, I don't even know what to call it.

But when I'm.

Yeah, yeah, I'm say project for the sake of project is long term.

I'm actually documenting the process of what am I doing?

Who do I need to go to?

Because here's the thing.

I went on vacation for over a week, and I needed somebody to cover for me.

Now, if I didn't do that and I didn't document that, how would that person be able to cover me?

A real system is documented.

It's something you can handle someone else, and they could follow it without calling you every 15 minutes.

I don't like people asking me a bunch of questions.

I don't like answering questions twice.

So that is why I document it.

I recorded it.

And as a matter of fact, I made a slide deck.

I think I made a Google sheet, and I recorded it, like, don't play with me.

I'm out.

It is something you could go, like, you could actually reference and come back to after being sick for a week or you got to pick up things from scratch.

Prime example.

If you need somebody to help you on a prayer call with.

With a zoom login, like, you need to write those systems now.

You need to do your SOPs, like, sit down and do it.

And if you can do it, but you can hire me and do it, and I will do it for you, okay?

So again, if you cannot write it down, you don't have an actual system, okay?

You just.

You got an intention.

You got to have it, okay?

And I say that with love because I have been there.

You know, I can proudly say, say, I have my pmp, okay?

And I know what real doc, a real documented process looks like.

And I also know how easy it is to skip that step when you're moving fast.

But that step is everything.

Whenever I'm working on a project, working with a client, whatever it is, I want to document as much as I can beforehand, because nine times out of 10, you may need to reference that.

We may need to go back to that.

And it's important for me because I'm like, well, I don't want any scope creep.

What do we talk about?

What is the nature of this?

You know, like, really just documenting what that project is, but also documenting the process.

What is your process for this?

What is your process for that?

Even if you are a solopreneur, that's fine, but one day you are going to scale up.

When you get help and you hire a ea, when you hire a va, when you hire me as your project manager, when you hire someone, you want to be able to hand things off.

You don't want to be trying to create things.

Now you're delaying things, and now you're creating from a place of what, panic?

So let's get those systems in order.

If you get nothing else from this podcast, I want you to create the process for the way that things go in your business.

Just make a list of everything that you do and write it down.

You just never know what can happen.

Okay.

Especially if you want to hire.

And then even just for yourself, like, you want to just have those things documented.

Yeah, just document.

Okay, so we're getting into part three.

It was built for you, for who you were, not who you were becoming.

I was kind of just talking about that.

So you have outgrown your system, right?

Some of the systems you're trying to revive or you're frustrated that you can't stick to it because it was built for a version of you in your business that no longer exists.

You built them when you had two clients.

It was cool to use Google for your CRM or whatever, but now you have 20 clients.

You can't do that.

It was cool when, you know, you were hosting a prayer call and it was at only, you know, 99, and now you have 900.

Like, you need to up your game, right?

So you built them when you were offering that one service.

Now you have three.

Are y' all picking up what I'm putting down?

You built them when you had all day, when you were not that busy.

So you're like, oh, this is sustainable.

I know a lot of people are afraid of AI.

And I'm like, why y'?

All?

These companies are using it left and right.

Like, when I tell you they're using it.

We had an AI day at work.

Like, I have AI project goals.

I'm doing automations.

Like, I'm literally running reports, and I am sleep while the reports are running because of Automation, what can you do to automate your life?

And there's nothing wrong with it.

I love, I have a love hate relationship with Google, but I love the automations that they are putting in place for businesses, business owners, because you can do like workspace, Studio and you can get things like directly to your chat, you can set up, set up workflow.

So when somebody emails you, then you get an instant message, right?

I am a ping, whatever you guys are calling it, but you can, you know, get that.

And so I love that you can even run reports and oh, when somebody responds to this, you know, send me a message.

There's so many things.

So you want to build from a place of tomorrow and not just today because, you know, it's summertime for me now and right now I don't have school pickup, you know, and everything.

But what I'm building is from a place of when I do have to pick my kid up from school, you know, when I do have to be at the school at a particular time or whatever, I'm building from that place, you know, so your system or the system is not wrong.

It's just not built to scale with you.

You want to build from a place of scaling.

And I like to think of it as a place of faith too.

Okay.

And it's actually a good problem to have.

You know, it means that you're going to grow.

You want to grow all the things, but your system needs to grow with you.

Order looks different in different seasons and you may have to.

And that's okay.

What I'm learning in this season is that what worked for me on yesterday, it's not going to work for me, you know, a couple months from now.

And just different things.

And so, you know, what brought order to your business last year may be creating chaos this year.

Give yourself permission to rebuild.

There's nothing wrong with that.

It's nothing wrong with rebuilding.

No, I did not want to redo a whole website.

No, I did not want to get rid of wix and Squarespace and, you know, all the things.

But I'm like, I am rebuilding.

And if it's gonna save me a quaint, I am also going to do just that.

I actually remember when I had first started podcasting and I had a different mic, right?

And it was cool for then I had an editor and it was cool, you know, because I didn't really know what I was doing.

And I do record on Riverside, and, you know, it wasn't as advanced as it is now, but it is.

And so, you know, I.

That's just what it was.

But then I ended up getting a new mic.

You know, I knew that I was going to continue podcasting at some point, you know, or pivot or whatever.

I've had a couple of podcasts before this one.

I'm actually in a pivot right now with this podcast, but it's because I am building long term.

Okay.

And so this is exactly the kind of work we would go through inside my service, offer the follow through.

Because figuring out what is actually broken in your system while you're still in the middle of running your business is hard to do alone.

Trust me.

I know.

I know because I do it.

But luckily, I do have a partner, so that is great.

Okay.

But I come in as your accountability partner.

I check in with you throughout the week in Boxer, and we work through things together.

We do a kickoff call.

You know, we get clear.

So that's the thing.

We get very clear on what it is that you need to do.

So, you know, if you're like, girl, I need this.

Everything you're seeing is hitting every check box.

Go ahead and click the details in the show note and hit me up.

Okay, this episode is kind of long now.

I'm still talking.

I'm looking at the time because I'm like, I thought this was gonna be like 10 minutes.

Okay, we in part four.

Ain't nobody checking.

Literally the fourth reason ties back to what we talked about in Pillar one, but it goes a little bit deeper.

That's why I say I go back to pillar one.

Nobody is holding you accountable to the system you built.

Here's the thing.

In corporate America, if you build a process and stop following it, somebody notices it, right?

There is a manager, a team, a client, somebody who is going to ask, where's the deliverable or why the workflow changed.

But when you're running your own business, who gonna check you, boo?

Who gon check you, boo?

And if you listening to this and you like, huh?

This might not be the podcast for you, because why don't you.

Why?

Why don't you know that reference?

Okay, kidding, but serious.

So the system quietly gets abandoned and you don't even realize it happened until something falls through the cracks.

Okay.

I'm just thinking right now about my accounting system and I'm just like, that's just not for me.

I. I really just need to Pay and have a bookkeeper.

Because showing me how to do it and doing it is two different things.

But I will say, sis be holding me accountable.

I'm sure she gonna be checking in with me soon.

I'm like, girl, we ain't did nothing since the last meeting in May.

It is July.

Yes, I know, Woosa.

But here's what I want you to really know.

Accountability is not a weakness.

It's actually infrastructure.

The most disciplined people in the world have accountability, accountability structures around them.

Think about it like this.

Athletes have coaches, executive, have boards in some pastors, not all of them.

Okay?

Depending on how the church set up the deacon board, you know, they may have other pastors as accountability partners.

But listen, that's a whole nother topic we can go into because, child, where is the covering and what is it looking like?

But long story short, you are not supposed to do this alone.

And the fact that you keep trying to do it is not a.

You know, it's not like a flaw to you.

You should be proud of making it this far.

But there is a gap in your infrastructure and I am here to bridge the gap.

This is.

This is 18 minutes in, y'.

All.

We still going.

So I want you to think about the last system you tried to build or implement in your business, which one of the four reasons is why it did not stick.

Was it built in a season of overwhelm?

Did it live in your head?

Did you outgrow it?

Or did you just have no one keeping you accountable?

Be honest.

Like, seriously be honest.

And I know this episode is really meaty and I know I said a lot of things, so just go ahead and listen to it again and take some notes, okay?

Because the answer tells you exactly what you need to fix.

So the goal of this.

What do you call this?

Pillar.

Calling it pillars.

But the goal of this is to help you stop rebuilding from scratch.

You know, you deserve a back end that actually holds up and something that you can move through consistently, not just when you happen to have a good week.

Okay, so.

So the next episode, we're going to talk about why your systems fall apart the moment you step back.

Because, listen, that's a whole separate conversation.

And I think that it is a conversation a lot of us do need to have.

Okay?

So make sure you subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss it.

Also, do me a favor and leave a review on whatever platform you are listening to my voice and share this podcast.

Please share.

Put it in your stories.

Put it in on the tickety tock.

Put it on Instagram threads, Facebook, wherever.

Please share the podcast, share the link, have the people listen.

Okay, leave me a review, y'.

All.

Like, straight up, leave me a review.

Your name always stays private.

You got a question, you got a comment, you want a particular episode or something?

Episode suggestion.

That's what I'm trying to say.

And if you do have a question, you can't stay anonymous.

You don't have to put your name, but if it's something where I actually have to address you, like contact you or, you know, something, put your name.

Okay, that is it.

So the link again to the follow through the service is in the show notes and any other information y' all may need as well.

I will be back with another episode in a couple of weeks and go back and listen to the first pillow.

Okay?

All right, bye, y'.

All.