Two reasons you should set up your business in maintenance mode: The fact that life throws unexpected things, and the need for creativity and freedom to do other things to scale your business. In this episode, Ruth Gilbey talks about running your business in maintenance mode. She shares a useful guide on how to set up your business and some of the useful tools you need for it. Listen and Enjoy! Key takeaways from this episode: It’s important as business owners to have white space in your calendar for creativity and a business that doesn’t rely on you so you can have the freedom to do other things A lot happens to us and we have to keep showing up in our business even when we don't feel like it. So having this robust kind of infrastructure in your business gives you some peace of mind.Don’t make any drastic decisions and remember that most emotions are temporary. Some Automation Tools You Need for Your Business: Social Media Scheduling Tool - allows one to plan, manage, and recycle content. It’s somewhere to also store all your content and can be easily used in a team for collaboration. (e.g. MeetEdgar, Buffer, HootSuite, Planoly, Social Bee, ContentCal, and Metrical) E-mail Marketing Tool - sends a regular e-mail newsletter and podcast updates. This can also set up automation for new subscribers, sales funnels, new customers or clients, cancellations, follow-ups, and more. (e.g. MailChimp, Active Campaign, and Kajabi) Google Doc of templates that are used if you need a personal touch on your e-mails. Click Up and Slack - used for collaborating with team members. Zapier - helps different tools talk to each other. Payment Plan Subscriptions - used to set up payments so you’re not chasing up payments. (e.g. PayPal, Stripe, and Kajabi Checkout.) Brand Guidelines and Assets Documents CRM for Managing Clients Tools for Personal Stuff E-mail Organisation Automation - helps organise the e-mails that come to your inbox into different folders. Guidelines on Running Your Business in Maintenance Mode: Make a priority list of what you need to do and be brutal if you’ve got a short amount of time. Communicate. Notify contractors and clients if things are changing. Recycle your marketing content and do not just create more and more. Look at automation and scheduling tools. Look at your expenses and financial commitments. Give yourself what you need. Batch things such as recording podcasts, writing e-mails, and creating content. Set boundaries. Episode Timeline: 00:04 Podcast Intro 01:08 Episode Intro 01:30 How automation and systems transform businesses 04:35 Some tools you can use for setting up your business in maintenance mode 11:45 Having some peace of mind in your business when a lot of unexpected things happen 12:42 What made Ruth change the way she runs her business 13:24 The processes that Ruth went through 14:00 Having an extended period of time before making a big decision 15:52 What you need to do to run your business in maintenance mode. 20:52 Recap 21:39 Ruth’s advice to you 22:19 Outro More about Ruth: Hi, I’m Ruth, a business coach specializing in helping freelancers and business owners adjust their mindset and their marketing so they can get fully booked with clients they LOVE to work with. I’ve helped hundreds of self-employed women achieve the time and money freedom they craved. I’ve started this podcast because when I first went all in and left the corporate world to be a freelancer, I was grateful for any work that came my way. After over 20 years of freelancing and working for other people, I started to realize I’d created a glass ceiling for myself. In 2017, I finally started listening to that voice that had been telling me for a long time that I wasn’t doing what I loved and fulfilling my true potential. It took a critical illness to give me that wake-up call. I don’t want the same to happen to you. You can expect practical advice, inspiring stories, and a lot of aha moments as we uncover and kick to the curb all the obstacles you have been putting in your way. I’m on a mission to inspire women to start and play bigger in business. Connect and know more about Ruth Gilbey here: Coaching: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/coaching Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthgilbeymarketingandcoaching/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruth_gilbey/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthgilbey/
