Let’s Put an End to the Chaos Shuffle

As a solopreneur, business organization is the recurring to do that probably wasn’t given much thought when starting a business. New leads and clients were stored in your phone and all communication was done via text or email. 

All was working well until there was too much to remember and too much to do. 

At that point you start what I like to call “the chaos shuffle.”

While it sounds like an old-school dance move, it’s actually a frustrating never-ending evolution of finding the best way to remember details, organize paperwork, and stay on top of your to-dos, all in an attempt to calm the chaos of business. 

“The constant reorganization of my business from white boards, to file folders, to multiple apps was the biggest nightmare ever as it sucked time away from actually growing my business.” – 17hats Member, Q Carson 

The File Folder 2-Step 

The first attempt toward business organization typically starts with printing, filing, and color-coding (for those creative types).

Although some can make this system work for a few years, it can quickly become a source of frustration for many in a short span of time. A paper filing system looks and works great for the first few weeks. And, boy … doesn’t it feel good and fun to apply a good color-coding method? But, managing a system like this takes time and mental energy that most just do not have. 

Without a daily easy system to manage everything in place, you quickly find yourself re-shuffling paperwork, or trying a different file folder system. You might even go out and buy “pretty file folders” because hey, if they are pretty, maybe you will pay more attention to them.

When the paperless system starts to show its cracks, you might then resort to the endless Pinterest search for “the best desk organization system for solopreneurs.” 

Then you notice those beautiful Pinterest boards show that every solopreneur’s office has a whiteboard, then boom, a whiteboard is purchased for your office. Shit’s going to get done now, right!?

Ruh-Row.

Now there are two things to manage – the whiteboard and file folder system. 

Before you know it, you are spending more time managing your management system than you are actually building your business. It quickly becomes the hamster wheel of burnout.

Soon, you come clean to yourself about your lack of productivity this method brings, and you start to do the chaos shuffle. 

The Dream That Multiple Apps Will Save the Day

Once the paper system is identified as stress-inducing instead of stress-reducing, the organization endeavors are taken online. With renewed spirit, apps like Quickbooks, Monday, Acuity, To Doist, Honeybook, Typeform, Adobe Acrobat, and Google Suite are invested in, all to have Zapier attempt to keep them all connected. 

“With as many as eight apps attempting to help me organize my business, I was constantly feeling lost as I couldn’t remember how they worked or where to go for what I needed. It was disastrous. I constantly felt behind. I never had time to actually invest in my business.” – 17hats Member, Will Wohler

Justifying the large expense with, “You have to spend money to make money,” the disillusioned excitement quickly comes to an end when you see just how fragile of a system this is.

While it all sounded like such a great idea, the reality is that you went from managing three things to now, managing 8 apps. You more than doubled the workload yet thought it was more efficient all because it was online. 

An Extra Set of Hands

The lack of time and stress a small business brings equals little time for family and friends, strained relationships and heightened stress. You are working really hard, but not actually moving the business forward, and that is starting to show.

Knowing a solution to the chaos is needed, the thought then goes to, let’s hire an assistant. 

Fan-tas-tic!!

The assistant can take so much off your plate and free up your time for more important things. Solution found!

You find the right assistant, agree on a wage, and the first week is a great success. 

But then comes training, managing, and paying. Managing emotions, days off, and brand consistency become an unexpected frustration.

While there are a million things the assistant can help you with, getting everything out of your head through conversation or into a process doc is a task you just don’t have time for.

And, if you don’t know your process and treat every lead and client differently, the assistant is constantly asking questions which doesn’t save you much time at all. 

All the money you were going to make because you had time to market and grow your business isn’t coming in, resulting in the tough conversation of letting the assistant go. 

And that is when you realize that the chaos shuffle isn’t fun at all.

The Solution to the Chaos Shuffle 

While you probably saw where this is going, it is inevitable to point out that this was one reason why 17hats was created – to be the end-all solution to your business organization problems. 

Having a small business is so much more than delivering your service. Answering questions, talking to leads, completing to-dos, organizing client contact information and project details. 

The reality is that many don’t consider the fact that 80% of the work has nothing to do with completing the service … which is the reason why you went into business in the first place.

Solopreneurs love what they do. If you are a balloon artist, you love to design beautiful artwork and bring fun to the party. Photographers, designers, videographers – you love to create. Coaches, your sessions with your clients ignite your fire. 

Delivering your service, that is what you want to spend your time on, and that is exactly what we are here to help you do. 

How 17hats Helps

By bringing your organizational needs into one place which is designed to deliver the highest level of connectivity and functionality, 17hats becomes your one hub for business management. 

Unlike the pen-and-paper system, having essential documents like quotes, contracts, invoices, and questionnaires online removes the unfiled stack of papers at the corner of your desk. 

With 17hats Projects, we create an electronic manilla folder for documents, project details, payments, email communication, workflows, to-do lists … and more … to automatically slide into their perfectly organized place.

With automations like Workflow, Lead Capture Auto Response, Automatic Payments, Client Portal, Past Due Invoice Email Reminders, and Online Scheduling features are able to play off each other and take charge of your client experience by automatically removing tasks from your to-do list. 

Built to grow with you, 17hats will help you level up your organization game as your business grows and needs change. Because, let’s face it, now that you have an organizational system that works, you will definitely have the time to reinvest into your business for growth. 

Ready to put an end to the chaos shuffle? Let’s dance 🙂 Join a demo today.