Eliminate Tech Overwhelm: Streamline Your Business Systems With This Simple Strategy

Sarah Brumley

Sarah Brumley

There’s really nothing like knowing you need the tech, signing up for all the things, and then not knowing what to do with it. OR the flip side of that is knowing you need the tech and having no idea what to sign up for because it all feels so overwhelming. Today I’m going to walk you through one simple strategy that you can use to eliminate tech overwhelm and streamline your business systems – so that you can show up to your business with confidence. Sound like something you need? I thought so! Let’s jump in.

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Eliminate Tech Overwhelm: Streamline Your Business Systems With This Simple Strategy

Well hey there! And welcome to this episode of the Mama Business Podcast. As we get into this episode today I have to say that this is a topic I feel super strongly about. Because it’s something that we all struggle with at one point in time no matter what kind of business we have or how long we’ve been in business.

And there are two camps that we find ourselves in with this.

The first is the mama business owner that has just started her business. She has no idea what tech to use or how to connect it or anything along those lines. She’s feeling overwhelmed and that overwhelm is likely leading to a bit of – oh for lack of better terms coming to mind – deer in the headlights approach. A freeze in progress because she doesn’t know what to do next. Okay, so you might find yourself in that category today – and just know you aren’t the only one.

The second camp is the mama business owner that has had a business for awhile and has either grown it without really having a plan in place for her systems and tech OR she’s dealt a bit with shiny object syndrome and that’s resulted in a lot of shifts in her tech and systems over time. And if that’s you struggling with shiny object syndrome, definitely check out episode 60 all about that topic.

So, we have our two camps, the mama that’s frozen in place unsure what to do next AND the mama that has too much going on and just plain feels overwhelmed. And might even be frozen in place because there’s too much going on and she doesn’t know how to handle it.

Today I’m chatting to both camps. And I don’t normally do this very often because the issues that a seasoned business owner has is often different than the struggles of a new entrepreneur, but the strategy I’m offering can be used to help you build your systems OR to simplify them if they feel chaotic.

Okay, without further ado, let’s jump into this strategy you can use to streamline your business systems and eliminate that tech overwhelm.

Step #1: Know Your Funnel

Okay so the first piece of this strategy comes down to knowing your funnel. That is, HOW do you get people from not knowing that you existed to buying your product or service? I did a full episode on this – it’s episode 55 if you want to check it out.

But, for the sake of this episode, a very basic funnel can look like:

  • Having a blog that gets traffic from Google (that’s cold traffic, or people who didn’t know you to start with)
  • Pushing those people from your blog to your email list (those are warm leads, they might sign up for a freebie, but they stick around because they want to hear from you and you get the opportunity to share your offer with them)
  • Paid offer (this is the point that they actually buy from you and you get money in your pocket and everybody does the happy dance, right?)

Of course, there are other things that you can include in your client attraction funnel steps AND you may even have more steps after they buy from you the first time. But, for simplicity sake, that’s the funnel we will work with today. Okay?

So, attracting cold leads with a blog, getting them on the email list, and then sharing with them so they buy your paid offer.

That’s step one.

And you might be wondering to yourself, well I get the funnel thing, but what does that have to do with me feeling overwhelmed by all the tech. Not worry – that’s where step 2 comes in.

Step #2: Know What Tech for Each Stage

And step two is knowing which tech you absolutely need to use for each stage of your funnel. Why does this matter? Well, because if it isn’t actually something helping you move people from cold traffic to warm traffic to sales or helping you actually perform the service or distribute the product they buy – if doesn’t help with those things, then plain and simple – it’s not something you need. Okay?

So, let’s take a look at the sales funnel that we created in step one.

At the top of the funnel, or attracting that cold traffic is our blog. What do we need tech-wise in order to make that piece work? Well, we need a website to put that blog on, right, which means that we need a domain (like sarahbrumley.com) and we need hosting for that site. These are things that we will set up once, so they aren’t time consuming within our business, but we have to have them in place to get the job of blogging done. Then we need a place to write the blog posts prior to putting them on the website. This piece of tech could simply be the notes app on your phone or computer. And, if we are producing and wanting to keep track of a lot of content for our blog, then we might consider having a content calendar in place. And if you don’t know what a content calendar is, you definitely want to check out episode ___.

Okay, so for that stage in our funnel, we’ve probably determined we need the following:

  • A website with a domain and hosting
  • Notes app
  • (possibly) Content calendar

Three things. That’s all. Are there other things we could add to that list? YES. But do we need them? NO.

And the key to keeping the overwhelm at bay when it comes to tech is becoming very familiar first with what you absolutely need before you add the bells and whistles. So, step two is to go through each stage of your funnel and determine the necessities.

Even better – when you do this, you are only spending money on the things you need. That’s especially important for those just starting out who don’t have a lot of funds at their disposal.

I do know that it can be hard when we look around at other seasoned business owners, the people who are ahead of us by years or even decades, and we see all the things that they’ve incorporated into their businesses. And yet, you aren’t them yet. And that’s okay.

If you rewind my business back to the very beginning, almost 7/8 years ago, this exactly how I started. I used only the bare minimum. In fact, what we just talked through about that stage one funnel example, is EXACTLY what I had in my business. No more, no less.

And I might have a couple more things in my tech stack now, but I certainly didn’t add them until I was comfortable with the basics. And neither should you. So no matter what the stages are of your funnel, make sure you know what the basics are so that you can implement those.

Step #3: Eliminate EVERYTHING Else

Once you are completely clear on what you need to power your business, tech-wise. And mind you, the list might simply say email marketing platform or website and nothing actually in place yet and that’s okay. But the key here is knowing that THOSE things on your list are the things to focus on. That means that you can start implementing them immediately so that you can grow a successful business. Because each of those tools helps you do just that. How do we know that? Well, because you know you need them because they are critical to a stage in your funnel.

And that funnel leads to paying clients. And we all want those, right?

If you are in that other camp of mama business owners, though, the one who has picked up tech or programs over the years and just plain feels overwhelmed. Trust me, I’ve been there, done that. Alright? This is your permission to clear it all out. In fact, this is me telling you to leave anything that doesn’t serve a CLEAR, VERY CLEAR purpose within your funnel behind.

Put on blinders.

Don’t look at shiny objects.

And stop worrying about missing out.

Because it’s time to actually grow your business in a way that doesn’t leave you feeling like you have to do all the things or feel overwhelmed or reorganize all the time or miss out on time with your family.

…and it’s time to make money without it feeling so hard.

Eliminate Tech Overwhelm: Streamline Your Business Systems With This Simple Strategy

So, quick recap of this strategy:

Step 1: Know Your Funnel

Step 2: Know The Tech You Need at Each Stage

Step 3: Eliminate EVERYTHING Else

And that brings us to the action part of this episode. And we all know that action is where the dreams turn into the reality. And today’s action step is this:

ACTION: I want you to walk through this process. I want you get super clear on what you need to have as far as tech goes in your business. Even if you don’t know how to implement that tech just yet, if you are feeling overwhelmed or stuck in the fact that you don’t know what to do next, then this is the thing to do. Because when you have systems and tech set up to serve your business it works in a way that benefits you, not the other way around. Tech is meant to be a helper, not a hindrance. Okay? So, take the time to walk through this process.

And..if you aren’t quite sure how to navigate the tech and systems within your business, or even clarify a sales funnel that works, then you definitely want to be on the waitlist for the Mama Business Blueprint. The six week course will help you lay a solid foundation for your Mama Business without the guesswork that doesn’t have you doing all the things. I’m offering step-by-step, click-by-click tutorials to help you manage the tech you need to set up your systems and content marketing framework so you know exactly what to do and when to do it as you move forward with your business. Of course, there will be more details to come, but if you want to be among the first to know AND possibly grab some great bonuses – jump on my insiders list at sarahbrumley.com/waitlist so you don’t miss a thing.

Whatever you decide mama, know that I am cheering you on. You’ve got this. Have an amazing day and I will chat with you again soon.

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