Mastering The Machine

Spending the last 18 years in business and starting my life as an entrepreneur at age 11 by selling pencil drawings to classmates for $1 and if they wanted them colored in $2, the number one most significant factor about having the life and business that you want is understanding the machine. Business is a machine, and the lack of understanding is the root cause of frustration and stress experienced by so many business owners. The machine can produce an income beyond your wildest dreams, or it can chew you up and spit you out, and sadly the latter seems to be the prevailing outcome. The questions I want to answer are usually the most overlooked. How does the machine work, and how can I master the machine.

 Several years ago, I remember when I had my video business Smallroom Video Productions, primarily weddings and special events. It was a side hustle for me, nothing big. That was back when you purchased software, and it came with a physical CD. What always struck me was the enormously thick manuals that always came with the software, like an inch in and half kind of thick. All I want to do is some simple straight-cut editing with maybe a fade in and out. I didn’t realize the amazing infrastructure of software, hardware, firmware, and lots of other computer jargon that I don’t understand required to do something so simple. It’s the same in business. Every business requires systems, processes, structure, scripts, forms, and a cadence of communication in order to run a smooth machine. Without the fore mentioned, it’s chaos. So a lot must be in place to do the simplest of jobs. This is probably the most important and also the most overlooked aspect of the machine we call, business. It all starts when a guy or gal is good at their job or a particular skill like baking, painting, engineering and they and their friends say, “you need to start a business.” And the individual thinks yes, “I should start a business, and I wouldn’t rip people off like my greedy boss or the big corporations.” And so it begins; they go online, create a logo, and print business cards (because that’s the most important when starting your business, so they think). So another company added to the 627,000 new businesses that start every year in the United States. Will, they also be numbered in the  595,000 (Information on Small Business Startups (chron.com))  that fail every year, or will they limp on for years as another frustrated, hopeless business owner who doesn't understand the machine? The most overlooked aspect of a business is that the skill set of a baker and the skill set to run a business are entirely different. You may as well say being a good plumber also makes me a good ballerina dancer. You’re probably saying, “that is ridiculous!” but that’s what folks do when they don’t see the different skill sets required to run a business. 

    Now to answer the question of how does the machine work? First, let me ask another question. Have you ever visited a restaurant and had a good experience? The hostess greets you as you enter the restaurant then, promptly takes you to a pristinely clean table, and says, “your waiter John will be with you shortly”. Then John approaches the table, neat and clean in both appearance, and presentation. He introduced themselves, “ hello, my name is John, and I’ll be taking care of you this evening. Have you dined with us before?”  Then he proceeds to inform you of their specials and makes a few drink and menu suggestions. He then takes your orders, and the remaining of your dining experience is beyond fantastic. The food is hot and fresh the drinks are refilled. You never have to track John down because he and other members of the wait staff are scurrying about serving the customers with excellence. Even on this busy Friday night, the bathrooms are sparkling clean. Your excellent waiter brings the bill, and you leave John a big tip because he was awesome!  That wonderful experience was no accident.

The business you patronized operated on what runs all machines, a system. A system? Micheal Gerber goes into great depth in his book The E-Myth Revisited, a must-read for every entrepreneur. Imagine, if you will, you go to the mall, and the escalator is out of order, and it’s blocked off by yellow caution tape, so you have to take the stairs. You have probably never inspected stairs to ensure they are solid or there are no missing steps. A simple explanation for a system is a set of stairs. Each step raises you up to quickly ascend to the next. But what would happen if a step was missing or broken?  Someone would fall through the stairs, or a bottleneck would occur because a piece of the system does not exist, causing delays,  confusion, anxiety, and mounting frustration. Before this fabulous restaurant made one meal, served a single customer, or hired the first team member, they put together what I like to call the customer journey or system. It’s the “stairs” or the schematic for the machine that every customer flows through to ensure an enjoyable experience. For the customer, it makes it enjoyable, and for the business owner and team members, it prevents problems before they even happen, but probably the most significant byproduct of the customer journey is all confusion, frustration, anxiety, and guesswork are gone. You know how everything should work, every time. 

  So how do you master the machine? Three things, map out a customer journey for your business, communicate the journey with every team member and follow it, every time. Start with the first contact with the customer to the final transaction and every step in between. Here’s a service business example step 1. The customer calls [insert phone script]; what exactly does the call taker need to say or what information needs to be gathered? (nothing is left to chance) 2. Customer information and notes are entered into CRM  for the technician 

3. Tech is notified 4. Tech informs the customer of ETA via CRM 5. Tech parks, according to the notes in the CRM 6. Tech confirms neat clean appearance 7. Knocks on the door and steps back, giving the customer space when they open the door 8. Tech [insert script] 9. When entering the home, the tech puts on boot covers 10. Evaluate the service need, [insert script] gives customer price and receives down payment 11. Tech contacts dispatch for schedule 12. Dispatch contacts customer to schedule. I could go on, but I think you get the point. Nothing in this journey is by accident. Every detail is mapped out and scripted. After you’ve created the customer journey, communicate it with every team member, not in passing or a five-minute meeting, an email, or a memo on the break room bulletin board.  Because this is one of the single most important factors that determine your success or failure, so master it. Everyone needs to understand the journey, follow it and do it in order. Because when someone jumps in the middle of this journey out of order trying to “help out,” it always messes things up. Even myself, as an owner, have jumped into the middle “trying to help,” but being done out of order or skipping steps always mess it up. Be patient, do it in order, and don’t jump in out of turn to help. Submit yourself to the system no matter your role or position. 

   Business is a machine and must be treated as such, and like every machine, it has a particular way it operates, every time. So as you embark on your journey to master your machine, understand the two skill sets required, map out the customer journey for your machine, communicate, practice, and do it in order, every time.