Complexity kills. Simplicity in business, on the other hand, is a key requirement to be able to scale your agency.
Is complexity killing your business?
Steve Jobs once said: “Simple can be harder than complex: you have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get it, you can move mountains.”
Love or hate the man, but he had this one right.
But what do I mean when I talk about the importance of simplicity in business?
Why You Need To Delegate Client Delivery Work In Your Agency
We’ve gone through this thought process before.
Once upon a time, you started your business doing something you’re good at. Possibly great at. Clients are king, their wish is your command. Business rolls in and you grow. You add employee number one, then number two. Maybe even more. And you hold on to the idea that the client is king. What you do is bespoke, because that’s what your clients like. And because you are the brains of the business, ….all client work ends up in your lap. Life becomes exhausting!
But also, your business stops growing because YOU HAVE BECOME THE BOTTLENECK. It’s not an easy thing to hear, but at this stage YOU are what’s stopping your business from moving beyond a certain point.
UNLESS…
You delegate client delivery work. I say you should hand over 90% of the day-to-day client contact work to your team. 
But what does that have to do with simplicity in business?
Let me explain.
Simplicity In Business: About Small Ponds And Bundling Services
I learned the hard way that when you, as the business owner, delegate client delivery work, you create room for growth. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but reducing the time you spend in the weeds frees you up to lead your business. Growing it. Scaling it. Coming up with new ideas. Introducing new products and services. And then grow some more.
Does this mean you can simply tell your team: “From now on, you’re doing this client work instead of me. See Ya!” ?
I wish it was as simple as that. But of course it’s not! Things would fall apart quickly.
Instead, you need to lay the foundations first.
How?
As Steve Jobs suggested, it requires some thinking.
Step 1: Narrow Down To A Specialist Area
I’m not a fan of the phrase ‘niche market’.
But at the same time, I believe in narrowing your business down to a specialist area.
You’ve heard me tell the story about how I was doing every kind of event under the sun. And it wasn’t until I decided to only do business events that my business really took off.
I know for many business owners, that goes against their feeling. But let me explain with an analogy.
Imagine you’re a fisherman and you have the option of casting your line in a big pond with all kinds of fish. Or… you can head to a smaller pond with one predominant type of fish. One that’s prized. Many people will rate the chances of catching a fish in the bigger pond higher. After all, there are more fish.
But what they fail to consider is that, when you go after every type of fish in the big pond, you also need a very generic type of bait. And while that might not sound like a big deal, it is reducing your success rate. As an alternative, think about the advantage you have when go only after the prized fish in the smaller pond, using a very specific type of bait. …
The bottom-line is… narrowing down to a specialist area may limit the size of your pond, but not necessarily the amount of fish you catch. 
Step 2: Create Service Packages
Now that you have become specific about your specialist area, you have several advantages.
- You no longer need to cater for ‘every kind of fish’, removing much of the business complexity that was demanding your constant attention.
- You become a thought leader in your specialist area. Your clients will view you as such. They’ll come knocking on your door when they need your service, because you’re the expert!
- You become specific about the clients you serve. As a result, you get to know your type of client a lot better, meaning you can also serve them better.
- Simplicity in business leads to things becoming much easier to streamline.
These advantages is where the secret lies. The level of focus that comes from being specific makes it an option to step away from bespoke services and create service packages (a.k.a. bundling services) that will still satisfy your client’s needs.
Once you get to this level of simplicity, it becomes much easier to introduce systems and procedures your team can follow without your constant input.
Step 3: Pick Up The Phone
But will I keep my clients happy if they no longer can get a bespoke service?
My answer is a solid YES.
Remember that you create your clients’ reality. All clients know about your process is what you tell them.
Here’s how I do it.
I create ‘A Service Menu’(as opposed to one single package that is a one size fits all. We all know there is no such thing.)
When clients want to work with me, I set up a 60 minute phone call. My first goal is to hear what they want me to do for them. Clients often know what they want out of their event, but they very likely have no idea how to achieve that.
I DO.
Once I have a good idea of what they have in mind, I make some suggestions based on my service packages menu. I match their needs to my smorgasbord of standardised offerings.
Is it easier to sell a client a bespoke service? Yes, it is. But everything else becomes harder because the process is different every time. Too complex.
But thanks to the fact I work with a service package menu, every step of the business event journey that comes after the initial 60 minute phone call is customisable (but not bespoke), predictable and repeatable. It’s supported by systems and processes I have set-up for my team. Everybody knows what is expected, meanwhile I can relax knowing that a bird's-eye view supervision is all that is needed to keep things rolling smoothly.
Ta-daa! You are no longer the bottleneck for your business; ready to scale!
Need help?
So, if you’re keen on scaling your done-for-you service based business through systems rather than hustle, I’m here to help! Together, we’ll make sure you have a clear roadmap so you won’t waste months (or even years) trying to figure out how to go from complexity to simplicity in business.
Book a FREE Scale Strategy Session with me. In 60 minutes, we will uncover the current situation in your business. We'll identify what's working and what's not. We'll uncover the number one bottleneck that is restricting your growth and holding you back from scaling. And we'll come up with a plan to move your business forward in the next 90 days and beyond.
So to book your FREE Scale Strategy Session, head on over to Sandrajulian.co/scale.
I hope to talk to you really soon.
