leaky bucket syndrome

We focus so much on getting more into the bucket but neglect to make sure that the bucket itself is strong & whole.

Picture this:
You’re making money.
Sales are higher than ever.
The clients are rolling in.
Everything you have been working towards is finally coming true. Woohoo!

But, to your surprise, it is beginning to feel like your business is sucking the life out of you. Strange things are starting to happen in your business that is causing you alarm:

  • Instead of working less, you are now working 24/7 trying to get everything done, there is no light at the end of the tunnel, and you have no idea how you got into this mess.
  • You have those middle-of-the-night moments, waking up in a cold sweat thinking, “OMG, did __ get done? Yikes! I don’t think it did.”
  • A client complains that you didn’t fulfill a commitment, and they want a refund. You thought everything was great and aren’t sure what went wrong.
  • You realize that a team member didn’t do something you emailed them about a few days ago, and now YOU have to scramble to finish it on time.
  • You don’t know what everyone on your team is working on and wonder if stuff is getting done.
  • You are tired of everyone bugging you with questions – why can’t they do their work and leave you alone?
  • You have a certain way that you want things done, but it seems like every time someone on your team works on it, they do it wrong or miss critical pieces.
  • Your calendar is out of control. You have no more time to book anything. So you miss calls and find yourself double-booked (which never used to happen!).
  • You aren’t sure where the money is and have no way of knowing if payments are coming in on time (or not!).
  • There is so much work to be done – simple things like replying to emails – that you never get to the important things that could grow your business.
  • You spend time with your family but are distracted. Therefore no one gets the best of you.
  • You wake up in the morning dreading the day. What once felt like a lot of fun is now a drag.

The bottom line is that you are tired, frustrated, and starting to wonder what the heck you’ve gotten yourself into. It’s one thing to GROW a business, but it’s another thing to RUN a business – which is what many of us are unprepared for.

This is what I call the Leaky Bucket Syndrome. We focus so much on getting more into the bucket (sales, marketing, and clients) but neglect to make sure that the bucket itself (the behind-the-scenes of your biz) is strong & whole.

Because it is so easy to get into business these days, many people do so without knowing what it takes to run a business – all that behind-the-scenes stuff that many entrepreneurs find tedious, confusing, or downright scary. And yet your behind-the-scenes business operations are ESSENTIAL to your success, and if you don’t put the right structures in place in your business, it will cause all kinds of chaos and headaches and can end up costing you a lot of money.

The good news is this: ALL of these things can change with the right systems and team.

The even better news is this: there are service professionals for whom building teams & systems are their strength (like me 😉)!

As an Operations Manager, this is how I support my clients – so they don’t have to.

You are in the growing-pains stage, and, with a bit of purposeful support, the pain part shall pass (even if it doesn’t feel like it right now).

If you’d like to learn more about plugging or preventing leaks in your bucket, I’d love to connect with you.