Episode 10 - Adam Smolak

“One thing I have learned is just to go slow, and build the systems as we go,” shares Adam Smolak, founder and owner of Entity EcoTherapy. While Adam does have a systems implementation plan in place and knows what needs to be done for his business to scale successfully, he still finds himself struggling with overwhelm from wearing so many hats as an entrepreneur. Today, host Dan is joined by Adam to discuss the next steps required for him to reduce that overwhelm and reach his business goals by his August 2024 deadline. 

 

Being the President, Owner, CEO, CFO and staff manager all rolled into one can quickly become overwhelming. Adam knows that to sustain his business and have the freedom he wants for spending time with his family, he will need to hire more specialized staff such as a support coordinator and a participant coordinator. His operations manual is around 85% complete and from Dan’s suggestion, Adam is going to mark time on his calendar for continually revising and improving the manual. Dan shares that the best way to handle overwhelm is to reduce the uncertainty by setting realistic timelines for each step with buffer room, delegating tasks out, and designing his systems in reverse order.

 

Next Actions

• Make a list of what is missing from each of your systems. In Adam’s case these are his operations manual, his onboarding manual and his hiring manual.

• Design the systems required in reverse order. This way you will not have to play as much catch up down the line.

• Play Tetris with the tasks for each system by assigning staff and resources based on priority. Outline what each staff member is responsible for and set up a timeline with enough buffer room.

 

Quotes

• “Overload means there's too much on your plate. Overwhelm means your relationship to that overload is dysfunctional.” (15:38-15:44 | Dan)

• “I probably do get overwhelmed because there is a sheer amount of work. However, not all that work has to be done at once. So I prioritize those things. At the same time, I do know that I will have to introduce new staff members to help me.” (17:00-17:16 | Adam)

• “Before you grow, make sure you've got functionality within the business, otherwise you just scale dysfunction.” (17:41-17:47 | Dan)

• “One thing I have learned is just to go slow, and build the systems as we go.” (18:23-18:30 | Adam)

• “There's a pattern with myself where I get really uncomfortable  and I'm forced to do things. And that's when the business grows the most.” (28:25-28:35 | Adam) 

• “If we were doing work together on a client call right now, Adam, I would say pull open your calendar right now, and isolate two or three days where you can dedicate to those revisions… This is the reverse engineering process when it comes to time, money and people, resources. So it doesn't catch you by surprise.” (34:54-35:31 | Dan) 

 

Links

Connect with Adam Smolak:

Website: www.entityecotherapy.com.au

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091285465126

Clearing Obstacles:

clearingobstacles.com

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