An old lady gets pulled over for speeding…
Woman: Is there a problem, Officer?

Officer: Ma’am, you were speeding.

Woman: Oh, I see.
Officer: Can I see your license please?

Woman: I’d give it to you but I don’t have one.

Officer: Don’t have one?
Woman: Lost it, 4 years ago for drunk driving.

Officer: I see…Can I see your vehicle registration papers please.
Woman: I can’t do that.
Officer: Why not?
Woman: I stole this car.
Officer: Stole it?
Woman: Yes, and I killed and hacked up the owner.

Officer: You what?
Woman: His body parts are in plastic bags in the trunk if you want to see.

The Officer looks at the woman and slowly backs away to his car and calls for back up. Within minutes 5 police cars circle the car.
A senior officer slowly approaches the car, clasping his half drawn gun.
Officer 2: Ma’am, could you step out of your vehicle please!
The woman steps out of her vehicle.
Woman: Is there a problem sir?

Officer 2: One of my officers told me that you have stolen this car and murdered the owner.

Woman: Murdered the owner?
Officer 2: Yes, could you please open the trunk of your car, please.

The woman opens the trunk, revealing nothing but an empty trunk.
Officer 2: Is this your car, ma’am?

Woman: Yes, here are the registration papers.

The officer is quite stunned.

Officer 2: One of my officers claims that you do not have a driving licence.
The woman digs into her handbag and pulls out a clutch purse and hands it to the officer.

The officer examines the license. He looks quite puzzled.
Officer 2: Thank you ma’am, one of my officers told me you didn’t have a license, that you stole this car, and that you murdered and hacked up the owner.
Woman: Bet the liar told you I was speeding, too.

Point of the story…Don’t Mess With Old Ladies
—
Many thanks to Jilna Haria for sending this through!

In the Tim Ferriss interview with Michael Gerber (author of The E-Myth Revisited) on Escaping The Entrepreneurial Seizure, Michael introduces the three step process for building an automated business system.

As an entrepreneur, the focus here is not on working in the company (being the technician), nor is it about managing the company. The entrepreneur steps outside of the process and works ON the company rather than IN it.

Albert Einstein certainly had the right idea when he said “Problems cannot be solved by thinking within the framework in which the problems were created.”

So here is Michael Gerber’s 3 step process (with commentary from me) for building your very own business system…

Step #1: Intentional Dreaming

With this foundational step, take the time to dream, formulating your vision for your business and the impact you want to make on your immediate surroundings and the wider world. What is the purpose for your business? Who will it serve? How will it serve them now, and how will it serve them 10 years from now? Dream big, and dream outside yourself. Dream so that this system can continue without you, and will live strong way beyond your own life span.

Step #2: Intentional Organisation

What is the specific product or service that your client will receive, and how will your company get it to them? How will the company operate? Conceive, build, and perfect the automated client fulfilment systems that make up how your company operates.

Step #3: Intentional Growth

Once you’ve dreamed up what the business will do, and you have perfected the system that delivers this product or service, the final step is to conceive, build, and perfect the operating systems of the company that focus on lead generation and lead conversion.

Lead Generation: How are you going to tell potential clients about the business and how are you going to get them to come to you?  What is the marketing effort that needs to take place to attract your ideal clients to your business?  How can you automate the whole process so that you are leveraging technology and other people’s time to drive more business to your company?

Lead Conversion: Once your prospects come to know about your company and the products or services it offers, how are you going to help them take decisive action and give you money for the products and services that you are offering?  What are the barriers to securing the sale that need addressing? How can you leverage technology and other people’s time to automate this sales process?

All successful entrepreneurs seem to follow this simple 3 step model for building their very own automated business system.

Over To You

So what do you think of this 3 step process for building a business system? Where else in your work can you apply these very principles? How would you adapt them to make them work better for you?