Process Consultant For Professional Builders - Case Study

If you love systems, if it's something that's just part of your DNA or you're just fascinated with how things work and you like detail, you like working with people, this is definitely something to pursue. There are so many businesses that need this type of work. You're not going to be really struggling to get clients. There are so many people out there that need this work. There's really no business owner that I've ever chatted with that says I don't need systems.

Today we're going to be diving into the world of process consulting. I'm joined by Amy Acino. She's one of our systemologists. She's a little bit of a legend in our world, having been one of our earliest systemologists. She's been in the community for over four years, very much just quickly rose through the ranks working with some of our clients at head office, really getting some spectacular results. She led the sales team here at Systemology also and supports other systemologists. Now she's got a really great story to tell from going from the corporate world through to becoming a process consultant. So I'd love to learn more about her story. We're going to talk about what made her jump and decide to become a process consultant. The highs, the lows, everything in between. I want to get some key insights that she's learned along the way and see where she's up to now. So first things first. Just wanted to welcome you to the call, Amy.

Thank you. Excited to be here and share a little bit about my journey. I can't believe it's been four years. It seems. Certainly went by, like, really fast.

Yeah, just speeds by. I'm curious if we went back in time then.

Maybe tell us a little bit about what you were doing in the corporate world before you made the jump and what was going on and internally and. And what made you think, you know what, I'm going to look for something else.

Yeah, absolutely. So I worked at a major telecommunications company here in the US for the US folks that are watching this, it's Verizon. I was there for 22 years and.

Just always felt like there was something more I wanted to do. I just wanted to be able to go out and work for myself. And so I had no idea what I was going to do when I made the leap and decided to leave corporate. But I started to think about what skill sets do I have where, you know, where best can I serve other businesses? And so I ended up becoming like right out of corporate, I became an online business manager. So I was working with several small business owners and realizing that there was a common theme that I was seeing time after time. And it was that at the outset they looked very successful, but behind the scenes a lot of chaos, not a lot of consistency or repeatability, huge need for systems. So that's kind of when the light bulb went off in my head. I'm like, there's a possibility for me to niche down and just work on systems with, with these business owners, they really need it and I'm, you know, really good at it. It just seems because I was as I got more into like the formal training of systems, I would look back and realize, oh, I used to do things like that. Like I always lived by checklists or you know, back in corporate creating step by step instruct the vendors that I worked with. So it's, it just ended up being a natural progression towards systems. But yes, so that's what I was doing in corporate. I was a manager. I started off as a sales manager, then a, a call center manager and then did some, you know, other management activities behind the scenes like operations, facilitation, management. So it all. A lot of that just has to do with keeping things organized and keeping the wheels turning and making life as easy as possible for the internal customers, but especially the external customers.

So do you see yourself as a systems person? Is that something like, do you even prior to becoming a systemologist, is that something like. It sounds like in the corporate world you're quite organized in doing that type of work and then you went did the, and online business manager stuff again, organizing. So I'm wondering if you just had a natural affinity to it.

I think I did, but I didn't label it as such. Like I didn't realize it until I really got into the training with systemology because I would, there were always, there was always like an approach that I would have like you know, in sports or just wanting to know like how do you do that? How do you do that to the best of your ability? Especially now that I'm thinking about it with sports in general or even just people working at the highest and best levels in business. I was always fascinated with, well, how did you get there? What steps did you take to get to that level and to be able to do it consistently? I've always been fascinated with that and wanting to know just the roadmap or hey, give me the playbook for how you got to where you are no matter what it was. And so, so I guess when I really look back, I was definitely Systems minded. I just didn't know how to label it at the time.

Yeah, and, and did you like, was there a particular something that, that you said, right, I need to leave corporate to go follow this or I'm never going to follow it. Like, was there a turning point or something that happened that prompted it or. And what was that first little step like? Like to actually go, you know what, I'm not being fulfilled here and I need to go somewhere else. I'd love to kind of explore that a bit more.

Yeah. So there wasn't, other than just feeling like I was meant for more, that I wanted to just work for myself. I wanted to be able to make a bigger difference in the world. And I wasn't seeing that or feeling that where I was now. All the years that I had in corporate were fantastic because they gave me. So I, I honed so many skill sets that I now use and apply in my work today. But it was just not feeling like I was making as much of a difference as I would like to and just this burning desire to always work for myself. I didn't realize like right out of the gate how hard it is to start a business. So that was a rude awakening. But you know, there's, when you approach it from a systematic manner, it becomes easier. So yeah, it was just like realizing, you know, the clock's ticking. I don't want to have any regrets. I want to just take the leap and see what happens. And, and I did.

I had no idea what I was going to do. That's the scary part. I probably, if I went back in time, I probably would have had a better plan or, you know, rather than just leaving it up to fate. But things just started to unfold in the manner that they were supposed to. So, you know, drawing upon those corporate skills led me to working, you know, in sort of an operational role with small businesses. And then working with several small businesses opened my eyes to the fact that a lot of them don't have systems.

So I kind of feel like there's this progression and we'll get to a little bit more about it later as you've now sort of settled in on your niche. But it's like you start very broad, you weren't too sure, you kind of moved into that operations and then you've niche down into systems and then you've gone even further now to serve a specific audience. I, yeah, I think that progression is, is really key to actually step into systemology. Was there something that initially attracted you to the work? Like what made you go, hey, this is the direction I'm going to head?

Yeah. So it was after I had the realization of, wow, small businesses need systems. I decided to do an online search to get my hands on every book that was ever written regarding systems. And at that point, I kind of only knew about E Myth. And upon my search, I stumbled upon Systemology. I'm like, oh, this looks interesting. So I immediately got the book on Audible, listened to it within the next 24 hours, went right to the website to download some of the free resources because I wanted to get my hands on everything I could to just, you know, educate myself and be able to take some of that learning and apply it to the businesses that I was working with at the time. And so when I went to the Systemology site, well, first listening to the book like it was, everything felt so aligned. I'm like, oh my gosh, this is the way. The approach is so straightforward and simple. It's taking all the mystery and complexity out of, you know, this process. It's like it's a step by step way of just helping businesses achieve what they all desperately need. And then when I went to the website, I was like, really excited to see that there was a certification. So I immediately applied and, you know, ended up chatting with someone from Systemology a few days later. So it was just, you know, Systemology was the first, aside from eth, the first systems book that I read and the best one that I read because it has led me to where I am today.

So that you've had the chance now to see a lot of system ologists sort of move into the community. So you've seen those that have been really successful. And I'm curious to know if it's obvious to you if there are particular qualities, like, I don't know if you think about yourself or other systemologists, like what makes a great systemologist and what makes them have success.

So definitely someone that likes detail, likes, like systems, you know, likes process, organization and isn't afraid of the details because we need to get in the weeds and really understand something. But at the, on the other hand, you also need to be able to see the big picture because when you're going into a session with a client, you need to really understand, you know, have a general idea of, of what they're going to be talking to you about. So see it at that big picture level. Then you have to be able to know, like, what questions to ask, you know, asking the right questions. In addition to having that, that attention to Detail that definitely is something that makes a good systemologist and just a good overall communicator. You're going to be working with people that have all different personality types and you want to be able to put them at ease. You want to be able to draw out of the ones that are, that tend to be on the quieter side the information that you need. So it's, you know, being a good, like, detective, being able to ask the right questions.

Know when to dig a little bit deeper if you think there's more that, more to it than what you're hearing and just being able to lead people. So having that, that emotional intelligence to be able to recognize if someone's a little bit nervous or holding back a little bit, put them at ease, help them to feel comfortable so that they're willing to share information with you and trust you and, you know, understand that everything you're doing is for the greater good, for their own benefit and also for the benefit of the company.

Yeah, yeah. It's definitely a learning experience working with different business owners and their teams.

When we think about the challenges that you've come up against, like, I know new systemologists, everybody's a little bit different depending on their experience. You had come from corporate. We've got other systemologists who were previously business coaches or consultants, and they've got different areas of strength. I'd love to know, maybe even just from your perspective, where you found the biggest challenges for you and if you'd have any advice around how to overcome some of those.

Yeah, so my biggest challenge was, you know, kind of expecting that the clients were just going to show up and, and that I, I would just be able to, you know, you know, put out on the, on the web. I'm a systemologist, but for me it was not having like, the experience really with marketing and, and, and selling and just starting a business in general. So that, that was a challenge because I hadn't been exposed to it before. You know, there's a. With time and experience, you get more comfortable with that. So what really worked well for me was pairing up with, you know, another systemologist, business consultants and systemology to not have to worry about where I'm going to get the clients from, let somebody else do the work in terms of acquiring and converting customers so I could just focus on getting very comfortable and confident in my skills, delivering the service to the clients. So at first, you know, you, I may have felt a little discouraged, like, oh, the clients aren't just, they're not just lining up out my Outside my door. Like what? You know, I don't know where I thought that that was going to be a rational thought, but it's just, you know, just the, the best advice I have. If you don't have any experience like starting your own business, running your own business, pair up with someone else while you hone your skills. Because to try to do everything all at once, to try to learn how to start a business and learn a brand new technique to apply to business owners or businesses, I should say it can be a bit overwhelming and, and can leave you feeling a little bit discouraged because it's a lot that you're putting on yourself at one time. So, you know, if you already have those skill sets, you're an experienced business owner, business consultant, coach, then you know, jump right in because you've already have, you already have those skills, you know how to get the clients. But for me, it was really trying to do everything at once instead of, you know, setting myself up for an easier time by just focusing on learn how to do it, learn how to deliver systemology and the framework to clients. So yeah, that's kind of where that would be. The recommendation would be pair up with someone to gain, to build your confidence.

Oh, hey, I know you're tuned in right now, so keep this super quick, but you like awesome YouTube videos, don't you? Well, there's not really that many YouTube channels that create great content about how to systemize your small business. So I want to make sure that you catch every video that I publish. So if you haven't already, firstly give this video the thumbs up and then go ahead and subscribe to my channel. You can even hit the bell notification to make sure that you're the first to know when I publish anything. So go ahead, do it right now, I'll wait a sec and then I'll transfer you back to the video.

I feel like one of your biggest attributes that's really contributed to your success has been sticking with it like, you know, as time has sort of gone on, it's been so great to watch you grow and evolve and pick up the different skills required to really make this business work and been a real shining example of, hey, set your mind to a goal, stick to it. You kind of mentioned a little bit about some advice or things. Yeah, advice to, let's say someone coming into this, if you look back now and maybe it's related to that, maybe it's different. Is there anything that you wish you would have known prior to becoming a systemologist and going down this track that might have been able to help set you up for success.

It's just that experience is what will build confidence. So, you know, like, I remember going through training and like taking it all in. I'm like, oh, this is, this is easy. I, I'm just gonna jump right in. But then, you know, you get, you encounter different personality types, different clients, different questions, and you just have to trust that you're going to do the best job that you can. And with every client that I worked with, I gained even more confidence or got better at asking questions or got, you know, started to learn more.

And so, but there was a part of me that wanted to just kind of hold back a little bit and hide behind. Well, maybe I just, I should take review another module or work on my website instead of getting out there in trenches and doing the work. And yeah, the best advice is you, the confidence is built through experience. So you just have to get out there and do it. Even if you're nervous. You just, you know, can't beat the, the actual implementation of the work. And so, you know, the best way to, to do that if you're brand new is maybe find someone that you, you know, you feel like everyone knows someone that has a business, so maybe offer up your services, use that as your, your test client or your.

You know, your, your beta client, whatever it is, and you know, get, get that time on the wall, as you say, because there's nothing beats that. And if you're feeling intimidated or a little discouraged or you're like, oh, I, you know, I could, I could have done a better job. When you're brand new, you will do a better job. Of course, like, you don't. Nobody just jumps on a bike and starts riding it with, with ease from day one. You have to stick at, you know, stick with anything in order to get better at it. And so.

I'm telling you, every client I worked with, the confidence just built and it continues to build. And I've now worked with like dozens and dozens of clients and it just continues, I learn more. Those skills that I learn, I then can have that in the back of my mind when I'm working with somebody else to, you know, approach things from a different manner, ask even better questions.

So, yeah, and the as you're learning this and thinking a little bit about what systemologies help to provide, are there any sort of standout things for you as far as whether it's the training or the community or. Yeah, the, like, what has got, what, what are some of the big takeaways you've got, I suppose from, from the work that we do as far as training up systemologists.

Oh yeah, the, all of it is, is fantastic. Like the, the training that we have, the access to. So the self paced training, the live training, the, the support that we get. Like I always felt like I was fully supported and, and still feel that way. The community is great. Everyone's like rooting each other on. I never feel a sense of competition with anyone because there are so many businesses out there. Like there aren't enough of us to serve all of them. So even if there's someone else in a similar niche, that's fine. Like I know that that's now an opportunity for me to collaborate potentially with another systemologist and brainstorm on ways to work with others. But just the feeling of being fully supported has really helped me. Like you know those days when I'm kind of feeling a little down or discouraged, you know, I could talk to another systemologist or talk to you or and just feel like, hey, now I've got this, I've got this. This is just normal. Part of the growing pains of, of getting better at anything in life. But the training really, really sets a solid foundation so that, you know, going into working with my first client, first few clients, like I felt like I have a framework, I have a system, so I'm not going in there trying to wing it and figure it out. Anytime I got nervous, I'd fall back on, okay, what was the next thing I was taught to do? Okay, I can do that now. And applying systems to the, you know, to delivering the work with the clients, I mean that's just it really set me up for success knowing that there was always. I may not have all the answers, but I know the direction in which I need to go with the clients. And then if I had a question on something, I could always come back to the community and someone would have an idea or just words of encouragement.

Yeah, I love how, you know, the watching the community kind of support you as you've been growing, but then equally what you then tip back into the community. I know at the moment you're doing some work with some new AI tools and showing the community, here's how you're doing, creating proposals, using it and sort of leveling up. I'd love to know what you're seeing or particularly any big changes with regards to AI and how that's evolving your work as a process consultant, but then also how you're seeing it evolve your clients work as well.

Yeah, like to be honest, when it first became really big, like what, two years ago, I was really nervous. I'm like, oh my gosh, is this going to replace me as a systemologist? Like, you know, because there's so, there's so much that we can use it for nowadays. I thought it was just going to completely replace my job and I'm like, wow. And I realized quickly it, it didn't, it just allowed me and my clients to go faster and do more. And it's, I use it every single day and I teach my clients how to use it. You know, from everything from helping with documentation to saying something in a more succinct way, coming up with ideas for different processes and policies that maybe didn't exist already. Helping with process optimization, it's, you know, the sky's the limit. Helping to create, I guess the word it would be AI agents or, you know, being able to compile all of their information and put it in one place where, you know, their team can then leverage AI to gain access to answers, you know, rather than having to go ask the same question to the business owner or a manager over and over again. So there's, so it's been a huge game changer and there are just so many ways that I'm leveraging it now. You know, I'm, I'm looking forward to the day when we can just pop a video in there and have it not just give us a draft of a, a process or an sop, but also maybe pull screenshots from there too. Yeah, so that would be really ideal, but it's just allowed business owners to move and systemologists like myself to get more done more quickly. And I'm just excited to see what else is, we'll be able to use it for.

I think we seem to see the AI and getting the best results from the AI tends to happen when you really focus in on a particular problem or niche or like I see that with the work that, that we do, we were obviously applying AI to process and because we've got a specific problem, we can see that equally your, I mean you've narrowed now into your niche and you're them thinking and how does AI apply to this specific niche? So yeah, tell us a little bit about the, the niche. Like you started broad and you, you know. Oh, okay, well I'm gonna go into business, sort of online business management stuff. Okay, now we niche down to systems. And, and where are you now?

Yeah, it's, it's been interesting how I kind of stumbled into it or it kind of fell in my lap. But it was last year when I just started working with custom home builders and.

You know, I had a few just come my way by way of referral. And I find that line of business just so fascinating. I've always had my own passion and fascination for like beautiful luxury homes. And.

It always just seemed kind of like a mystery to me to like, how do they even build that? And so I've had the opportunity to get behind the scenes and like learn every single step of that process, which can be a pretty complicated process, but it's, it's just, to me, it's fascinating and there's so many moving parts, but lots of opportunities to, to standardize. Even when it's a custom luxury home, you know, there's certain things that just need to happen where the customization is, you know, just part of the design process. And of course you, you build upon that design. But yeah, it just, it was something that I never thought was going to be the niche that I fell into that was not at all on my radar. But I think that for, you know, if I were to recommend to a systemologist to niche down or not, definitely niche down and do something that's fun that you like. I was thinking it had to be, you know, something that I was extremely passionate about. And.

I would never say, like I was so passionate about home building. Now I am though. But it's been something that was just so fascinating to me and the people that I've been working with.

They'Re all amazing. So it's. Yeah, it's definitely.

Something I didn't expect, but I'm glad I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm in the niche now.

Yeah, I think it's a, it almost uncovers one of those myths around systemization, this idea that you can't have a level of creativity if you systemize too much. And how can you create systems for something so bespoke as home. Custom home building where every job's different but there are steps in the process and key milestones. And we always talk about. You systemize.

Yes.

Everything around the creativity and then you focus that in. So the type of work that you do these days. Like what's. Yeah. How are you working with clients? I know you do some one on one work and what, what's sort of like the ideal client load for you to be in a really happy place.

Yeah, so I think, you know, I'm averaging around six one on one clients. That's where I'm doing the full Implementation of interviewing, recording, turning that, then those recordings into documentation. And you know, I've been getting a bit more interest in people that want to work in a done with you capacity. That's where I would coach them and their systems champion on how to implement the systemology framework from within the business. And that's, you know, such a great place to be in if you're a business owner and have someone in the business who has, you know, the desire to be the systems champion. Because when you work with a systemologist to kind of help, you know, when they have the ability to work with someone like me to instill that skill set within the business, they now have that for the long term. They. Having a systems champion within the business like really helps people move faster and it helps the adoption from what I've seen, doesn't mean that if you don't have one you're not going to benefit, but it certainly helps, it helps people move faster, it helps people change the culture. And.

You know, having that skill set, once a consultant like myself comes in and then, you know, moves on, you can't, you know, you can't beat that. So I, that's definitely.

A path that I'm going more down this year is doing a bit more of the done with you and you know, especially where I'm, you know, kind of reaching capacity and you know, having a bit of a wait list to work with folks. One off one.

Yeah, perfect. Maybe in the tail end for someone who's considering becoming a systemologist. I don't know if there's any final words of wisdom that you might be able to give them as someone who's gone down the path now and had some really great success. Yeah. Is there anything else or any other questions you wish I'd asked?

See, in terms of just, you know, giving some words of wisdom to aspiring systemologists, if you love systems, if it's something that's just part of your, your DNA or, or you're just fascinated with like how things work and you like detail, you like working with people, you like variety. This is, you know, definitely something to pursue. There are so many businesses that need this type of work. You know, you're not gonna, you're, you're, you're not going to be bored, you're not going to be, you know, really struggling to get clients. There are so many people out there that need this work. And so, you know, there's really no business owner that I've ever chatted with that says I don't need systems. Nah, that's not for me. Like, not like 100 of the clients I've worked with understand that they need that. And, you know, maybe the only pushback you I would ever get would be someone thinking it's going to stifle their creativity. But we know how to answer that. It certainly doesn't. It helps to open up more room for creativity when you can standardize things. So for folks that are, you know, maybe just coming out of corporate and afraid, oh, how am I gonna, you know, how am I going to start my own business? And you can do it. I, I did it. You can do it. There are easier ways to go about it. Like, like I said earlier when I alluded to maybe partnering with someone who's a bit more experienced just to get your feet wet and then, you know, everything's a system. Marketing is a system, sales is a system. It's not this big, mysterious, scary thing that I used to think it was once I learned how to break it down. Like, oh, it's just a step by step process that you have to do in a repeatable manner in order to get the end result. So, you know, Systemology, like the just working with you guys has been awesome. You're, you know, when, if someone's on the fence about do I take the plunge or not, you're gonna definitely get the best training that's out there and you're gonna have an incredible support system around you, whether it's the, the systemology team themselves or fellow systemologists just cheering you on. We all just want to see each other win.

Yeah. Awesome. Now if someone wants to find out more about your work, I'll send them over to systemsmadesimple.net is that the best place?

That is right? Yep.

My website might be going under a bit of a overhaul. We're redoing that right now. But yeah, that is the best place to find me.

Yeah. Awesome. I'll pop a link through there and yeah. Thank you so much for your time today, Amy.

Absolutely. Thank you. Appreciate it.

Sa.