Creating Systems and Project Management Tools that Work for the Way YOU Work with Braden Drake

Aug 5

Episode 561: Show Notes

While it doesn't take much talent to have a creative hobby, it takes skill, practice, and, most importantly, systems to monetize your creative passion and turn it into a career. By working with creatives, today’s guest is able to use his skill in law and tax while also vicariously working in the creative industry through all of you amazing ‘creativepreneurs’. Braden Drake is your gay best friend who also happens to be an attorney and tax pro, but aren't talking about the boring (but necessary) legal stuff today! For that, you need to head over to Braden’s podcast, Unf*ck Your Biz. Today, we are talking about creating systems, standard operating procedures, and processes that work the way YOU want to work in your business!

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This is a roundtable-style discussion about how our individual personalities impact the way we organize our to-dos and develop our SOPs, as well as how you can create systems that will actually benefit your business rather than wasting your valuable time as CEO. We also touch on the Profit First methodology and how it ties into getting “your legal and tax shit legit,” as Braden says. Tuning in, you’ll learn about the three things you need to consider when creating standard operating procedures for your business, how to create processes that work for your personality type, and the system Braden suggests to stay legal and compliant, plus a whole lot more!

Make sure not to miss this informal and informative conversation full of practical tips with your new best friend, Braden Drake.

Your Systems Are Only as Good as Your Ability to Manage Those Systems

One of Braden’s personal mantras and something that he repeats to his students often is: your systems are only as good as your ability to manage those systems. It’s easy to develop complex systems, but you must also have the ability to manage them on a day-to-day basis to make them work for your business rather than simply wasting your time. Braden highlights four simple things to consider when creating systems for your business. The first is whether you are a visionary or an integrator entrepreneur type. While Abagail believes that most CEOs embody elements of both types, Braden believes it comes down to interest. Are you more interested in making big decisions or managing day-to-day operations? Do you love details or are you more of a big picture thinker? Once you understand where your interests lie, you can focus your attention on what matters to you and delegate the rest for greater impact.

Adapting Your Organizing Style to Design Systems that Work

The second thing to consider is whether you are a macro or a micro-organizer. Here, Braden refers to Cas the Clutterbug, who has developed four distinct organizing styles. Do you crave visual abundance or do you prefer visual simplicity? Are you an “out of sight, out of mind” person like Abagail or someone who needs quickly accessible and well-organized storage solutions like Emylee? When you know which organizing style fits you best, you can adapt it to design systems that work for you and your business and stay organized for good. Cas asks how you react when your partner or someone you live with has a different organizing style to you. Her suggestion is to figure out who is primarily responsible for a specific area of the house and stick to their organizing style in that area. The same applies to your business. If you are the only person running your business, go ahead and organize everything based on a system that works for your preferences. If you have team members, perhaps specific projects could follow the organizing style of the person in charge of each project. Again, it’s about focusing your attention where it has the most impact!

Neurodiversity and Empowered Entrepreneurship

The third thing Braden wants business owners to consider is whether or not you might be neurodivergent, which simply means differing in mental or neurological function from what is considered ‘normal’ or otherwise neurotypical. The neurodiversity movement is something that you are likely more aware of recently, thanks to the explosion of ADHD-related accounts on TikTok and other social media channels over the past year or so. Thinking about how your brain operates and how it might be different from others, particularly those that you have learned specific business systems from, can help you tweak those systems to make sense for your unique needs. This episode is about creating systems and project management tools that work for the way YOU work, which is why Abagail suggests identifying your needs first and adapting your work to serve those needs, rather than the other way around. If you feel like you don’t fit the mold, what can you do to empower yourself through the work you are producing? Being neurodivergent is not a weakness; so don’t treat it like one!

Creating Simple Solutions to Keep Your Legal and Tax Shit Legit!

A lot of people think they need really complex systems, especially when it comes to things like bookkeeping, receipt tracking, and cashflow. Even Braden is guilty of this! If you attend one of his webinars, he talks about the very robust system he has in place but, like almost anything else, the simpler, the better. As an example, Braden shares a simple way to stay on top of licenses and due dates: a compliance calendar. All this means is creating a dedicated calendar and noting all of your due dates for the year, whether that is a printout in the front of your paper planner or a project in Asana. Business license renewal due on April 15th? Put it in the calendar! That way, you can refer to your compliance calendar before you schedule tasks to ensure you’re adhering to all your deadlines.

Another area you can think about simplification is cashflow. Braden follows his own Profit First methodology, which draws on the strengths of Mike Michalowicz’s hit cash management solution for entrepreneurs, while Abagail and Emylee hired a bookkeeper and reviewed their profit and loss statements at the end of every month. Over time, they have developed some simple rules for their business to help them decide whether they need to increase revenue or make cuts. However you choose to simplify your solutions, Braden stresses the importance of discipline.

The Three Levels of Bookkeeping

Braden teaches that there are three levels of bookkeeping: the spreadsheet level, the software level, and hiring a bookkeeper. Depending on the size and mission of your business, your needs will vary. For Boss Project, of course, Abagail and Emylee needed to hire a bookkeeper but, for their own small businesses, they use a combination of spreadsheets and software like QuickBooks. What Braden has found from working with new business owners is that they are told on day one that they need QuickBooks, but it’s not exactly the easiest system to figure out, nor is it a one-size-fits-all solution for entrepreneurs. If you are going to use a system like QuickBooks, you have to learn how to use it. If you don’t educate yourself, you are likely going to achieve nothing but make a big mess that is going to be very difficult to clean up when tax season arrives! While complex cash flow systems might actually be worth the effort to set up for a lot of newer business owners, complex bookkeeping systems often aren’t. Here are some simple questions to ask yourself: is the system you’ve created one that you are actually maintaining? If not, ask yourself: do you need a little bit more discipline or do you need a simpler system?

Quote This

Your systems are only as good as your ability to manage those systems.

Highlights

Your Systems Are Only as Good as Your Ability to Manage Those Systems. [0:04:10]
Adapting Your Organizing Style to Design Systems that Work. [0:10:45]
Neurodiversity and Empowered Entrepreneurship. [0:22:14]
Creating Simple Solutions to Keep Your Legal and Tax Shit Legit! [0:29:36]
The Three Levels of Bookkeeping. [0:44:11]

#TalkStrategyToMe [0:54:05]

Create a compliance calendar.
Look at how you are running your cashflow.
Assess your bookkeeping and receipt tracking systems.
Do you need more discipline or do you need a simpler system?

ON TODAY’S SHOW

Braden Drake

Braden Drake is an attorney based in San Diego, California who practices law and provides bookkeeping and tax services for creatives, digital nomads, and small businesses. Providing personalized services for personalized goals, Braden uses the framework of automation, structure, form, and demolishing to help guide business owners through questions based around tax savings systems, quarterly taxes, 1099 collection, LLC legal structure, contracts, and cash flow.