Why running your business feels harder than it should

SPEAKER_00 0:19

And it's like you don't even have a need a website for this. You can have, let's say, calendarly, like a scheduler that it's for free. You can have one event there just to get somebody in your calendar. You can use something like Notion, which is also for free, and you can create public pages. So you can put your offers there, and they can click and do everything. So you don't need even a website to start your business. You just need to start. That's all you need.

Jaclyn Strominger 0:47

Connect, connect bold, connect boldly, connect bold. Activate your power. Unstoppable. Hello, everybody, and welcome to another amazing episode of the Unstoppable Success Podcast. I'm your host, Jacqueline Strumminger. And as you know, on this podcast, we hear from amazing individuals, their tips, their tricks, their insights on how they've had unstoppable success. We hear their leadership, all things again to help you have unstoppable success and leap to your greatest success. So I have a question. Have you ever looked at something inside your business and wondered, why is this so much harder than it should be? Well, today's guest actually helps service-based business owners answer that question and more importantly, fix the problem. So Himena Serafati, oh my God, I'm saying that like 10 times fast. Hermena Serafati is the founder of Hime and Cope and Company. She specializes, specializes in process systems, strategy, automation, and implementation. I feel like I should say that's like a tongue twister, but she does not begin with a tool or a trendy piece of technology. She actually starts by understanding what the business actually needs, which is perfect. So she's not pitching you right from the get-go. So today we are talking about hidden friction, inefficient systems, thoughtful automation, and how leaders can create a business that runs with greater clarity and momentum. So welcome to Unstoppable Success. So great to have you here today.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

Thank you, Jacqueline, for having me here today.

Jaclyn Strominger 2:42

It's a pleasure. Okay, so Jimena, what was the moment that you realized that you really had a natural ability to see why something was harder or slower or more manual than it needed to be?

SPEAKER_00 2:59

So I've always worked in operations, retail, hospitality. It was always in the back end. And I was like, why are people doing it so hard? This could be so much simpler. And when I moved into my online business, I realized that people were overcomplicating things, and I just couldn't understand why. For me, in my head, it just made sense. So I decided, okay, if that's my superpower. Let me share with other people, let me help them untangle this chaos and streamline their business.

Jaclyn Strominger 3:36

Well, I I love it. So it's funny because sometimes we, you know, a lot of times we see things that other people can't see because some people are so into that, like they can't see outside because they're so into it, right? So obviously you have the superpower, and that you know led you to create your company. But what problem

The operations foundation most businesses skip (and how a process map shows what is missing)

Jaclyn Strominger 3:55

did you believe you know you were really solving for people? You know, because sometimes what we think we're solving may not actually be what we're solving. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 4:06

100%. So something that happens, especially with the backhand, is I see businesses, especially newer businesses, or they could be doing this for many years, but they don't have an ops foundation. So you start working, you hire marketing, you do sales, that's where you focus on. Of course, we need to get some revenue, that's where we're working, and to help people. I thought we just do things for free. Just kidding. Yeah, so that's something that I realized. I was just like you all reach a ceiling to a certain point, and it's like you can move forward, you got everything else, and you're just getting stuck. So and I I had clients that were in business for 80 years and they were like doing this manually, and I was like, oh no, no, no, no. You're already using the system, let's just create some workflows for you. So that's when I first started just seeing it and being like, okay, let me just help you. And what I usually do is just ask a lot of questions. I just ask questions because I need to understand you, your business, what do you need right now and where you want to go in the future? Because we can solve something right now, because that's what you think this is what you need. But it's like, well, if in five years you want to get somewhere else, is this the best place to start? Is this what we want to do? We want to make sure that it grows with you. There's nothing worse, because I've seen this many times, than migrating a platform after years of using it, and you need to move everything with you. And that's just because you're just trying to solve this issue right now. And I think one of the biggest problems that I see is that people can visualize their process, and that's when the gaps happen because they're like, oh, I thought I'd fix this. And I'm like, let's go back. And that's what I do with people, I just put everything in a process map because when we see it, it's like, oh, that's where that was missing, that's where that email needs to go, that's where that video needs to be added, or that PDF or guide or whatever it is. So that's what I start doing with people. And when you see it, you can see, can you see that there's way too many steps here? Maybe we can reduce them easier for you and for the client. So I think the biggest issue is just people not being able to see their process.

Jaclyn Strominger 6:47

Right. So something you that it's so interesting because I think this is something that a lot of people do, or it's it's one of the biggest issues that I see too is that people start their business and they don't in the beginning, they don't create the process. They just like, but you actually have to stay, you yes, you have your business, but you have to think about the process along the way. And as you were sharing, the scalability because you could get into X system, but if it's not gonna scale with you, or if your process, yeah, if you're the only one that's doing it, how do you scale? I mean, maybe you don't want to scale, but you know, which is all well and good. But if you do, what does that look like and how do you do it, right?

SPEAKER_00 7:36

Exactly. One of the things that happen as well is people following trends because of platforms. So now this platform is super popular, so everybody wants there, and then they just use it a few months, or they're just using a few features because it happens. Oh, everybody recommends me this one, so I'm gonna buy this one, and then you got 10 different platforms that you're using, but you're only using like one thing in each, and at the same time, they're not talking to each other, which creates more work for you at the end of the day. So that also happens, especially because nobody knows everything. So when you're trying to work and you're trying to move and continue to build your business or take your clients in, you're like, I need to learn this platform and doing this and doing that, or with your team, whoever is with you, or unless you're alone. So it's very hard for you to pick when you don't know. So you're like, ah, should I follow everybody? Is this the best for me? Or maybe there's another one. There's so many tools nowadays.

Jaclyn Strominger 8:48

Oh my god, there's so many tools, there's so many things, and so every day you're getting pitched with different things. And it's it's really great to have somebody else that's sort of like outside looking at what you're doing because sometimes you just, you know, it's what's right for you is not gonna be right for the for another person. And I know like there's there are a couple of CRMs out there, and I won't badmouth anybody, but there's a very popular one that's got a couple of initials, and a lot of people use it, and it's a great system, but it has so many different options that it's actually, you know, it's actually not, I think, the right system for a lot of people anymore because it's actually gotten too big or it's gotten too big. Too many. And it's anyway, but that's so really look at what you're look at the system that you're using and really dive into what is the right thing for you to move to scalability. And does it have more bells and whistles that you're gonna need? Because that's if it has too many bells and whistles, then why are you paying for the system? And like you're you're paying for all the other stuff. So I so I'm curious. So so, first of all, listeners, I think that's a really big thing for you to like stop and listen. Like, do you do you have your processes set up and mapped out? If you don't, do me a favor, set aside some time and map out your system. And if you need help, you can always reach out to one of us because we can we're happy to help walk you through that. But here's the other thing I wanted to ask, ask you, Jimena, is

Early warning signs: manual reminders, workarounds and hidden admin time

Jaclyn Strominger 10:19

is what what are early warning signs for our our business owners and businesses that maybe there is something that you know they see the sign, and either that's they've outgrown their current process or they really need to make a shift. Like what what are the signs?

SPEAKER_00 10:45

So one thing, and this is something that I still see a lot in different size companies, is reminders for a contract, for a payment. People don't have that automated, so then you need to remember, somebody needs to, and then that can be just somewhere there, and you're like, didn't I have this person somewhere? What happened to that? And that's just because there's nobody tracking that. So having an automation for that, and even to flag if after you got all your steps, nothing happens, then tell a person, like the system, tells a person saying, Hey, reach out to them. So you can have both things. You can have an automation that does it for you, and then when all those stages pass, then you can go in and be like, hey, talk to me, what's going on? Let's have a conversation. And the other thing is this is more about when your system is too old or again, it just might not be the right one for you when you have so many works around. So it's like, oh, well, this one is not working, so I do this, and then you start covering and just patching things because that's what you're doing. And at the end of the day, it the thing that I see people is that they don't realize how much admin they end up doing. Most people don't time themselves, they don't have clock in, clock out. I usually do it because it just helps me see where my time is going. So because it's five minutes here, five minutes there, you don't realize. But if you start taking that into account, you're like, oh wow, I spend five hours doing all these extra things that I shouldn't be doing. That's why we build this system. What's going on? Right, right, right.

Jaclyn Strominger 12:39

So I like use it. So there's a free system out there. It's called Clockify. And Clockify, it's free, it's free, it's a free, it's a free tool. You can use it for, but a great way to track what your daily tasks are and what you're doing. And I I would highly recommend to anybody, again, this is a really, really, really big tip. Spend two weeks tracking everything you do for every minute of the day that you're working, because you will be surprised. I will bet. You'll see where time is. Sometimes you might realize, oh, I just I did doom scrolling and you didn't realize you were doom scrolling, or maybe, you know, maybe you're watching the news more than you should, or you know, maybe you're spending more time. You know, where are you spending your time? If you're client focused, are you spending more time with client A than client B? And is client A paying you the same amount as client B? So 100%.

SPEAKER_00 13:39

And I use Clockyfy myself as well. So I also recommend it very much.

Jaclyn Strominger 13:44

So I think in there, you know, there's no there's no affiliate or anything like that. I just happen to think it's a great thing. But so we'll put a link to Clockify in there for people, you know, so you can track your track it.

SPEAKER_00 13:56

But yes, I think those are the two main things. It's just yeah, people they just don't realize where the time goes. And it could be with your team, it could be reviewing things, uh, anything that's happening. And again, two weeks is a great amount of time for you to be like, oh, yes, this is crazy like a whole day. So 100%. These will be the two things that I say the most.

Jaclyn Strominger 14:23

So, so this is you know, talking about systems and things like that. So a lot of times people

Shiny new tool or real problem? Ask, test, measure and adjust

Jaclyn Strominger 14:30

just automatically assume, right, that they need a shiny new tool. Like something's not working. I need a shiny new tool. So how do you go in and help them determine, you know, that what the real problem is? You know, like sometimes it could be technology, sometimes it could be the process, sometimes it could be the people involved.

SPEAKER_00 14:54

Oh no, that is very true and right. But yes, so the thing is I just start with them asking them questions like, okay, what are what's happening? What are the issues that you see? And we start just like feeling things like, what do you think is a bottleneck? And we will start seeing what they say. Because they, yes, sometimes they will say it's a platform, or I don't think my platform like it's doing everything that I need. And the reality is most platforms are growing a lot, especially in the last three years. They evolved, they're adding new features. The ones that haven't done that, they're probably gonna be left behind because you need to keep moving. If not, bye-bye. Like we don't need to anymore. So we just need to understand is it because you change your offers or what you need or the process that you want to have in place? Because something that happens with processes in general is it's once you map it, that doesn't mean that that's the last version of it. Right with processes, they change. There's many, many iterations. You can create and set up one that you think, okay, this is gonna be it. But until people are start using it, you start using it, you're not gonna know. Your clients are gonna give you feedback, you're gonna realize. So something that happens is okay, I have all my onboarding set up, I send them the contracts, all the steps, but they keep asking me questions. All right, and now and I spend too much time just back and forth answering questions. All right, why don't you create a PDF for frequently asked questions? Or if they're having issues with our client portal, just to say something, add our recording of how to use it in that onboarding, so then you can avoid that. But again, you're not gonna know until you start using it. And then you do your little twicks here and there and see what works. But it's a lot of testing. That's the only way that you can realize. Just test things out, and when it comes to platforms, I just ask them, like, what do you want? What do you want to see? Which ones are you using? Like, what features are you using from this? Because again, a lot of the times they're just using not even 20% of it. So they're like, I don't want it. And I mean, and I'm like, is it that you don't want it, you don't know how to use it, or you didn't realize you had all these other possibilities in it. So we need to understand what's going, what's going on, right?

Jaclyn Strominger 17:42

So actually, something that you just said that I want to make sure that people actually really understand is that being able to measure and monitor and adjust to what they're doing. You know, once you set something in motion, it's really important to test it. You know, maybe you have to measure it and monitor again, measure, monitor, and adjust. So I I want to go back to something that when you started your business, I saw something that you posted the other day, and

Start before you feel ready: Jimena's first client and her favorite part of the work

Jaclyn Strominger 18:08

you were and you said something about, you know, not having everything set up by the time I think you had your first client. So tell me about getting your first client. And because I think that's also something about that some people feel that they need to have absolutely everything in place before they hit go. And sometimes you just need to go.

SPEAKER_00 18:34

Exactly. 100%. So I did VA five-day challenge with an amazing academy, and I just went in, and every day during five days of a week, you needed to just you had a task. And one of the tasks was to reach out to your network or people that you would like to work with and say, Hey, these are my new offers. Because during the week I created my own offers, I was like, these are my new offers. If you were looking for somebody like me, in my case, I started as admin BA, would you be interested in it? If not, tell me what you think, what other things would you be interested in? And if you know anybody that could be interested in these services, please let me know. I sent one email because I didn't know who to send it to. But I sent one email, and that person reached back to me and said, Hey, I actually got somebody that needs somebody to do admin, it was like data entry and invoicing. My parents are accountants, I've been doing that for them since I'm 11. So I was like, done, no problem. So that's how I got it. I didn't have contracts yet, I didn't have my invoicing platform. I continued doing the course after that. So I was like, okay, how do I invoice these people? I got a month or two figure this out so I can start with them. But that's what I did. I just need to take that step, and it can be so hard, especially when you're like, I'm not ready. I don't have a website, that's one that many people get stuck. And it's like, you don't even have a need a website for this. You can have, let's say, calendarly, like a scheduler that it's for free. You can have one event there just to get somebody in your calendar. You can use something like Notion, that is also for free, and you can create public pages, so you can put your offers there, and they can click and do everything. So you don't need even a website to start your business, you just need to start. That's all you need.

Jaclyn Strominger 20:46

It's so true, and it's so funny. You know, I I feel like sometimes websites right now are like TV shows and TV channels, right? There are so many. So, how do you get attention, right? How does it get attention? So, yes, it's great to have the website because people can go and and but you still have to drive traffic there. So, how are you driving traffic? So, really, the biggest thing is, and and listeners, you know, I'm a big proponent of relationship capital. You read to reach out and connect with people.

SPEAKER_00 21:23

Can we use the best?

Jaclyn Strominger 21:25

Yes, it's you know, and ask, you know, ask that question. And I I like I, you know, I'm always about the I'll call it the backdoor approach. Do you know anybody who could use? They could raise their hand or not, but exactly who or who do you know that might be right? So when you when you ask the question, you can tell people what you're doing, then they might raise their own hand, but exactly unless you, you know, anyway, so that's so important to you know, ask ask that ask people, reach out, connect with people. So, you know, what is the thing that you like the most? Like what is your favorite thing to do in your business?

SPEAKER_00 22:19

My process mapping sessions. Because when I'm talking to people and I'm asking them questions, and they're like, Oh, I had I had people even telling me I don't have a process. And I tell them, you do have a process. You just don't call it a process, but you do have it. There are steps that you're following for this. So as soon as you start speaking, I start thinking. So by the time they're telling me something, I'm already two, three steps ahead, thinking of like, they need to add this, they need to add that. I also add a lot of the okay, what happens if somebody says no? Well, that never happens. But what happens if it does happen? We need to have that option as well. Because if one day that happens, you're not prepared for it. And you're like, ah, what do I do now? So just process mapping is my favorite thing. Just helping people untangle all that and getting all those steps and ideas out of their head. Because it happens to most of us. Everything just lives in our head. And it's like, how do I take all of this out in an organized way?

Jaclyn Strominger 23:27

Yeah, you know what? And sometimes it's so much easier to be able to share that with somebody because they can actually dissect it and and and share that with them, you know. So it's really great.

SPEAKER_00 23:36

Exactly.

Jaclyn Strominger 23:38

So I could talk to you about this for hours and hours and hours because I think this is such an important process. But so, how can our listeners connect with you and learn more about what you're doing and you know, even get a process mapping session with you?

SPEAKER_00 23:53

You can find me on jimian.co. That's my website. You can use my full name, Jimena Sarfati, in LinkedIn. You can also find me there and on my Instagram as well. That is Jimmy and C O. Oh, the lower dash blind. Yeah.

Jaclyn Strominger 24:13

Well, we will put all of those links in the show notes so you guys will have all of them. So please do me the favor, listeners, and connect with Jimina because you know, the what she's offering and what she does is so important, particularly in the business world, to have you to have unstoppable success at creating those processes for you. And then, listeners, please do me the other favor. We would love for you to share this episode with your friends, your family, and your colleagues, and then also become a supporter of the show. Unstoppable success is all about helping you have that unstoppable success. And when you're a supporter of the show, you actually get behind-the-scenes show notes, you get extra material from our amazing guests, and you also get extra insight into our community. So join and become a supporter of the show. The link for that will be in the show notes. Listeners, thank you so much for listening. We so appreciate each and every one of you. And thank you for being Himana to be a great guest. I so appreciate having you. And listeners, this is the Unstoppable Success Podcast. I'm your host, Jaclyn Strominger, and we are here to help you leap to your greatest success. Here's to your unstoppable success. You've been listening to the Unstoppable Success podcast with Jaclyn Strominger. Subscribe, share, and keep building your unstoppable life. We'll see you at the top.