You can be amazing at what you do, with clients who love working with you, and still feel like your business is a mess behind the scenes. Your inbox is overflowing, calls leave you drained, and projects drag on longer than they should. If that sounds familiar, it’s not because you’re bad at what you do. The truth is, talent alone won’t save you. What you need are backend business systems! Simple ways of working that protect your time and energy.
When I first started, I thought being good at my craft was all that mattered. I set up the business, opened a bank account, and jumped right in. I figured if I kept clients happy, everything else would fall into place. Spoiler: it didn’t. My backend was duct-taped together, and I was the one paying the price. Missed deadlines, messy client onboarding, and saying yes to too many projects left me exhausted. I loved my clients but hated the chaos.
If you want a fast way to identify the cracks in your back office, download the free Back Office POWER Checklist. It will help you quickly identify which backend business systems you need to focus on first so you stop guessing and start fixing them.
I’ll never forget one night, sitting on the couch with my laptop, redoing a client’s newsletter at the last minute because they’d missed another deadline. Instead of enforcing boundaries, I gave in and did it anyway. That was the moment I realized the real problem wasn’t my skills, it was the lack of backend business systems to set clear expectations and protect my time.
If every new client or project feels like starting from scratch, you’re not imagining it. Doing good work doesn’t automatically create order behind the scenes. What you need is a foundation; a way to handle the repetitive stuff so you can stay out of survival mode. Without it, you’ll keep spinning your wheels. That’s why learning how to create backend business systems is the bridge between loving your work and running a business that works for you.
I also learned that when you don’t have structure, you lose more than time. I spent hours on discovery calls with people who were never a good fit. Even the clients who did sign on felt heavier than they should have because our onboarding was a mess. We were chasing clarity instead of starting from it. The result? My energy, my confidence, and my credibility all took a hit.
Ready for support instead of trial and error? Join The Mind Your Time Society. Inside, you’ll instantly get access to the Starter Stack, Momentum Maps, and the 90-Day Roadmap, tools that help you build backend business systems step by step without overwhelm. You’ll know what to focus on first, what to do next, and how to keep it simple.
Everything shifted once I put real backend business systems in place. Discovery calls were smoother because people knew what to expect. Onboarding became consistent, and both me and my clients felt set up for success from day one. For the first time, I felt confident and in control instead of stuck on the hamster wheel.
Start small: write down the top three things you repeat to every client. Maybe it’s a question you always ask, instructions you send, or reminders you give over and over. That little list is the seed of your first system. Once it’s written down, you can turn it into a template or checklist that saves you hours every month. Simple, but powerful.
Here’s the bigger truth: backend business systems aren’t about boxing you in. They’re about creating space so you can shine in the work you do best. If you want to move out of survival mode and into a business that actually supports you, start with one small system and build from there. Those small steps add up quickly.
Your next steps:
Download the Back Office POWER Checklist to spot the biggest gaps in the backend of your business.
Join The Mind Your Time Society to start building your backend business systems with tools, guidance and support.
Because you don’t need more hustle. You need the right foundation. That’s what creates real freedom!
If you would like to hear the expanded version check out the podcast episode below.
3:23 – Why being great at what you do isn’t enough to keep your business running smoothly
6:14 – The real reason discovery calls are draining and projects require more work than they should
8:48 – How one of my members shifted from being “not a systems person” to booking more aligned clients with ease
9:59 – The moment I realized systems give you freedom and build confidence
11:32 – A quick win challenge to help you create your first system without overwhelm
13:12 – The simple next steps you should take to uncover the gaps in your back office and finally put systems in place
Resources Mentioned:
🔍 Ready to get clear about what’s really happening in the back end of your business?
The Back Office POWER Checklist is a fillable Google Doc you can complete online (no printing, no overwhelm). It helps you uncover what’s working, what’s missing, and where your systems are silently slowing you down so you can fix the real problems, not just the symptoms.
🔧 Ready to simplify your back office and finally feel in control?
Join The Mind Your Time Society, your space for smart systems, sanity-saving tools, and real support. You’ll get access to the Systems & Sanity Suite which contains plug-and-play templates, strategy driven resources, and access to expert guidance so you can run your business like a pro without the overwhelm.
If you're great at what you do but you still feel like things are falling apart behind the scenes in your business, then this episode is for you. This is the very first episode of my brand new Systems Reset series, a four-part series designed to help you uncover the cracks in your business, fix the ones that are holding you back, and step into Q4 with clarity and confidence.
In this episode, we're going to dig into why being talented just isn't enough to build a sustainable business, why it's not your fault, and how you can start shifting things so your back end actually supports your growth. Welcome to the Mind Your Time podcast.
I'm Shannon Baker, your coffee-loving host and business operations strategist. If you're a service provider who's great at what you do but stuck with misfit clients, messy onboarding, or draining workdays, this show is for you. Each week, I share bold strategies and practical insights rooted in my POWER In Motion framework to help you streamline your backend, protect your time, and lead your client experience with confidence—because skills got you clients, but systems will take you further.
So grab your cup of coffee or your favorite drink and let's dive in. I'm going to start by letting you in on something most people don’t know about me. I didn’t always have systems, and I definitely didn’t always love them.
When I started my business as a virtual assistant over a decade ago, I didn’t even really know what a system was. To me, a system now means documenting your process, automating what you can with tech, and delegating the rest. But back then, I thought if I registered my business, opened a bank account, and kept my clients happy, everything else would fall into place. And while I did land some amazing clients—I still work with one of them today—behind the scenes was a total mess.
My inbox was overflowing, my onboarding was inconsistent, and I said yes to way too many projects that drained me because I had nothing in place to keep control. It wasn’t that I was bad at what I did—I was actually really good. The problem was that my backend was duct-taped together. Until I faced that truth, I kept hitting walls and booking the wrong clients.
I don’t want you to make the same mistakes, so let’s talk about three lessons I learned as a service provider and how you can avoid them.
Lesson number one: meaningful work does not guarantee a smooth backend. You can be absolutely amazing at what you do and still feel like you’re drowning. I remember redoing a client’s newsletter after dinner one night because they’d missed another approval deadline. Instead of enforcing my boundaries, I ignored them. I thought, “I love this client and this work—so why is it so hard?”
The problem wasn’t the client or my skills. It was that I didn’t have systems in place to protect my time, set expectations, and make the process run smoothly. Without systems, I kept cycling through missed deadlines, stress, and frustration.
If every new client or project forces you to reinvent the wheel, you’ll stay stuck in survival mode. And it’s not because you’re not capable—it’s because your business doesn’t yet have the foundation to support you. That’s why I created the Back Office POWER Checklist. It shows you exactly where the cracks are so you can stop guessing and start fixing the right things first.
Lesson number two: the real reason discovery calls feel off and your workdays feel so draining. Early in my business, my calendar was packed with calls. At first, I thought that meant growth, but most weren’t a good fit. Without a system to filter people out, I spent energy on calls that left me drained.
Even onboarding those who did say yes was messy. Expectations weren’t clear, so projects felt heavier than they needed to. The truth is, when your backend is missing structure, you pay in time, energy, and credibility.
That’s why I created resources like the 90-Day Roadmap and the Welcome Kit & Onboarding Workbook inside the Starter Stack. Members use these tools to clarify their client journey, build systems one at a time without overwhelm, and onboard consistently and professionally. One member told me she thought she wasn’t “a systems person.” But once she used the Back Office POWER Checklist and onboarding workbook, she realized her process—not her—was the problem. Now, she closes more aligned clients with ease.
Lesson number three: systems protect your peace and let you shine. When I finally created systems, they didn’t box me in. They gave me freedom to focus on my best work. My days felt lighter, discovery calls were aligned, and onboarding became clear. Most importantly, my confidence skyrocketed.
Systems didn’t make me less creative. They made me more professional, more trusted, and more effective. They gave me peace of mind and space to serve my clients well.
That’s the lesson I want you to take away—systems aren’t about making your business robotic. They’re about protecting your peace and creating space for you to shine.
To prove it, here’s a quick win challenge: write down the top three things you repeat for every client. Once it’s on paper, turn it into a template or checklist. That small step saves hours every month.
Lesson one—being great at what you do isn’t enough. Without systems, you’ll stay in survival mode.
Lesson two—if discovery calls feel off and projects feel heavy, the missing piece is your systems.
Lesson three—systems don’t restrict you, they protect you.
If this hit home, your next step is to grab the Back Office POWER Checklist. It only takes minutes to complete and shows you exactly where your gaps are so you stop duct-taping things together. Then, when you’re ready to close those gaps, Founders Circle inside the Mind Your Time Society is where you’ll get the tools, templates, and guidance to put it all into action.
And this is just the beginning. In the next episode of the Systems Reset Series, we’re going to talk about client onboarding and how to turn it from a time suck into a strategic advantage that wows your clients.
