The cart before the horse
We turn down a significant number of the enquiries we get. Not because we don’t like the client, or because we don’t want the work, but because they aren’t ready.
Systems work, including integrating CRMs, building automations, and restructuring data architectures, is powerful stuff. It acts as a force multiplier. But basic maths tells us that if you multiply zero, you still get zero.
If you have a broken business model, a new CRM won’t fix it; it will just help you fail faster. If you don’t know who your customer is, marketing automation won’t find them for you; it will just spam more people who don’t care.
1. The readiness checklist
So, how do you know if you are ready to stop playing startup and start building a machine? Here are the four green lights we look for.
1. You have product-market fit
You know what you sell, who buys it, and why. You aren’t pivoting your business model every Tuesday. Systems require stability. You can’t build a rigid concrete foundation for a tent that moves every week.
2. You have repetitive pain
You are doing the same annoying tasks over and over again. You are typing the same emails. You are creating the same invoices. You are fixing the same mistakes. Pain is good. Pain involves a pattern. Patterns can be automated.
3. You have data (even if it is messy)
You have lists of customers, orders, or leads. They might be in a messy Excel sheet, or a notebook, or scattered across three different apps. That is fine. We can clean data. We can’t clean a vacuum. You need raw material to work with.
4. You have a budget for change
This doesn’t just mean money. It means time and attention. Systems work isn’t something you purely outsource and forget about. It requires you to make decisions, review processes, and lead your team through change. If you are "too busy to deal with it," you aren’t ready to solve the problem.
When is it too early?
If you are still figuring out your pricing model, don’t build an automated billing system. If you change your sales pitch every phone call, don’t hard-code a pipeline into Salesforce.
In the early days of a business, you need maximum flexibility. Manual work is your friend because it allows you to pivot instantly. Systems solidify processes. Don’t solidify something until you are sure it works.
Premature systematisation is the death of agility. Wait until the manual way hurts too much to continue.
Conclusion
There is a tipping point in every growing business where flexibility becomes chaos. When you hit that point, when manual flexibility is costing you more in errors and time than it saves in agility, that is when you call a systems consultant.
Until then? Keep using the spreadsheet. It is the most flexible piece of software in the world. But when the spreadsheet starts crashing... call us.
TL;DR
- Multiplier Effect: Systems multiply what you already have. If you have chaos, you get more chaos.
- Stability First: Don't build systems for a business model that is still changing every week.
- Pain is a Signal: If it hurts to do it manually, it is ready to be automated.
- Commitment: You need to invest time in the transition. There is no silver bullet.
- The Spreadsheet Rule: Stick with manual tools until they break. Then upgrade.
Have you hit the ceiling?
If your manual processes are starting to break under the weight of your growth, you are ready. Let’s build the infrastructure for your next stage.