Can you imagine trying to build a personal brand for high-profile CEOs without a clear process? Marina Byezhanova faced exactly this challenge when she co-founded Brand of a Leader, a personal branding agency serving Gen X executives across the globe. What started as an intangible service became a systematic approach that helped her scale from zero to 20 team members in just three years.
The Challenge of Systematizing Creative Work
Marina’s previous business had been a disaster. Without systems or processes, it operated like a house of cards that could collapse at any moment. “I had another business before and it had no processes, no systems,” she recalls. “You would just go like boom, and then everything starts falling down, and you don’t know where to grab and where to catch.”
When launching Brand of a Leader, Marina knew she needed a different approach. Personal branding seemed inherently creative and intangible—exactly the type of work many assume can’t be systematized.
The Turning Point That Changed Everything
The breakthrough came when Marina discovered SYSTEMology on Amazon. She and her co-founder were searching for resources to help them build systems. “We knew that we wanted to have systems and processes, but we had no idea of how we would go about it,” Marina explains.
Rather than repeat past mistakes, Marina committed to building systems from day one. This decision would become their key differentiator in a crowded market.
Building Systems for Brand Discovery
Marina’s team systematized their approach to personal branding through careful process documentation:
- Created a robust brand discovery process that captures client information systematically rather than through ad-hoc conversations
- Developed structured outputs for brand building that follow repeatable steps
- Documented every client interaction to ensure consistency across their global team
- Built clear workflows for their 20-person distributed team spanning multiple continents
- Established predictable deliverables that clients could see and understand upfront
- Implemented quality control checkpoints to maintain standards across all client work
Measurable Results from Systematic Processes
The impact was immediate and substantial.
Brand of a Leader’s systematic approach became their primary selling point. “One of the biggest compliments that we received across the board is, ‘I love that you guys are so structured, that there’s a process, they can see it on your website, it’s so clear’,” Marina notes. “That’s where a lot of clients chose us versus our competition.”
The systems also transformed their team culture. Instead of the chaos that Marina once thrived on as an entrepreneur, her employees found clarity and satisfaction in predictable processes. Team members could deliver their best work consistently, leading to higher retention and job satisfaction.
Key Lessons for Scaling with Systems
Marina’s experience offers valuable insights for service-based businesses looking to scale:
- “It’s very hard to build the process for something that doesn’t exist yet” – Start by documenting what you’re already doing, then refine it
- “Employees thrive on predictability and clarity” – What energizes entrepreneurs often frustrates team members
- “The sooner the better” – Building systems early is far easier than retrofitting them later
- “It prevents employee dissatisfaction” – Clear processes reduce frustration and support retention
- “It minimizes client frustration” – Structured approaches create confidence and trust with clients
The Competitive Advantage of Structure
Marina’s journey proves that even the most creative, intangible services can benefit from systematic approaches. By building processes from the ground up, Brand of a Leader transformed personal branding from an abstract concept into a deliverable service that clients could understand and trust.
“If we can do it and then as intangible of a business as personal branding or branding in general, I mean, it shows that it’s highly doable,” she concludes.
Ready to Scale Your Service Business with Systems?
If you’re struggling to scale your service-based business like Marina once was, systematic processes could be your solution. The SYSTEMology approach helps you capture what you’re already doing well and make it repeatable across your entire team. Get your free 14-day trial of systemHUB and begin building the processes that will help you scale like Brand of a Leader did.
