Epilogue

There’s no obvious reason ı couldn’t have written this book a couple of years earlier. For quite some time now, I’ve been honing the SYSTEMology approach and collecting numerous amazing stories of its application in a wide range of different businesses in disparate industries.

But for whatever reason I had a sense I wasn’t quite ready. Maybe I was scared I would fail? Maybe it was the universe waiting for the right moment? Maybe I was just busy and I find writing books a slow and painful process …

Whatever the reason, I’m glad I waited. Because more recent case studies and my own personal experiences have illustrated the power of SYSTEMology beyond what I could have imagined even twelve months ago.

In fact, shortly after completing the SYSTEMology manuscript, I had an unexpected development that allowed me to produce an epilogue so perfect, you’d be forgiven for thinking that this was part of some master plan.

It started with a phone call …

Melissa (the incredible systems-oriented manager of my digital agency) contacted me to say she needed to head back to America to take care of some urgent family matters. Thanks to SYSTEMology, and Melissa’s commitment to keeping these systems running when she took leave, the business didn’t miss a beat.

The team stepped up and everything kept ticking along nicely. But after a few weeks, Melissa returned and announced what at first was some devastating news: she planned to move back to America for personal reasons.

It was like a bombshell had hit. Melissa resigned. So, what was I to do? Should I try to replace Melissa or take back management of the business myself?

Neither option was appealing. My passion for the agency died years ago, and with SYSTEMology at a critical point in its development, this wasn’t the time for me to get pulled back into things.

Even if I did quickly find the right candidate, it would take my time to get them up to speed – time I felt I couldn’t spare. Which really only left one alternative …

To sell the business. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like the right time for me to completely let go of the agency. The universe was giving me a friendly push out of the nest and letting me know it was now time to go all-in on SYSTEMology.

Remember, the four stages of business systemisation …

1. Survival
2. Stationary
3. Scalable
4. Saleable

To be the best example of what I teach and to take this business through to completion, selling the agency was the natural conclusion.

I set to work contacting a handful of people within my network. I had no interest in creating some kind of bidding war because my priority was finding someone I was confident would take good care of the agency. It wasn’t just about leaving my years of hard work in someone else’s hands; it was also my amazing team who were trusting me to find someone who would take good care of them.

Within a couple of weeks I had some good interest and two offers on the table.

Both interested parties had solid credentials, but in the end it was clear which person was the right choice. He was someone I had worked with previously, so he was familiar with and highly valued our systemscentred business. He had a great reputation in the industry and had plans to stay true to what we had built.

Even then, there was no need to rush. The potential buyer was appointed as acting CEO, giving us both a chance to do our due diligence. I got to see how he would handle the business, the team and the clients, and he got to look under the hood – so to speak – and examine the finances and the systems.

Once we were both ready to sign on the dotted line, we negotiated a fair sale (a high multiple of annual earnings), had the legals written up and the deal was done.

It was rewarding watching how smoothly everything came together. Once the sale was completed, I asked the new owner what had attracted him to the business and helped him reach the final decision. Naturally, I was hoping that without prompting he’d refer to the systems that held the business together …

And I wasn’t disappointed. The financial performance of the business was important, of course, but seeing how comprehensively the systems were defined and recorded, resulting in a business that had been running independently for three years, gave him the confidence to take the helm.

I didn’t sell the business just so I would have a nice epilogue for my book, but it just goes to show the importance of being prepared and building a business founded on solid systems. Without this, what options would I have had?

Sheesh, without systems, I wouldn’t have had a saleable business. To quote an old Australian saying, “I would have been up sh!t creek without a paddle.”

Fortunately, I was prepared. SYSTEMology gave me options. I now know with every fibre of my being that SYSTEMology transforms businesses from survival, to stationary, to scalable, to saleable.

And you know what? With that sale and my full focus now on SYSTEMology, I’m probably starting at the same place you are right now. We have successfully moved through the survival and stationary stages and now we’re working our way through scalable on our way to saleable. The steps that took Melbourne SEO Services through the entire life cycle are the same steps I’ll be using again with my current business.

If that doesn’t demonstrate the courage of my convictions, then nothing will.

What’s next? Anything’s possible. I can’t wait to hear your story.