Systemize Your Success Podcast

Behind The Scenes: Building a Sustainable Business with Autopilot Architect | Ep 259

🎙 Today, I want to talk about one of the most overlooked yet critical roles in creating a business that is truly sustainable, scalable and ultimately saleable. If you're trying to build a business to give you more freedom or to live with more presence, purpose, and peace, this episode is an absolute must-listen. Please stick around to the end, because I want to walk through the entire position agreement for this role and give specifics about what you should be looking for in the type of person, but also what their key core responsibilities or key results areas should be, and the kind of metrics that you can actually use to evaluate their performance.  Finding the right person for this role is the first step, but they also need a process for creating the systems in your business. I'll cover that in a future episode. So please do hit subscribe to make sure you don't miss that. KEY TAKEAWAYS  💡 Design Your Business for Autopilot: Don’t aim to “work harder;” aim to build an Autopilot Architect role that designs the systems, automations, and AI so your business runs without you piloting every action. 💡 Turn Chaos into a Click‑and‑Run Machine: Your Autopilot Architect’s core job is to capture how work really happens, turn it into simple, documented workflows, then drive team adoption so the business runs smoothly without you as the bottleneck and adapt it all to new tools, systems, regulations and norms as they emerge. 💡 Hire for Mindset, Not Job Title: You won’t find “Autopilot Architect” on a CV; look instead for someone who loves process mapping, is curious about how things work, communicates clearly, and takes ownership of continuous improvement. BEST MOMENTS  01:26 - 💬 “ Business owners don't have time to spend documenting everything, creating fancy process maps, putting it into task management software and creating operation manuals.”  08:49 - 💬 “This role, the autopilot architect, is absolutely critical to every other part of the business.” 16:45 - 💬 “ Make sure they (automation documents) are totally understandable by anybody looking at them, regardless of whether that person had any involvement in building it in the first place.” TIMESTAMPED OVERVIEW 00:00 Intro: “Autopilot Architect: Business Systems” 02:55 The impact an Autopilot Architect has on a business  10:27 Responsibilities 18:42 Core competencies and skills VALUABLE RESOURCES Get a copy of my Autopilot Architect Position Agreement here: https://sys.academy/guides LINKS TO CONNECT WITH THE HOST Podcast: https://www.systemizeyoursuccess.com Website: https://systemsandoutsourcing.com/ Facebook Group: https://facebook.com/groups/systemsandoutsourcing/ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/systemsandoutsourcing/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/systems_and_outsourcing/ YouTube: https://youtube.com/@drsteveday42 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drsteveday42 ABOUT THE HOST Steve moved to Sweden in 2015 and transformed how he ran his businesses—switching to a fully remote model. A former NHS doctor, with a background in computing and property investing, he now helps overwhelmed business owners systemise and outsource effectively. Through his courses and coaching, Steve teaches how to automate operations and work with affordable virtual assistants, freeing up time and increasing profits. He runs his UK-based businesses remotely with support from a team of UK and Filipino VAs, and is passionate about helping others build scalable, stress-free companies using smart systems and virtual support. This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

How to Lead Confidently as You Scale—Without Doing Everything Yourself with Jevon Wooden, Founder of BrightMind Consulting Group | Ep 258

🎙Phenomenal leaders of great companies inspire those around them to take action. Today's episode with Jevon Wooden is all about that. We discuss how small business owners can step into the kind of leadership that motivates their teams, attracts the right clients, keeps them energised instead of burning out, and builds a business that serves them today and creates impact for generations to come. Jevon is an Army veteran. He's also the recipient of a Bronze Star. He's the author of two great business books and is an inspirational leader with great stories to tell. I believe you will genuinely enjoy listening to today's interview as much as I did recording it. KEY TAKEAWAYS   💡 Shift From Operator to Leader: Your business won’t scale if you stay the doer of everything. Stepping into leadership means focusing on vision, strategy, and revenue-generating work, not getting involved in every task. 💡 Use Systems to Free Yourself Up: Applying a simple filter - what to delegate, delete, delay, and automate - helps you build a business that runs through systems and people, not your personal heroics.  💡 Empower Your Workforce: People work best when they go beyond completing tasks and grow into confident owners of their role. To get there, define what “failure” really means, give them a safe box to experiment in, consistently remind them of their strengths, review regularly and treat every error as an opportunity to improve. BEST MOMENTS  05:57 - 💬 “One of the hardest shifts I think is actually transitioning from the person that's making it all happen, the person's doing it all, to actually being the leader of the business.” — Steve Day 17:44 - 💬 “I want you to operate as your best self - you can't do that if you are always fearful of making a mistake.” — Jevon Wooden 25:35 - 💬 “People confuse being busy with being purposeful. When you get busy, you burn out. If you're purposeful, you can continue to go, go, go .” — Jevon Wooden 28:16 - 💬 “ Storytelling is literally everything to me - People remember stories, they don't remember facts - Facts tell, but stories sell.” — Jevon Wooden TIMESTAMPED OVERVIEW 00:00: Intro: “ New Lease on Life” 06:37: Delegate, delete, automate 18:39: Vision, ikigai, avoid burnout 27:12: Leveraging storytelling VALUABLE RESOURCES Our Best Guides, Frameworks, and Templates—For Our flagship DIDACT Framework: https://sys.academy/guides LINKS TO CONNECT WITH THE GUEST Website: https://brightmindcg.com ⁠Jevon’s Linktree: ⁠https://linktr.ee/jevonspeaks ABOUT THE GUEST  Jevon Wooden is a sought-after speaker and business coach who has helped hundreds of small business owners design a life and business they don't need a vacation from. His insights have been featured in major publications like Forbes, Fast Company, and Entrepreneur. LINKS TO CONNECT WITH THE HOST Podcast: https://www.systemizeyoursuccess.com Website: https://systemsandoutsourcing.com/ Facebook Group: https://facebook.com/groups/systemsandoutsourcing/ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/systemsandoutsourcing/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/systems_and_outsourcing/ YouTube: https://youtube.com/@drsteveday42 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drsteveday42 ABOUT THE HOST Steve moved to Sweden in 2015 and transformed how he ran his businesses—switching to a fully remote model. A former NHS doctor, with a background in computing and property investing, he now helps overwhelmed business owners systemise and outsource effectively. Through his courses and coaching, Steve teaches how to automate operations and work with affordable virtual assistants, freeing up time and increasing profits. He runs his UK-based businesses remotely with support from a team of UK and Filipino VAs, and is passionate about helping others build scalable, stress-free companies using smart systems and virtual support. This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

The Systems and Mindset That 10x Your Productivity with Barry Cryan, Founder of Do More Better | Ep 257

🎙I loved chatting with fellow systems and productivity coach Barry Cryan. When two industry experts independently come up with similar strategies to help people, you can be sure that they work in practice. Barry, who is the CEO and founder of Do More Better, shares his best insights. Today, you will learn how to get more done without relying on quick-fix hacks that don´t take you far. Barry explains how real mindset shifts build the skills you need to achieve momentum and sustain it, regardless of the type of business you run. Don’t miss his closing takeaway - it’s one of the best I’ve heard and something I stand by 100%. KEY TAKEAWAYS  💡 Clarify Success and Work Backwards: Get specific about what you want—then reverse engineer the steps and systems to make it real. 💡 Use Systems to Beat Overwhelm: Don’t rely on willpower. Offload mental clutter and decision fatigue into trustworthy routines and external “second brains.” 💡Filter the Noise and Empower Others: When you stop being constantly available and put systems in place, your team or clients learn to solve more for themselves—fostering their growth while winning back your own time. Filter the noise from your life. 💡 Don’t Wait: Lasting success comes from acting like your 10.0 version today. Empower yourself and those around you to thrive, right now. BEST MOMENTS  00:26 - 💬 “When you hear two industry experts saying we've both independently come up with similar strategies. It shows you that this stuff actually works.” — Steve Day 05:37 - 💬 “It's amazing what systems and structures will do for us. We can get significantly more out of ourselves.” — Barry Cryan 25:41 - 💬 “It doesn't matter what the business is. There is a better way - you can do it. And sometimes little simple changes make the biggest difference.” — Barry Cryan TIMESTAMPED OVERVIEW 00:00 Intro: Productivity Insights with Barry Cryan 05:51 Clarity and specificity 15:41 Mindset and personal growth 26:03 How to improve focus VALUABLE RESOURCES Our Best Guides, Frameworks, and Templates—For Our flagship DIDACT Framework: https://sys.academy/guides LINKS TO CONNECT WITH THE GUEST Website: https://www.barrycryan.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cryanbarry/ ABOUT THE GUEST Barry Cryan is a High Performance Productivity Coach serving 6- and 7-figure entrepreneurs. His LinkedIn tagline: “Helping founders scale faster & work less” — hinting at the ethos of optimising productivity, not just pushing harder. He blends a personal story of burnout, health struggles, and transformation with coaching credentials. LINKS TO CONNECT WITH THE HOST Podcast: https://www.systemizeyoursuccess.com Website: https://systemsandoutsourcing.com/ Facebook Group: https://facebook.com/groups/systemsandoutsourcing/ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/systemsandoutsourcing/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/systems_and_outsourcing/ YouTube: https://youtube.com/@drsteveday42 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drsteveday42 ABOUT THE HOST Steve moved to Sweden in 2015 and transformed how he ran his businesses—switching to a fully remote model. A former NHS doctor, with a background in computing and property investing, he now helps overwhelmed business owners systemise and outsource effectively. Through his courses and coaching, Steve teaches how to automate operations and work with affordable virtual assistants, freeing up time and increasing profits. He runs his UK-based businesses remotely with support from a team of UK and Filipino VAs, and is passionate about helping others build scalable, stress-free companies using smart systems and virtual support. This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

Stop Micromanaging Your AI: The Leadership Shift That Finally Frees Your Time | Ep 256

🎙AI is transforming how we work in our business, but the journey hasn’t always been smooth. We’ve faced plenty of challenges and found that, in some cases, trying to use AI to boost efficiency has actually made some tasks take longer than before. Recently, I had a major mindset shift when I discovered a blind spot that had been preventing both my team and me from fully benefiting from AI. Today, I want to share this realisation with you—because it might be the bottleneck that’s also holding your team back from quicker, better results with AI. KEY TAKEAWAYS  💡Let Go to Move Forward: Trust both your people and your AI. Think of AI as a new team member, train it well and support it by giving it what it needs and retraining until it gets things right. Set the rules, then let it do its thing and watch your free time and results increase. 💡 Learn as You Launch: Deploy new tools or team members quickly, collect feedback, and keep tuning. You only discover what works by doing - waiting gets you nowhere. 💡 Fail Fast, Fix Faster: If something or someone isn’t working out, don’t prolong the pain. Make necessary changes based on experience and keep improving your system. 💡 Let the Numbers Lead: Judge success using real metrics, e.g. email open rates or website traffic, stop being led by your gut feelings. The numbers don´t lie. BEST MOMENTS  04:12 - 💬 “ When we're creating AI agents to do work, it's just the same as delegating. The same fears, the same reservations, the same micromanagement behaviours can actually get into play, here.”  08:15 - 💬 “The challenge for my marketing assistant, now, is that she's not allowed to review anything that the AI does. She's got to delegate properly and let the AI do its thing.” 12:07  - 💬 “I sacked the old GPT. I literally just deleted it, just like you would, if you sack a member of staff…and created a new GPT to solve that problem.” 14:28  - 💬 “This will be a continuous iterative improvement, going forward.” TIMESTAMPED OVERVIEW 00.00 Intro: AI Mindset Shift Challenges 01:41 Why AI can become a time suck – the error most businesses make. 05:38 Treat AI like a new employee – delegate, monitor and retrain. 10:15 Checking results and tweaking. LINKS TO CONNECT WITH THE HOST Podcast: https://www.systemizeyoursuccess.com Website: https://systemsandoutsourcing.com/ Facebook Group: https://facebook.com/groups/systemsandoutsourcing/ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/systemsandoutsourcing/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/systems_and_outsourcing/ YouTube: https://youtube.com/@drsteveday42 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drsteveday42 ABOUT THE HOST Steve moved to Sweden in 2015 and transformed how he ran his businesses—switching to a fully remote model. A former NHS doctor, with a background in computing and property investing, he now helps overwhelmed business owners systemise and outsource effectively. Through his courses and coaching, Steve teaches how to automate operations and work with affordable virtual assistants, freeing up time and increasing profits. He runs his UK-based businesses remotely with support from a team of UK and Filipino VAs, and is passionate about helping others build scalable, stress-free companies using smart systems and virtual support. This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

Freedom by Design: Build a Property Business That Truly Supports Your Life with Julie Talbot, Founder of Brick by Brick Property Group | Ep 255

🎙Today's episode is about designing a life and a business that gives you true freedom. It's about creating assets, wealth and the stability that allows you to have the life you want. I connect with Julie Talbot, a true digital nomad and founder of Brick by Brick Property Group. She is a mentor and coach who helps people create businesses that offer true freedom. Julie shares how her business enables her, her kids and her husband to explore the world and experience living on every continent This episode will help you reimagine what’s possible and start building a life and business that gives you more freedom, flexibility, and purpose than you can imagine. KEY TAKEAWAYS  💡Rethink Your Path to Freedom: You don’t have to wait for financial freedom before pursuing time or location freedom. 💡Leverage Technology for Freedom: Embrace the tools, processes, tech and business models, e.g. AI and automation, that enable you to manage your business from anywhere and free up more time for what matters.  💡Align with Your Superpowers: Double down on your unique strengths and passions; when your business aligns with what makes you come alive, you’ll find greater motivation and success. BEST MOMENTS  04:31 - 💬 “I am mentoring and guiding people who want to run a property business, but with location freedom baked in from the start.” — Julie Talbot 22.42 - 💬 “ We can live in the way that we want to, if we choose to, if we choose to design our lives that way.” — Julie Talbot 35:45  - 💬 “Figure out what you actually want from the business, what will make you happy, what you're actually good at, what you're going to stick at, and which type of business  fits that, not the other way around.” — Steve Day TIMESTAMPED OVERVIEW 00:00 Intro: “Designing a Life of Freedom” 03:34 Running a property business remotely. 15:23 Living a nomadic lifestyle with kids. 33:15 Aligning your business with your passion 46:03 The Freedom and Success Mindset VALUABLE RESOURCES  From Dr Steve Day: Free access to our Recruit Right Hiring and DIDACT Frameworks here: https://sys.academy/guides From Julie Talbot: 3 Steps to Location Freedom: ⁠https://bit.ly/3simplestepstofreedom⁠ LINKS TO CONNECT WITH THE GUEST Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julierosetalbot/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julie.talbot.359 ABOUT THE GUEST Julie is an active UK property investor, strategist, and freedom seeker, reshaping how to grow and manage a UK property business by putting time and location freedom first. With a background in business design and process management, Julie helps expats and nomads make strategic choices that unlock time and location freedom so that they can scale or manage their UK property ventures, from wherever they are or want to be in the world.  LINKS TO CONNECT WITH THE HOST Podcast: https://www.systemizeyoursuccess.com Website: https://systemsandoutsourcing.com/ Facebook Group: https://facebook.com/groups/systemsandoutsourcing/ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/systemsandoutsourcing/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/systems_and_outsourcing/ YouTube: https://youtube.com/@drsteveday42 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drsteveday42 ABOUT THE HOST Steve moved to Sweden in 2015 and transformed how he ran his businesses—switching to a fully remote model. A former NHS doctor, with a background in computing and property investing, he now helps overwhelmed business owners systemise and outsource effectively. Through his courses and coaching, Steve teaches how to automate operations and work with affordable virtual assistants, freeing up time and increasing profits. He runs his UK-based businesses remotely with support from a team of UK and Filipino VAs, and is passionate about helping others build scalable, stress-free companies using smart systems and virtual support. This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/