How Systems Create Freedom in Your Business

In this conversation with Adi Klevit on the Systems Simplified Podcast, I share how systems create freedom for business owners. And why most owners need to replace themselves with systems to truly grow.

When I started W5 Coaching over 20 years ago, I set out to help small business owners get their lives back.

Most of the people I meet are smart, capable, and hardworking—but they’re also exhausted.

They’ve built a business that depends too much on them. Every problem, decision, and customer issue seems to land on their desk.

If that sounds familiar, what I want you to know is this: there’s a way out.

It starts with systems.

The 5 Steps to Freedom Framework

Over two decades of coaching, I’ve refined a simple but powerful roadmap called the Five Steps to Freedom.

It helps owners see where they are, what’s holding them back, and what they need to do next.

Here’s how it works:

1. Creation – This is pre-revenue. You’re figuring out your market position, testing your offer, and finding your footing.
2. Chaos – You’ve launched, but things feel wobbly. You’re working long hours, chasing sales, and reacting to problems.
3. Control – Systems start to form. You’re profitable and beginning to scale.
4. Prosperity – The business is humming along. You’re in control and profitable—but still deeply involved every day.
5. Freedom – You have a self-managing business. You choose how to spend your time and have the financial means to do it.

Every business owner I work with wants to reach Freedom. But in the beginning, it’s often just a dream.

What they really want right now is relief from the daily grind of time, team, or money issues.

The Real Problems Owners Face

When a client first comes to me, it’s usually one (or all) of these:

• Time: “I’ve got too much to do and not enough time to do it.”
• Team: “It’s hard to find good people, and when I do, they don’t perform the way I need.”
• Money: “Cash flow’s tight. I’m not sure where the money’s going.”

That’s where we start.

You can’t talk about long-term strategy if you can’t make payroll tomorrow.

Once the immediate fires are out, we can turn our attention to growth and ultimately, freedom.

The 5-to-7 Hour Rule

Almost every owner I meet is doing five to seven hours a week of work they shouldn’t be doing.

If you want a quick test, try this:

Make a list of tasks that make you say “Oh sh*t… I have to do that?” every time they come up—like payroll, receivables, scheduling, or chasing paperwork.

Those tasks belong to someone else.

If your time is worth $200 an hour and you’re doing $20/hour work, you’re losing money.

Free up those hours, and reinvest them in higher-value activities – or in your sanity.

Systems Run the Business. People Run the Systems. You Lead the People.

A big reason owners stay stuck is they confuse delegation with abdication.

They hand off a task without giving the structure needed to do it well. Then get frustrated when it’s done poorly.

That’s where systems come in.

When you build standard operating procedures, checklists, and repeatable processes, you create consistency and confidence across your team.

To borrow an example I often use:

How does McDonald’s get French fries to taste the same in every country, even though they’re made by 16-year-olds whose parents can’t get them to clean their bedrooms?

They have systems.

Systems don’t make your business boring—they make it repeatable. And repeatable success is what gives you time freedom.

From Hub-and-Spoke to Self-Managing

Many owners I meet are what I call hub-and-spoke managers.

Nothing happens unless they’re in the middle of it. Every question, approval, and problem flows through them.

That’s not leadership. That’s exhaustion.

To grow beyond that point, you have to replace yourself with systems.

Document how things are done. Train people to follow the process. Hold them accountable for results.

As the saying goes:

“If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always got.”

If you want a business that can run without you, you need to think—and act—differently.

I started my career in retail and later became President of BC Liquor Stores—a $3 billion enterprise with 200 locations and 4,000 employees.

Those experiences taught me that systems, not heroics, make a business successful.

And that’s what I help owners build today.

When your business runs well, you get your life back.

Want a business that runs smoothly, profitably, and (mostly) without you? Book a free 15-minute call with me.