What do you expect when you start up your own business? You may expect it to be a stressful hard slog, require blood, sweat and tears and then some, and maybe (if you’re realistic) you anticipate that your new venture might not generate a profit during the first 18 months (unless you’re blessed with a bit of leprechaun luck). But you might also imagine your start-up to be rewarding, something your passionate about, enjoy and something to be proud of.

So you put a system in place.

A system in place so that when you set up your business and, as it grows and flourishes, you experience more of the latter things listed than the former.

Mike, a great business entrepreneur at Marbec Properties that I met on a business development course in America, is in the process of implementing AppFolio, which is marketed as an easy-to-use, cloud-based property management software that helps s real estate agents, effectively manage, modernise and ultimately grow their business.  Although he admits most systems have at least some minor downfalls, he is full of praise for the fact that, thanks to his new system, all his important business information is concentrated conveniently in one place and saves him time-by the bucket-load.

“Making good progress [Implementing AppFolio] – can’t wait to see what it looks like and operates like once fully implemented. Like all of these types of systems, there is always a whole lot of good stuff…some quirky stuff…and some stuff that you wish was there but is not – and there are usually strict limitations on any overrides that you can implement.

“In the end, compromises are made and ultimately, I have to decide if a system that gets me 80 – 90% of where I want to be, while making compromises for some of that system’s shortcomings, is better than my own Excel Spreadsheet systems, which also have shortcomings and also don’t get me 100% of where I want to be.

“The biggest benefit of these outsourced systems is that EVERYTHING IS ON ONE PLATFORM, so data, once entered, gets populated throughout the system…unlike what I have to do with my many Excel spreadsheets.”

Different people expect different things from the systems they put in place- some want a more organised way of working- for others efficiency or simplicity is the priority. Some of us-and let’s face it it’s pretty common-might not know what we want but we know we need something in place to manage and navigate the crazy chaos of business contacts, financial accounts, calendars, invoices and more.

I take the time, and honestly enjoy (and so do the rest of my Creative Analysis team) getting to know a person and their business and listening to the person’s needs, wants and problems to match the right system to the issues they are facing, never the other way around. The system is always tailored to the client. And if you’re having the business equivalent of a mid-life crisis and don’t know how to improve your company’s systems or aren’t sure what you want, we adapt. If you don’t fit into a box (or match a certain system) we help you build a better box!

The system Mike is currently implementing is tailored exclusively to helping those working in the field of property but here at Creative Analysis we offer Customer Relationship Management (CRM) built on Zoho software, to consolidate a business’ data into one place, saving SMEs of all types time and money, whilst providing added data security, and peace of mind, leaving them free to concentrate on and  grow their businesses.

Visit Mike’s website: mikerukavina.com to learn more about his entrepreneurial spirit and career.