Systems That Flex With You: Designing a Business Around Your Energy

When your business relies entirely on your energy—how you feel, how focused you are, how much you can give—your systems need to work with you, not against you.

In this re-released conversation from the Business with Ease summit, I sat down with strategist and Solopreneur Sisterhood founder Becky McCleery to unpack what it really means to design systems around your natural rhythms—not rigid routines.

We talked about:

• Why “systems” aren’t just tech—they’re everything that helps you run your business behind the scenes
• How to create structure that supports your capacity (even when it’s low)
• The #1 question to ask when a system feels broken—but you’re not sure why
• What sustainable backend systems look like when you’re building client-first and energy-first

Whether you're burned out by backend chaos or you’re craving a business that feels less brittle and more breathable—this conversation will help you start small, simplify intentionally, and build systems that actually serve you.

Where to find Becky:

LinkedIn: in/becky-lyter-mccleery

What next?

• Follow Here's What I Learned on your favorite podcast player
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• Find the complete show notes and transcripts at jackihayes.co

Say hi!

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Credits:

Intro and Outro Music: Atomic by Alex-Productions |https://onsound.eu/

Music promoted byhttps://www.free-stock-music.com

Creative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0)

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Jacki Hayes: Hey there. Welcome to Here's What I Learned. I'm Jacki Hayes, assistant strategist, unapologetic smutty romantasy lover, Dungeons and Dragons Geek, and your no-BS guide to building a business that works for you. This is the place where we swap stories, share lessons, and get real about the highs and lows of creating a life and business that actually feels good.

[00:00:28] Jacki Hayes: No cookie cutter advice here, just honest conversations about what's working, what's not, and how to rewrite the rules to fit your version of success. So grab your favorite beverage, get comfy, and let's dive in.

[00:00:46] Jacki Hayes: Hey friends. I'm Jacki Hayes here, and I've got a bonus conversation for you today. This episode originally aired as part of the Business with Ease Summit, hosted by the brilliant Becky McCleery. She's a strategy and operations consultant who gets what it means to build a business around your energy, not someone else's agenda.

[00:01:05] Jacki Hayes: Becky and I had a conversation called rhythms over routines, designing systems that flex with your energy, and if you've ever felt like traditional system advice just doesn't fit how you actually move through the world, this one is for you. We talk about aligning your backend with your real life rhythms, letting go of rigidity and why it's okay actually smart to build systems that ebb and flow with your seasons.

[00:01:31] Jacki Hayes: I hope you enjoy our conversation. 

[00:01:35] Becky McCleery: Welcome, Jacki. I am so grateful and excited to have you join us here today. I cannot wait to dive in, but before we do that, I would just love to learn a little bit more about you and your story. So can you tell us more about how you found your way to this work and how you started your business?

[00:01:49] Jacki Hayes: Yeah, so before I was helping service providers clean up the backend of their business, I was doing something a little different, maybe understatement. There. I got paid to set things on fire intentionally, legally, for science. So I was a museum educator teaching science through hands-on experiments and occasionally controlled explosions.

[00:02:09] Jacki Hayes: And the goal was always the same. Make complex ideas accessible and a little bit fun. Then I moved on to higher ed. I helped graduate students navigate the bureaucracy. That was basically, didn't make any sense at all, and that's where I started to realize that my skillset was in untangling messes that didn't actually need to exist in the first place.

[00:02:32] Jacki Hayes: So now I use that same lens to help creative solopreneurs build systems that actually support their work. And it's all about making the complex feel simple. 

[00:02:43] Becky McCleery: I love that. I love how you share your background too. It's very captivating. You, you share a little bit and I'm like, oh, what did you do? So I love that story.

[00:02:52] Becky McCleery: Awesome. Okay, so as we get started, I just wanna make sure we're all on the same page because we're going to be talking about systems and I know a lot of business owners who just like, we kind of cringe at that word and, and, and they don't wanna learn anymore. So can you tell us more about what you mean by systems?

[00:03:09] Jacki Hayes: Yeah. So when I am talking about systems, I'm not talking about tech and tools. A lot of people, when I say systems, they're like, oh, your PM tool or your CRM. What I mean when I'm talking about systems is all the interconnecting pieces that work together to make something happen. So if you think about it like baking a cake, it's not just the ingredients, it's the order you mix them in, the tools you use to mix them and cook them.

[00:03:33] Jacki Hayes: The oven temperature, the timing. Business systems are what help you. Create a particular idea to an outcome consistently and without burning out. And most everybody needs to realize that they actually have systems in place even if they don't realize it. If you've done something more than once, you have a system.

[00:03:53] Jacki Hayes: It may have been unintentional and it may not be working well for you, but you do have a system. 

[00:03:58] Becky McCleery: I love that. That's such a clear definition and I love the reminder that we do have systems that we're using, even if we're not aware of it. So let's go into that a little bit more. Can you tell us more about how systems can support us as solopreneurs and when they might hold us back or even get in our way?

[00:04:18] Jacki Hayes: Systems can be a relief when they're built with your actual workflow and energy in mind because they're gonna help reduce decision fatigue and just make your business feel more spacious. But when we force ourselves into tools or processes that don't fit us, or when we over automate, perhaps make things over complicated, we can end up with a business that feels rigid or overly complex, and that's when systems stop supporting us and start slowing us down.

[00:04:46] Becky McCleery: Okay. I love that you brought in the automation piece because I've worked in a lot in operations over the years, and I know that I kind of cringe sometimes when business owners want to lean so much into automation because sometimes it does make things more complicated than it needs to be. So I love that you brought that up.

[00:05:05] Becky McCleery: So I'm really curious. I really loved when you brought up this idea of systems that can flex with our energy, because I think, mm-hmm. One of the challenges solopreneurs have is everything is on us. And so a lot of us will push through feeling like, feeling burnt out, feeling uncomfortable, and just make ourselves do it because it's on our to-do list.

[00:05:26] Becky McCleery: So can you tell us more about what it might look like to have systems that are flexible with our energy? 

[00:05:33] Jacki Hayes: Absolutely. So a flexible system might mean batching tasks when you have the energy and then letting things run on autopilot when your energy is lower. It could like, could look like having templates for emails so you're not writing from scratch every time.

[00:05:48] Jacki Hayes: That does not mean that you're sending everybody the exact same email. You can leave space to personalize those. Or building client onboarding processes that work, even if you're having a low capacity week. So this is where some things may be automated and some things are not. That's where automations do come in handy when you have low capacity.

[00:06:08] Jacki Hayes: Mm-hmm. Flexibility isn't about doing less, it's about doing things in a way that honors how your energy actually works. 

[00:06:17] Becky McCleery: Okay, so I'm wondering if, before we dig into like how we can start creating some of these systems, if you might be able to come up with some examples for us as far as systems, maybe you've helped clients build or that you use in your own business that are flexible.

[00:06:33] Becky McCleery: Sure, 

[00:06:33] Jacki Hayes: let me talk about the lead management to client onboarding in my own business. So I like to focus on human design when I work with my clients and especially their types. I need to build a system that not only honors. My type as a Manny gen, but I have to consider what the lead, those people I'm building relationships with, with their types are.

[00:06:55] Jacki Hayes: And if they're a Manny Gen, I'm gonna get it and it's gonna be easy for me to create a system. But if there's somebody who's a projector, maybe they may need more time, they're not gonna wanna necessarily make a decision right then and there as opposed to a manifester who's gonna go, right. Lenta, yes or no.

[00:07:13] Jacki Hayes: Okay. So projector, I might say to that person. I will get back to you in 48 hours, and if you have more that you need to ask, we can schedule another call or we can see where you're at. And then you have reflectors who may need a whole 28 days. 'cause they work with the lunar cycle. So knowing that when I'm working with sales calls, I can build that into my systems so that I get a reminder to follow up with them based on what their human design type is.

[00:07:41] Becky McCleery: Awesome. I love that. That was, that was really clear. Thank you. And I love how you are accounting, not just for you and your energy, but you're thinking about your client's energy as well. So if someone is listening right now and they're thinking, okay, that sounds good, but I don't even know where to start.

[00:07:58] Becky McCleery: Do you have recommendations for how they could start planning, which systems to start with and then how to build those? Definitely. 

[00:08:05] Jacki Hayes: So start by noticing your patterns. So when do you have a lot of energy? When do you need to rest? And what tasks tend to pile up? Then build from there. Choose tools that feel intuitive.

[00:08:18] Jacki Hayes: Create processes that you can reuse, and don't be afraid to simplify those processes. So the best systems are the ones that you're actually going to use and that you can easily tweak without doing a whole entire revamp. So I would, when you think about the things that tend to pile up, those are where I would start looking into where the pile up is happening, where the bottleneck happens to be, and then start brainstorming ways that you can eliminate that bottleneck and think about.

[00:08:47] Jacki Hayes: Why it's happening. That's the key, is to know why exactly it's happening and then brainstorm ways to get around that. 

[00:08:54] Becky McCleery: Okay. And then I'm wondering if you have some recommendations. So I, I think sometimes when I talk with business owners, they have it in their head that they have to build things the right way.

[00:09:07] Becky McCleery: And I, I think there's a lot of stress we put on ourselves about that. So do you have any recommendations for kind of. Figuring out how to build something the right way for you, not that necessarily would work for any other business, but that works for you and your business. 

[00:09:22] Jacki Hayes: Yeah, that starts, I think, again, knowing your energy and knowing how you like to work.

[00:09:27] Jacki Hayes: It also means knowing how you stay motivated. I know a lot of people won't start a task without that motivational push, and some folks shy away from things like project management tools because it doesn't give them enough of a dopamine hit if you know you're somebody who needs that dopamine hit, but you would really like to use a project management tool.

[00:09:46] Jacki Hayes: You can look for ones that help you with that. For instance, Monday has a bunch of sparkles that happen on the screen when you complete a task. Or you can set up an automation if you're using something like Clickup that sends you an email that says, congratulations, you completed a task, and insert a funny gif or something along those lines.

[00:10:03] Jacki Hayes: So knowing what motivates you, how you like to work is where you really want to start. 

[00:10:08] Becky McCleery: Okay. I love that. And I think, what else? What was coming up for me as you were talking to is we don't have to do it all at once. I think, I know I tend to be one where I will listen to a conversation like this and I'll have all these ideas for these systems that I could build out, and then I, I burn out because it's just too much.

[00:10:27] Becky McCleery: So when you work with clients, do you take one system at a time or do you take on a pew or how, how does that work? 

[00:10:35] Jacki Hayes: Yeah, so when I work with my clients, I focus on the client journey. So I'm looking at the systems around lead management, client onboarding, service delivery, and client offboarding. And so we will focus on those one at a time and then look at them holistically if they choose to do so.

[00:10:51] Jacki Hayes: So you don't want to try and revamp your entire business in one go. Pick one thing if there is something around responding to your leads. Where are, where is that hanging? Where are the hangups for you on that? And start from there. Or sending invoices. Are you struggling with that? Look at the those little things and start with one.

[00:11:14] Jacki Hayes: See how it goes. And understand that your systems are gonna constantly flex and change with you as your business grows and changes. 

[00:11:23] Becky McCleery: Such a good reminder. Yes. I think that's one of the biggest things is as I've helped clients in the past build systems realizing, okay, as the business grows, this is no longer going to work, so we need to, to set up something else.

[00:11:36] Becky McCleery: So that kind of leads me to another question that was coming up as I was listening to you is. What recommendations do you have for a listener if they're, they're wondering like, how do I know that the system is no longer working for me? Or maybe I just need to make some little tweaks. I know I've worked with a lot of business owners who like just wanna ditch a whole system and, and find something new, and it doesn't always have to be that complicated.

[00:11:58] Becky McCleery: So do you have recommendations on kind of what to look for to see if they need a, an overhaul or just a few changes? 

[00:12:05] Jacki Hayes: Yeah, you can obviously work with someone like myself who can ask you the questions to dig in and find that, but you can also just spend a lot of time asking yourself questions. So if there's a system that, or a process in your business that you just dread, I would start there.

[00:12:21] Jacki Hayes: For whatever reason, you dread it and ask yourself, why do I dread this? And then just keep going with the why questions until you get smaller and smaller sometimes it literally is one thing in that entire system that's. Teeny tiny that you just need to fix. And sometimes it is the whole system. But if you pick the one that you're dreading and just dig in with the questions, and this is where things like AI can be helpful because if you use AI like chat GPT as a thought partner and say, I have this system, this is how it works.

[00:12:52] Jacki Hayes: It doesn't feel good to me. And then give it prompts, like, can you ask me questions that help me dig into why it's not working? A lot of times that thought partnering with someone who does this, like an expert or chat, GPT, if you can't afford an expert, can get you to where you need to be. 

[00:13:09] Becky McCleery: I love that idea.

[00:13:11] Becky McCleery: I, women that I work with are talking more and more about using ai and so I'm always looking for what are ways that we can use it to support us in business. Not necessarily do the work for us all the time, but help us figure out those next steps. So that was really creative. I appreciate that. So if someone is listening right now and they're maybe feeling overwhelmed.

[00:13:34] Becky McCleery: With systems in their business and they're thinking, I'd like to get to that, but I, I just don't even have time to focus on that because I think that's one of the challenges with solopreneurs is if we get busier, like we're growing, we have more clients, client work tends to take priority. Do you have recommendations for how to make time or how to even maybe hire someone who can take care of this for them?

[00:13:55] Becky McCleery: Yeah. 

[00:13:55] Jacki Hayes: So as far as making time, one of the things I would point out, especially when it comes to the client journey systems, is that if those are not working for you, they're also not working for your clients. So while client work may be something you feel is a priority, you are not serving them in the best capacity.

[00:14:13] Jacki Hayes: So making time on your schedule is. Pertinent to having a good client experience, and then that means they're gonna wanna send more people your way. So whether that is sitting down and one of the things I do is quarterly look at my systems and see what needs to be tweaked, and then I will build that into that quarter's action plans for the month.

[00:14:33] Jacki Hayes: So if at the beginning of Q3 I have decided that my client onboarding feels clunky and is not working for me. That I'm going to spend a month or two in Q3. Looking at that system and improving it. Again, bite-sized pieces, not whole entire pieces, and that's where you're gonna find it easier to set aside time, but that's also gonna depend on you and how you like to work.

[00:14:55] Jacki Hayes: I'm a batch worker. I'm a deep focus worker, so for me, it would be setting aside like a Friday morning at the library just digging in. But not everybody works that way, so others might just need an hour at the beginning of each day to work on that. 

[00:15:10] Becky McCleery: I love that. That was really helpful. I, I think most business owners tend to wait until they feel like a system is breaking or really not working before they look at it.

[00:15:20] Becky McCleery: So I really appreciate that idea of looking at it quarterly to see what. Doesn't seem to be working, what could be improved and all of that. That was really helpful. So I wanna be mindful of everyone's time, and I know there are going to be listeners who are thinking, okay, I want more support from Jacki.

[00:15:37] Becky McCleery: I wanna connect with her. Can you tell us more about how our listeners can connect with you beyond this session? 

[00:15:43] Jacki Hayes: Sure. The best place to start is my start here page on my website, Jacki hayes.co. And that's no E and Jacki. It's a quick guide to what I do, who I help and how we can work together. But you can also find on Instagram at Jacki Hayes om, where I share more about what sustainable systems look like in real life, as well as just my general life and personality as well.

[00:16:07] Becky McCleery: I wanna thank you so much, Jacki, for being here and sharing your wisdom with us. I've learned a lot today and I've worked in systems for years, so I appreciate you and thank you so much for joining us. Thank you.

[00:16:25] Jacki Hayes: Thanks for hanging out with me on Here's What I Learned. If today's episode gave you an aha moment, a laugh, or something to think about, make sure you're subscribed to my email list. That's where I share even more tips, stories and behind the scenes insights to help you simplify and thrive. And remember, you get to do business and life your way.

[00:16:44] Jacki Hayes: Until next time, keep experimenting, keep simplifying, and keep learning.