In case we haven't met yet...

Hello, I'm Sandra Briggs

I was struggling. I thought I was the only one in the world who couldn’t get it together, who wasn’t cut out to run a successful business. That I was delusional in thinking I could go from being an experienced employee at the top of my game to doing what my heart had always desired – to run a successful business that helped my family, my team and the community – was it just a pipe dream?

I felt like I was starting at the bottom again and risking a great guaranteed income for my family to pursue my own dream. Was I being selfish? I felt terrible.

How much of my mental and physical energy was I putting into my business instead of my husband and young children? What important aspects of family life and kids’ education was I neglecting because my mind was constantly whirring, trying to find solutions for my business – even after hours when I was at home?

Was the extra effort worth the impact it was having on my family? Particularly when we already had enough stress with my husband’s long, exhausting hours at his job and the kids’ stresses at school? I didn’t want my kids to grow up before I had any time to spend with them!

How could I manage to keep the stress of business in proportion, so it didn’t impact my family while building the income to improve our financial position? How could I balance my time across my responsibilities as a wife, mother and business owner?

I felt overwhelmed, bogged down, frustrated, like a failure, terrified of having to go back to a job if I didn’t bring in enough income quickly enough and frankly, I didn’t know where to start to move things in the right direction. It was a challenge that constantly weighed on my mind and took the joy out of life.

I even had a "business coach" tell me that my business would fail within 12 months - how's that for encouragement?!

After another particularly difficult day, I reflected on how I had yelled at the kids and become the mum I never wanted to be. It wasn’t like I really had this tough one day but tomorrow would be a fresh start and things would start to get better. I was feeling like this nearly every day. This wasn’t what I wanted and I knew I was called to more for my family’s sake and my own. This wasn’t abundant life. It didn’t feel purposeful. It felt overwhelming and depressing.

I decided I wasn’t going to let this be my life and I wasn’t going to let this overwhelm and depression rule me any longer. What I did next set my life on a new direction and I never went back to the way it was. It changed everything.

I went back into my office. This space, the heart of the business, was the bain of my existence. This was a room stacked full of piles of paperwork and folders, boxes of archives and equipment I had never gotten around to installing, stationery and obsolete office machines I never used but tripped over on a frequent basis. I was constantly hunting for things which completely frustrated me every day.

There were old, unmatched visitors’ chairs no-one wanted to sit on or could sit on as they were also covered in stuff. Tatty old notices, business cards and important post it notes I had long forgotten about covered my walls. Dust covered the back of the desk behind my computer and the bookcase I hadn’t cleaned for who knows how long. My keyboard was sticky and plants half dead. They looked miserable.

Working longer hours didn’t make any difference. The harder I worked, the more tired I became and the more tired I became, the less motivated I was to put mental energy into solving problems.

I grabbed a large garbage bag and started clearing out all of the rubbish. I got rid of the tired old office visitors’ chairs and bookcase and threw out the dying plants. I shredded the ancient paper archives. I took out the obsolete equipment. It wasn’t worth the work it caused me. I vacuumed the floor, wiped down my keyboard and all the surfaces with antibacterial wipes and cleaned and opened the windows. When I was finished, all that was left was my desk, computer, mobile and printer. The recycle bins were full of shredded unnecessary papers. My office was organised and I felt lighter.

Then I started to strategically plan out my business and make important decisions to dramatically cut the waste in my business and focus my team and resources on achieving the most effective goals to move my business and profits forward.

The next day, I came into work as per usual. The moment I stepped into my office, I felt Wow!

I was instantly energised. I didn’t have to trip over boxes to get to my desk. There was a perfect spot to place my bag and my desk was clear from clutter, everything felt clean and my office smelt fresh. The new office plants were looking vibrant and healthy. I could find anything. Everything I needed was at my fingertips. This was exciting. I was ready to get started for the day.

I felt amazing, back in control and energised to lead my team forward.

Now, I can look forward to enjoying a relaxed weekend with my family.

Over the next 12 months, I  worked with my team to reevaluate everything in my business. We went through everything, carefully considering every aspect of the business and who our preferred clients would be, obtaining customer feedback, team ideas and support and professional advice on which one service would be the most profitable.

Together we charted a new direction for the business. We planned the big picture pivot, ruthlessly cut waste, relocated to more suitable premises, carefully planned the layout, focused on providing exceptional value to our customers and streamlining processes for our team to make their work struggle free and engaging.

We built an efficient mindset and team culture and honed our professional skills and customer service. We focused all our energy and resources on the most beneficial goals.

Today, I walked into my office, the heart of my business and I was pumped, ready to go.

The office was still clean, tidy, organised and energising. The air was fresh and invigorating. I love being here. This is now my creative space which inspires me every day to explore new ways to grow and develop my business and team.

My husband has now joined me in our business. Our business has grown to replace his corporate job and we enjoy working together with flexible hours around our family needs.

We are motivated and looking forward to using our team's intelligence, talent and skill to cut waste, develop solutions, provide exceptional customer service and make our business more profitable.

Our team enjoys their clean and struggle-free work environment. Everything they need is right where it is supposed to be – no more searching for lost items.

Now it isn't just me slugging away. The whole team is united in its focus and all resources are working together to achieve our most effective goal.

When we open our doors, our clients, who feel like family, arrive on time and are pleasantly surprised at how efficient and attentive our team is to their needs.

They leave on time, satisfied with the service they have received and excited to refer us to their networks. All payments are received on time, so our cashflow is strong and our clients have all the information they need for their next steps.

Now our business is highly profitable, our clients, team and family are happy.

I am now proud to invite our suppliers and other business owners into our business to discuss how we can collaborate. They are always impressed and ask questions about how their business can become efficient like ours.

It feels amazing. I now have a social life. My marriage and relationship with my kids is great and I have more time to spend with my family and friends. Things are running smoothly. Everyone is happy.

And I enjoy watching our bank balance steadily grow.

Time to plan the next holiday with my family – all paid for in advance of course! We have every confidence in our team to competently keep things moving forward while we are away. Yippee!

I want this for you, friend. I want you to know it doesn’t have to be like this one more day. You can choose a different path. You can thrive. You can love this life. You can escape the chronic overwhelm everyone else calls normal. I promise you, it’s so worth it.

I love efficiency! And I love working with business owners and their teams to build efficiency into their business.

Because ... I enjoy seeing the transformation and incredible value it brings to the business owner, their families, customers/patients, team, suppliers and community.

I BELIEVE THAT ANYONE WHO IS WILLING TO WORK HARD

TO CREATE AN EFFICIENT BUSINESS FOR THEMSELVES,

SHOULD HAVE THE TOOLS TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

That's why I created 

Efficiency for Business Owners

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