You're the best employee in your company. That's the problem.

Your business runs because you run it. You're on site. You're solving problems. You're making sure orders get out the door. You're making sure clients are happy. You're the one people call when something breaks.

And if you ever want to sell your business, take a vacation, or actually have a life outside of work, that's a massive problem.

I sat down with George Mayfield, president of the American Manufacturing Association and COO of RYZ Construction, for our latest Sell More Academy masterclass on systems. George is a Navy veteran, best-selling author, and active business operator. His entire philosophy is built around one powerful idea: if you want to sell your business for what it's truly worth one day, you need strong, documented processes that work without you.

George doesn't coach from the sidelines. He's an active advisor who builds the systems and the teams to execute them. He creates three-year roadmaps with clear milestones and real accountability. He rolls up his sleeves and makes sure it actually gets done.

Here's what most business owners get wrong about systems.

Systems Aren't Just Technology

When people hear the word "systems," they think software. They think apps. They think tech.

That's not what George means by systems.

A system is a collection of components that work together. Those components could be software. They could be people. They could be physical equipment. They could be processes. They could be culture.

Think about a spray foam contractor's trailer. Inside that trailer, he's got 50-gallon drums of chemicals that mix together. He's got a sprayer. He's got a compressor. He's got a heater. He's got tools. That's a system. It's a system on wheels.

George watched a younger contractor with a newer company pull up with a used rig. Everything was just shoved into the trailer. Tools everywhere. The workbench was a Home Depot unit with one wheel missing, falling apart. Drawers open. Nothing organized.

When an employee needed a tool, they'd walk into that trailer and spend ten minutes rummaging around trying to find it instead of grabbing it and getting back to work.

That's not a tech problem. That's a systems problem. And it costs money every single day.

Your business has the same kind of systems. Some are tech. Some are people. Some are processes. Some are physical. They all need to work together.

The Military Taught Him Everything

George grew up in a factory. His dad was the chief engineer of a manufacturing plant. He joined the Navy as the third generation of his family to serve.

In the military, there's a manual for literally everything. There's even a manual on how to make a cup of coffee. It's become an inside joke.

But there's a reason for those manuals.

The military takes people from all walks of life. Different regions. Different cultures. Different education levels. Different ways of learning. Different ways of communicating.

You have to be incredibly efficient at communicating with all of those people. You have to make sure that whether someone is from the East Coast or the West Coast, whether they have a college degree or barely made it through high school, they understand what needs to be done.

That's why there are manuals. That's why there are processes. That's why there's training and documentation.

It works.

But here's where most veteran-owned companies go wrong.

The Military Doesn't Translate to Business

When you leave the military and start a business, you can't run it like the military.

In the military, people are signed up. They can't leave. If you're not at work on time, there are serious consequences. It's a big deal.

In business, your competitors are trying to poach your employees. Other industries look more enticing. There's better pay elsewhere. You can't force people to stay.

So you have to adapt.

George talks about a pool cleaner who was really good at maintaining pools. He opens a company and brings people in expecting them to do exactly what he was doing, the exact same way.

That's not scalable.

Maybe there are one or two things that make that guy's work really good and different. Those things matter. You have to have something that makes you unique.

But you can't expect everyone to work on your schedule, think like you, or approach the work exactly like you do.

The military approach is cookie cutter. Everyone fits into the same mold. In business, you need to find the middle ground between rigid process and complete flexibility.

The Essential Systems Every Business Needs

If you're going to scale, you need these systems in place first.

Communication Systems

This is the most important one. And it's not what most people think.

Communication with prospective clients. That's your marketing system. Communication with employees. Communication with current customers. Sometimes these overlap. Sometimes they're separate.

But communication is probably the biggest system you need.

George sees a lot of blue-collar companies that just rely on cell phones. The electricity goes down. The owner mass texts everyone to come in late. That's not a system. That's chaos.

Salespeople are calling prospects on their personal cell phones. If they leave, you lose all those relationships. You have no way to follow up. You have no documentation. You have no checks and balances.

That's not a system.

Financial Systems

What kind of financial system do you have in place?

Are you using QuickBooks? Are you using an industry-specific accounting system? Or are you just looking at your bank account and calling that management?

That's not a system.

Industry-Specific Systems

After communication and finance, it depends on your industry.

If you're in manufacturing, you need an ERP system to manage warehouse inventory, parts, and assets. If you're in construction, you need a project management system. If you're in service, you need a client management system.

The point is this: you need systems that fit your business, not systems you've heard about or seen other companies use.

The Detachment Problem

Here's the painful truth most founders face.

You're the bottleneck.

You're on site. You're making sure parts get out the door. You're making sure projects run smoothly. You're making sure clients are happy. You're worried about today's money and today's reputation.

But you're never thinking about tomorrow's money or tomorrow's reputation.

You're never thinking about next year. You're never thinking about five years from now. You're never thinking about what your business will look like when you're not there.

And that's the only way to scale.

George says business owners who are stuck in this cycle are constantly getting new business, getting orders out the door, but they're not actually scaling. They're just a really good employee.

Unless you detach yourself from the day-to-day so you can think about strategy, you're going to be working every day for the rest of your life.

And when it comes time to sell your business, it's going to be nearly worthless.

Why Businesses Fail to Sell

George works with a lot of providers who help business owners sell their companies. They see the same pattern over and over.

A business owner makes a few million or ten million a year. They think that should be a pretty good business to sell.

Then they look at the assets. Maybe there's a building. Maybe there's machinery. That stuff is worth what you could sell it for on Craigslist.

The employees? You can never guarantee they'll stay. In right-to-work states, they can leave whenever they want.

So what's left?

Your systems and processes.

If you didn't take the time to document your systems and processes and grow them, your business is going to be nearly worthless when you try to sell it.

A lot of business owners realize this too late. They wanted to retire. They wanted to sell for enough money to actually retire. But they can't. So they keep working.

Selling your business becomes just quitting and maybe getting a little severance.

That's a difficult awakening.

Backing Up Your Systems

Contingency planning is critical. But most people do it wrong.

They think backing up their systems means putting everything in the cloud. OneDrive. Dropbox. Apple Cloud.

That's not a backup system. If Apple gets hacked and loses all your data, it's gone.

Real backup is different.

First, you have to think about risk. What could happen to your business? What are the risks? Internal risks? External risks? Your number one employee leaving? A financial crisis? A natural disaster?

Once you understand the risks, you know what to back up and how to back it up.

Then you think about your systems independently of the tools.

Let's say you use Outlook for email. You have reminders set up. You have a calendar. You have folders that automatically organize things.

If you had to stop using Outlook tomorrow and switch to something else, what would that look like?

Define that. Write it down. That's backing up your system.

Because now, if Outlook changes something you don't like, you can easily move to something else. You have a list of requirements. You know what you need the system to do.

That's real backup.

Think Like a Machine

Here's George's best advice for business owners who aren't in manufacturing or construction.

Think about your business like you think about your car.

Your car is a machine. You know there are things you have to do to maintain it. Oil changes. Gas. Regular maintenance.

If you just drive your car and never change the oil because that doesn't help you get from point A to point B, your car is going to blow a rod and you won't have a car anymore.

Your business is the same.

You also have a dashboard in your car. You can see your speed. You can see how far you've gone. You can see when your next oil change is due. You can see how much gas you have.

That dashboard tells you what you need to know to keep the machine running.

Your business needs the same dashboard.

But here's the thing most people get wrong about dashboards.

In tech, dashboards show you the past and today. They're a snapshot of what already happened.

In your car, the dashboard shows you where you're going. It shows you your top RPMs. It shows you indicators that tell you when it's time for maintenance.

Your business dashboard should do the same thing.

It should show you not just what happened yesterday, but what's coming. It should have indicators that tell you when it's time for the oil change. When it's time to make a change. When something needs attention.

If you didn't do that for your car, it would be crazy to expect it to keep running.

If you don't do that for your business, what kind of outcome do you really expect?

The ADOE Framework

At the end of the masterclass, Ben and George talked about a simple framework that changes everything.

Automate. Delegate. Outsource. Eliminate.

Look at everything you're doing on a daily basis. Look at your week. See what you're doing the most of.

Then ask four questions.

Can I automate this? Is there a tool or process that can do this without me?

Can I delegate this? Is there someone on my team I can trust to do this?

Can I outsource this? Is there a quality professional or company that can do this better and cheaper than me?

If the answer to all three is no, then the last question is: do I even need to be doing this?

If you can't automate it, delegate it, or outsource it, you probably don't need to be doing it.

George says this framework will help you build better systems and put the right systems in place.

Ben says every time he's gone through this framework, they end up lighter, more efficient, and more effective.

The One Thing

If you take away only one thing from this masterclass, it's this.

Look at what you're doing on a daily basis. Look at your week. See what you're doing the most of.

Then ask: Can I automate this? Can I delegate this? Can I outsource this?

And if not, do I even need to be doing this?

That's it.

That's the framework that changes everything.

Watch the full replay inside the class vaults now.

Not a Member Yet? Sell More Academy is the Mastermind for More Sales.

We bring together a vibrant community of high achievers, live masterclasses on AI, Branding, Marketing, Sales, and Systems, and curated resources to help you stay ahead of the curve.

If you are ready to not only stay informed and competitive, but to sell a lot more stuff, we invite you to join us.

About Sell More Academy