From working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, to going on surprise dream vacations while the business ran itself...
‘I started signing one client after another. That was the dream... which quickly turned into a nightmare.'
- Stirling Gardner
THE DREAM HOUSE
Stirling Gardner is the CEO of Stackt Digital. A successful Facebook Ads Agency, Stirling Gardner has helped grow his clients' sales to over $20 million.
His unique approach is due in part to his background. As a former actor and screenwriter, Stirling is very creative. He admits most days he can have 20 great ideas by lunch.
When he founded Stackt Digital with the intention of becoming an elite Facebook Ads agency, demand for his services quickly increased.
"We got a client. We got a huge win for him and word spread. Then another client. And another one. I thought to myself, 'This is the dream! I am building an empire."
THE MONEY PIT
As Stirling put in more and more hours to service all these new clients, he became obsessed with over-delivering and driving revenue for them. But every agency owner's dream quickly turned into a nightmare for him.
"I didn't have a proper system in place to onboard these clients," he says. And client management was haphazard. The work was getting done, but there was a lot of back and forth each time. As a result, I was working 10-12 hours a day, 7 days a week. I was either tied to my computer or my phone."
This had an extremely negative effect on Stirling's health. He was constantly tired, anxious, and could barely sleep. He thought he was building an empire, a dream house, but instead, he was completely trapped in a money pit.
The future of the agency depended on Stirling continuing to sacrifice his health and his family time. Something had to give sooner or later. He knew the structure was unstable and it would all come crashing down on him.
CALL THE ARCHITECT
An architect designs buildings using the right materials and proven practices. Every building needs a rock-solid foundation to withstand the weight of expansion and external forces.
Business process architect Erin Persinger is the CEO of PREMIER VIRTUAL OPERATIONS (PVO). PVO focuses on delivering efficiency to companies and business owners through its very own Streamline-to-Scale System (SSS), where growth is achieved after a thorough team and system audit, streamlines its business processes and operations and ultimately provides scale and freedom for any company or business owner.
After speaking with Stirling and learning about his concerns and desires, she kindly explained OBMs and VAs would not work if there were no systems and processes in place for them to work from. She and her team then immediately started to implement their highly innovative Streamline-to-Scale System (SSS).
STREAMLINE-TO-SCALE SYSTEM
Streamline-to-Scale System (SSS) is an extremely powerful set of processes and problem-solving tools designed specifically for businesses that know they need help to systematize.
HERE ARE THE STEPS OF THE STREAMLINE-TO-SCALE SYSTEM
Step 1: Audit.
They used their extensive accounting and technical expertise to conduct a comprehensive business and systems audit. This identified where revenue was delayed or lost due to inefficiencies in the day-to-day operations of Stackt Digital.
The completed audit clearly highlighted where money was being lost to unnecessary hiring and spending. It highlighted how time and duplication in onboarding could be drastically reduced, customer management automated and back-end processing simplified. For Stirling, this was a revelation!
Step 2: Foundations.
All buildings that are meant to last need strong foundations. Based on the results of the team and system audit, Erin's team then developed the detailed processes, procedures, and systems needed to build new foundations for Stackt Digital.
The Foundations phase is based on six pillars, namely:
All six work together to create an incredibly strong base. As the business grows and expands, the foundations are designed to support it. These systems and processes now carry the strain of the business, not the business owner. Stirling began to realize what this would mean for him.
Step 3: Streamline.
Architects make buildings "flow," meaning that everyone in the building can move from space to space in a way that is consistent and makes sense. Once the systems were built in stages, the team provided extensive training to Stackt Digital staff on how to work with the new processes and systems to make everything STREAMLINED.
This meant that new clients moving through the new Stackt Digital processes had a first-class, highly consistent, and efficient experience.
All essential assets and documentation could be accessed at any time, and campaigns, reporting, and billing were all entirely automated. As a result, the Stackt team's burden was significantly reduced but income flow increased as clients could now be signed up for, taken care of, and billed with little effort. The same procedure was repeated by every new employee, allowing Stackt to maintain a high level of customer service without adding extra work.
Stirling was now free to add more employees as the company expanded without worry.
Compared to the previous situation, it was like night and day. Stirling began to get his work done in a reasonable amount of time and no longer had to constantly look at his phone. He was experiencing the results of the Streamline-to-Scale System.
THE NIGHTMARE HOUSE IS NOW A DREAM CASTLE
Stackt Digital's workflow was completely transformed. The agency now had a rock-solid, pillar-like foundation.
Unnecessary expenses were cut. Revenue flowed through the business without bottlenecks.
Stirling says: "Erin and her team were fantastic from day one. The Streamline-to-Scale System is simply brilliant and the impact it has had on my business is huge.
My clients love the seamless experience and my team is more confident and happier.
But more important is the impact it has had on me. I cannot thank them enough. I feel like I have gotten my life back. If I had laid my foundation before I grew, everything would have been a lot less stressful and exhausting for me.
My only regret is that I did not hire them sooner."
"Only Erin Persinger and her team, with their unique blend of business experience, accounting expertise, and technical acumen, are able to turn your business around in a way that serves you, not the other way around."
Streamline-To-Scale Results
In essence, he was now making significantly more money while working a lot less.
That's the power of the final step of the Streamline-to-Scale System, Freedom. PVO designed the procedures and purposefully included an exit for Stirling. He could now take a vacation, focus on tasks that needed to be completed, or stick to his area of competence and pursue activities that genuinely thrilled him.
Stirling performed the unthinkable when Stackt Digital evolved into a highly efficient automated system that didn't require regular intervention. He took a trip and unwinded for the first time in five years! He was enjoying life once more and was happy and less nervous. And his ecstatic wife thought she had her husband back, she was so happy.
Get the freedom you want with our proven
Streamline-to-Scale System.
You got into business not to be tied to your computer or phone, but to serve people and make a difference. But it was never part of the deal that your health and relationships had to be sacrificed for that.
We are changing that... for good.
Get the freedom you want with our proven Streamline-to-Scale System. We give your business a forensic audit, create diamond-hard foundational processes, and streamline everything into a harmonious flow.
And finally, we build an exit door for you to use when you need it.
A business has to be able to function without you, otherwise, it's just a side hustle. The sooner you step up into the role of CEO, the better for you.
Ready to break free from a business with no foundation? Want to be able to put your phone away? Free yourself up from anxiety and fatigue?
We can help you do that with the Streamline-to-Scale System. It just works. Period.
So when you're ready, so are we.
The first step is to schedule a conversation with us so we can get to know you better.
Together, let's build a better future for you.