When I first wrote about my Six Systems in 2024, the “People” system was all about building a team. How to design your team, communicate, provide feedback, and delegate work.
But as I’ve approached my own Zone of Enoughness and evaluated the responsibility I want to hold in my business…
I realized just how wrong I was about the People system.
Yes, if you want to “scale” you probably can’t do it fully as a team of one (and no, I’m not counting AI agents as employees). And if you plan to bring on a team or even routine contractors as support, these above elements are crucial.
But for businesses who don’t want or aren’t ready for a team? This system as outlined misses the mark, because it doesn’t talk about your broader community.
The People system isn’t just a team — it’s the relational ecosystem around the business.
An uncomfortable truth is that the deeper your dedication to a specific pursuit, the more likely it is that you won’t have much time or energy for people outside of it, at least not beyond your immediate family and closest friends. We simply cannot do it all. The cost of excellence includes trade-offs and sacrifices. While it’s natural to drift from people when your interests and passions diverge, it cannot become an excuse to isolate yourself and work yourself into the ground. It’s why building community within your primary pursuit is so important. - Brad Stulberg, The Way of Excellence
The real components of the people system
This week, I made a post on LinkedIn about liking my profit model and customer base (”I don’t want to sell you into a $2,500/month group program”) and I was struck by how many people liked and commented that I’d never met before I started my business.
There’s my clients and people who’ve bought my book. There’s people I’m in treasured communities with who I see maybe once a year at conferences. There’s people I’ve met in online networks who I’ve referred business to, who’ve referred business to me. There’s people who I see every Monday for Sacred Sales Hour in the Membership who I’ve never met in real life. There’s the service providers who I can’t keep on payroll, but I make sure to engage with projects as often as I can.
I couldn’t imagine doing business by myself, even if I don’t have a large team. It’s so lonely to run your own business, to wonder all of the time if you’re doing it right, to need accountability and support to do scary or frustrating-but-necessary activities in your business. And by just limiting the “people” system to a team is limiting.
Building a community around me has been a non-negotiable part of my business.
The differing support systems that fuel businesses
Operating Support
At this point, I couldn’t run my business on my own. So while I don’t have a big team, I do have trusted colleagues to help keep the business running.
My Operations Manager Sai Vasam is a coach and entrepreneur in his own business, while helping to manage the membership and cohort administration. I work with two copywriters I can’t launch without (Courtney and Rebeca). I have my go-to graphic design support, website support, and accounting and legal support.
Just because they aren’t on a retainer doesn’t mean I don’t consider them part of the team.
Learning Support
I’m a lifelong learner. So I have communities where I go to push the edges of what I know and am comfortable with, especially The Lab run by Jay Clouse. But I’m in a number of communities where I’m building my skills, like around community building and AI. I’m always provided a spark of insight from a world around me.
Accountability
One of the benefits of a membership like the Deeper Foundations Membership is the activation energy to do things you would otherwise avoid — like say sales, planning, and tending to your business systems. I also host these events in my business to make me do the business building tasks I would otherwise avoid. I know I hire coaches in order to provide me a deadline to take action on the things in my business that I need to do. Who in your orbit is providing activation energy and accountability to get moving?
Collaborators and Connectors
Not a week goes by that I’m not Voxer-ing or otherwise talking to some of my favorite collaborators. Meg and I obviously host a weekly podcast! When I don’t talk to some of my business besties for a week I get sad. This journey is too hard to do on your own, so I’m so thrilled to have other people that can help me promote my work, and let me promote theirs.
Fellow Travelers
And ultimately, I have communities of fellow travelers. Some communities I’m in to learn, other places I’m in to be pushed, and some places I’m in to witness and be witnessed, celebrate and be celebrated, and to vent about the random stuff that only someone running your own business would know about. I love the people that check in with me on text, send me cards, and genuinely care about me. I’m lucky to be able to do the same.
And while my Deeper Foundations Members are in my membership, I need them as well! I look forward to seeing them on camera, reading their monthly updates, and celebrating with them, even though I’m the community organizer. I know a lot of memberships are meant to be “low-touch” — but for me, I want to know what everyone’s working on! Because being by myself in my business, just me and my screen, is a lonely experience.
So who’s on your “team”, even if they aren’t on your team?
Who helps relieve some of the burden of running your business?
Who are you learning from?
Who surrounds you when you’re having a bad day?
Who celebrates your wins?
Who provides the loving kick in the butt to take action?
And do you need a better community around you?