The RV Entrepreneur podcast host Kimberly Crossland explores essential systems to put in place when growing a business from the road.
Picture this: You wake up in a new spot, take a brisk walk around the campground, shower in your tiny shower, and then sit down to work. What comes next? Are you clear-headed about what needs to be done for the day? Do you get mired down in details? Do you stare at your computer screen, then glance out your window, then back at your computer screen, eager to wrap up whatever you were working on so you can go explore?
If you’re anything like me, you’re the latter. You want to work. You love what you do. But you also want to explore and exhale in the outdoors. Have you implemented systems that enable you make the most out of your RV life while growing a business from the road?
This desire to get outside and live prompts most people to seek passive income. The reality is there’s very little true passive income. Everything takes work to get found, grow, and get to a level that can support the lifestyle you desire. Rather than pursuing passive income, what if we started pursuing systems instead?
Having systems is perhaps the number one way to get out of your way. Before we dive into the systems you need as an RV entrepreneur, let’s first look at what a system is.
What Should You Systematize to grow Your Business from the Road?
Systems are essentially your standard operating procedures (SOPs). They outline the micro steps you take to get some tasks accomplished.
Not everything needs a system, though. For example, if something takes you less than five minutes, you don’t need to systematize your approach. Just get it done and move on. But, if you do something more than five times and it takes more than 30 minutes, it should have some sort of system or SOP.
Outlining your processes and defining your approach does two things:
- It takes the mental calories out of every little thing you do for your business, freeing up space to stay in a creative zone
- It simplifies the process when you hire someone to help you with some of the mundane tasks in your business
Systems are undoubtedly important, and just about everything can be systematized if you do it repeatedly. Still, a giant sticking point I see from RV entrepreneurs is this — what should you systematize?
Here are five areas of business that can save you hours by attaching a systematic approach.
Your Visibility Mechanisms
No one will buy from you if they don’t know you exist. Staying visible is a fundamental part of growing any business. Staying visible is one of the hardest parts of growing a business, especially for RV entrepreneurs, where travel and connectivity are unreliable. Having a system in place for how you can stay visible, despite connectivity, is crucial.
Visibility strategies are a whole post in and of themselves. There are dozens of ways to spark visibility in your business. Social media. SEO. Long-form content creation. Guest podcasting…have you applied to be a guest on the RV Entrepreneur podcast yet?
While I cannot outline all systems for all visibility strategies in a single post, I can offer you two ways to systematize your approach no matter what type of visibility strategy you’re working on.
1. Commit to 30-for-30
The 30-30-30 principle is a great way to form new habits, knock a good amount of work off your to-do list, and accomplish a lot in a short time. Here’s what it looks like:
Spend 30 minutes completing one task for 30 days.
This approach works well because it puts a timeframe on it rather than a process. Through that time crunch, the process comes to you. As a result, you’ll learn how to accomplish your goals faster in those 30 minutes. As you find your rhythm, you find your sticking points. A process develops over time while you do the very thing you want to systematize. It happens organically, and you’re getting incrementally and exponentially better throughout the process.
For example, I’m leaning into Pinterest right now. This is a newish platform for me, so I’m devoting 30 minutes daily to creating and scheduling pins for the next 30 days.
You can also do this with outreach. For example, I’m doing this with my wholesale outreach for Cruisin’ + Campfires where I spend 30 minutes a day for 30 days reaching out to potential retailers.
After the 30 days, write down what you’re doing on day 30. That’s your visibility system.
2. Schedule daily tasks
You can also break out your visibility strategies into daily tasks. This works best for the bigger strategies, such as blogging, podcasting, or SEO.
A daily task system takes the guesswork out of making a to-do list every day. Instead, it assigns a task to each day. Get that task done, and you can check it off your weekly to-do list. Here is an example of what that could look like:
- Monday: Write and schedule my newsletters
- Tuesday: Do a quick check on my tech, automations, and scheduled posts to ensure everything is firing off correctly
- Wednesday: Submit a completed project to a client or check in with them
- Thursday: Run an SEO check and make small tweaks to my site
- Friday: Comment on 10 posts to continue relationship-building
Managing your business from the road changes from day to day. Choose the right tasks for your days. Decide what you need to focus on repeatedly in your business for visibility, then commit to doing it on those days. This approach takes the strain out of feeling like you have to do everything all the time. Instead, it’s focused.
Productivity Matters When Growing Your Business from the Road
Let’s face it. One of the hardest parts about running a business from your RV is that you don’t always want to be inside your RV. We all want to explore new locations. Then, you want to meet the new neighbors. So, you want to get your work done and get back to living. That’s why it’s so important to systematize your productivity.
One area that’s worked really well for me in powering through work when distracted by the adventures to be had outside is the Pomodoro Technique.
The Pomodoro Technique takes a task and breaks it down into 25-minute stretches of focused work, followed by five minutes of a brain break.
I’ve become far more productive in adopting this technique for harder tasks. Things get finished faster than if I’m slogging my way through without a systematic approach to getting it done. I commit to 25 minutes of focus, knowing that the timer will go off soon and I must stop. That feet-to-the-fire approach and short-term burst make me far more effective at my work, helping me to complete a task instead of daydreaming about adventure.
Relationship Building
One of the beautiful things about today’s world is that you don’t always have to be “on.” One of the hardest parts about today’s world is that people often expect you to always be “on.”
24/7 accessibility has its blessings and its curses. While it’s certainly nice to be able to take our office everywhere we go, it’s challenging to navigate the expectations of having around-the-clock access to your inbox, phone, or DMs. Thankfully, you can build systems around your business’s relationship-building arm to allow you to leave your phone in your rig unapologetically.
Automations designed to nurture and build relationships are one of the most freeing parts of being an RV Entrepreneur growing a successful business from the road.
Think of this system as an extended out-of-office reply. It’s your response to someone who reaches out to you and needs something. That something they need from you doesn’t usually require you at the very first touch. For example:
- If you are a podcast host and someone reaches out about wanting to be on your show, the next step usually involves having them answer a few questions or scheduling their interview. Automate that step.
- If you are a freelancer and someone contacts you, the next step is to book a discovery call or sign a contract. Automate that step.
- If you are a product creator and someone reaches out to you for a sample, the next step is to get their address and get it in the mail. Automate that step.
- If you have a social media account and someone reaches out to you in the DMs, you can even automate your response by setting up an automatic reply or sequence with tools like ManyChat (more advanced).
To automate is human. Automations do two things:
- Give the person reaching out an instant reply, honoring their desire for instant gratification
- Allows you to tell your story, stand out, and make an impression by being honest about the automation and offering a personal touch.
Kickstarting relationships with these automations allows everyone space to breathe while still feeling seen.
To create your system around this approach, look at the areas where you’re doing more transactional work and automate it while putting your voice to the response.
Your North Star System
It’s been said time and again that a ship that veers off course even one degree will land somewhere entirely different than the destination they intended. I’ve experienced this multiple times in my business, so I’ve started my own North Star system.
North Star systems are the systems you put in place to ensure you’re still on track to your big, lofty goals.
These are the micro check-ins, milestone markers, and monthly reflections to keep you on course toward your big-picture goals. These are also what I’ve started writing about each month in my Substack newsletter, and am now helping others remember in my private community for paid subscribers.
An example of what a North Star system includes is a reflection on the following:
- Start: What did you start this month, and how is it going? What will you start next month?
- Stop: What must you stop doing next month to stay on track toward your goals?
- Continue: What’s working really well that you can continue doing to amplify your success?
- Metrics: Total revenue earned. Total audience numbers. Total outreaches. Total [measurable variable].
Growing a business from the road has its challenges. By having a system to reflect on where you’ve been and calibrate where you’re going, you’ll likely stay on track toward your goals.
I’d love to hear about other systems you’ve put in place to help build your business from the road. How are you enjoying your RV Entrepreneurial lifestyle with more ease and exploration? Share with us in The RV Entrepreneur Facebook group, and be sure to tag me so I see it!
