Let me tell you about my desk.

For years, it was a disaster. Sticky notes everywhere. Half-empty waterbottles. Random cords for devices I wasn’t even sure I owned anymore. Every morning I’d walk in, sigh, and spend 20 minutes digging for whatever I needed.

I thought that was just how busy people lived.

Then a mentor came by, looked at my desk, and said something I’ve never forgotten:

“Poor people have stuff. Rich people have systems.”

Ouch.

But he wasn’t talking about money. Not exactly. He was talking about how you organize your life—and your business. He was saying that chaos has a cost. And that cost adds up.

Here’s what I learned next.

The Hidden Tax of Disorganization

Every time you search for a file, you’re paying a tax. Every time you re-explain a process to an employee, you’re paying a tax. Every time you forget to follow up with a lead and scramble to fix it? Tax, tax, tax.

Poor people (and struggling business owners) pay that tax daily. They own a lot of stuff—emails, tasks, paperwork, ideas—but none of it works together.

Rich people? They own systems. Their stuff runs itself.

The difference isn’t luck. It’s intentionality.

What a System Actually Looks Like

I used to think “systems” meant boring corporate manuals nobody reads. Not true.

A system is just a repeatable way of doing something so you don’t have to think about it every time.

Here are some examples:

A saved email template for common customer questions. (System.)

A standing Tuesday meeting where you review your top three goals. (System.)

A folder structure on your computer that everybody follows. (System.)

A checklist for onboarding new hires. (System.)

A compensation plan where bonuses are tied directly to company goals. (Also a system.)

See? Systems aren’t sexy. They’re not supposed to be. They’re supposed to be reliable.

Your Business Can’t Scale Without Them

Here’s the problem most small business owners don’t see coming:

You are the bottleneck.

Right now, your business runs because you remember things. You put out fires. You know where the files are. You think that makes you indispensable.

Actually, it makes you stuck.

If the business falls apart when you take a vacation, you don’t own a business. You own a job with extra steps. And you definitely can’t sell it someday.

Systems fix that. They turn your knowledge into something other people can use. They turn chaos into consistency. They turn you from the operator into the owner.

Start With One Thing

You don’t need to overhaul everything overnight. That’s how people quit.

Pick one area of your life or business that feels messy. Just one.

Maybe it’s how you manage client onboarding. Maybe it’s how you track your team’s goals. Maybe it’s literally just that desk.

Now ask: What would a system look like here?

Write it down. Doesn’t have to be fancy. A bulleted list works. Then do it the same way three times in a row. Congratulations. You just built a system.

Now do it again somewhere else.

Rich People Think This Way

I’m not saying systems will make you a millionaire by Friday. But I am saying this:

Every person I know who has successfully scaled a business—and kept their sanity—didn’t get there by working harder. They got there by working systematically. They stopped collecting stuff and started building processes.

They realized that being busy isn’t the goal. Being effective is.

At buy-scale-sell.com, we help small business owners build the systems that turn chaotic companies into sellable assets. Not by adding more stuff. By adding more structure.

Here’s the truth:

You can keep running around, putting out fires, buried in sticky notes and half-finished thoughts. That’s one way to live.

Or you can pause, build one small system, and watch what happens when your business starts running without you constantly pulling levers.

One path is exhausting.

The other is freedom.

Choose your system.

Grab my book! https://amzn.to/45Cm2ky

Hi, I’m Heather.
Let me help you scale your Utah $1M+ biz to $20M+

My credentials:
Built & sold Queen of Wraps (yep, that’s my face on the side of I-15)
Learned 1,769,230+ lessons so you skip trial-and-error
Zero Ivy MBA (just pioneer grit + market-tested tactics)

Let’s talk if you’re:
Ready to make your ‘good’ business a GREAT business
Hitting $1M+ and knowing you’re built for more
Have 10+ employees that need to see your vision

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