In this talk, you will learn how to: Grow Strategically in a Small Business Let Go of Fear Within Your Business Set Up Processes For Success Set Boundaries as a Business Owner and Leader Step From Founder to CEO Please find the full transcript below… Kenny Lange: Welcome to the How Leaders Think podcast, the show that transforms you by renewing your mind and giving you new ways to think. I am your host, Kenny Lange, and with me today is Susan Fennema. She is the Chaos Eradicating Officer or CEO of Beyond the Chaos. It’s a consultancy helping small business owners extricate themselves from t ..read more

A business process requires clarity, simplicity, and evolution to be successful in your company. Here are some tips to help you write and maintain better process documents. Clarity of a Business Process Be as clear and specific as possible when you are writing processes so that every step is obvious to anyone who is reading it. Have you ever started working at a new company where they speak in acronyms that you don’t understand? It takes forever just to understand the language, let alone the actual process! Be sure to avoid this mistake when writing your process. Or, at least, include a refer ..read more

You already know processes and systems are crucial to stabilizing and scaling your small business. Are you finally ready to implement processes and systems in your company? If so, following the advice shared by BTC CEO, Susan Fennema, in this Teamwork.com User Group session will help create structure, ensure consistency, and improve accountability across your organization. Key Takeaways: Use Teamwork projects for internal management and operations processes to create a “single source of truth.” This eliminates the need to switch between multiple tools. Set up an Admin Project for management ..read more

This conversation between business coach, small business, and deal-making SME, David Barnett and Susan Fennema, CEO (Chaos Eradicating Officer) of Beyond the Chaos, provides practical insights for small business owners who want to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and scale their companies. When you identify and address common bottlenecks, you can free up your time to focus on higher-impact activities. Dig into the top five most common bottlenecks and how small businesses can tackle them, plus see how to manage email to free up time. Key Takeaways: Project management can become an o ..read more

As a solopreneur, you can operate your business without much in the way of policy, process, and procedures because you are a one-person show. But, “going from one person to more than one” requires a lot of change. Here’s the breakdown and definition: Implement a policy to get everyone on the same page with the rules. Document process to enable delegation. Procedures need to be written down, so others can follow the same methods based on your insights. Policy, process, and procedures are topics we talk about every day with clients. We help set them up, implement them, and train other team me ..read more

A project management consulting firm can be a game-changer for business owners buried in the day-to-day operations. When you discover the reason for chaos and get the right solutions, you can optimize operations, increase efficiency, and scale strategically. The result? You gain back control of your business – and your life. Sounds good, but… What Is a Project Management Consulting Firm? We often get questions like, “So, I know what a project manager is, but what exactly is a project management consulting firm?” It’s an important question (and difference) when evaluating your operations. Let ..read more

Managing interruptions is a big deal for small business owners who wear a lot of hats. We’re constantly pulled from one thing to another. Multitasking is a nice idea, but isn’t real. Instead of getting multiple tasks done consecutively, you’re task-switching – and usually long before the previous task is complete. If only there were a way to manage interruptions. That’s where calendaring or calendar blocking comes in. We’re huge advocates of calendar blocking here at Beyond the Chaos (we even have a course). And it works… unless the system breaks. What can break the system? And how do you get ..read more

Time management expert Susan Fennema shares an insightful talk on taking control of your calendar to master your days. She outlines actionable strategies for entrepreneurs to optimize their schedules around priorities, energy levels, and reducing distractions. Key Takeaways: Block calendar time for your personal priorities first to care for yourself before serving others. Designate blocks for professional priorities like focused work and meetings. Use office hours for team questions. Limit email, social media, chat tools, etc. to defined windows. Don’t let them drive your day. Set expectatio ..read more

Ann Carden, host of Expert in You, is a business growth consultant with over 40 years of experience. Here, she interviews Susan Fennema, Chaos Eradicating Officer (CEO), of Beyond the Chaos. This discussion is packed with practical tips and strategies for managing chaos in your business, boosting your visibility in the market, attracting more premium clients, and scaling your operations like a boss. Key Takeaways: Leverage Your Innate Abilities: Susan emphasized the importance of harnessing your inherent talents and converting them into a lucrative business. Create a Self-Sustaining Business ..read more

Remote work isn’t new, but since the pandemic changed how and where we work, remote work is here to stay. Susan has worked remotely for over ten years, and Beyond the Chaos has been operating as a virtual business since its beginning. We’ve rounded up a few of our favorite resources to help you and your team optimize remote work. Enjoy our tips, tricks, tech guides, and communication dos and don’ts for thriving in a virtual working world. Favorite Remote Work Tools Using email to stay connected is not enough, as we’ve seen with the explosion of Zoom and other video conferencing systems. If yo ..read more