Episode #420: Efficiency, Automation, and the Four-Day Work Week: Insights from madeby Studio - with Sam Taylor & Matt Wheeler

In this Q&A episode of ScaleUp Radio, Granger Forson sits down with Sam and Matt, the founders of Made by Studio, to discuss their inspiring journey towards implementing a four-day work week, without compromising on productivity or pay. They share their strategies for enhancing efficiency, building capacity, and managing waste within their business, all while maintaining a strong team culture.

Key Takeaways:

• Data Tracking and Measurement: The importance of tracking and measuring data across all business elements. Sam and Matt emphasise that you can't improve what you don't measure. They started with time tracking on jobs and gradually expanded to include operations and financial management, using automation to gain quick insights into business performance.
• Capacity Building and Process Improvement: The team at Made by Studio has developed systems that free up time for creative work. By documenting business processes in a resource hub, they reduce knowledge bottlenecks, enabling team autonomy. Additionally, they implemented software like Dext for invoicing and created a proposal template that has dramatically reduced the time spent on administrative tasks.
• Four-Day Work Week Implementation: Two years ago, Made by Studio transitioned to a four-day work week while maintaining 100% pay for 80% time. They achieve this by setting clear expectations, maintaining regular team check-ins, and fostering a strong, collaborative work culture.
• Client Management and Scope Creep: The founders share their approach to managing client expectations, which includes setting clear project timelines and using signed proposals to manage scope creep. They frame their client relationships as long-term collaborations, ensuring a shared understanding and future project opportunities.
• Automation Tools and Techniques: Sam and Matt reveal how they've harnessed tools like make.com to automate many of their business processes. This includes integrating software tools for CRM, invoicing, and financial reporting, significantly reducing the time spent on manual tasks.

Make sure you don’t miss any future episodes by subscribing to ScaleUp Radio wherever you like to listen to your podcasts. For now, continue listening for the full story from Sam and Matt.

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If you would like to be a guest on ScaleUp Radio, please click here:

https://bizsmarts.co.uk/scaleupradio/kevin

 

You can get in touch with Kevin & Granger here:

[email protected]

[email protected]

 

Kevin's Latest Book Is Available!

Drawing on BizSmart’s own research and experiences of working with hundreds of owner-managers, Kevin Brent explores the key reasons why most organisations do not scale and how the challenges change as they reach different milestones on the ScaleUp Journey. He then details a practical step by step guide to successfully navigate between the milestones in the form of ESUS - a proven system for entrepreneurs to scale up.

More on the Book HERE - https://www.esusgroup.co.uk/

 

Sam & Matt can be found here:

Matt Wheeler - linkedin.com/in/mattmultiplied

https://twitter.com/mattmultiplied

 

Sam Taylor - linkedin.com/in/samtayl-r

https://madeby.studio/

[email protected]