Throwback: From Chaos to Clarity - Mastering Operations for Business Growth

In this episode, host Josh interviews Aaron Hovivian, CEO of The Collab Team, about scaling operations for entrepreneurs and solopreneurs. Aaron shares his journey from retail and corporate project management to founding his own operations consultancy. The discussion covers the importance of identifying strengths, implementing operating systems like EOS, and documenting SOPs to streamline growth from seven to eight figures. Aaron offers practical advice for overcoming operational bottlenecks and introduces his Ops Experts Club resource hub. The episode provides actionable steps for business owners looking to delegate effectively and build scalable, efficient operations.

Chapters:

Introduction & Aaron’s Background (00:00:00)
Aaron shares his entrepreneurial roots, early jobs, and inspiration from his father’s business journey.

Discovering a Passion for Operations (00:00:49)
Aaron describes his natural inclination for improving systems and his transition from retail to project management.

First Entrepreneurial Leap & Founding The Collab Team (00:01:35)
Aaron recounts leaving a stable job to help a friend’s business, marking the start of The Collab Team.

Systems Thinking & Early Genius (00:02:54)
Discussion about always thinking in systems and the importance of operating in one’s zone of genius.

Complexity in Growth & The Value of Operations (00:03:31)
Aaron explains how business growth brings complexity and the need to streamline through operations.

The Power of Delegation & Operating Systems (00:03:48)
Aaron introduces the concept of “Delegate and Elevate” from EOS and the importance of SOPs.

Why Operations Matter for Scaling (00:04:37)
Aaron discusses why operations are crucial for entrepreneurs aiming to scale from seven to eight figures.

Visionaries vs. Operators: Identifying Strengths (00:05:02)
Aaron explains the difference between visionary entrepreneurs and those skilled in operations.

Common Pitfalls in Delegation & Team Structure (00:06:17)
Challenges entrepreneurs face when delegating without clear processes or team roles.

Intentionality & Backward Planning (00:07:06)
The importance of planning from the end goal backward to reduce daily frustrations.

Operations as a Business Pillar (00:07:33)
Josh compares operations to a three-legged stool, emphasizing its equal importance with sales and vision.

Implementing Operating Systems & Frameworks (00:08:02)
Josh shares his experience implementing operating systems and frameworks like EOS and Scalable.

Entrepreneurial Profiles & The Kolbe Assessment (00:08:56)
Discussion about the Kolbe assessment and how most entrepreneurs are high quick starts, not high follow-through.

Three Actionable Takeaways for Entrepreneurs (00:09:33)
Josh summarizes three steps: set your goal, do a time study/gap analysis, and document SOPs for delegation.

Aaron’s Additional Advice: Start with the Highest Burn (00:11:15)
Aaron advises tackling the most painful or draining tasks first to maximize relief and ROI.

Ops Experts Club Gift & Resources (00:12:27)
Aaron introduces the Ops Experts Club, offering free access and tools like the Gap Analyzer for listeners.

Closing Remarks & Gratitude (00:14:31)
Josh and Aaron wrap up, expressing appreciation and encouraging entrepreneurs to leverage operations for growth.

Links and Mentions:

Tools and Websites
Ops Experts Club on Facebook
Gap Analyzer

Books
Traction by Gino Wickman on Amazon

Assessments
Kolbe Assessment

Transcript:

Josh 00:00:00  Today I'm super excited to introduce you to Aaron Hovivian, the CEO and Project Lead at the Collaborative Team Management, or AKA the Collab Team. So welcome to the podcast, Aaron.

Aaron 00:00:11  Hey Josh, thanks for having me man. So good to be here.

Josh 00:00:13  Aaron, you've got a lot of experience. As we can see in operations, you've helped grow solopreneurs into multifaceted eight figure brands and helping scale people beyond that. Aaron, let's back things up and tell me, like, how did you even get started in operations? Why is that your specialty?

Aaron 00:00:31  Yeah, I you know, so growing up, my dad was an entrepreneur. My dad was entrepreneurial, you know, and I saw him going out there starting his own business. For him, it was construction for him. He, you know, he had been working for some big guys doing construction in Southern California, you know, for his whole career. And at the age of 40, you know, he said, hey, I'm going to go out and do this on my own.

Aaron 00:00:49  He was able to build this empire for himself. You know, of 85 people doing, you know, high rise construction ceilings in LA in Orange County. And I think inspired by his journey, I think is what inspired me. But I noticed me all growing up, you know, from my earliest jobs. I started working in skateboard snowboard shops as a kid, you know, but even there I did a lot of retail just starting out. A lot of kids do, you know. But I noticed about me is that I'm always pulling apart systems. Like, I'm always wondering, how could we tweak that? How could we make that better? Rolling into businesses that don't have training manuals and building train training manuals, you know, looking at their POS system to see how they're dealing with point of sale, like wondering how the customer journey is going to be and just compliment to you, Josh, even just the sequencing of your automations, of sending the invite to this just to be on this podcast, I was like, that guy gets it.

Aaron 00:01:35  Like, let's make the customer journey easy. Like, let's take out of the way the encumbrances or the stumbling blocks. And so I think that's been my journey all the way through. right before I started the Colab team, I was doing project management for a large credit union here in our area in southern Oregon. And I was doing a lot with construction, project management, but also project management within the organization and helping with new platforms, coming online and managing teams and I had my first entrepreneur knock on my door and say, hey, he had been a friend of mine for a lot of years. His name is Keith Yaki. He's got a great brand out there. He did real estate for a lot of years, and now he's leaning into something he calls the married game. But Keith Yaki knocked on my door and he said, hey, what would you think about leaving the credit union and coming out and doing this thing with me? I need somebody that just gets operations. You know, they were doing a big bus tours, fix and flip education brand, and he was like, I, I've got all the knowledge, I've got all the education.

Aaron 00:02:25  I've laid out the whole program. I know it's going to work, but I'm super nervous about the details. What would you think about taking a step with me in this? And so that became my first client for the Colab team, and I left something super stable and kind of like my dad, you know, this, this corporate gig that, you know, had been around for 50 years. They'll be around for 50 more. They loved me being there. I loved them as people. But I just saw that desire in my heart of, I want more than that. I want to be entrepreneurial. I want to get out there and get out onto my own brand, on my own two feet and take things to the next level. And so that's kind of what started me down the journey.

Josh 00:02:54  I love that, I love that, you know, from an early age, you were always kind of like pulling things apart. Trying to figure ...