Ep 252 - How to Get Organized and Run Your Coaching Business Like a CEO with Tracy Hoth
Is disorganization secretly holding your coaching business back? You might not think a messy Google Drive or scattered notes are a big deal, but lack of structure creates decision fatigue, wasted time, and unnecessary stress that keeps you from growing.
In this episode, I sit down with professional organizer and business coach Tracy Hoth to talk about how getting organized can completely transform your coaching business. Tracy shares her simple five-folder system that helps coaches create structure, find what they need instantly, and free up mental energy to focus on what truly matters. We also dive into the surprising connection between organization and business success—because just like growth, structure requires intention and consistency.
Here’s what we cover in this episode:
The biggest mistakes coaches make when trying to get organized
Tracy’s five-folder system to keep your business streamlined
How clutter (digital or physical) creates decision fatigue and holds you back
Why setting up structure now will save you time, money, and stress as you scale
Simple habits to maintain organization without it feeling overwhelming
If you’re tired of wasting time searching for files, struggling to keep up with tasks, or feeling like your business is a mess behind the scenes, this episode is a must-listen. Tune in now and start organizing your coaching business like a CEO!
Connect with Tracy https://www.instagram.com/tracyhoth/
Listen to her podcast: https://simplysquaredaway.com/podcast/
The Only 5 Digital File Folders You'll Ever Need to Run a Smooth (and Profitable) Coaching Business https://www.simplysquaredaway.com/5files
The File Naming Formula Cheat Sheet https://training.simplysquaredaway.com/FNFC-optin
👉Take this 10-minute quiz to uncover the hidden roadblocks stopping you from gaining paid coaching clients http://www.debbieshadid.com/quiz
👉Ready to get supported in your Coaching Business? Book a call today: http://debbieshadid.com/schedule
👉 Check out my FREE Canva Workshop and learn how to create stunning graphics for your coaching business! https://www.lifecoachbusinessbuildingschool.com/canva-ws
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Transcript
Welcome to today's podcast. I'm super excited to introduce you to my guest and friend, fellow coach, Tracy Hoth. Welcome, Tracy. How are you? Thanks, Debbie. I'm doing so good. I can't wait for our conversation. Well, let me give you a background you guys about Tracy. 17 years, she's been a professional organizer, which blows my mind.
That's a long time taking care of people's stuff. She's also a certified life coach. We actually went to certification at the same place. She's on a mission to empower coaches and online business owners, just like all of us. To reclaim their time, to be more confident in their business, to be more organized, I'm sure.
And to have their businesses run a little bit smoother. She also has a podcast globally ranked Tracy. That's something it's called the organized coach podcast. And she's a creator of the organized coach Academy. And she helps coaches and online business owners become organized CEOs. So welcome.
Yeah.
Thank you. 17 years. What is happening? And I don't go into people's homes any longer, which has been really fun to just completely be online and helping people.
Tracy actually was a guest in our coaching community and taught us this same thing that I want her to talk about today.
Which is one of the systems that she works with coaches on getting organized. And then I would love to talk about the parallel that I see about somebody getting organized and also building their coaching business. So I'll let you in on what I was thinking about that as well. So talk Tracy about coaches who just feel like they've got stuff like all over the place and they can't find anything.
And how do they get that organized?
do think it's common, I think, even if your business is successful, it's possibly common unless you've intentionally made a decision to set up a file structure. And I think it comes up because they see, oh, I'm wasting so much time, I'm looking all over, I can't find this, I need to duplicate it, or because they have someone on their team or a client.
And they're like, I can't remember where I put that. they're just spending time looking for things. And so *the definition of organized is to know what you have and be able to find it when you need it*. I mean, it's good for us to set that up ahead of time. It doesn't need to look a certain way.
It doesn't need to, you know, be color coded and all of that. Now that's fun. So, and it's pretty, and it makes it fun when you open your Google drive and you have color they look good, but that's not necessary. It's knowing what you have and being able to find it when you need it. So I like to start with the file structure.
Do you have a file structure so that when you're on your computer, which is where you're running your business, you can find the things that you need and. Even before you look at what file folders to use, it's just deciding. You need to have one place, the wonderful one. There's so much power in just one.
And it relieves so much decision fatigue in your mind as you're trying to think about, where is this, to decide on one place. Now if you don't have a team, one place could be on your computer. If you have a team, or someone else has to get to things you need to think about, it needs to be somewhere in the cloud.
And Just use what you already have. Use what you're good at. If that's Google Drive, if it's Dropbox, use that, but decide on one place that you are going to store all of your things.
So I work with coaches that are mostly new or new ish,
But I'm always like, Oh my gosh, start from the beginning being organized because I've been in business 25 years, so I mean, I've had systems and I've had lots of assistants who bring their own systems, which by the way, super fun to set up your system and tell them how the system is.
Not think they're going to do it for you and make you organized because of their systems.
Talk through the process of taking, you took all of our clients through, maybe I should bring you back again to work with all of our current clients, but you took us through a process of getting organized and we literally did that like real time.
So you have your one place now. So if it's on your computer or if it's in your Google drive, wherever it is, I like to teach people to make five files. And everything in your business can funnel into these five files. And I like to even picture a funnel at the top, like a flow chart, I guess a flow chart's a better word.
And you either have home or business. First of all, I guess you have those two files first because things on your computer you have for home, some are for business. So funnels into one or the other. When it's business. There's five files that you make to start with. The first one is operations. Some people call it admin, but it's anything behind the scenes that runs your business.
The second one is marketing, and that's anything outward facing that you put out into the world that runs your business. The third one is my content. I have to have the word my before it because I used to have just content, but then I was like, wait, is that someone else's? So my content. And that is anything you make your programs, your collaborations, your.
Worksheets all of that would go in my content and then education and that's anything someone else makes so all the coaches you have all the freebies you've downloaded certifications all of that stuff is in education and then the final file as clients. So anything you use with your clients, your client folders, that would all go in there.
Well, I'm thinking as I look at my own desktop, which doesn't look like that right now, I was thinking, wow, what a peaceful way to start your day is that you open up your computer. In my case, I have two massive computers here, you know, I open it up and I walk up and I don't have a sense of, I'd like to tell myself that these things that I have on here don't look overwhelming yet.
If there was only five folders there. Is that what you're saying, Tracy, they would actually be on your desktop
and you could even have only two business and home and then you click into business and there are your five folders now everyone lives their life and they have things they're currently working on and they're in a rush and they download something and it gets just like in your home you set stuff on the island when you walk in the house and it gets messy but everything has a home.
And you understand the structure of your files. So, when it's clean up time, you can clean up and be ready for guests. In moments, because things have homes to go to. You can clean off your desktop. When you have a free minute, you're waiting for a call, you can slide things into the folders, because now you know what they are, and they make sense in your mind.
Okay, so this has got a second follow up question about organization because I am not somebody who keeps a bunch of tabs open, but, our clients share their screens with us all the time because I want people to move the mouse on their end to learn the tech and stuff and they'll open up their computer and I'm like, Oh my gosh, do you do anything or talk to people about organizing tabs?
Oh, yes.
The
bookmarks
bar. So I kind of think there's three areas of your business that have the biggest return on investment if you spend the time organizing them. One is your file structure. just to go back to that real quick, once you have those five files set up, the first step to organizing is to sort.
So you are going to get Everything all over your computer, your downloads, your, documents, your drives, all your clouds, you're going to sort everything into those five files. Now you have every single thing in one place. Now, here's one caveat. If you have, a sixth file that says old stuff.
And your 14 businesses you had before this, you could shove all that into old stuff and you know where it is, you can find it when you need it, but you don't have time right now to go through all of that, you could leave it in there. So that's an option too. But, then you follow the organizing steps, you've sorted it, now you go back into each individual file, And you can purge.
You can rename files to make them searchable. And then you purge things you no longer use. And you can assign homes to those in subfolders. So that's step three, assign homes. We already kind of assigned them a home in their first file folder. But then if they need a sub folder, you can assign those. And setting limits is the fourth step.
And that's the file folder, the size of your storage, that kind of thing. So these five steps are what I use for every single thing.
So in a physical space, the setting limits would be the container. The container is. A basket or a shelf or a drawer and when it reaches its limit, it's the trigger for you to go back through the organizing steps to sort purge and assign homes. Make sure that's the home you want it in and setting the limit is the container.
And usually people do that first. They go to the store and buy all sorts of cute containers or a new planner or whatever thinking that's going to solve their problem. But don't do any of that until the set limits step. But setting limits on the computer is a little bit different. It is a file folder.
It's an appointment on your calendar, the amount of time, but with files, I mean, we have so much space and then if we run out of space, we just buy more. So it's doesn't completely apply when it comes to file structure, the step of setting limits, but it is a folder that is your limit and a space, an amount of storage.
You could set it on there. And so what is the trigger for you to go back? To maintain your file structure and for me in organized coach academy, once a month, we have a coworking hour. And that's when like just yesterday, that was our time. And I went into my content and I restructured my context.
It was getting messy. And I noticed when I go in there, I can't find quickly what I want. And so I went in there and started restructuring it and going back through each folder and, Evaluating. Okay, where does this make sense now that my business has grown? Like, do I want collaborations? Do I want presentations?
Do I want my programs? That's kind of three of the main things that I have stored in there. So I restructured it. Does that make sense? So the set limits is really the containing part, but we kind of have done that with the file folders.
And then maintain, maintain is the last one. So have a spot in your calendar where you're like clean up at the end of Friday or sometime where you're putting things back to where they go.
I want to, go back again. You mentioned the word co working within your, coaching container that you do where you help people get their coaching businesses organized.
one call a month where we get on, we type into the chat what we're going to create. The result we're going to create, and then we all work and get it done.
Interesting. So while that's going on, since you are the expert, are people asking you questions like, where should I put this?
Or does everybody pretty much know? And this is just like the accountability period where we've got one hour to get there, you know, what done, get their mess cleaned up. Well, this has been a learning process. So at first I
was like, Oh yeah, I'll be here to ask questions. Well, then. People were asking questions and nobody was actually doing the work because they were listening and they were getting distracted and so just recently I said, okay, we're not going to talk on this call.
I have also have a Q& A call and a private community so they can ask questions all they want in those spaces. But this one hour is for us to maintain our organization or The project of getting organized is the big part, and then we move into maintenance. So they may still be in the project of getting organized.
Maybe they'll spend that hour sorting their files you know, some other part of the organizing process, evaluating their time, working on their business dashboard. But if they're in the maintenance part, we usually just pick somewhere to go back to and clean up,
So I'm sure people ask you this all the time, I would be looking for a shortcut app that went through and like got rid of all my duplications and like all that stuff first.
I know just recently my computer was jammed up and I called Apple and we went through and there was like, whatever the deal was, she was like, oh, well, it'll only take a minute. And then it was like 444, 000 something that I had to delete. And she was like, what? I was like, well, I have been in business for myself since, you know, with a computer since 2000.
So she was like, oh my gosh, but is there a way to go through and automatically like get yourself prepped for your process?
I think that we all want the shortcut. We were right there and, in this training, I mean, you are learning a skill. So I think it's important. Work on that structure to understand it in your mind, to practice running things through the filter, which file does it go to, and then if there's shortcuts, yes, take all the shortcuts you can and with email that's an place where there's shortcuts or with organizing your photos.
Like you can get software that de duplicates your photos or something like that. But I think that. We have to maybe move past, I'm going to do this in five minutes and have a shortcut to I am going to learn and train my brain to think in an organized way so that it lasts forever.
Wow. Okay. This is what I was thinking about when I thought about business and organizing.
I was thinking when clients come to me, they've tried all kinds of other things. Like they haven't gotten anywhere, just like your people went to the container store, they went to Pinterest, they saw something, they saw somebody on Instagram doing something, they bought a little, you know, something online to learn it, or they watched a YouTube, and they're always looking for the one thing, just like I asked you about a shortcut, which is interesting that I'm saying that.
And that's the same parallel that I see in business is people are always like, what's the one thing I can do? And they're trying to figure out the shortcut. And yet, just like you said, you have to train them to think in an organized way to become an organized person forever. And I'm like, yeah, there's really no skipping the steps.
It's kind of what you're saying, right? Right.
what you said, they go looking, we have distractions all around us. There's 1400 softwares that different people are using. And we happen to stumble upon some YouTube video of someone using some new product and we're like, that's the answer. Yeah. You can go to that, but before you do and start some new software.
Get your stuff organized, even if it's just on your computer, then you know what you have, and maybe that's where the set limits comes in, you know what you have, and then you can move to something new and try a new program that someone else uses and says works great but first get organized So you understand what you have, and then you can look to see all the shiny, fun, new softwares that are out there.
Oh my gosh. I swear. We must have the same. conversations every day because they're looking for a shortcut. What's the fastest way to do this? You're like, I mean, let's be honest.
There's not a real fast way to clean up, you know, 20, 000 files on your computer. We got to do this. Like. Yeah. Get it done. Same thing I say to people. It's like, look, you're either in this thing to win it long term or you're not right. Same thing as you like, This isn't get organized for like your new year's resolution to get organized and be done with it.
This is to get organized and always be organized and maintain it. Yeah.
Well, and that's interesting that what you said made me think of when you work with someone. You can show them little shortcuts to help them. Maybe it's how to move a file from your desktop into the drive. Like that sort of shortcut is super helpful.
Seeing that, seeing how to save a URL to your bookmarks bar. How to set up, things on your computer. especially if you're not techie, but even when you're techie, I just learned something from someone and I was like, what? I did not know that that's going to save me so much time.
So I think it's fun to work with someone because you can see and share screens and they can catch you doing something that they have a shortcut for. So that part of it is really helpful, I think.
Okay. We'll go on about the bookmark bars. And also you mentioned, um, ROI. I want to talk about that too.
Yeah. The bookmarks bar is one the fastest places that you can save time is by having your bar. Or favorites, like some people call it the favorites, but having it set up in a clean way with the things that you use all the time. So that would be, you know, I have my drive symbol up there, but then deleting all the words after it, so I just have the favicon or the icon.
And I have all the icons on the left. So they're all perfect. So I have like my calendar and my drive and my website back end to log into my podcast, Canva, Voxer, Kajabi, like I have all those symbols. I can get to them instantly in one click. Then I like to have my dashboards. So my business dashboard is where I store all my links and all the things that I need and have in one place.
And then I also have my idea dashboard, A dashboard is a Google. Sheet. That I have set up. Yeah, that holds everything that I need. Super simple. It's a container that I use, but it's, I can get to it in one click. So I have the dashboards and then I have folders after that.
So a folder, if I join a program, this is something I love teaching in people's programs, how to be organized. So they have more success when a student comes into your program, set up a folder. Call it Debbie and then have the login of the portal have the worksheet that you're working on that She gives you have those links It's saved in the folder and you just hover over the folder and you open the link.
So you immediately can get to it. I have one folder for my clients and I can hover over it. I have it by initial so it's kept kind of confidential and then I can open their notes right before our call and it's just like all of those things are at your fingertips in one click. It saves you. So much time in your mind, so much energy from having to think like, Oh my gosh, where is that?
Oh, I got to go over here. Oh, nope. It's not over there. It's over here or like you had brought up It saves having all those tabs open Because you can get to it and you understand where they're saved and you can find them You don't have to leave them all open
Well, I think I need to have you come into my, program because one of the things I think this is what you're talking about, depending on the coach, our clients personality, they have trouble finding different things. So within our program, so like somebody might say. I can never find the login for the call or the link for the call. It's the same link every week, which look, I have no judgment against anyone. We all have our things, including me. Like there's some things I can't get my head wrapped around or get straight or can't get organized about.
So no judgment on, whoever you know, has that particular thing. And it's like, well, it's in the Facebook group and a featured post pinned to the top. we did prior to that Tracy, just kind of on that same topic, we used ad event for a while. And that was confusing to some people. And then we use Google, we had a Google calendar and then people were like, but I'm using, an Apple calendar and I don't know how to get it.
And then it was like, okay. If this is the link and we never change our coaching time, just, we're going to email it to you in the welcome email. And then it was like, I don't know where the welcome email.
Totally. And I think part of it is whenever you join, even me. When I join a new program, it's confusing.
Even if they're so organized and it's so laid out well, it's still, you're doing something new and it's new. You have to remember how to do it. One of the things I like to do is open a Google doc for any program and put at the top. I love Google Docs and how the outline features on the left side. It's my favorite thing.
But now I can save this Google Doc in the folder called Debbie or whatever your name or your program initials might be. And then save the Google Doc and at the top it should have portal login, zoom link. calendar date, you know, whatever else information you want to put there, but save it. So when I get on a call with a client, now I have my zoom links in my calendar, but I could also, I tell them open our shared Google doc and the zoom link is at the very top.
So in two clicks, you can be on the call. so that's one of the. solutions, I guess, is to teach everyone, get a Google Doc, and then in that Google Doc, I take notes. So if we're on a call, and I want to take a note, I can highlight my action steps in there, and keep that all organized, and it's all, remember the wonderful one, it's all in one place, and it's pinned to your bookmarks bar, so you can find it easily.
And so that just gives you so much calm, knowing. Okay. I know where it is and I can find it.
Okay. We're doing that. Everybody listening. We're doing that. We're getting a one sheet and we're getting, yeah, that's awesome, Tracy. it always sounds logical when you explain it, but that's why we have to have a coach help us.
Yeah, and depending on how everyone's brain thinks too, I mean, it takes a while to get that. I mean, they've never done it before. So now all of a sudden next week, they're going to forget that they set up that Google doc. So it's just that repetitive, like everyone have your Google doc open, you know, or whatever they use practice opening it and repeating that in your own head.
That's why I say, even for your file structure. Once you get everything sorted into those files, once you have sub folders, print your, outline out and hang it behind your monitor for a while so that you remember like, Oh no, this is my file structure. And then I've used the same file structure.
I just. Cleaned up my email and put the same files on the left side. So all you see when they're all closed is just the same files. So my operations, marketing, my content, education, and clients. And then I have a personal one at the bottom. So I have those folders, right? And it's so nice when it's clean in there, but I mean, I open them and there's lots of stuff in there.
but I know I just am training my brain over and over. That's the structure I use.
So what is the impact on a coach's business once they get organized?
I think a lot of it has to do with how they feel. And now they can focus on their clients. Now they can focus on creating content.
Now they can focus on their program that they've been wanting to create, and they actually can find things when they need them and remember where things are. So it frees up their time. And their energy. And then also, I think it's just a boost to confidence. and I've talked to people that make lots of money.
And they're like, I spend so much time searching for things for my team. And I can't find it, and they're emailing me, and I'm just stressing out back here thinking, Oh my gosh, do I need to remake that whole thing? Every once in a while, that happens with all of us, right? Where we can't find something, but for the most part, like 80 percent of the time, if you're organized, you'll be able to find things.
So I think it's the time, the energy, and their confidence. They feel confident that they are running a business and that they have the foundation of it set up.
Yeah, it's interesting, isn't it? when we became coaches, it was like, we're a coach. Okay, let's go. And then now it's like, you know, all of the teaching that I tell people, I have to teach you how to be in business.
It's like, what do you mean you have to teach me how to be in business? Same thing as you like, I have to teach you how to do some things that you've never done before. You know, and then again, how to maintain that skill of the thing that I just taught you, they're just not things that you ever thought of needing to do or learn before when you became a coach.
Right,
exactly. And the one thing I love about the skill of organization and systems is that then it just overflows. And I remember someone in my program, she was like, Tracy, this weekend, I organized my linen closet. Like she's thinking, this is like overflowing into my whole life. Now I'm more organized in my home and I have some systems set up in my home.
And so it's a skill that's worth investing in.
Yeah. For sure. And you're right about confidence. Cause that's the same outcome I feel like people have when they work with me is like, once you know how to do something, it just frees up so much like nonsense that goes on in your head and wasted time and you know, the chatter of like, you're so disorganized kind of thing that's going on, maybe not consciously, but unconsciously it just frees out.
It just breaks all that noise basically. So you can get something else done. It's so good.
when I work with someone, if we need to customize something, or if it doesn't work for how their brain works, or they have an area where they've used something else or done it a different way, and that works, we can customize it.
But it's so nice to have someone just say, Do it like this and then train your brain to think like that. And you don't have to try to figure all this stuff out. So I think about that for you too. You're like, just do it like this, get this stuff set up and then we'll go from there.
Yeah, one last thing I was thinking about that probably is a challenge again is somebody comes to work with you and yet they still like have their toe in the water over there at the container store and that's a poor example but like they're like yeah but but but so it's like they're with you and they can't I mean that happens to me sometimes I always say like please you paid money please stay right here with me and don't listen to anybody else right now, because there's many ways to get to the end goal, right? Same thing with yours, but you'll never get there. If you're still like one ear trying to listen to. What are the other people say about organization? Because then all they end up with, and you can almost spot those people probably too.
Well, and I think it's not even we're trying to listen and be out there. It's that it's coming in at us so hard and the fact that they found you to begin with means they've been looking at that and the algorithms online are now shoving all this information in front of them and they're like, Ooh, like just distracted.
So yes, it is that the willpower to stay focused and shut out all the rest of it. It's worth it, but it does take focus does take saying no a lot. Commitment.
Right. Yeah.
Commitment. That's maybe the word I was looking for.
Wow. I never thought about it, but you're right.
People, you know, in coaching will say something about like, Oh my God, there's so many course people. I'm like, no, there's only so many course people because you looked at courses now they're going to show you every course person. There's not that many, there's millions of people in the world.
So there's not that many. Same way would be, yeah, with organization stuff. So,
well, Tracy,
what have we not covered that you would love for us to know as takeaways to make our life easier? And then we want to talk about how people can work with you too.
I would just say, start with one thing.
Don't think you got to organize all of it right now. Just start with one. Start with the file structure and you can go to simply squared away. com forward slash organize. Five files. And that's the workshop where I talk about these five files. So you can go watch that workshop, get your five files set up first step and celebrate you have your five files set up, and then you use the organizing steps and start sorting.
Get everything in there. Don't start making decisions. Just sort into those files and then go back to each file and just work on one file at a time to clean it up and to purge through it and set up some subfolders if needed.
you guys, if you want to have, you know, a really impactful coaching business and you're just starting and you have a vision for a really big business.
I can tell you from firsthand experience, we've hired an integrator and I have. You know, four other people that's working with me. And if you don't have that stuff from the beginning organized, I can speak from firsthand experience over my last year there's systems as you grow that need to be added in place that if you have the foundation, right, like even the naming your files.
Correctly so that all the people that work for you have the same naming, convention. Yes. Thank you. Even those things, I was like, I'm going to organize. Then it's like you go and you realize, wait, she's naming them this way. And she's naming this. It's interesting.
This small subtleties, as a CEO, you spend a lot of time Trying to get yourself all those things in place so you can go to the next level.
Yes. And that's what everyone says that's established in their business. They're like, I wish I would have done it earlier.
That's why when someone comes and they're just starting, they're like, am I too early? I'm like, no, you are so glad that you're doing it now. You'll be so glad. Yeah. And you can also get that file naming formula cheat sheet on my website at simply squared away.
com.
Thank you so much for being here. You guys. Those were nuggets. I am inspired to go take action right now. I won't upset the process that we have going on right now because we're in the middle of doing this, but wow, it even got me thinking about all the labels that I have on my, with all the various labels that really Five labels would be enough, You don't actually need a label for every single five could potentially be enough, and even just from a. Like a visual point of view, that would be even more, calming when I looked in my inbox, instead of all of the colors and all the little labels. So
yes, simplify much as possible.
Well, thank you so much for being here. You guys make sure you check her out, go to our website, follow her on Instagram. She's, you know, over there at Tracy how, if you can find her and we'll of course leave all the links. I would definitely take advantage of the freebie that she's got on our website.
I noticed it's actually a whole program that's available that you are giving everybody. So go over there and opt into that too. So
yeah, simply squared away. com forward slash five files.
All right, Tracy,
thank you so much.
Thanks for having me. You're welcome. Make sure you connect with Tracy. and I agree, get your business organized from day one. And look, it takes money to get a business started. I know you're thinking that you're going to wait until you get a client to do this kind of thing. It's like, well, once I have my first paying client, Tracy, I'm going to hire you.
Or, you know, that's the same thing I hear. And I'm like, look, There's an investment to starting a business if you are really in it and you're not just playing, this is one of those investments that you need to make to really get your business foundation. And those are the foundational steps we work on to, but get your business foundation set up, right.
So that you're organized from day one. All right. Thank you, Tracy. You guys have a beautiful day and we'll talk to you soon.