Let’s talk business processes/systems! This is one step that I find many business owners tend to ignore for far too long.
Systems are simply how you approach getting things done in your business. A system includes a mix of people, processes, and tools to get the things you do in your business done. Some examples of systems and processes in your business includes:
- How you work with clients
- How clients pay you
- How you publish content like social media or blog posts
- How you deal with your inbox
- How you plan your day
You might be saying to yourself, “I get these done each day.” BUT are you approaching these tasks differently each time or haphazardly at best? If yes, your systems and processes then aren’t structured or intentional.
Establishing systems and processes for your business is approaching your core business tasks in an intentional, structured, and more organized way.
Established systems and processes allow you to approach everyday tasks in your business with more ease, greater efficiency, and consistency. This frees up time and brain power for more creative and high-impact tasks plus delivers a better overall customer service experience for your clients.
Could you imagine that every time you went to the grocery store or to pick up your kid, you mapped a new route, or you just made random stops on the way, or you decide on the way there not to go at all even though you took all that effort to leave the house?
That’s basically what you are doing by resisting establishing set processes and systems for your core business tasks.
When you establish systems you:
Build Consistency: Having systems and documented processes in place allows you to maintain consistency within your business. While we are often quick to think, I do this each week I can remember what to do, the reality is that we often can and will miss a step. Developing checklists and documenting your processes makes sure you don’t forget that call to action, that thank you email or that one-month follow-up.
Accelerate Workflow: Documenting your processes and building systems around those processes allows you to find areas to automate, outsource, simplify, or eliminate. And again while we think we can remember it all, having it documented is much faster to reference than trying to remember the steps or having to backtrack to do missed steps. This can be especially true for activities you only do only once in a while.
Create A Foundation For Growth: Speaking of outsourcing, documenting how you do parts of your business is a wonderful way to be prepared to outsource some of those steps. Training someone is going to be 12,000 times easier* if you have already documented what your process is for that task. It also makes sure even when you hand that task off, it’s still done to your specifications (circling back to consistency). *not an actual fact 😃 , but that’s what it will feel like.
How To Get Started
Next time you write a blog post, start work with a client, do your books, or whatever other fundamental action you take in your business pay attention and document your steps.
Open a Google document (or your word processor of choice) and jot down the steps you take to do that task. Boom! You just documented your process!
Now after you know the steps you take to perform that tasks you need to figure out how to organize these notes, how to make following these steps part of your routine, or figure out if parts of your process could be automated or even possibly outsourced. But by documenting you have taken the first step in establishing your way of doing business.
Focus on documenting your steps and you will be amazed at what clarity and control just that step can bring to your business.
And don’t worry about it being perfect. Your systems and processes will continue to evolve and grow as your business evolves and grows. You should be refining and improving your processes, so the sooner you get started, the sooner you will improve them!
Want an example of this? In this blog post I give you my step by step process for creating blog posts (admittedly this process has changed some, but it gives you a good idea of how you might structure similar processes in your business).
Not sure where to start when it comes to building processes for your business? It’s simpler than you think. Join me for my FREE masterclass, where I’m giving you a straight-forward framework designed to help you get your business operations organized in a structured and intentional way! 👇
How To Keep It Organized
Here’s the deal, you can’t run a business all in your head. You need a way to keep all the moving pieces of your business organized. And the way to do that is a project management tool.
If you have been following me for a while then you know my answer for keeping all the things organized is TRELLO. Trello is what I use to organize all my workflows, it’s amazing. Learn more about how I utilize Trello 👇
Want to take Trello a step further in organizing your business? Join me for MANAGE YOUR BUSINESS WITH TRELLO BUNDLE. Learn my ultimate system for using Trello to plan my year and keep my business on track.
