Ever feel like you’re hustling away in your business? Like you need to be everywhere at once? Let me tell you…you’re not alone.
Here’s why this is such a common problem I help my clients to solve
When we’re just laying the groundwork of our business by building our online presence, creating our visual brand or serving our first clients, we can easily make time for everything we do.
But then things start to pick up, our business grows and we need to scale our efforts. There’s one thing after another with no end in sight. In order to keep up, we have to put in more hours and energy. We’re spending days after days with our face buried into our laptops instead of living our best life.
The problem is that we can’t grow our businesses if we haven’t first set up the fundamentals.
And many entrepreneurs get hung up on systems. Because systems are not so sexy for most entrepreneurs, but they are for me. But let me tell you, systems are here to help you in managing everything as a one-woman business and subsequently delegate processes over to new members of your team – and they are the only way to scale your business sustainably.
How to get started with systems
STEP 1: Create Processes For Your Recurring Tasks
Creating processes or SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) for every recurring task in your business will help you to keep your biz at the top of its game.
This might seem to be a bit overwhelming at first, but don’t worry about being perfect or getting everything just right. Start with the tasks that are performed daily or weekly or tasks you want to delegate.
To begin with, write down each step as you perform the task. Be sure to include which team member is carrying out each step and what tools (software or technology) are used in the process.
By the end, you want to have created a step-by-step process for getting that task done so that the next time you come to do that task you know every step you need to take.
PRO TIP: Choose the best format for documenting the task. This could be any or a combination of a written step-by-step guide, screenshots or a video walkthrough.
STEP 2: SET UP PROCESSES IN YOUR PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOL
Finally say Goodbye to managing your business out of your email inbox!
When you are running an online business a project management tool like Teamwork, Asana, or Basecamp is the heart of your virtual office. This is where all your To Do’s are stored in ONE PLACE and easily allow you to keep track of everything.
You can create a step-by-step checklist for each process in the project management tool of your choice. Assign the team member responsible for each step and the date every single task has to be completed.
PRO TIP: Create a template of recurring tasks that you can copy each time the task is assigned. This way you don’t waste time setting up the same task from scratch each time it recurs.
STEP 3: BRING ON A TEAM MEMBER & START DELEGATING
Tired of being the bottleneck in your business because you do all the things? It’s time to bring on team members (whether they’re contractors or full-time employees) and let others run the show leaving you time to do what you love doing (whether that be creating content, managing your dream clients or speaking on a podcast.)
Start with administrative tasks that you’re not that great at, that consume most of your time and that don’t directly generate revenue.
Any control freaks out there? Thanks to the system you just created there is little room for error. Once all your repeatable tasks that your team members perform are mapped out in detailed SOPs, you can start assigning them in your preferred Project Management Tool, add a start and end date to it and review the progress.
PRO TIP: We all have our own zone of genius. When you bring on new team members you want to find the right person that not only has the know-how but also compliments your strengths and weaknesses. Use a personality test like KOLBE or any other strength finder to assess a person’s fit for the role.
Your systems are living documents
It’s important to keep your systems up-to-date. Whether it be a new link to a document you’re referring to, a changing order of steps or the use of a new tool, if a step of a task in your system changes, make sure to update it.
PRO TIP: Create a system for updating your processes 😉
