Systems
What are they for your business? What does that really mean anyway?
A system is any repeatable process that could be done by someone else to make the set of tasks as efficient as possible (if set up right).
Systems include things like:
- How you get new customers
- How you handle customer complaints
- How you handle inventory
- How you handle book keeping
- How you bring on new team members
Basically anything required to operate your business can be put into a system.
A system is a repeatable process. They work best with a check list and description of how to do the job.
Why take the time? I’m a small business owner doing it all.
If you want to grow your business you need to be able to train your new help.
If you want a consistent customer experience, you need the processes in place so your new team member knows what to do. You can also use those procedures to evaluate that new team member’s job performance.
It allows you to fix what’s broken
Let’s say you have a part of your business that you HATE doing. Or maybe you don’t hate, but you know you don’t do a good job. By outlining the procedure, you can more easily identify how to fix it.
An example is book keeping. Most people don’t like to do it. They will put it off for months if they can. Eventually you’ll sit down for a weekend and plow through everything about a week before tax time.
By having a system on how you handle things on a day to day or week to week basis, you can break the tasks down into more manageable chunks of activity. It will also let you know now many hours it should take an average book keeper. Then you can go out and find someone with that budget in mind or train someone in house to do it the way you want it on a repeatable schedule so you don’t have to spend a lot of time double checking all of their work.
Great, how do I get my systems created?
The best first step is to create a prioritized list of what systems to create. Here is a great way to make that list.
- List out 10 things you hate doing, are not good at doing or that someone else could do in your business.
- Rank those items from 1 to 10 by what takes you the longest to complete. The item that takes the longest should receive a 10 and the item that takes the shortest amount of time should get a 1.
- Rank the items again by how they affect the customer’s experience. The thing that affects the experience the most should get a 10 and the item that affects it the least should get a 1.
- Add up the scores for each item. The one with the highest number should be your first priority.
Need help developing systems?
For now contact me and lets talk. I’m coming out with a program real soon so stay tuned. But if you want to get started now, let me know. Your initial consult is complementary.
