Business Systems – How and Where to Start

Last week we looked at Why we Need Systems in our business, even in our micro business where there’s only one person doing everything. Today we’re going to look at How and Where to start building those systems.

It starts with you. You’re the boss. Your job is to plan for expansion, and this is the first step (after your business plan). McDonalds systems enable 16 year old kids to run a busy restaurant. Your systems will enable you to work more efficiently, to identify hiccups and roadblocks in your business and to get people to help you when you need it.

So where do you start?

The easiest way to start is to write down every hat you wear within your business – Receptionist, Bookkeeper, Manufacturer, Copywriter, Supplies, Order Fulfilment, etc.

Under each heading then write a list of the tasks that position is responsible for – yes, even when it’s just you doing it all. Note that here you’re writing each task, not each step of the task.

Eg: Receptionist – answers the telephone, makes bookings, filing, taking orders.

Once you have each task, draw a flowchart for that task detailing each step from start to finish. This is where some shortcuts come in – skip the basic tasks. When it’s just you, then you don’t need a manual to answer the phone.

You do need a written down system for anything that you can envision yourself delegating at any time in the future. Usually, this will include tasks such as packing and posting orders, bookkeeping and emails (we’ll cover emails in a future post).

Write down your systems in a way that is so simple and basic that you could pull a teenager in off the street and ask them to follow it. That’s a really good test of a system by the way, if you can hand it to a person who’s never done the task before and they can follow it then it works. If they get hung up on any part of it and begin asking questions then you need to add in more detail.

When you’re satisfied that it’s written in detail and is easily understandable save an electronic copy in a special folder labelled “Systems” on your computer and then print out a copy. File the hard copy somewhere easily accessible – you’ll be using it regularly.

Keep working through each task until you’ve done them all, or at least the one’s with more than five steps.

The hardest part here is the actual doing. Finding the time to work through a task and write down every step, everything you do in the process. One good way to do it is to have someone observing and writing down what you do. Swap with a friend, you observe her and she can observe you.

Business Systems – Bringing Order Out of Chaos

What are Systems and why do you need them?

A system is a written down process for a particular task within your business. When collected together, the systems form the Operations Manual for your business.

Now, I can hear you saying, “Why would I need one? I work for myself/at home/sole trader.” Why? Because having up to date and easy to follow Systems keep work flowing smoothly, prevents overwhelm because you know what you’re doing and where you’re up to. They allow you bring in staff members and train them, they add value to the business when/if you ever decide to sell it and they allow you to hand over tasks to other people – such as family members – so they can help you. Systems save you time and money.

You already have systems for most tasks within your business; you just haven’t vocalised or written them down. Often the systems don’t actually work that well, because they’ve evolved over time, rather than been designed for maximum efficiency and ease of use.

- When you answer the phone, do you have a particular way of answering and a set of words that you use to answer?  That’s a system.

- Do you have a procedure for registering new clients and recording their information? That’s a system.

- Do you have a routine for packing orders, checking them and posting them out? That’s a system.

- Do you have a process for receiving, distributing and answering emails? That’s a system.

Heck, we have systems for our housework, for our kids, for gardening. We just don’t recognise them and label them as such.

How often have you looked at some work for a client and had to figure out where you were up to with it? What had already been done and what still needed to be done? What if you had a written down checklist that began with the new client and followed their work through to completion and was then filed? How much time would you save, how much more work could you take on? How much more profit could you make?

How often has someone offered to come in and help you with some aspect of your business when you were overbooked and stressed beyond belief, and you said no because it was easier to do it yourself than to teach them how to do it? What if you could hand them a folder, walk them through it once, show them where everything is that they need and then leave them to it?

Are you one of those business people who talks of getting a VA one day “but just has to catch up with my emails/bookkeeping/orders first”. Imagine how much easier it would be if you could email your VA a document that tells them exactly how you want the work handled, complete with examples and text templates.

When are you planning to bring order and structure to your business systems?

Coming up in Part 2 – How and Where to start building your business systems.