15 processes that business owners should systematize

15 processes that business owners should be able to shift away

 Based on my experience, a surprising number of small business owners are tied down to their businesses, can't go on vacation, or have trouble getting time off if the kids are sick. 

The feeling of being "tied down" often stems from a lack of systematization in their businesses.  A system enables you to hand the task over to another person while having metrics/checks in place so you are assured it happened correctly.

15 tasks business owners should have systems around and should be able to step away from:

1. Fulfilling orders
2. Ordering materials

3. Keeping inventory
4. Responding to pricing requests
5. Collecting on past due invoices
6. Answering the main business telephone line
7. Researching competitors
8. Book keeping
9. Composing Blog Articles
10. Writing press releases
11. Cleaning the office
12. Writing the first draft of employee manuals
13. Doing customer surveys
14. Scouring HARO lists and other sources free press for opportunities
15. Keeping an eye on Twitter and Facebook throughout the day

Recognize that many of these tasks are simply tasks in the middle larger process of a customer ordering and a customer receiving the product.  If the owner is responsible for a time sensitive piece of the operation between the customer ordering and the product being delivered to the customer, the owner will always be tied to the business. 

Good Systems are set-up by people who understand the ins and outs of actually doing the task

When starting a business, it is critical to do many or all of these tasks at some point so you know what an appropriate system looks like.

Once you establish a pattern of handling these business operations, you should be able to write down what must happen in order for that task to be achieved.  At that point, the owner needs to be aware of their time and hand the responsibility off at least some of the time.  The owners time should then be focused on what it will take to move the business forward.

Need help designing a system?

Start with this question:  What happens 90% of the time for this task to be completed?
Write down, step-by-step what has to happen in the most standard scenarios.
Use decision trees if that would help organize your thoughts.
Hand the list to someone else and see if it make sense to them and adjust accordingly
For creating manuals for steps on a computer, I recommend using Jing to capture your screen and computer microphone.




Hopefully, if you still have these tasks on your plate, the post will start you thinking about what it would take to be able to hand them off to someone else without your business going downhill, even for a short time (vacation anyone?).

Did I miss a task you think is important to recognize?  Please let me know in  the comments below.

If you're struggling with how to set up systems for any of  these tasks, I can help.  Send me an email and let's talk!

 *Image courtesy of vichie81 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Welcome to TheTimeItTakes.Me!

When was the last time that you looked (really looked) at how you used your time, either in your job or maybe just around the house? 

For me , I try to take a hard look at this very unfun subject pretty often.  

I'm not sure about you, but I find it incredibly easy to attach deadlines that really are just there because I falsely put value on work for works sake.  The urgency is sometimes totally legitimate.  For example, yesterday, if my assistant is out, someone needs to answer customer emails. 

The important thing is that I realize answering customer emails is not where I really add value.  

I add much more value to my company (and I have a lot fewer urgent tasks) when I ask other people to help.

When I started my first business, I actually wasn't too savy about how to do successfully get tasks off my plate. What I did was take a very scientific and analytical approach to solving that problem.   

The result is that I developed a system for looking at small business processes that allows me to identify steps that can be systematized and automated to free up your time as the owner. 

In this blog, I talk a lot about systems and how to systematize and simplify processes, but I also try to bring you information that I personally have found helpful that will help you run your life as smoothly as possible.  

Please reach out and connect with me if you want help, or to be featured as a case study. 

Cheers to your happiness!

Katie

Why Jing is great for small businesses? Let me count the ways!

Every once in a while, we all come across products that are fantastic.   They save us time, energy, frustration, etc.  When I come across one of these little wonders, I turn into an evangalist for the idea, product, whatever.

For me Jing is one of these products that makes me go all evangelical.

What is Jing? It's a free program that lets you take screen shots of portions of your computer screen and record short videos.  Once you take the screen shots, you can overlay them with text, boxes, arrows, etc.  I use it in my business selling Slip-On Dancers all the time.

4 great uses for Jing in a small business:

#1 Making a video manual

One of the main uses for me is in making a manual for my employees on how to do various tasks within our computer systems.    I can't tell you how much easier it is to explain it once, record it, and then put it in our training manual.

#2 Giving feedback on artwork

Another use is for reviewing creatives for artwork, it is so much quicker and easier to use than opening up Photoshop just to add comments about what you like or dislike about the new version of the ad, website, or photo you are reviewing.

For example, here's how I told my web designer that I like the positioning of the coupon bar:

#3 Creating explanation videos for customers