Think your business is too small to benefit from documented business processes? Think again.
As a sole trader or small business owner, it can feel like all the knowledge about how your business runs is stored safely in your head, and can safely stay there.
But when your business processes only exist in your head, routine tasks take longer, delegation becomes harder and delivering a consistent service gets more difficult as you grow.
Documenting your business processes isn't something that needs to wait until your team gets bigger. In fact, putting simple processes and checklists in place now can save time, reduce the mental load and make future growth much easier.
Why are documented processes important for a small business?
When you’re busy doing things the way they’ve always been done, it can be hard to believe that there are other, more effective, ways of doing things.
Here are some of the ways documented processes can make a difference:
1. Documented processes save you time
That filing cabinet in your brain isn't as future-proof as you think it is. Tasks you do infrequently fade from memory. Things that should be simple take twice as long because you're re-learning what needs doing. Documented processes and checklists save 'future you' the time that you’re currently losing in remembering.
2. Documented processes reduce your mental load
Every time you have to remember "What comes next?" it's not just time you're wasting, but energy. Following a documented process/checklist allows you to operate on autopilot for routine tasks, clearing mental space for deep work, creativity, and high-level strategy. The work that really supports future business performance.
3. Documented processes make it easier to delegate and grow
If your processes aren't documented, it's much harder to delegate tasks to a Virtual Assistant, freelancer or employee. You’ll be stuck doing tasks because it’s faster than trying to explain the chaos in your head to someone else. Documenting your processes allows you to share the workload, freeing your time up for the work that only you can do.
4. Documented processes create a more consistent client experience
Whether you're a team of one or a small team, if your processes aren't documented, your clients are all going to be receiving different experiences. Quality of service becomes a game of roulette depending on how busy you are, who does the task and what mood they're in. Documenting client delivery processes ensures auditability, accountability, and a predictable client experience.
Documentation is how you move from solopreneur to business owner.
Documenting and following your business processes can help you to:
Spend less time on tasks and processes.
Have more time to spend on the work that truly grows your business.
Confidently hand tasks over to someone else, without having to explain from scratch how they're done every time.
Deliver a more consistent experience that encourages repeat work and referrals.
How do I start documenting my business processes?
Start small. You don't need to document everything your business does. Choose one or two tasks that take too long, regularly go wrong, or that you'd like someone else to take off your hands.
Here are the three steps that we recommend busy owners take to get started:
Step one: Identify which processes to document first
These aren't necessarily the tasks you do most often. Instead, start with the processes where documenting them will make the biggest difference.
Think about the tasks that:
You'd like to hand over to someone else but haven't because all the knowledge about how to do it is in your head.
You do so infrequently that every time you do them, it’s like starting from scratch.
Are most inconsistent or most often go wrong.
Step two: Document as you go
Next time you're doing one of these tasks, note the steps involved, where things are saved, what 'rules' get followed. Then, next time you come to doing that task, you'll have a checklist to quickly follow.
Step three: Save it somewhere you’ll remember
There’s no point in documenting the process if you’re not going to remember it next time you run the process.
Start a folder called ‘Process Docs’ and save everything there. Then, next time you're working on something you've forgotten how to do, check the folder to see if you've already documented the process.
What if I don't have time to document my processes?
Often, the reason your processes aren't documented is the same reason you need them to be. You're too busy running the business.
But documenting your business processes isn’t just another thing to add to your to-do list. And it needn’t be a big task.
You also don't have to sit down and write pages of process documents yourself. Whether you want to start with one process that's causing you problems or look more broadly at how things are done across your business, we can work with you to understand how things are currently done, identify opportunities to simplify them and turn that knowledge into practical processes and checklists that you, or someone else, can follow.
Ready to get some of those processes out of your head?
If you know there are tasks you'd like to streamline, improve or eventually hand over, but everything about how they're done currently lives in your head, we can help. Find out more about our Operational Support services.
If you'd like to talk through where better processes could make a difference in your business, book a discovery call with Lynne to learn how we could help.
