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Creating Systems in Your Small Business – A Beginners Guide
Creating Systems in Your Small Business
A Beginners Guide
Are you creating intentional systems in your small business? Whether it is a process for simple tasks (like an email newsletter) or a more complicated job (such as automated sales funnels), systems help you streamline your business.
With solid systems in place, you will be more productive, efficient, and effective and have more time to focus on what you do best.
What is a system?
A system is a set of repeatable processes, tools and strategies that help you achieve a goal easier and faster. Simply put, you choose a task and break it down step-by-step.
Quality work requires focus, but we can only intensely concentrate on a task for so long. When you block out distractions and set a goal to accomplish within this timeline, you are more apt to enter a state of 'flow,' where you then do your best work.
Benefits of Creating Systems in Your Small Business
- Makes you more efficient
- Saves time
- Takes less mental energy
- Leads to fewer mistakes
- Eliminates bottlenecks
- Ensures consistency
- Allows you to scale your business – easy-to-implement systems can be delegated so you can spend more time on growth.
- Systems can turn your business into a valuable asset. If you create strategies for every aspect of your business, it will be easier to sell your business when you are ready.
Typical areas of your business to systemize:
Any area of your business can benefit from a system. And they can be as simple or complicated as you like.
Types of Systems:
- Marketing systems – How are you continuously generating new leads?
- Sales systems – How do you follow up and nurture leads?
- Fulfillment systems – How are you fulfilling your orders?
- Administrative systems - How are you handling your bookkeeping, invoicing, HR, etc.?
How to Create a System in Your Small Business
1) Choose your task.
- Where are frequent issues popping up?
- What tasks are the most time-consuming?
- Which jobs fall out of my core competencies?
- Are there tasks you dislike and would eventually want to delegate?
2) Create the system.
Process – Break it into step-by-step micro-steps
Tools – What apps, software, etc., do you need to implement your system?
People - Who will be responsible for which elements? Do you need to outsource any tasks?
Strategies - Which strategies, tips, or techniques will you need?
3) Document the plan.
How will you keep track of the steps? If you have a team involved, how will you communicate with each other? Where will you keep a record of the steps for reference?
4) Implement and audit.
- Is your system effective?
- Is every step doing its job?
- Can you eliminate any steps?
- Are the right people in charge of the right tasks?
5) Evolve and improve.
Focus on the end goal and how you can make the system more effective over time. Where do you want it to go? How will you measure success?
Examples of systems
Email newsletters
- Choose topic
- Create body text
- Craft a compelling subject line
- Determine a call to action
- Schedule using an app such as Mailchimp
Onboarding new clients
- Proposal and contract
- New client questionnaire
- Begin project
- Welcome package
- Client check-in
As a small business owner, you wear a lot of hats in a day. One thing most of us have in common – too many things on the go and not enough time! Creating systems for your small business can help you be more efficient and productive to work smarter rather than harder.
For more tips on how to be more productive check out, Want to do More in Less Time? Try These 10 Productivity Hacks!
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