How To Build A Business System That Will Improve Your Productivity
Having a good business system is one of the foundations of every great business establishments that you hear about today. Many entrepreneurs and startup founders often face a common problem of too much to do; too little time. You have to understand that when you don’t get things done, you definitely cannot grow your business. As an entrepreneur or startup founder, you need to work smart, not just hard.
Also read: How to scale your startup in Nigeria
I have heard people say that it is better to be your own boss. Well, there is no problem with being your own boss but what comes with is no stroll in the park. You shouldn’t see entrepreneurship as your ticket to freedom, it’s quite the opposite. Your business becomes the master and you do its bidding 24/7 with all commitment and zeal. If you fail in this, then your business has no future at all, no matter what people tell you.
If you find yourself always working for the business instead of the business working for you, then you desperately need a system.
What Is A System, And Why Is It Important To You And Your Business?
A system divides your business processes into bits and sets verifiable checkpoints with expected outcomes for every task. A comprehensive business system is far more than a simple how-to document. Simply put, it is more like an organic sharing and collaboration of ideas and validations. You need to understand that these validations and ideas should be constantly updated by every member of the team. The reason for such action is to identify the minimal number of steps necessary to maximize the return on investment.
Let us put the importance of having a business system in perspective. Imagine you are the owner of a brand new restaurant or fast food joint. You are known for cooking the best meal in town, but you are the only one that is working in your restaurant. To grow your business, you are going to need more people to help you run it. These people do not have the talent to cook like you, so you will have to build a business system to enable your employees to run your business for you.
Without a smart business system in place, your business will never grow to that level that you have in your mind.
Steps To Building A Business System That Works
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Don’t be the one to do everything
For most business owners and startup entrepreneurs, the business is like a baby to them. They want to be the one having to do virtually everything, but such people often forget that this is a common growth inhibitor. To make your business successful, you would need to let go of control over every business detail. You start making your employees accountable for doing their jobs.
Also see: How you can solve the Nigerian startup growth problem
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Incorporate an automated process whenever possible
If you can be able to implement a simple system for your most essential business processes such as cleaning, ordering, etc, what stops you from stepping away with the knowledge that most of these systems will go according to plan. Nothing stops you from confidently delegating repetitive tasks to employees, thereby creating more time for yourself to work on other areas of the business that generate additional cash flow.
If there is any business process that you cannot fully automate should be batched, for instance, email campaigns, social media campaigns, etc.
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Create an effective step-by-step manual
Every great business system should have a good process that has training materials which may be how-to templates, worksheets, sample orders, bills, etc. Make sure that every information needed to carry out the task at hand is readily available and can be accessed by all. You can break every task into steps and then check them off when complete. Well, it might sound a little intimidating but just a single shared spreadsheet online will get the job done. It will also allow you to delegate tasks going forward.
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Employ people that are trustworthy
To build a good business system, you will need the services of those that you can trust with the life of your business. When you have people that you trust as your employees, it will be very easy to adopt the line-of-sight decision making. It is imperative that you understand that no business system, no matter how great can cover for every possible scenario. When you have this in mind, you will be in a better frame of mind to trust your team to solve most problems they will encounter.
When you run out of ingredients in your restaurant, allow your team to decide the means to solve the problem. In real life though, most problems will not be as simple as running short of cooking ingredients, but the message lies in hiring capable and effective individuals for your startup.
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Adopt a two-way training process in your business
To make sure that your team do things your way as well as think the way you do, the importance of quality training cannot be overemphasized. Endure that they all have a good understanding of every aspect of their job. Create an enabling environment that allows members of your team to propose changes, reject inefficiencies, build successful processes, and reduce redundancies.
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Track the efficiency of each business system
Every successful business system has a simple feedback loop built into it. The feedback loop allows you to know when things are going the way they ought to, and when they are on the reverse. Your feedback review can be as simple as a weekly or monthly meeting with your team or a complex financial modeling based performance data.
With business growth, these feedback loops allow your business system to become more focused and effective.
Rea: How to build an effective business team
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Remember that no business system is full-proof
You should always leave room for error and expect it all the same. Have it at the back of your mind that things don’t always go according to plan. You have to build your system in such a way that it can accommodate any form of error. Unexpected events are always a great opportunity to trust in yourself and your team to figure it out. After any setback, figure out the course and ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Conclusion
The good about having a business system is that it gives you time as the business owner to do what you know how to do best. Surround yourself with great people as team members and ensure you provide them with the necessary tools to get the job done. One important thing you need to note is never to be in their way of doing their job unless you are certain their action or inaction will be on the negative.
