Work On Your Business Not In Your Business...
This week's newsletter is about business systems and why they are important. I was first introduced to business systems when I read ‘E-myth Revisited by Michael E Gerber’
Happy Monday Everyone!
This week's newsletter is about business systems and why they are important. I was first introduced to business systems when I read ‘E-myth Revisited by Michael E Gerber’ (a must-read). The E-myth covered why most small businesses don’t work. When starting a business you wear many hats, Gerber mentioned that you are three people in one, an entrepreneur, a technician, and a manager. Having a vision for the business is entrepreneurial work, doing the hands-on work is technical work, and managerial work is the bridge between the two. Creating and maintaining a successful business requires all of those three roles. The problem most small businesses face is that they focus mostly on being the technician and neglect the other two components. Using systems helps you to manage and balance everything.
A system is a method of solving repeated business issues in a strategic and effortless way. If you encounter a problem such as invoicing; plan a process to combat this problem, execute it and document it, so when the problem arises in the future, there’s a process to solve it. Document the solution and you can put all your systems together into an operations book. This will save you time, help you be more productive, and grow your business. Systems help your business operate seamlessly. It allows you to step back from your business because your presence is not required. With systems, your team is able to follow the laid-out process to achieve the same results you would.
When I started my agency, I got a notebook and wrote “Building A Successful Agency”. This is my operations manual. All my operations and how I build my business are being documented. Documentation is an affirmation of order, it provides structure and a written account of “how to get the job done” in the most efficient and effective way. It also helps me and others understand the business, what we do, how we do it, and why we do it. Ultimately, if we were to sell the agency or start a franchise, through the manual alone, anyone will be able to understand the operations of the business and that’s a sign that the business can operate without me. A quote I live by is “work on your business, not in your business”. Work on your business, avoid becoming an employee in your business, and automate most tasks. Free yourself time to think and strategise. Countless sleepless nights are not necessary in order to succeed.
Your business must be systems dependent not people dependent. Ask yourself how can you create a business that produces results based on its systems rather than people. You don’t want customers to experience inconsistency in your business. One day you do something, the next day you don’t, or you do one order in a particular way and don’t do the next order the same way. It shows the customer you’re not orderly and makes their experience unpredictable. Create email templates, customer concern responses, write clear briefs and instruction manuals for each task. You can create a drive and create folders for each area of your business. This will help you systemise your business.
I hope this newsletter has helped you to understand systems and to start thinking in a systematic way. Make sure you work on your business rather than in it. Think of your business as something separate from yourself, as a world of its own. Every time you encounter a problem and create a solution for it make sure you write it down, have all your systems in one place. Build your business as if you are going to hand it over to someone else one day, so make sure every step of building your business is documented.
I am currently working on something exciting to help people looking to start or grow their business, so keep your eyes out, and if this is something you will be interested in please reach out and let me know.
Have a great week everyone!