Surviving your first 5 years in business – Pt 3

Ok, so we’ve gone over setting up good financial systems and also how you can keep networking to bring the clients flowing in. To build a business that can survive past 5 years, you need a way to communicate business processes to your team. So, in saying that, we always:

Start with systems

All business owners (really, ALL OF THEM) start their business with the ways of doing things in their head. Maybe some of them have a manual of some sort that they used to follow, but after a few years of doing it, they have it memorised.

Which is good for the business owner, but not so good when it comes to teaching others. If you have a manual from a franchisor or a mentor/guide – that’s great! But if you don’t, then you need to set up some systems.

First of all, you need to divide your business activities according to their categories. Then you need to write down the various functions that you carry out in each category. Broadly speaking there are three types of activities that all businesses engage in:

Operational activities

Also known as: “The money making side of the business”

Operational activities deal with the processes that you use to generate income for the business. If you are a retail firm, these can include things like:

1. Customer management
2. Shelving guidelines
3. Stock takes
4. Operating the cash register
5. Dealing with refunds

And the list goes on. As a business owner, you would be very familiar with these processes inside your head. Now, you need to write down all the processes on a document. Then you need to elaborate, step by step how each process is done.

Administrative activities

Also known as: “The boring side of the business”

Administrative activities are the grease that keep the business running. They’re not glamourous or terribly fun. But they are important! Administrative activities include things like:

1. Invoicing your customers
2. Hiring/firing staff
3. Paying taxes
4. Paying suppliers
5. Sending invoice reminders

Etc etc. As a business owner you probably have a rough idea of what you need to do here – so same as above, you need to write down these processes on a document and elaborate how each process is done.

Sales/Marketing activities

This can be the fun side of the business, if you’re an extrovert like me!

These are activities focused on obtaining new clients. These can include activities like:

1. Networking
2. Creating content for the business
3. Creating ads
4. Talking to leads
5. Closing leads

For the first 5 years of your business – you will likely be doing these activities yourself. As a small business owner – you ARE the face of your business. Hence clients/customers will want to deal with you personally. This is especially true of service based firms. I go out and close the deals with my accounting clients because they want to know that I will be personally overseeing their accounts.

Also codifying sales activities can be tricky as the strategy tends to change depending on who you’re talking to. This is a part of the business that we can look at systematising later in the future.

Record EVERYTHING

When it comes to operational and administrative activities anyway.

If most of your processes are computer based – I find it very easy to use screen recording software to record yourself doing the actual process. Then you can demonstrate this process to a team member. This team member can then refer to the video that you made when they attempt to do the process themselves.

If you’re not IT-savvy or have processes that aren’t digital, you should start writing down, step by step, what the process entails. Then you can make sure that the process documentation is kept in a place where all of your team members can access it. Having it all written down will help your team members carry out the processes without any issues.

Also, writing systems down makes your business feel more ‘permanent’. This goes a long way in helping you develop the mindset that your business is here to stay for the long run!