Putting Systems in Place for Your Small Business

I'm a planner. Even before I was a teacher I wrote daily lists of what I needed to get done. Still do, of course, even more so now because I have more tasks to complete as an entrepreneur.

I recently spoke with a client and soon after listening to them share their concerns I was able to pinpoint what they needed to do to break through in their business - and life if they'd put the same processes I shared in place at home. Very simply, they need systems put in place.

This client is high-achieving, brilliant and skilled at money-making but they were struggling and only experiencing a portion of potential success in each of their business streams because, until we spoke, they didn't plan processes all the way through from start to finish, they didn't document them and obviously they couldn't put those non-existent plans in place and follow through to see if they worked.

One complaint the business owner had was that the employee at one location "didn't know how to do anything." I dissected that belief with the following questions:

• How many hours did you invest training the employee?
• Did you give the employee a written copy of the expectations, duties, requirements and time schedule?

There were even more questions I could ask, but the answers to both of these told me the owner had made assumptions about the employee's basic know-how and didn't have a plan in place for training workers.

If you desire to be successful in life, you must have systems in place to facilitate success. People grow up in households and are trained to thrive in that specific environment. Students have new teachers every year, semester and sometimes quarterly, and each teacher trains them on that teacher's specific expectations. As a professional mentor, I train my mentees on my processes for both of our optimal success. 

When a new employee comes to work for you or a new student comes into your classroom, they have basic understandings of how things will operate but they must be trained to prosper in your specific environment.

McDonald's has what's called McDonald's University to train their employees on their systems and processes. As a customer of McDonald's I know how some things are supposed to be done, but I don't know the inner workings because I'm not required to provide service for them. They have documented systems in place for ease, uniformity, expectation and success. Their system has been implemented, tested and proven and every one of their employees knows what's required for their respective position.

It doesn't matter if your businesses are small and that you have one employee at each location. You still need to have a written plan in place because employees are actually representing YOU, and they have to learn how to do that. Next week I'll share how this same process is effective at home and in relationships.

You have the right to be successful in business. But if you're struggling or not quite thriving yet, schedule a call or book a package. As in the example above, you may be missing that one thing that will put you over the top in sales and productivity and I can identify the perfect strategy for you.