When you’re first starting out in business, it’s understandable that you’re doing many (if not most) things for the first time. However, once you’re at it for a while, doing repetitive tasks without a system can become highly detrimental to your business growth and success.
In order to combat this challenge, it’s vital that you create checklists and standard operating procedures (SOP’s) that you can hand off to others to help you. The problem for many entrepreneurs is that they don’t want to slow down long enough to create the documents. Yes, it can feel painfully mundane and boring to do this, but the long-term benefit well outweighs the upfront cost of time and energy you put into creating these documents.
If you are ready to do this vital work, consider the following five simple ways to make it happen in your business.
1 – Document while you work
The most effective way to create your checklists and SOP’s is to do it while you’re working on projects. For instance, if you have a podcast, document every step that you take in your process of recording, uploading, scheduling, and promoting it. Do this simultaneously with your next episode creation. Document the steps you take as you go in a way that someone with zero knowledge can take over for you. Do the same for all other projects you consistently work on.
2 – Be incredibly specific
When you’ve been doing something for a while it’s easy to skip over steps that you already know to do. However, when you are creating checklists and SOP’s, you’re creating them to hand off work to someone else who may have no idea what you’ve been doing. Be specific in each step so they don’t have to keep coming back to you for more information or waste valuable time figuring things out on their own.
3 – Review your work after your first draft
Once you’ve drafted your documents, go through them step-by-step to ensure that you didn’t miss anything. Add elements you missed. Adjust wording that may be confusing. Run through your own instructions as if you were doing the tasks for the first time. Do they make sense? Are any steps missing? Etc. This will help you get one step closer to having a finished product that someone else can use and find valuable.
4 – Have someone review the steps for you
To go another step deeper in evaluating your documents, ask someone to review it for you and make notes of what they see missing or find confusing. If you are working with an assistant, give them permission to edit the document as they see fit. After all, they will be the one using the document moving forward.
5 – Embrace this as a “living” document
Realize that this isn’t going to be a perfect “one-and-done” document. What you are doing today can and will change moving into the future. Keep this document in a shared drive that is editable so you or others can make adjustments as needed. Over the course of months and years, this document will grow into something extremely valuable that will help you delegate more strategically and effectively.
Remember, while creating checklists and SOP’s can feel tedious and time consuming, the long-term benefit is incredible. The more you document, the more you can hand off. The better quality of the documents you create, the better work your assistants or employees are able to do. If you want to continually free yourself from the day-to-day tasks of working “in” your business so you can work “on” your business, creating these documents is vital. Take action today to “put your brain on paper” so you others can do what you’re currently doing. This will free you up to be more creative and productive with your valuable time so you can grow your business into the vision you had when you first started.
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