What does your daily routine look like as a product based business owner? Do you have business processes and systems in place to help you move from one task to another?

Or are you hopping from task to task, unsure of what you should be doing at any point in time?

Not sure what tasks to complete today and hoping that you’re working on the right thing?

Do you want to scale your business, but you can’t because you seem to be spinning your wheels and feel like you can’t get any traction?

If you were nodding along to these final few questions, this blog post is going to impact you in a BIG way.

HOW TO CREATE ORGANISED BUSINESS PROCESSES IN 5 SIMPLE STEPS

First of all, I want to ask you the following questions:

Do you feel like if you stepped away from your business for even a few days to go on holiday, everything would just collapse?
Are you allergic to most structures, and so you’d prefer to have an automated system that tells you exactly what you need to do with very little hand-holding of your schedule?
Do you get heart palpitations just thinking of the amount of work you need to accomplish this week/month/year?

I’ve got you.

This post will outline the exact steps you need to take to make your core business model a lot more organised.

I’m guessing you’ve heard the good ol’ “work smarter not harder” advice.

It sounds great in theory - but how do you actually do it?

I’m going to help you create business processes and put them in place so you can be less overwhelmed and focus more on getting the work done that you love.

P.S. Discover how to optimise your blog and create quality content to keep your audience coming back for more in this FREE Busy To Boss Online Workshop!

WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A BUSINESS PROCESS?

Business systems allow you to delegate the most important tasks while you are away on that amazing holiday you’ve been waiting for. Your end goal is to set up your entire business so it can run without you (and yes, it is possible!)

Here’s why processes are so important:

They clear your mind from jumbled overwhelm
You always know what you should be doing next
You don’t feel guilty for not wearing all of the entrepreneur hats at once
If you have a difficult task that you don’t enjoy, processes simplify it for you and make the task easier to complete
You can also hand tasks to someone else and outsource them because you have step-by-step processes written down
They help you make sure you are doing everything you should be doing and nothing falls through the cracks
Documenting processes creates more room in your brain for other, big-picture tasks in your business - so you can be the CEO.

If there is a certain task that you don’t enjoy doing, this is the perfect task to create a system around.

HERE’S AN EXAMPLE:

Problem

“I hate writing blog posts! I look at that stupid cursor in my blank google doc and just want to close my laptop and walk away!”

Solution

Create a structure for writing blog posts that you can follow. Create a swipe file of resources to help you brainstorm - these are your business process steps. The next time you go to write a blog post, you’ll already know exactly what to do or say and the words will flow onto the paper like a summer’s breeze.

Not to mention that if you have broken down the word “blog post” into super simple, tiny baby steps, it will be so much easier to work through them.

Here’s what that would look like:

Brainstorm

Decide on topic
Research topic

Write title:

Write list of potential titles
Check in CoSchedule’s Headline Analyser
Choose final post title

Write post:

Create an outline
Write the post
Let post breathe for at least a few hours to one day
Proof post and edit

Edit post:

Go back and read post for a final time
Add headlines
Add text to enhance certain sections (bold, italics, etc.)
Add links

Add images:

Create or choose image
Create one headline image
Create Pinterest graphics
Batch create social media graphics
Insert images into post
Add alt text

You get the idea!

If you do a lot of little tiny steps, you know exactly what to do and it gets done. This really works to eliminate the uncertainty of tasks and procrastination - give it a go!

HERE ARE SOME OTHER TYPES OF BUSINESS PROCESSES

Accounting Processes

Bookkeeping
Filing taxes
How to deposit or withdraw from the business bank (for future employees)
Goals and metrics tracking
How to purchase something for the company
Tracking mileage and business expenses

Human Resources Processes

How to hire someone
How to fire someone
Performance reviews
Pay rates and scales
Training manuals
Tracking employee progress, pay rates, reviews, etc.

Product Sourcing Processes

If you source for products, leads to call or even bloggers to contact, this involves some sort of sourcing process.

Find leads
Contact leads
Rinse & repeat
Your lead pipeline

Customer Service Processes

If you’re selling anything, you must do some customer service.

Tracking reimbursements
Tracking and performing returns
Purchasing
Tracking sales

Social Media Processes

Editorial calendar
Creating branded images
Posting schedule
Tracking metrics
How you share and automate posts each month
Going live on social media platforms

Content Marketing + Blogging Processes

How to create a post (and templates to speed up your writing!)
Content schedules
Youtube + podcast schedule
YouTube + podcast scripts
YouTube + podcast editing
Writing newsletters (and templates to choose from)

Goal Setting Processes

Goal setting for the month/quarter/year
Analysis of the preview month/quarter/year
Weekly calendar blocking (click here for a full tutorial)

TIPS FOR CREATING YOUR BUSINESS PROCESSES

In order to have effective business process management you want to make sure these are always live documents. You want to make sure that you are constantly checking, updating, and improving your systems for efficiency whenever you see the opportunity, as you are working through them.
Don’t try to aim for everything to be 100% perfect before you get started. Just get it all down and go from there.
The hardest thing for a lot of business owners is letting go of the control. After all, no one will run your business better than you, right? But you need to learn to let go and trust that the systems you’ve built are going to sustain the business and help it grow. That way you can focus on more important, bigger tasks to improve the business.
The better you write out your systems and keep them updated, the better your business will run. Going in depth, step-by-step is going to ensure no one makes mistakes and there are no questions about what must be done.
Once you get some systems in place, turn them over to your employees or anyone you work with to look them over. Have them add and take away what they feel they need.
Write your systems up in a google doc. You want to make sure anyone can come in at any point and start doing the task.
Note that there is a difference between a recurring task and one-time task. A recurring task would be a guest post, because you will have multiple guest posts where you can follow the same process.
A one-time task would be a specific guest post that needs particular images or wording requested from the other person.
We’re only wanting to document the recurring tasks. In your final systems, you will fill in any one-time tasks as you work onto a to-do list.

HOW TO CREATE ORGANISED BUSINESS PROCESSES

So we’ve gone through why we need systems and we’ve got some ideas as to what systems and processes we need to make. Now we can actually create them!

What you’ll need:

Software to write our your systems - I recommend Asana, Trello, Google Docs, or Word.
A place to back up your processes - all online systems are already backed up. If you use Word, be sure to make copies elsewhere, like in a Dropbox folder.
Software to take screenshots or videos of you doing the work - Loom is really great for videos and Greenshot for screenshots. Both of them are free.
A giant cup of tea or coffee!

#1 | Start Making Lists Of The Processes You Need

First, you will want to start by writing down all the systems you need to create. Use the list above and brainstorm any other processes you do that aren’t listed there.

Be sure to only include tasks that are recurring. Any tasks that aren’t occurring can be put into Asana or on your to-do list to get done.

Start with your daily routine. What do you need to complete every day?

Then start writing a list of weekly tasks you need to do.

And then monthly tasks.

I would also recommend doing quarterly tasks such as taxes or goals. And finally, your yearly tasks (again, taxes and goals - those silly taxes!)

As you can imagine, this is going to take a while, so I would block out half of a day to get started on this.

Once you’ve written down the main buckets of your processes you can stop there for now - lets not get too overwhelmed all at once!

#2 | Write Out Each Step In Your Process

After writing down the majority of your systems, take the next two weeks to fill in the blanks with your tasks until you have each step written down.

To start this process, put a bright coloured post it note right next to your computer screen that says, “Is what I’m working on right now a process?”

Start writing down your daily tasks as you do them. It will take time, but you only really have to create the main structure once. After that, you can update and improve.

You don’t have to write in those step-by-step processes quite yet, but after this step you should have something like the blogging process above for writing a post.

#3 | Flush Out The Tasks

After you have brainstormed the list of tasks you need to complete, you’ll need to start adding more details. For example, “put document in Google Drive folder here, titled with the date”, and include a link to the folder.

You want to be detailed enough and make your business processes as easy to understand as possible. This way, you can confidently hand over the business to someone else, knowing that they have everything they need to successfully run it if you were to suddenly fall ill.

Include checklists, important notes, and many many screenshots. You can even create videos and include those as well.

#4 | Test It Out

Hand one of your business processes to someone to see if they can complete a task without your help.

Try it out yourself to make sure the process doesn’t have any missing gaps. If you have a virtual assistant or team member, or even a friend, make sure they can complete the tasks themselves as well.

I recommend living with these systems for a few days and make sure you’re using them.

It’s tempting not to use them, but you don’t want to do it without your list unless you know your processes very very well. If you start skipping steps and you have an employee, they will notice you skipping steps and they will start to do the same.

You also don’t want to forget an important step and harm your own work! Live with it for a while and adjust your business processes as you go. Remember, they’re live documents!

#5 | The Secret To Scaling: Automate Your Business With Processes + Workflows

Now that you’ve been able to at least make a list of all the tasks you do each day, week, month, etc, can you see a bird’s eye view of all of them?

Can you use Zapier or any other tasks to automate any of these tasks and eliminate mouse clicks? Be sure to limit the amount of software you use to avoid any confusion.

The more you can automate, the better your business will grow, and the more time and money is saved for you.

How exactly can we do this?

You can start by asking a few questions:

Can any of your business tasks be automated using systems or software that you currently don’t have?
Can you outsource for less money than if you were to do it yourself? (aka your rate per hour?)
Do you still need the task to complete your workflow or is it “busy work”?

This is also a great time to go over the current software you have and audit it:

Is it still meeting your needs?
Is there better software out there now that might cost less?
Is the current software subscription you’re working with really freeing up time for you?

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO WRITING BUSINESS PROCESSES + WORKFLOWS

If you’re ready to take back control of the chaotic confusion of running your business, it’s time to get organised.

I promise, if you spend the time to do this, you’ll save yourself HOURS of time later.

It’s well worth your time to invest in your business, especially if you are overwhelmed right now or need clarity.

And the best part is, it’s SO easy! It does take time, but this is a super simple process and I guarantee it will work for you.

The secret to getting clarity is to write things down and see it from a bigger picture. Writing business processes allows you to do just that.

Being organised with a list of business processes allows you to:

Keep in line and stay focused
Improve your productivity
Relieve the stress off your brain instead of trying to keep track of everything there is to do
Set standards fr your business to move forward
Spot problems from a mile away
See your business from a birds-eye view
No longer have to think of exactly what to do, because all of that thinking is done for you. Just follow your checklist!

To continue with your growth, you will automate your tasks using software that works and is customised for your business. This will leave you with more time to focus on important tasks such as planning your next marketing campaign or launching that additional product line that will ultimately help your bottom line.

Copying data or sending the same email won’t help you do that.

Now you know that you need business processes in order to grow and scale your company, you can eventually delegate and relinquish control of the business to a future employee. This will allow you to bask in your hard work and efforts - and the many hours of coffee and tea you’ve put in!

Did you follow these steps for each of your business processes? How did it work for you? Do you have any other questions? I want to hear from you!

Don’t forget! Discover how to optimise your blog and create quality content to keep your audience coming back for more in this FREE Busy To Boss Online Workshop!