Why Small Business Owners Need Clear Processes (And How to Create Them)
Picking up a mower reminded me of why processes are a valuable asset to your business. Storytime…
Our mower has been in the shop for, well, what feels like forever. We mow about 3 acres, and it’s a weekly gig that, if we miss, you have to go over it twice.
Some shudder at the thought of mowing for 2.5 - 3 hours. Not us. It’s our time to sit and be alone. Sean sits with his thoughts, and I have music, an audiobook, or a podcast blasting over the engine.
No kids. No work. Just sunshine and immediate gratification at those lines.
The day before, Sean weed-eated, so I handled the kids and some meal prep. So, on this day, he told me to go mow, and he’d handle the kids and the rest of the meal prep. Bye ✌🏻
Sean: “Our neighbor said we can borrow his. He’s at his office but said to just come get it.”
Easy enough, I thought.
I walked down their driveway, and while standing in front of their house and garage, I didn’t see a lawn mower.
I called Sean:
“Hey, is the mower in their garage or where?”
“He’s in his office that’s behind their house. The mower is at the shop by their office. Go to the office and let him know you’re there, and he’ll get it for you.”
“Wow. That information is a bit more helpful.” I said a little sarcastically.
I walk to the office, knock on the door, and he comes out. We then walk to the mower. I get on and head home.
As I was driving it to our house, this simple miscommunication got me thinking about how often this happens in business. How many small business owners get frustrated because they feel like they have to answer a million questions but may not realize most of them could have been avoided with a clear process?
As owners, there’s a ridiculous amount of information we keep in our heads. We’re so used to doing things that we just know how to do them. And when it’s time for someone else to do one of those things, we tend to assume they know what to do.
Spoiler - they don’t.
While I knew their shop was near their office and their office was behind their house…I didn’t put all of those things together
Why is this important inside your business?
Clear communication creates clear expectations
Clear processes create a consistent customer experience
Clear processes empower employees to do their job without having to reach out to you
Clear communication and processes give you some freedom to take a vacation
I recently worked with a client who realized she was too “in” her business when she thought she would have to cancel their spring break plans because a big order was scheduled to be delivered the same week.
She brought me in for the Business Breakthrough service. During our time together, we took a closer look at her current process for this service and dove deeper into it.
We broke down bigger tasks into smaller ones for clear communication. We assigned staff to tasks she was doing. We also refined certain aspects of the process to make it more efficient and manageable for both the customer and staff.
And while she was on spring break, her staff took care of the order, and now they can continue to improve that process for future orders!
You can see how this applies to both your business and your home, which is a bonus!
If you’re looking to transition from an operator to a more owner-operator role, implementing processes will be a game changer.
And yes, it’s tough to pause and work on processes, but I promise you it’s worth it! If it sounds like an awful thing to do alone, that’s where I can come in. You talk, I type, and bam, we have an action plan for you to be able to step away and let your team handle their tasks!