As entrepreneurs, we know how tricky it is to manage time.
And sometimes, we ask – can we possibly have more time to finish everything?
No one says it’s easy.
But, it’s definitely possible, especially if you have an effective business system.
A system can help your business run smoothly and maximize results, with minimum effort.
Here’s how you can get started.
Write Down All Your Business Activities
The first step is to jot everything down. Identify the things that you need to map.
Don’t worry if it looks a bit messy. It doesn’t need to be perfect now.
And, ask yourselves these questions:
– Are there any repetitive issues in our business?
– What are the most important activities, and the most frustrating ones?
– Are there tasks that take too much time?
– Do we have pain points that can potentially lead to a bottleneck?
Pour it all out.
Make Use of Graphic Organizers
The next step is to envision the key activities in your processes.
You can start by using a tool such as graphic organizers that can act like a personal digital assistant.
Graphic organizers can be anything from a simple Gantt chart to a whole Google Suite system.
From your initial list of ideas, break down your business activities into specific stages.
Create a simple workflow to outline important information per stage, such as:
– Specific actions needed
– People involved
– Tools required
Analyze Your Call Recordings
One effective tool that can help you spot inefficiencies is by analyzing your business calls.
Of course, you have to make sure that your call recordings are ethically and legally executed.
Use these calls to spot performance gaps.
Are there important details that your team usually forgets to say?
Are your marketing campaigns or spiels attractive enough?
Gather insights.
See if there is anything you can further improve in your current practices.
Hold Team Meetings
It is also important to discuss your business processes with your team, and ask for employee feedback.
Ask for their ideas on what activities are usually inefficient and how to solve them.
Ask them if they think the processes are actionable, or if there is a better way to do things.
Remember to Take a Break
Remember, there is no such thing as an overnight success. Planning takes a while.
And, that’s okay.
Take some time thinking or re-thinking about the business processes that you and your team is drafting.
Make sure to squeeze in a bit of relaxation so you can all avoid burning out.
Combine redundant activities
After a couple more times of laying out ideas, look into the redundant activities that you can eliminate.
Are there any steps that can be combined with others?
Not only will merging tasks save you time, but it will also give you enough mental space for other important activities.
Streamline With Softwares
Remember that softwares can help you streamline tasks, too!
There are a lot of great softwares that you can use to consolidate all your processes in one place.
As a bonus, here is a LINK to download A-Z software system guide.
Take out the extra steps
Once you have removed any redundant steps, check out any unnecessary extra activities as well.
Is there any task that you can already let go off, that doesn’t really impact your business?
If yes, then you can already remove it.
Time to implement!
You’re already done creating a systematic workflow.
You’ve also removed redundant and unnecessary tasks.
It’s now time to implement your system!
Start running the whole system.
And check back in a few weeks.
Does your new system WORK?
Keep tweaking until you find success! Remember that great things take time.
Indeed, creating an effective system for your business is hard. There are a lot of considerations to be made, and it takes time.
If you are having a hard time writing systems, remember that the Liz Illg Consulting Team can write systems for you!
The DIY option is also available in the Liz Illg shop.
Next semester in the membership will be all about internal processes (a.k.a: streamlined systems!)
Good luck!