How to Avoid Burnout & Continue to Grow Your Business
Think about this: when a customer drives through one of McDonald’s drive-thru’s or steps up to their counter, how hard is the ordering process?
Think about the last time you may have traveled and walked into a McDonald’s. You may not have thought about it but you knew what to expect, what their menu looked like, and what you may have wanted.
Why? Because their systems and processes have been refined and repeated day-in-and-day-out….worldwide!
One of the most overlooked aspects of running a successful business is the creation and implementation of proven business systems. A business system is nothing more than documented processes and procedures that allow your business to run without you.
One of the most successful companies that utilize systems, believe it or not, is McDonald's. They have managed to run a successful and profitable business for more than 60 years because of the fantastic business systems that were put in place. Their operations manual covers everything from hiring to product delivery to customer interaction.
Why You Need to Implement Systems in Your Business
Unfortunately, many small business owners are caught in a catch 22. They have no time to work on their business because they are too busy working in their business. They can't take time away from the company because they haven't taken the time to develop documented systems and processes. Along with saving you time, there are many benefits of implementing policies in your online business.
Lower Labor Costs
According to this study completed in 2019, it costs on average around $3000 to onboard a new employee. Let’s let that sink in: Even if your business isn’t cash liquid, the equivalent of $3K of time is what’s needed to ramp up a new employee or contractor to be able to be productive within your business.
It is definitely worth onboarding new employees when you think of the potential growth your business can experience. It’s an investment. But if that investment is put into the business without systemization having been put in place, your business is at risk of being upside down, and quickly.
Putting documented systems in place will help to improve efficiency in your company, resulting in a reduction in your labor costs. When an employee leaves, they may be the only one who knows how to perform their required job functions. Without documented systems and processes, including job descriptions & requirements, you run the risk of losing knowledge and valuable company resources.
Improves Consistency
Having documented systems and processes in place ensures your employees are working with the same information as everyone else. They don't have to rely on their perception of how a process should operate. Systemization also prevents them from working with the instructions that are outdated, which could lead to costly errors.
Enables Scalability
Implementing systems in your business provides you the ability to expand. Systems and documented processes allow you to replicate your business in different geographic areas yourself or through franchising or licensing the rights to your business.
Build a Valuable Asset
The day will come when you'll be ready to sell your business. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to sell it for a nice profit? Without documented processes and systems in place, this can be extremely difficult to accomplish.
Imagine you buy a new toy for your child for their birthday that needs to be put together. Your child tears open the box, sees the new toy, and they look at you with anticipation because you’re the one who’s going to build it for them to enjoy. In that moment, your thoughts take you to the box to find the directions, but the pamphlet isn’t there. Now, what do you do?
When an investor buys your business, they may not say it, but your well-documented systems add tremendous value to their investment. Why? Because these are the “directions” about how to successfully run your business. It documents how the business makes revenue. And that’s incredibly valuable!!
Putting systems in place will help you build a valuable asset because they allow the company to continue to run without you.
Wrapping Up
A lack of business systems can not only hurt the daily operations of your business, but it can make it extremely difficult to sell when the time comes. Do your future self a favor and start systemizing your business today so you can reap all the rewards in the future.
Don’t feel you have the bandwidth to start? Click the button below if you’d like to start talking about systemizing your business. As a Certified OBM, this is one of my specialties.
