What do you absolutely need to focus on if you’re serious about growing your business?

Marketing and sales?  Social media?  Customer service?

Actually, growth depends on something else. . .something you might not have realized or might be avoiding.

You’ve got to create systems—predetermined procedures for getting stuff done.

Systematizing can seem like the least of your worries.  After all, as an entrepreneur, there’s always something else to do, another priority that has to be taken care of pronto.

It’s true.

Documenting your workflows can wait. . .until one day everything collapses.

Without systems, one minor mishap—a missed deadline or appointment—can cause a disastrous chain reaction that disrupts your entire schedule, forces you to fall behind on projects for other clients, and messes up the work flow with team members.

Crises will happen, but when you have systems in place, you can resolve them quickly so they don’t affect your entire business.

3 Reasons Systematizing Belongs on Your Urgent List

#1  Systems give you peace of mind

As a solopreneur, you have to manage every area of your business—marketing, growing your client base, keeping track of projects, and billing.

The world of a small business is huge.

Without systems in place, it’s impossible to preserve sanity.

#2  Systems facilitate delegation

Delegating is a major problem for many entrepreneurs, especially when we’re already overwhelmed with projects and don’t have time to explain all the little intricacies.

Proactively documenting business processes is invaluable.

Once you have those descriptions, all you need to do is send your assistant to the relevant page.

#3  Systems create velocity

Systems are often viewed as constraining and limiting, but. . . .

• Imagine having passwords, bookmarks, files and telephone numbers of your clients at your fingertips.
• Imagine not having to reinvent the wheel every time you need to write a proposal or request a testimonial.
• Imagine how fast you could get through the logistical stuff and how much time would be freed up for you to create.

Documenting Your Workflows Is Easier Than You Think

Simply outline the process step-by-step as if you were explaining it to someone else:

• If necessary, provide resources like usernames and passwords.
• If possible, specify how the final outcome should look by giving examples.
• If checklists is not your thing, take a look at these shortcuts.

Want some inspiration?

Download these checklists I use in my own business and tweak them to your needs.

Documenting your workflows isn’t sexy, but it’s smart, and it can improve your bottom line.

Systems enable you to build something bigger than yourself, allow you to run your business (rather than having your business run you), and create time for you to engage in the work you love and delegate the rest.

Up For a Challenge?

Pick a process in your business and document it using suggestions and examples above.  Report back by leaving a comment below.