It’s true. Systems really aren’t sexy, so most entrepreneurs NEVER create effective and efficient systems in their business. In fact when you say “do you have any systems or processes documented” most give you a blank vacant expression and say “no, should I?”.

Being unclear about how your business works, what the day to day operations are and what the business critical systems and processes is a sure fire way for your business to collapse when you try to grow it. It is also the number one reason reason why most entrepreneurs who start out hiring a VA or team, find that the relationship turns sour and they return to doing everything themselves.

The essential end up micromanaging the team and feel that they are better off just doing it themselves, because it is quicker. Let’s face it, no one can do the job as well as you. Or can they?

Building a business is JUST LIKE building a house.

They systems in your business are the foundations. I mean, would you build a house without foundations?

No.

So why try to build a business without systems? Without foundations, overtime, the house would crumble and collapse. And a business will do exactly the same when you try to take it to the next level.

For example, if you don’t have a rock solid client on boarding process, leads may fall through the cracks.

Where The Problem Starts

The problems begin when people first start their businesses, they get stuck in and do all the jobs, because let’s face it we need to save money and build a solid client base before we can invest. Or so we think. They spend a huge amount of time wearing all the hates and doing everything themselves. Working 16 hour days is the new norm and it’s all about the hustle, hustle, hustle.

But as some of the most successful entrepreneurs have shown, they don’t work 16 hour days, they work 16-20 hour weeks. They make money in their sleep and have kickass teams in place to help them achieve it. They work SMARTER not HARDER.

Between years 3-5 is when most entrepreneurs become very overwhelmed. They find their income plateaus as they do not have the capacity to take it to the next level and that they are constantly reinventing the wheel and struggling to grow.

Really at this point, you need to recognise it is time to STOP and REGROUP. You need to take time out and focus on putting the foundations in place. Yes it is time consuming, but it will save you a shit load of time in the long run by making that investment now. It will make hiring team members easy peasy because you will know what needs to be done, and it makes training them to perform the tasks you hire them to do super easy as well, because the hard work of documenting it all has also already been done.

It’s Time To Become the CEO

The reality is that most entrepreneurs end up working hard in years 3-5 then they really need to. Years 1-3 should be when you put in all the hard work and lay the foundations. Years 3-5 should be about you taking a step back and becoming the boss in your business, hiring a team and learning to delegate effectively. This is when you really need to be focusing on your zone of genius and growing your business. Not getting bogged down in the day to day operations. You need a VA or a team to be doing that for you.

Your priority right now is putting a company handbook or an ops manual (call it what you will) in place. Even if at the moment it is just you in your business. This document is your BUSINESS BIBLE. It has every single systems, process, procedure and tasks written down. It outlines your business culture, your vision, your values and your goals. It is ESSENTIAL to your success and your sanity! Don’t make the mistake many entrepreneurs do, start documenting and systemising today to be ahead of the curve, so when it comes to the point of scaling, the hard work has already been done and you just need to focus on putting all those incredible ideas into action. By not having the essential foundations in place, you’ll miss out on opportunities.