Build systems before you need them

If your business only works when you’re in the room, you don’t own a business yet. You own a job with a lot of responsibility attached to it.

I say that with love, because I’ve been there. Most of us start by doing everything ourselves. It works, until it doesn’t. Then a key person quits, a big client arrives, or you finally take a vacation, and realize you are exhausted controlling everything and doing it alone.

The best time to build a system is before the crisis

Systems feel optional when things are calm. That’s exactly when you should build them. When the pressure hits, you won’t have time to write down how things work. You’ll be too busy doing them.

A system doesn’t have to be fancy. It’s simply a repeatable way of getting something done that doesn’t depend on one person’s memory. A system can be a sticky note or a whiteboard.

Start with what you repeat

Look at the tasks you do every week. Invoicing. Onboarding a new client. Paying bills. Scheduling. Following up on leads. Anything you do more than twice or consistently whenever you work with a client is a candidate for a system.

Pick one. Write down the steps the next time you do it, in plain language, as if you were teaching someone on their first day. That’s your first standard operating procedure. It will be imperfect, and that’s fine. You can improve something that exists. You can’t improve something that only lives in your head.

Trackers that pay for themselves

There are a few simple trackers I recommend to almost every owner:

A weekly financial cash snapshot. What came in, what went out, and what’s coming in the next 30 days. Updated weekly, not when you have time.

A renewal calendar. Licenses, insurance, registrations, domains, and contracts. Missing one of these costs far more than the five minutes it takes to track it.

A client pipeline. Who you’re talking to, where they are, and what the next step is. It keeps good opportunities from quietly slipping away.

Systems free you, they don’t box you in

Some owners worry that systems will make their business feel rigid. In my experience it’s the opposite. When the routine work runs on its own, you get your energy back for the work only you can do. Building relationships. Making the big decisions. Growing.

Systems are also what make a business valuable. I’ve worked on many acquisitions, and buyers pay for businesses that run without the owner. Even if selling is the furthest thing from your mind, build like someone may want to buy it someday.

Where to begin

Choose one process this week and write it down. Next week, choose another. In three months you’ll have a business that can breathe without you holding every piece together.

If you’d like help deciding which systems matter most for your business, that’s exactly the kind of work we do at Delve. Learn more about Delve’s five pillars.