How to Build Systems (so your business runs without you)

# How to Systemize Your Business in 35 Minutes or Less Are you tired of spending countless hours trying to build business systems using generic advice from YouTube? What if you could systemize any part of your business in just 35 minutes or less? This guide is for you! Unlike those general business gurus, I'm a process consultant with 7 years of experience working with over 1,000 small businesses. I'll boil everything down into six simple steps. Let’s ditch the traditional approach and dive into a faster, more effective method. # The Traditional Approach: A Painful Process Before we get started, let's take a quick look at the traditional approach to building systems. It's important to understand why it's not the most efficient method for small businesses. ### Step 1: Diagram Everything The traditional approach starts with creating a complex diagram of everything your business does. This might involve value stream mapping or a business model canvas. The result is often a convoluted, big-picture diagram that you'll create once, forget about, and throw in a drawer. ### Step 2: Zoom In and Map Every Detail Next, you zoom in on a specific area of your value stream map or business model canvas and try to figure out every single step involved. This often involves using proprietary whiteboarding software with specific icons to map out every detail. Small businesses can easily end up with 200 to 500 processes. You'll have a diagram so complicated that only you understand it. ### Step 3: Write Detailed Work Instructions You then take that complicated map and type out detailed instructions for everything. These work instructions spell out every step needed to accomplish a process. For example, sending an invoice might require a 15 to 30-page Word document that takes 90 minutes to 3 hours to create. Imagine doing this for every process in your business! ### Step 4: Test with a Stranger (or a Small Child) Finally, you grab a stranger or a small child and have them try to follow your instructions. If they fail (which is likely), you go back and fix the system until anyone can follow it. This traditional approach, while used by large consulting companies and taught in MBA programs, simply isn't practical for small businesses like yours. We don't have time for that! Let's acknowledge that the traditional approach isn't what works in the real world. # A Better Way: Systemizing in 35 Minutes Here's a more efficient, practical approach to building business systems: ### Step 1: Pick a Needy Area Instead of overcomplicating it, pick a specific area of your business that generates value but is also a pain to manage. Think about a part of your business that hurts right now but has the potential to generate a lot of value. Common examples include: * Onboarding * Delivering your service * Sales conversations * Content marketing This area will be called your system. ### Step 2: Identify a Needy Activity (Process) Think about the system you identified in step one and determine the actual actions that make it work. For example, if your system is delivering trophies, the activities might include: * Ordering parts * Designing the plaque * Engraving the plaque * Assembling the pieces * Putting it in a box Now, identify which of these activities hurts the most and has the potential for giving the most value. This is your process. ### Step 3: Clarify Actions (Tasks) Start clarifying the actions or tasks that happen within that process. Define: * What is happening * When is it happening * Who is in charge of it For example, if your activity is ordering materials, your tasks might include: * Checking all upcoming orders * Calling suppliers * Checking the status of new shipments * Receiving orders Write down as many tasks as you can. ### Step 4: Delegation You've already built a business system! The tasks are the trigger that makes the whole thing work, giving you a cadence for checking in on these things. In step four, we will assign an area. * Assign the responsibility of the system to someone else. If you have a junior team, delegate the activities (AKA processes). * Consider your team to consist of 2 people - you today and you in the future. Delegate ownership of a system by giving your baby a mentor. This person is: * In charge of all the tasks in that area. * Responsible for improving that area over time. * Accountable for any mistakes that come up. ### Step 5: Capture Your Method Have the assigned person start capturing how you do what you do. This might involve: * Templates * Work instructions (SOPs) * Examples * Software * AI tools Gather all these tools in one place so that if the assigned person is unavailable, the process doesn't fall back on your plate. # The Magic of 35 Minutes Adding up the time estimates for each of these steps, you can systemize one area of your business in 35 minutes or less. Unlike the traditional approach, you'll immediately start seeing the benefits. If ordering materials takes you 30 minutes a week, you'll make your time back in almost one week. Then, you can reinvest that time into fixing another process. Piece by piece, your business will be unrecognizable in 6 months. Writing work instructions can be done in 15 minutes or less, and my average using this framework is about 12 minutes per SOP. Try it yourself and enjoy the process!