SOPs for Small Business: Why You Need Standard Operating Procedures - Step by Step Guide
As a small business owner, you’re likely wearing a lot of hats on a regular basis. You may even be working entirely alone when it comes to building your business.
In this case, it’s easy for you to simply plow through your to-do list on autopilot and be done with it.
Even as you slowly start delegating to your VA or OBM, you may be handing tasks off without much of a process in place.
As you know, being a solopreneur or a small business owner means your time is both limited and priceless. So what happens when you no longer have the bandwidth to execute or oversee everything in your business’ daily activities?
Think Of SOPs As A Recipe For A Successful Business
An SOP, or Standard Operating Procedure, is a documented step-by-step play of the different tasks you routinely execute in your business.
Standard Operating Procedures are crucial to ease your transition into subcontracting or bringing in employees, as they help you hand off a detailed guide of how things are meant to be done.
They also help you automate and save time by removing the guesswork out of your day.
While it may look like a lot of work upfront, to create an SOP, you’ll simply document the tasks you already do on a regular basis. Having this documentation will make it way easier to train new employees, automate tasks, and free up your and your team’s time to focus on money-making activities.
One quick, easy way to get started with your small business SOPs? A platform like Dubsado, which offers countless ready-to-use templates to help you organize your business.
Another key benefit of documenting your current processes is that you’ll probably find areas you can improve, costs you can cut, and even steps that aren’t truly necessary, which will save you money in the long run.
Standard Operating Procedures: Where to start?
Processes like onboarding clients or subcontractors, bookkeeping, and even product development are key areas to start implementing your SOPs.
When making your business SOPs, a good rule of thumb is: If you’re likely to do this more than once, document it and make it into a Standard Operating Procedure.
SOPs also help improve your teamwork by including steps like brainstorming, revisions, and feedback.
I’ve heard of at least one business owner whose SOPs include never starting a project from scratch twice. What this means is, if you don’t have a template set for a particular project and the opportunity presents itself, make it a template.
Again, this may take extra work up front, but you’ll be all set the next time this project shows up.
Templates are a big part of your SOPs. Especially in project management: If you use software like Trello, Asana, Teamwork, or other, it’s a lot of work to build a new board/project from scratch each time you book a new client. Think of it like filling out a notebook each time you sign a new client - by hand, and from scratch - instead of having a Xerox machine.
Instead, if your process includes templates, you can duplicate them in a pinch and fill in your new client’s information.
Tools like Zapier can also help you automate the tech side of your SOPs and have everything in place to get the ball rolling in every project.
Create Your Own Standard Operating Procedures
While we already went over some of the things you can make Standard Operating Procedures for, here’s a list of 5 processes you need in your business SOPs:
Client Onboarding: Have you defined the steps your client will walk through as she hires you? If not, you need to do this ASAP. And document it. This is the first step in your business, and you need to make it as easy as possible for yourself and your clients. This also applies to brand partnerships, collaborations, and any exchange with other brands or companies.
Product launches: Whether you sell a service or a product, a step by step process for before, during, and after your launch will be key in its success.A product launch SOP can include things like marketing collateral, outreach, lead generation, the actual signup/offer, and post-launch activities like follow-ups, fulfilling, and more.
Invoicing: Your money, both going in and out, should be closely monitored. A bookkeeping SOP will ensure that you and your team know exactly what to do when a client pays their invoice, when a service invoice comes in, when you and everyone on your team is paid - and how -, and what steps to follow to ensure every provider and things like rent, services, and more are taken care of.
Internal Operations: Whether this includes onboarding a team member, your workflow, organizational chart, or who is in charge of what, an internal SOP documents your team’s routine, clearly outlines the role’s responsibility, and helps everyone understand exactly what happens when.The Internal SOP is likely going to be broken down into several chapters depending on your team. Reporting, accountability, and execution will be key in this SOP.
KPIs: We recently talked all about Key Performance Indicators, what to track, and how they help you monitor your business. Creating a Standard Operating Procedure for your KPIs will include things like how frequently you document everything, what stats are included, and the action items that come after the evaluation - will your team pivot as a result? Will new goals be implemented? Will there be rewards? YOUR performance SOP will become your map in navigating these questions.
Once you’ve documented the key processes in your business, it’s a good idea to have your team member try out the SOP and make notes. Was there a confusing step? Did they get lost at some point? When did you need to jump in?
Another tip - use a screen recording software like Loom or Vidyard to record yourself doing the process. This screen recording can accompany the written SOP for visual learners. Even if you are a team of 1, record your repetitive processes. When you hire a team member, the videos are ready and the team member can transform them into written SOPs.
This extra step will help you make sure your SOP is not only useful to you, but to the people who will be implementing it in the future.
As A Small Business Owner, Your SOPs Are Key In Successfully Scaling Your Business
While certain flexibility is good in terms of running your small business, having a reliable structure, defined steps, and specific processes set in place is key in your business growth.
Not only will it help you work more efficiently on your own, but it will also make it simpler to bring in additional help and work with new clients.
Standard Operating Procedures are the pieces that will bring you and your business to the next level in your entrepreneurship by providing consistency, cohesiveness, and automation to your everyday workflow.
