Unlocking the Power of Processes for Business Efficiency and Scalability

Let’s dive right in to the fourth part of our "From Heatwave to Headway" 5-Part Summer Series!

STEP 4: SPELL IT OUT!

As a solo entrepreneur or business leader, it's natural to feel overwhelmed by the constant demands of running a business. However, there's one tool that can help you navigate the journey from stress to success: Processes.

Processes, also known as standard operating procedures (SOPs), are simply the outlined steps necessary to complete a task. Implementing processes in your business can bring many benefits, including consistency, delegation, and productivity. Whether you're a team of one or a team of many, processes can save you time, energy, and even your sanity.

3 Benefits of having a process:

1. Consistency: Processes ensure that tasks are completed in the same way every time, eliminating confusion and improving the quality of your work.

2. Delegation: With documented processes in place, you can delegate tasks more easily and confidently, knowing that they will be done correctly and efficiently.

3. Productivity: Processes streamline your business operations, eliminating bottlenecks and improving productivity.

The importance of processes extends beyond solo entrepreneurs. As your business grows and you add more team members, processes become even more crucial. They are living, breathing documents that evolve with your business and can be adjusted as you change software, delegate functions, or scale your business.

Speaking of scaling, processes play a critical role in this effort. In fact, I recently worked with a company that had been in business since 2016. Despite having processes in place, they realized they needed more as their business scaled. We helped them systematize their operations and set their team up for future success. The results were impressive, and they continue to enjoy the benefits of having streamlined processes in place.

So, whether you're a team of one or a team of 20, processes can help you manage your business more effectively, achieve consistent results, and scale successfully. As a business owner, embrace the power of processes and be open to suggestions for improvement from your team. After all, processes are about working smarter, not harder.

It's time to prioritize spelling it out and documenting your processes. Take control of your business operations and set yourself up for success. And remember, processes are meant to change and grow with your business, so be flexible and adaptable as you navigate the journey from heatwave to headway.

Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Collab with Kiva.
See you next time!

Are you ready to unlock the power of processes and set your business up for success? Let’s chat 👇🏽

Podcast Transcript:

Kiva Slade 0:01

Welcome to Collab with Kiva, where we let our inner nerd geek out on all the non sexy parts of your business. I'm talking data and operations. Neither as flashy or glamorous, but both are foundational to your business growth. I'm your host, Kiva Slade, your strategy and analytics guide here to break down what feels complicated. So it is understandable and executional. Let's dive in. Hey, hey, hey, welcome to another episode of Collab with Kiva. We are still in our five part summer series from heatwave to headway coming at you this week with two episodes, because hey, as I said, in the last one, I spent some time in New Orleans recently, because I had a birthday and you know what? I was like, oh, yeah, we can plan ahead. We can do this. I don't know about you. But whenever I'm trying to get out of town or go someplace where there's like a definite deadline, everything and then some comes up. So you know, I just said forget it. We'll deal with it when I get back. So you get two episodes this week. And we are on for part four, excuse me spell it out. Okay, now if you've noticed everything has an it out in it. So we have get it out. Plan it out. Costs it out.

Kiva Slade 1:25

Today we are at the spell it out. I can't even say it out. What do I mean by spell it out? I mean, the dreaded P word... Processes. Yes. Yes, I just said it, I curse at you. Processes. Okay, you can call them standard operating procedures, SOPs, whatever you want to call them, I don't care. The reality is your business needs that whether it's just you or more than you. And there's sometimes some friction, there's sometimes some hesitancy, there's sometimes a lot of some things that happen when we start talking about processes. It's just as like people freeze up, they're like a deer in the headlights. And there's this whole freakout mode, when there really doesn't need to be, it is so simple. It is simply the process of outlining the steps that are necessary to complete a task. And when you do this, it allows for consistency. It also allows for delegation, yes, I said that D word delegation, so much of when I work with, especially solo entrepreneurs, and they're stressed out and all these things you're doing too daggone much, and you can't let any of it go. Because there's not a process in place, there is nothing that exists, that you can take that task and hand it to some other able bodied individual, for them to complete it on your behalf. Processes.

Kiva Slade 3:00

So again, whether it's a team of one, which is you, I want you to still make processes. Why? Because eventually there's going to be more than just you, you're going to get overwhelmed, you're going to get over capacity, whatever it is, you're going to want to give that to someone else and you can't do it. Why? Because you don't have anything right now. You don't have a video, you don't have diddly squat. Okay? And that is why the overwhelm happens, or the frustration when you do hire in your life. It would just be easier for me to do it. Well, yeah, cuz you never told them how to do it. And you're just expecting people tend to know how to do things you they don't know. They don't know, have a process, have it written out shared with these people, whoever they are on your team. And it's a living breathing document, it will be changed. If you change out software, you change out who does it in your business, maybe you have a team of one that becomes a team of two then becomes team of four, in some of the functions shift. It changes, that's okay. It's meant to change people. It's meant to grow with your business not stay the same.

Kiva Slade 4:12

So we have these things called processes. They are so helpful for increasing your productivity. Again, also having an ensuring consistency, encouraging ownership over tasks. There's so many people who bellyache about oh my team, there's my team that there's nothing there for them to take ownership because there's no process in place. So it's important, obviously to get everything out and then plan it out. And obviously like we just shared costing it out, but this is where that cost actually matters in that productivity and efficiency is with processes. I cannot stress this enough processes, processes processes, they need to exist in your business, whether it's small or large, it needs to happen. I recently worked with a company, they've been in business 2016 ish, I want to think. And we helped jumpstart them. They already had processes in place. But they knew they needed to have a lot more because of the scaling that was taking place in their business. Yes, another word scaling. So many people want it can't have it, if you don't have processes, when you can have it, it's just not going to be good. And so we worked with them to really jumpstart that process of getting them systematized in a way that made sense, but also setting their team up for future success with the systemization of that business. And glowing reports continued to come in from that work, because it's critical work people.

Kiva Slade 5:55

And I want you to prioritize the spelling it out, how do we do what it is that we do, so that it can be done repeatedly with the same result. And hey, you might get lucky, hire someone who's way super smarter than you are. And they even know a better way to do it. And I want you right now, as that owner, to sit there and say to yourself Self. And when I do that, and the person comes to me with a better way, I am going to nod grin and say yes, please revise, I am not going to stay stuck in my ways. Because I know that my way was not the only way. That's right. That's what you're going to do. So you are now going to spell it out. Make sure that you have processes in place. Whether you are a team of one, or a team of five, or 10 or 20 It doesn't matter processes will save your life and sanity if we're honest. So this is part four in our series. We are on spell it out. We have Part One get it out part two, plan it out. Part three costed out today as part four spell it out. And next week is part five in the series. And I will see you for that episode. Bye. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of collab Akiva. I'm wildly cheering you on as you go forth and execute data and operational efficiencies in your business. If you need additional support, connect with me via my website, the516collaborative.com your reviews on Apple are appreciated. See you next week.

Meet Kiva Slade - the Founder and CEO of The 516 Collaborative. With a unique background in high-power politics on Capitol Hill and sixteen years as a homeschooling mama, Kiva found her calling in the online business world as a trusted guide for entrepreneurs looking to build the business of their dreams.

Kiva's work began behind the scenes, orchestrating the back end of businesses and managing teams. But her inner data diva couldn't help but notice that small businesses needed help harnessing the power of data for growth. So she and her team set out to uncover and tidy up the data required to enable clients to grow their businesses confidently and easily.