SBX 16: Cut Down On Administrative Tasks And Focus On Growing Your Business

In the beginning stages of owning a small business, you’re going to be doing everything yourself. Sorry, that’s just the way it is.  As the owner, however, there are places where your time is better spent: things that please customers, things that grow the business today, or things that grow the business tomorrow.  Administration is a necessary evil of every business.  An evil which, unfortunately, doesn’t do any of the above.  It still needs to get done (and done correctly).

The goal is to create systems where it can be done quickly and, when the business is ready, can be done by others.  This episode is all about building that system.  It’s easy to get into a routine of lengthening work days and filling hours with things that don’t grow the business.  The administration of your business is arguably the most essential piece of your operations manual. No matter how new or how small you might be, owners that protect themselves in the administrative department give themselves a competitive advantage from Day 1.

In this episode of The Small Biz Express podcast we discuss:

• Three simple action steps to create administrative systems that save time, streamline a process, and serve your customers.  (so “simple” that nearly nobody does them.  ugh!)
• The four areas of your business where administrative stuff occurs regularly
• Why the administrative piece of your operations manual has to be a living document
• The power of a three bullet system and how NOT to rethink an entire process from scratch
• Several processes that are total time sucks, including paying your bills
• Policies versus guidelines (and why guidelines win every single time)

Action Steps from this episode:

1. Create a List of All Your Admin Tasks.  Systems require documentation, so let’s start by making a list.  There’s more administrative stuff  than you think so be sure to list through every process.  What are the simplest things that you’re required to do to service your customers?  Be specific.  “Publish articles on my website,” “reply to comments,” and “make security backups”  is way better than “Run my website.”  (By the way, if you’re running WordPress, backing up your website is something that you should automate)

2. Draw Up Step by Steps on How to Do Each Task.  This is the point where most people stop because they don’t feel like writing a text book.  Well if you don’t feel like writing it, nobody is going to feel like reading it.  So let’s make this super simple: three bullets per task.  Like we always say on The Invisible Boss, you can accomplish 80% of what you need to do with three, well thought out points.  Eventually these three bullets can become more detailed as you bring other people into the fold.  Even as solopreneur, having a step-by-step is really important so you can replicate an experience.  Side benefit: the more times you do something the same way, the faster you get at it.

3. Put Guidelines in Place for Situations That Come Up Out of the Blue.  Policies are a dirty word, according to Gary (and Mike agrees).  It’s important to define your philosophies of handling certain things (like customers, content, finances, etc) because there are dozens of things that come up as an owner that you simply didn’t see coming.  And having philosophical guidelines in place means you can stay consistent with who you are as a company.  For example, if you compete on the basis of customer service and giving people an amazing experience once they purchase from you?  You better have guidelines in place for situations like customer complaints, refunds, defects, etc.  This doesn’t necessarily mean having the response scripted out, although you may go down that road some day. Tasks, bullets, and guidelines are a great start to a full blown admin system.

Links and Resources Discussed in this Episode

1. More detail on creating an operations manual.  Here’s the big picture if you’re still not convinced that systems are the way to go.  (whaaaat?)  — http://thesmallbizexpress.com/sbx-13-create-operations-manual-business

2. Ryan’s Lee’s monthly subscription service.  A checklist service for all of your online marketing.  Very powerful for businesses that won’t to get the most traffic to their website.  — http://www.hirejill.com

3. The ins-and-outs of outsourcing via a virtual assistant.  Great introductory writeup here by the Time Doctor himself.  — http://blog.timedoctor.com/2011/02/22/the-top-6-outsourcing-sites-and-how-to-use-them

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