We love YouTube as much as the next person, in case it isn’t clear from our library of videos. However, when creating small business systems, online business gurus tend to focus on a traditional approach that requires hours of your time to implement. ⏰
While many large corporations can dedicate time and resources to developing business process models and testing their systems, small businesses don’t have that luxury.
Fortunately, we can teach you how to establish small business systems and delegate any area of your company within 35 minutes (or less!).
Watch the video or keep reading to learn how to build systems without sacrificing too much of your time and brain power! 🧠
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How to Create a Business System (Traditional Version)
Before exploring a realistic approach to small business systems, let’s review the traditional textbook style that has become a blueprint for many companies.
📝 Note to reader: Many of these steps are valuable and have been successful for large corporations. However, the time it takes to implement them may not be practical for small teams.
Step 1. Create a Business Process Model Diagram: This step includes developing a visual of everything your business does. Some people may refer to business process models as value stream mapping or business model canvas. Visual maps are fantastic for understanding the inner workings of your company, but they can also overcomplicate the bigger picture.
Step 2. Highlight Process Map Focus Areas: Zoom in on a specific area of the completed business process model and determine the steps involved with the process. This phase typically involves using software with icons to map out everything your team does to achieve a desired outcome.
🔎 ProcessDriven observation: Small businesses often have around 200-500 processes, so process mapping can take entire workdays. If you intend to develop a process map for every business area, this step alone could take up to a year (or more) to complete.
Step 3. Write Work Instructions: Type out the designated process as a work instructions document. This stage is more than copying and pasting information from your process map. Instead, you’ll need to create clear, concise work instructions that spell out every step.
It’s common for work instructions to range anywhere from 15 to 30 pages long. You can imagine the amount of time it’ll take for 200+ processes. 👀
Step 4. Test the System: After thoroughly documenting your process, it’s time to test the system and see if your work instructions are easy to understand. You can run a practice trial by having your colleagues follow your guidelines. The goal is to have work instructions that are so straightforward that a 5-year-old can follow them.
📚 Tone down the business procedure jargon: Be clear and intentional with your language. However, if specific terms are necessary, use this guide to create a glossary to support your team!
If you don’t have a perfect result with the test run, you’ll need to fix the small business system. For all of our fellow perfectionists, don’t worry–updating your work instructions is normal.
Step 5. Fix the System: Repeat steps 2 through 4 for the final stage until your colleagues can complete the process perfectly.
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How to Build Small Business Systems (Reality Version)
Rather than opting for the textbook method, let’s talk about what can work in the real world. Open your note-taking app of choice, and let’s dive in! 📒
Step 1. Select High-Value and Vulnerable Areas in Your Business
Like the traditional model, this approach starts with your small business systems and zooms into specific processes and then tasks. Start by prioritizing systems that generate value but are painful or challenging in some way.
Some examples may include order delivery, onboarding, or marketing. Consider choosing a system that functions but could be more efficient. 💡
✨ Bonus perk: The beauty of doing this in small teams is it won’t take a 30-step exercise to determine the system. You’ll likely know what systems fall into this category.
Step 2. Choose an Activity Within That Area That Regularly Drives Value
The second phase focuses on your process. Look at the system you identified from step 1 and outline the actions that need to occur to make it work. For instance, if you’re a trophy shop owner and you assess your order delivery system, the actions involved in the process may include:
🏆 Ordering parts
🏆 Designing parts
🏆 Engraving the plaques
🏆 Assembling the trophies
🏆 Putting them in boxes
In this case, one of the more painful and valuable actions may be ordering parts. You can establish a better, streamlined process if you can improve this step.
🧠 Keep in mind: Everything until this point is about prioritization and thinking. But last we checked, it’s not thoughts that build empires. It’s your actions! Rather than treating this as a hypothetical exercise, you must implement it.
Before we transition to work instructions, let’s discuss how to turn your process map into an action plan for your team!
Step 3. Define Tasks and Responsibilities in Your Small Business Systems
Consider categorizing tasks in terms of what happens, when they will happen, and who will do them. To continue the trophy shop example:
🏆 What: Order parts for all new materials
📅 When: Every Tuesday and Thursday
🧑 Who: Steve
While working on this step, try identifying as many tasks (what, when, who) as possible. If you need additional guidance, check out the visual chart from our job titles post for reference!
The tasks are the real triggers that allow the entire system to function. Once you have a rhythm to the workflow, you can check in to ensure it works smoothly.
However, having small business systems with processes and tasks isn’t the same as building a business that can run without you. Because ultimately, you must ask an important question: Who’s in charge of this system? 🤔
If you’re like most small business owners, the answer is probably YOU!
You can’t own every system inside your business, so you’ll need to do the next best thing: Delegate your systems.
Step 4. Assign Ownership of These Areas
Delegating ownership to your team members may look like the following:
👐 Ensuring all tasks get done
👐 Routinely checking and improving processes
👐 Managing issues and work mistakes when they occur
And much more!
If you’re ready to assign systems, processes, and tasks to your employees, consider reading this post to learn how to do so efficiently!
As for teams with junior-level colleagues, you can assign an activity or a process rather than an entire system.
When you delegate areas inside your small business, you can share the responsibility so the pressure doesn’t fall on your shoulders. In addition, empowering leaders on your team ensures that you can focus on your priorities, even when emergencies pop up.
🎬 Go to the video at timestamp (10:02) for an example of assigning ownership to areas inside your business.
Step 5. Develop Your Procedure
What is your procedure? After assigning task owners, it’s time to capture your approach for achieving a desired outcome, aka your work instructions. At ProcessDriven, we call these standard operating procedures (SOPs) or recipes. But it can also include:
📝 Detailed templates
📝 Specific examples
📝 Software
📝 AI tools
Gather your SOPs, guides, and tools and store them in a centralized digital space so that another employee can seamlessly support the process if someone gets sick or changes jobs.
Change the Way You Approach Your Small Business Systems
As you follow our how-to guide, you may discover how easy it can be to revamp and reinvest in your internal systems by getting started. We’re not claiming that transformation will happen overnight.
However, when you use a model that supports small businesses, turning chaos into process is possible!
Transforming your internal systems is a commitment that requires your time, energy, and brain power. But if you’re ready to take the first step forward, consider starting with our free Systemization Snapshot™ audit today.
Good luck with systemizing, and enjoy the process!
ProcessDriven helps small teams turn chaos into process. The ProcessDriven Approach™ combines software expertise with practical process-first strategies that have helped 2,020+ teams build a scalable foundation of business systems.
