RUN - THE 4th COMPONENT OF THE SUPER SMALL BIZ APPROACH
Running Your Super Small Business Using Company-Specific Processes
Hi, I'm back again. LynMarie here, Super Small Biz Consultant and Attorney.
Processes, Procedures, and Systems play an integral role in any business. They are even more important for super small businesses. Processes, Procedures, and Systems promote efficiency and that makes more money for the super small business, and (and, and) it reduces the time spent in the purchase cycle giving the super small business access to the money sooner. All super small businesses require processes, procedures, and systems. Unfortunately, these things are not always communicated and are even more rarely documented in very small organizations. The key is to develop detailed, specific processes, procedures, and systems that cater to your unique company.
These are your "secret sauce". They are what make you different from your competitors.
Below, I have collected several processes, procedures, and systems for you to keep in mind when developing your business plan as well as in the day-to-day operations of your business. I have dedicated a whole chapter in my upcoming book to the importance of processes, procedures, and systems in your super small business.
Here are a few examples of the processes, procedures, and systems you might want to incorporate into your tiny enterprise.
One of the most important pillars of operating a super small business is efficiency. Included in this principle is being resourceful with what you have, constant monitoring of how things are done in the company, reducing waste, and creating a way to do things that can be replicated by newer employees to keep things working smoothly.
Here are 22 processes that you may have in your super small business. Not every company will have all of these processes. I hope you find a category or two that you are currently missing that will help you in the future success in your organization.
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Project Management - These are individual projects that require input from different departments. These projects often involve one person doing something before the next person can do their part. And please note, that for super small businesses a "department" may be a single individual.
2. Finance - Where are we getting money from and how are we distributing it? How are we paying our bills and what is our process for doing so? You will need to track all your incoming revenue and your outgoing expenses.
3. Customer relations and service - How do we ensure that our customers enjoy the experience with us, from learning about us to buying, word of mouth, and repeat purchasing? Establishing a process can ensure products are made or services are rendered similarly by all employees.
4. Asset Management - What assets do we need and how will those assets be used to their fullest potential in our company? What new assets do we need to make our company more productive? How do we determine what we need and who has the final decision?
5 . Product/Service Development - What new products are we thinking about or working on? Will we expand with new products or services? What will that look like?
6. Delivery - After buying ingredients and manufacturing a product, how do we get the product to the customer? What is the most cost-effective method to use? What is the most reliable delivery service to provide?
7. Human Resources - Do we have a person in the organization that makes sure we are following all the employee/employer requirements? Is there someone to go to when a problem arises? What about company benefits? Employee handbook?
8. Payroll - How is payroll done and when is payday? Who and how is it tracked and then prepared for submission to the IRS?
9. Discipline and Grievance - What is the process for reporting problems, and what is the process when someone requires disciplinary action? What are the policies in the employee handbook and how do we follow those requirements?
10. Potential Clients - What is the process of alluring a potential client to our company and getting them to buy our product or service? What do we do once we have attracted a potential client? How many sales are we supposed to make?
11. Social Media - What are we putting online to attract potential clients? What social media platforms are we using and what approach works well with our company’s mission and vision?
12. Intake/onboarding - What is the process for initial contact and bringing the potential client into our business?
13. Marketing - Marketing includes some social media and other approaches to attracting potential clients and keeping them interested in our products and services. What marketing strategies will be implemented?
14. Risk Management - How do we fix problems day-to-day? What contingency plans do we have in place for when a catastrophe occurs? (fire burns down a building, all inventory lost, a pandemic, etc.)
15. Budgeting - A super small business by definition has less money at its disposal than bigger companies. What is our budget for each project? What items are necessary and what items are non-essential?
16. Procurement - How are we going to acquire the raw materials to create and make our products? How will we get those? Who are our suppliers and are they the best sources for our materials? Are there other potential suppliers that would be better?
17. Accounts Management - What is the process for how we service our customers? This includes acceptance of credit cards to what information we document about them during the interaction during the sales process.
18. Outside Media Policy - What should employees do when approached by media? Do you have a policy they should follow? Who are the people who speak with outside media/influencers/and other companies regarding the organization?
19. Joint Ventures and Partnerships - what is your procedure for collaborating with other businesses? Do you have a standard contract?
20. Website/Content Development - Do employees contribute to company content in a newsletter? Are specific things assigned to different employees? Do you have an editorial calendar?
21. Policy Review - Do you have a way or timeline of when policies get reviewed? What happens if a policy is no longer appropriate?
22. Strategy Development - Who is selected to develop strategies, and how is a strategy decided? How are changes made, and is there a procedure for implementing new strategic directions?
Does your business have any of these processes and procedures in place already? Are there other systems you need to integrate into your business?
You may have procedures in place that are no longer relevant or need updating. Maybe you have systems in place that no one is following, or systems that are unrealistic and difficult to follow.
Evaluate your current procedures and determine if your business would benefit positively by making some changes. Utilize the list above and determine which ones could be beneficial to your company.
Finally, we have systems. Again, check out the book 7 Keys to Success in Super Small Business. The book provides post-Covid solutions to businesses with 0-10 employees. In it, you will take a deeper dive into the difference between processes, procedures, and systems, although they are not the same thing.
What makes me the right person for super small business solutions?
As a super small business owner myself, I have created and owned over 15 businesses that have had 0-10 employees in my lifetime. Not many people can sell that. I start businesses like most people start hobbies. Not only do I have over two decades of experience in super small businesses, but I discovered early on the problems with the old-fashioned theories and philosophies. I realized that my businesses did not look, sound, or operate like the examples the business books were giving. I had to alter the business information to apply to my small companies.
Some may say: Sounds like you had a lot of business failures (15 super small businesses?)
Not True... Every business I owned was successful and profitable when I either sold the business, closed the business, or gave it away to others.
Super-small business successes don’t have to involve a lot of additional strategic planning, huge budgets, and loads of additional time. Let’s face it, as a super-small business entrepreneur you already have enough to think about without adding additional work and responsibility.
Need more information? Please visit the Super Small Business Resource Center page for more helpful articles.
