One Frustration, One System - A Winning Business Plan
Credit: 123rf.com
Over the past 20 years, I've been coaching business professionals to organize their business, using systemization as a winning business plan. In order to grow, they need to implement written systems that address the frustrations they have in their business.
To be sure, those frustrations keep business professionals working long hours, and keep them awake at night.
Business Professionals Sleepless Nights
Business owners stress over training and retraining personnel - and, especially, making excuses to customers for mistakes and shoddy work. I could list a hundred more frustrations without having to think very long, because I have experienced all of them.
More importantly, I developed a system for each frustration I experienced. And I can tell you, at first, there were many!
Where to Start to Stop Frustrations in My Business?
We have an ONBOARDING survey we send to new clients, asking them to tell us their three biggest frustrations. In addition, we have a list of other frustrations we’ve identified, that also keep many small businesses bogged down in day-to-day operations. Not to mention, bogged down in CHAOS.
Once we have their biggest frustration documented, we then recommend a system that would stop or virtually eliminate the frustration, permanently. Moving forward, we attack the next biggest frustration, and so on down the line, until peace reigns.
As a result of eliminating the top three frustrations, the reduction of chaos and waste surprises many. Of course, the effectiveness of systems NEVER surprises us.
Two Choices to Make in a Sinking Boat
Think of removing frustrations like plugging the leaks in a boat that's sinking. The obvious place to start is with the biggest leak.
You can get a bucket or a water pump, and keep getting wet dealing with the same leaky frustrations. OR...
STOP THE LEAKS by fixing the biggest hole first. Then sit back and enjoy the ride. Now that's a winning business plan!
Did I mention? Great systems work!
Philip Beyer, founder/president of Ebiz Products LLC and founder of Beyer Printing Inc. in Nashville Tenn., is a chronic entrepreneur, business systems analyst and consultant. Author of "System Busters: How to Stop Them in Your Business" and recipient of an InterTech Technology Award for the design and development of System100 business process management software. Beyer speaks to business owners across the country on how to bring lean, sustainable order to their businesses. Contact him at (615) 425-2652.
