If you're feeling overwhelmed with your tasks or that your time + revenue is capped, there's a straight forward solution: business systemization.

Business systems is a term that gets thrown around a lot, but isn't defined much. To simplify this, "systems" are basically a set of instructions and shortcuts that allow you to hit specific results without wondering "wtf do I do?" Systems can range from customer relationship management (CRM) processes to sales call tracking.

The purpose of establishing the right systems is to save time, reduce stress, and bring more control + efficiency to your business. 

Here's a simple 3-step process to get started building systems for your business:

Step 1: Create Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

Don't let the formality of the "SOP" acronym fool you. A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is nothing but a step-by-step instruction on how to do a specific task.

Start creating them by identifying the tasks you perform in your business, and writing them down. You might think you "know" what you do every day, but do you really?! If you're working from memory all the time, there will be things you forget to do + if you ever want to train someone else to do that task, you'll have a much tougher time.

That's why you start by writing down what you do.

Once you have the task written down, identify WHO does that task and WHEN... and if the answer is "me," write down who could eventually do that task if you passed off the responsibility (think job role). You may never have any intention of hiring or outsourcing, but it's nice to know this info in case you change your mind. 

Once you have the task identified and who does it, write down WHY you do that task. This brings context to the task and the overall benefit. This also pays off later... When you get to the point of diving deep into the activities that drive your business forward the most...

The final step to creating a baseline SOP is to detail every single step of that task. I've attached a screenshot of a SOP for "publishing a blog post" below as an example.

Notice the toggles next to each step. In the above picture, if you were to expand those, more details are displayed showing exactly how to do each step: with tips, login information, and general guidelines. You don't need the advanced details right away to get started with your SOPs, but I wanted to highlight this in an image as it will help yours you make more and more progress.

General rule of thumb: break down your tasks well enough that someone with 0 foundational knowledge of the activity could still pull it off. 

Step 2: Identify bottlenecks

There are 2 primary bottlenecks for online-centric solopreneurs and small business owners...

1. Tasks take too long to complete
2. Tasks are unenjoyable to complete

Once you're done creating a baseline SOP for a task, your next step is to do 2 things... Determine how long each step takes. And if a task is a complete headache.

Here's a simple example → let's say you start creating SOPs for everything you do, and you realize your onboarding process is 100% manual and cumbersome.

You sign a new client, manually send them emails on next steps and to book an onboarding call. You send over a google form with some questions that help get the process started... But then you follow up with them 3 days later since they haven't completed the onboarding form yet... sound familiar? 

Now you've identified an exact task you can automate to make your life easier. And after identifying bottlenecks, assess whether they stem from task complexity, lack of tools, or procedural inefficiency. This assessment will guide you towards the most effective solutions, whether that's automation, delegation, or process refinement.

Example solution: "Onboarding is such a drag. I should build email automations, get automating reminder software in place, and record walk-through videos to get new clients set up, rather than setting reminders and manually reaching back out."

When you start understanding where your time is spent and what causes headaches, you understand how to gain efficiency. 

Step 3: Seek Improvement

No system is perfect — plus systems can break or become outdated.

Always look for ways to improve. The best way? Ask clients for feedback. Or ask your team for feedback if the process is 100% internal.

Pro tip: you can even systemize this by having quarterly surveys :)

Additional ways to improve can be tracking ideas (for future systems) or tracking errors (where does a system break).

Bottom line: if you understand what you do, why you do it, and who does it... You can begin the process of setting up systems to scale.

TL;DR FOR THE SKIMMERS

1. List Every Task: Know what needs to be done.
2. Schedule Tasks: Plan when things need to happen.
3. Identify Personnel: Write down who does each task.
4. Identify Bottlenecks: Determine what's slow and what's confusing
5. Improve Bottlenecks: Automate or tweak the bottlenecked processes
6. Keep Improving: Always refine and adjust by seeking feedback and monitoring performance