Use Procedures To Grow Your Business
The most successful businesses around use procedures in order to grow and thrive, are you? If you aren’t already, you’ve have a few things to work on. First things first, I want to know if your idea of procedures is like my own.
A procedure in a business needs to be written down in a step by step format, not leaving out any details. That procedure should be able to be followed by anyone. Even if the procedure is currently performed by you, it needs to be recorded in some way so your staff, interns, or even a next owner will be able to follow it.
Think creating a bunch of procedures is a waste of your time? It’s not! All tasks ran in your business can quite easily be created into procedures. Whether it’s writing a letter, calling a client, sending a fax, it can all be made a procedure. It won’t just help others get work done, following the procedure as directed will result in work improving and work will just seem easy.
One benefit to following your own procedures is that you won’t accidentally forget an important step. Another benefit is that you’ll be able to have a better look at each step you are doing, and you might even be able to weed out any unnecessary steps and eliminate wasted time.
It’s extremely valuable when you can train yourself to see how time is being wasted. Changing and improving upon a procedure is also important. If you want your business to thrive, you need to continually improve your business. And, if your business is run on processes, guess what? You simply improve those processes and your business is directly effected in a positive way.
I’d like to show you one of my own procedures:
1. Make video recording
2. Buy domain name
3. Buy hosting
4. Add video to site
5. Make sales letter
6. configure processor for payments
Here’s an example of the process revised to eliminate wasted time:
1. Record video product
2. Burn product to CD
3. Upload data to CD manufacturing service
4. Give order link to customers
The first procedure is for a downloadable product, the second is a cd-rom product. Even though the cd product can’t be played by a customer immediately after ordering, the number of sales weren’t affected, and wasted time in many areas was eliminated.
Try developing a few processes for your own business. If you have staff, train them to follow them. Maybe then you can escape your office for a change?
Read more articles by Aaron Brandon, click here.
Abe Cherian
CEO, Multiple Stream Media, LLC.
