The Main Thing Holding Your Business Back! (Hint: It’s Not What You Think)

You’re a passionate entrepreneur with a dream. You have chosen a business you are passionate about. You jumped in with both feet and are networking and hustling to attract clients to start earning the big bucks. But despite all of your efforts, you are just not seeing results. You  feel overwhelmed, scattered, frustrated, and even ready to throw in the towel. 

The Missing Ingredients: Process and Structure

Many entrepreneurs underestimate the power of process and structure. They often believe that the process is automatic because they work alone or only have a few trusted employees. It is just what they do – not how they do it. But the truth is, a lack of organized systems and clear processes can be the very thing that’s holding your business back.

The Perils of “Winging It”

When you lack processes and measurable goals, you might be working hard, but without a clear direction and efficient systems, you’re likely experiencing:

• Inefficiency: You and your entire team waste precious time and energy on repetitive tasks and searching for information that should be readily available. This lack of streamlined processes and clear focus will drain your resources on things that do not grow the business.
• Inconsistency: Without standardized goals and processes to achieve them, everyone’s experience, including your clients, will be unpredictable. Consider the impact to your business and brand when you find yourself missing deadlines or promoting unprofitable products and services. 
• Overwhelmed: It is natural to start feeling overwhelmed when you never feel like there are enough hours in the day to get things done. This likely comes from not maximizing your time and resources on the tasks that help you achieve your goals. Feeling constantly overwhelmed will negatively impact your well-being and hinder your ability to make sound decisions.
• Limited Growth: Scaling your business becomes incredibly challenging without established processes and measurable goals. If you spend every day flying by the seat of your pants and are grateful you are making money but don’t know how, successfully doing more of it will be impossible.

Working IN Your Business vs. ON Your Business

The key to overcoming these challenges is to shift your focus from working in your business to working on your business. This means:

• Creating Systems: Develop processes and workflows for every aspect of your business, from marketing, leadership, money management, and client onboarding to project delivery. Find ways to block time and batch work efficiently to expand your focus in a single area each day or week. This will not only streamline your operation but it will also allow you to identify gaps in your skills that need to be filled by people or software to ensure continued business growth. 
• Setting Measurable Goals: Define specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for your business. I coach clients using the goal-setting process shared in the Small Business Flight Plan: This actionable formula for writing goals is, “We will accomplish X (three measurable economic goals), by Y (a date no more than 18 months out) because Z (your why).” Once optimized, share it with your entire team.  Although everyone will have many goals to succeed in their roles, these should be the North Star that will drive the company’s growth.

Where to Start

1. Map out your client journey: Get to know your ideal customer. Identify all the steps in his or her customer journey, from curiosity in researching their need to initial contact to project completion. This will help you understand your customers’ needs, pain points, and actions at each stage of their buying journey. It will also help you know whether you are correctly spending your time and resources to achieve your economic goals. Suppose one of your goals is to grow your targeted client list. Still, suppose you don’t have any content or standardized workflows at the curiosity phase of their journey to enable them to find you online and obtain something of value in exchange for their email address. In that case, it will be impossible to achieve this goal. 
2. Document your workflows: Map each end-to-end workflow in your business. If you own a bagel shop, document how the bagels are made and served. If you are a consultant, what steps are taken from receiving a business card at an industry event to signing a contract? Which of these steps can be automated? This provides a comprehensive view of how things get done, ensuring consistency, reducing errors, and preventing crucial steps from being missed. A well-documented workflow makes delegating tasks, onboarding new team members, and maintaining high standards easier as your business grows.
3. Plan, batch, and pre-publish:  Do you regularly create content, like writing a blog, sending a weekly newsletter, or posting on social media? First, create and manage a content calendar at least 1 month in advance. Then, schedule very intentional time each week to work on similar tasks. For example, I pick one day each week to get into writing mode and try to write multiple articles at once without interruption. I then scheduled the articles and supporting social media posts to be published weekly. This allows me to get into a better writing flow and ensures that I have content published if the rest of the week gets crazy.
4. Manage your calendar: If you are like me, you are easily distracted with client or employee needs. An incoming email is like “squirrel.” I have found that when I set small goals for my week that feed my larger goals, and block my calendar to only look at emails at specific times each day or block time to update my CRM, I will achieve my goals without working nights and weekends. Also, when I set non-negotiable times for my physical and mental wellness, I feel better and less burnt out by the end of the day..  If you don’t manage your calendar, other people will – and you will continue to feel like you’re spinning your wheels and getting nothing done. 
5. Create templates and checklists: Develop standardized templates for presentations, proposals, contracts, and other frequently used documents. This will ensure consistency and professionalism and save you time on administrative tasks.
6. Automate where possible: Use technology to automate repetitive tasks and templates, such as email marketing, social media scheduling, appointment booking, and contract management. There are several social media creation and scheduling tools. I have used both Loomly and Canva. In addition, it is crucial to have a customer relationship management software (CRM) solution like Keap, Hubspot, or Honeybook, to name a few. These CRM’s not only allow you to manage all of your lead information but also to set up automation and workflows. Automation can help you “set it” and “forget it” for specific steps in your process, saving you time and creating a more consistent customer experience.
7. Organize your files: Implement a clear and consistent shared file organization system that allows you to find what you need quickly. Whether it’s Dropbox, Google, or another system, having organized files shared across your organization and even with clients or agencies will improve efficiency and reduce frustration.
8. Track Your Progress: Regularly monitor your progress towards your goals – I suggest weekly reviews with your leadership and staff.  Whether this is you actively looking at your Quickbooks to see what is going in vs. what is going out, or reviewing the analytics of your latest social media or advertising campaign to having a regular team meeting to measure if you’re on track with your three economic goals and address why or why not. If you’re not tracking, you’re guessing, which will not lead to long-term success. 

Reap the Rewards

By implementing process, structure, and measurable goals, you’ll experience:

• Increased efficiency and productivity: You’ll get more done in less time, freeing up your mental bandwidth for creative thinking and strategic planning.
• Improved client experience: Consistent processes allow for predictable growth and ensure a smooth experience for your clients, leading to increased satisfaction and loyalty.
• Reduced stress and overwhelm: Knowing that you have systems and goals in place provides a sense of control and reduces the need to work around the clock or constantly be reactive.
• Sustainable Growth: Consistent processes and measurable goals provide a framework for understanding what’s driving your success and what needs to be adjusted. This allows you to confidently address any positive or negative impacts on your goals and pave the way for sustainable growth.

I’d love to connect if you’re ready to transform your approach, implement processes, and build a thriving business. Download my free Business Marketing Blueprint, or set-up a call. I’d love to talk to you about how we can work together to help you build a sustainable business you love.

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