Every business is in a different place, even among those that started around the same time. Different goals, processes and dedication can make two seemingly similar businesses look widely different.
Some business owners are great at establishing systems while others have a hard time keeping projects organized. Some business owners have a background in accounting, making the finances a little easier to handle while others don’t know how to manage their profit and loss statements (or even know what those are!).
That can be a challenge when you’re looking to invest in a canned group program or membership. Instead, it’s vital that you do a business assessment so you can put on the blinders and only focus in on what YOU need to work on. There’s no need to dive into content you’ve already mastered; it’s a waste of time and effort. Instead, you want to consume only what you need.
This is something I walk through inside of Simple Systems,™ a membership for business owners who want to grow and scale their businesses with processes and systems.
Gauge where you are in your biz
Growing and running a business goes beyond sending out invoices and checking off client projects. There’s so much that goes into the back-end that clients don’t see (but they can sure feel if it’s missing).
I developed a Business Optimizer Assessment to help members organize and compartmentalize what they have in their business already, and where they need to focus their attention. Some of the questions include:
Are you clear on your business’s mission? (Is it written where you can see it daily?)
Do you have bank accounts dedicated to your business?
Are there systems in place to track your revenue?
Are your emails branded with a quality email signature?
Have you set up canned responses for some of the questions you’re asked the most?
Are you set up to onboard team members efficiently?
Do you have clear guidelines for how your team will communicate?
Do you have a system to market your business online and/or in person?
This is just a starting point for knowing exactly what foundations are set up in your business. Once you know where the holes are, it’s easy to put together a plan to fill in the gaps.
Members who go through this process get a report, showing them where they need to focus--and then directing them to where that content is. No hunting, just focused work.
Have a plan to get on track
Nothing will happen in your business without a clear plan of action. This is where my membership Simple Systems™ comes in. It’s literally a guide to getting the most pressing holes filled right away so you can focus on taking the next steps to success.
I encourage members to set a big 90-day goal, then outline what tasks they need to take in order to meet that goal. We set smaller monthly goals, and assign tasks for each day and week so they’re sure to reach their goals.
Hold yourself accountable
One of the best things about having a community of like-minded individuals is that they can help hold you accountable. One of the most motivating posts in our membership community each week is the celebrations post every Friday. That’s where we shout out the goals we met and the action we took during the week so we can keep up the forward momentum.
Of course, we also keep track of our big monthly goals--the ones that move us even closer to the big 90-day goals.
It all starts with that business assessment though. Because without knowing where you need to fill in the gaps, it’s easy to get distracted by shiny objects and actions you’re just not ready for yet.
