Entrepreneurs tend to be “fly by the seat of their pants” people. And thus, we are not great at documenting the things we want, the assets we need and a plan for how we intended to get to the finish line.
How many times have you considered handing over a task to an employee or working with a contractor, but because all the information necessary to succeed is in your head, you don’t get the help you need because it’s too hard to train someone up?
Or how often do you find yourself doing something a little silly like using the dropper to identify the color hex code on one of your own brand graphics because you don’t have quick access to that info?
What about this one: You waste time brainstorming new content ideas as you are in creation mode because you don’t bother to write down and organize your ideas outside of creation mode?
Every small business owner takes shortcuts and ignores the need for processes and written documentation in exchange for buying themselves time. But in the end, it can be costing you.
Your Values and Purpose
It is way too easy to chase shiny objects and get sidetracked when you don’t have a tangible connection to your brand’s core. You know it better than anyone, but it’s still way too easy to stray when the day-to-day demands come calling. Should you really be getting into video? Is this partnership in full alignment? Am I spinning my wheels?
All these questions could be answered by taking the time to write down what your business values are and having your “Why” written down. Of all your guides, this one should be permanently visible. Keep it in plain sight by framing it and putting it in view of your workspace.
Aesthetic Brand Guidelines
Fonts, colors, logos, tone, mood boards, and any other element that is a part of your visual branding should be collected in one place. If you’re designing your own graphics, these should be saved inside your design software. But if you’re intending to work with a contractor or solicit help from your team, this handy doc will get you results much quicker.
Editorial Calendar
We all have content to create. Newsletters, social media posts, videos, blogs, podcasts. Whatever your platforms of choice maybe, you have content to create. But if you are creating when the urge strikes, or you have a scheduled cadence, but you don’t know what you’ll be posting next, it’s time to get those ideas organized.
Whether you have a Notes app filled with jotted down inklings or you’re creating on the fly, it’s vital that you commit your thoughts to paper.
Not only will this allow you to see opportunities, craft a bigger picture story, and develop a schedule, but it will also allow others to collaborate on creative endeavors.
If you know that three months from now you want to feature doctors on your podcast, you can start outreach early and give your guests time to plan. If you have a big ambitious project like a book or documentary plan, you can build time in for research.
Ideally, you could know what you’re producing for an entire year and really see the full scope of your brand’s message.
Monthly Budget
Whether you’re running Instagram ads or calculating shipping costs, you have to know what’s coming in and what’s going out and how that equals profits! If you aren’t able to hire a financial expert to guide you, then you have to create even a rudimentary system for tracking the dollars going in and out.
Passwords, Programs, and Partners
How do you function on a daily basis? What systems are crucial to your operations? If your computer took a dive or you were unable to work for a stretch of time, are you able to get logged in to your necessary platforms easily and quickly? Or help someone else to do so? Are there resources you rely on regularly?
Cookies and saved passwords on a computer make for a smooth workflow, but if you can’t rely on those shortcuts, things can get clunky quick. Make sure you have a secure, live document of logins, programs you use to operate, and who you rely on to get the jobs done.
Competition
Are you in a regular habit of scoping out the competition? While comparison can be harmful to your creativity, competitive analysis is a vital part of success in a crowded marketplace. Keep a list of industry equals somewhere so that you can get into a regular flow of looking at what others are doing in your niche.
Collaborations
Alternatively, you should also keep a running list of those with who you might want to partner with. Having a regular eye on other businesses you want involved with your brand will help you keep an eye out for opportunities. It’s easy to get sucked into your own business and forget the necessity of keeping an eye on what’s happening outside your four walls.
Goals
We all have goals for our business, but emails and orders and manufacturing errors, and more emails can get in the way of our big picture plans. And if we aren’t keeping a focused eye on all it is we want, there’s a good chance we won’t make time for it. Help yourself prioritize by being reminded every day of where you intend to go.
Product Description and Information
Whether you have inquiring customers or you’re trying to build out a team, it’s important to have detailed documentation about your products. Things that are a given in your mind may not necessarily be obvious to anyone else.
What is your best selling product? What was your first product? Where is your product made? What inspired its creation? What materials are involved?
If you’re selling something, you’re going to have people asking questions. You don’t want to be left being the sole owner of all the information.
Instructions for Repeat Processes
Is there something that happens in your business all the time? Are there processes that have to be performed in a very specific way in order to be successful? Do you have step by step instructions that could help someone else replicate the process?
Again, if you’re ever hoping to hire someone or if, goodness forbid, you became unable to work, you’ll want to have a breakdown of the most vital systems in your business.
It can feel like a lot, but when you add up the time you’ve spent working around the lack of having these documents, you can probably see how it’s worth the effort. Getting organized is usually a resolution most of us have. Why not actually make it happen this year?