PREPARING FOR GROWTH Building Repeatable Processes
L ast time we talked about keeping customers. Another big reason they will leave you is a lack of consistency when they interact with you. One of the biggest shifts that happens in a growing business is the move from “everyone figuring it out as they go” to “we have a process for that.” Early on, you can (and probably had to) get away with running on hustle, intuition, and the heroics of a small team. But as soon as you want to scale, you need repeatability. Think of it this way: if you won the lottery tomorrow and disappeared to a beach, would your business still run smoothly without you? If the answer is “no” (and for most early-stage companies it is), then it’s time to start documenting and building processes. Some people, especially entrepreneurs, tend to feel that processes are limiting, equating them to red tape. Processes aren’t about bureaucracy. They’re about freeing your team’s brains to focus on the important stuff instead of reinventing the wheel every time. A good process: • Saves time by eliminating repeated mistakes. • Makes it easier to onboard new hires (hello Growth). • Creates consistency for customers (so they know what to expect every time). If sales calls, customer onboarding, or service delivery vary wildly depending on who’s involved, you don’t have a process problem—you have a growth problem waiting to happen.
by Darryll Gillard
52 SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • VOL 25 ISSUE 4
BUSINESS • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE 53
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