Chaos.

Every business fights against the forces of chaos and in uncertain conditions, small businesses can feel the brunt of that chaos – especially without strong systems in place.

Whether it’s your marketing system, your sales system, your on-boarding/scheduling system, your service deliver/project management/operations system or your post-service/support system (or any other system that supports your small business), they can need constant refinement and attention as you grow (sustainably).

As most systems feed into each other (marketing into sales, for example), refinements in one can affect others, so it’s generally a good idea to take a step back regularly to see how everything is progressing, holistically, as well.

Separate Systems, But Holistically Connected

Very often a system “downstream” can often hold up an “upstream” system — for instance, if service delivery or project management gets delayed or is overbooked – often beyond capacity, marketing & sales may have to “pump the brakes”, so to speak, until fulfillment times stabilize.

If post-sales/support is tying up operational resources, this can further slow down output/service delivery – and eventually sales & marketing.

Especially in small businesses (where resources can often be limited), system perturbations can often be felt even more, so taking the time to regularly review your systems can help you avoid business disruptions – and the chaos that ensues.

Visualizing Your Systems

If you haven’t already, draw or map out your systems.

Even if it’s a crude sketch (there are also many online systems map makers out there), mapping out your systems can help you visualize the flow of your customer or client through your business – from marketing to sales to onboarding/scheduling to service/delivery to post-service/support (and any others you may have).

Obviously, these are all going to be different depending your unique business setup (and may be more complex the larger you get), but actually writing or drawing these out can help you further develop these – and find any gaps – as your business matures.

These system maps can also allow you identify and develop Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) for different areas of your business, which sets up your team for success, as well.

Without Systems, Chaos Will Take Control

Mentioned in an earlier post on systems, there are few guarantees in the small business world, but one of them is that without systems, chaos will control your business more than you will.

If you’re finding yourself overwhelmed or constantly fighting fires in your small business, there’s a good chance there’s a deficiency in some system (or, perhaps, a system that is missing altogether) that needs some attention.

As we head into some of the busier parts of year for many small business owners, take a deep breath, step back and ask:

“What can my systems be doing better this year to support my goals — and (better) set my team up for success?”