Systems matter and you should put them in place even if they seem silly or like overkill for your small operation. Here’s why. [level-members]
The two main reasons systems matter are
- Peace of mind – you know your business can survive your absence, planned or not, if there are systems in place for shelf stocking, product orders and inventory, even cleaning and maintenance should follow rules.
- Ability to think strategically – if you can spend less time worrying about whether light bulbs have been changed or bank deposits made, you can think more about building your business, increasing sales, improving profits. More than anything else, this is the single most important thing you can do to improve your business.
- Ability to attract buyers – unless you’re planning on making your last sale with one foot in the grave, it makes sense to think about selling your business. Solid systems – particularly financial systems – make the process much easier.
There’s no set rules to what form these systems should take. And for most of us, operations are small enough that military-style precision is hardly needed. (With the exception of accounting. If you dread discussions with your accountant, you’re probably not doing everything you can systems-wise when it comes to your bookkeeping.)
So put together checklists and quick summaries of the things that keep you busy all day every day. Review them with someone completely unfamiliar with your shop. They’ll see gaps that you can’t notice being so involved with operations. And if you’re lucky, you may even see some areas of inefficiency that can addressed to improve cash flow and profits.
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