Business process documentation
You know how it works.
It’s time to get it out of your head.
You do it all. You don’t need to remember it all too.
The thing stopping you getting a task done sometimes isn’t that you don’t know how, it’s that you know too much.
There’s so much sloshing around in your business-brain bucket that you can’t find what you need or where to even start (and now your fingers are prunes, your fidget ring has dropped off into the depths, but at least the bucket is catching your tears).
You’ve got info in your head. Important notes in old documents. Practically a podcast of voice notes to yourself and zero recollection of where the devil they’re saved. There’s that way of working you finally smoothed out six months ago, smashed into a spreadsheet and saved on a desktop so crammed it looks like a Magic Eye puzzle (if you squint is it a parrot? Or paralysis…?).
Somewhere, amongst all your expertise and the things you’ve figured out, fixed, finessed and got really damn fine at, is the information you actually need.
A task that should be straightforward becomes a whole ~waves hands wildly~ THING!
And if you bring someone in to support your business? You’ve gotta try and explain it all to them in a way that makes sense to you both. Gah!
I help business owners turn the way they already work into clearly documented business processes, standard operating procedures (SOPs), checklists, workflows and templates, so you can get on with doing the meaningful work instead of managing the process.
Make the things you do regularly easier to repeat, without having to remember or reinvent them each time.
You don't have to know what you need, just what you need to do with it.
Business process documentation starts from £300.
What I help with…
◑ Processes
A high-level overview of the what, why and who, as well as the main steps, decisions and information needed.
◑ SOPs & guides
A focus on the how. Specific step-by-step instructions to complete a particular task or part of a process.
◑ Checklists, templates & workflows
Practical resources that make a process or task easier to follow, return to, keep track of and repeat.
◑ Inconsistencies & gaps
I flag missing information, duplicated steps, different versions, inconsistent or unclear terminology, and other issues to make the work easier for everyone involved to complete.
Why it matters
All that know-how in your noggin means YOU become the process.
Which is fine… until Future You needs to remember exactly what Past You did that time you set up the form and clicked the options and selected the buttons and set up the onscreen instructions for your clients. (Although you do remember you wore budgie-green eyeshadow that day – it was the start of your neon phase.)
And when you outsource the parts of your business you no longer want to do yourself, someone else needs to know what you know too.
You don’t want the person you’re paying to support you to sweat it out in a ‘you explain, they email you questions, you send a 17-minute Voxer message featuring you tripping over the kerb as you monologue your way to your car, they try to decode what “the usual” is ’ dance. It’s no Macarena.
Having the process documented means you or your VA, graphic designer, social media manager or new member of your team can crack on without having to flick through the Filofax of your mind.
You know how it works. I make sure your business does too.
What you’ll get
✦ A clear, workable process, with the information and steps organised so you know what needs to happen and when.
✦ The right format to get the work done and off your to-do list: an SOP, guide, checklist, template, tracker or a combination of resources.
✦ Reusable resources so information is captured once and made repeatable in a way that suits you.
✦ Clear, consistent documentation that identifies and addresses missing information, duplication, discrepancies and potential sticking points.
I’m not here to redesign your business, suggest you sign up to eight new software subscriptions or tell you how you ‘should’ be running things.
I help you get what you already know out of your memory and into a manageable format that makes the process easier to complete. Let’s create more space for work you’re proud of, time for play and plenty more pound notes.
It isn’t ready to be documented if it still needs…
?
FIGURING OUT
You’re working out and developing the process or changing the way you do things.
𖦏
STRATEGY
You need a business expert to create a practical plan for sustained growth and success.
</>
SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE
You need help to research, build or configure systems, automate workflows or become a platform expert.
So you’re not ready yet? S’all cool, babez.
Finish developing your process, then head back here when you’re ready to capture it.
If you need someone to sort out the systems and software side, I can put you in touch with folk who know their stuff.
And if you ARE ready to document your business processes?
