Why is Preparation Important?
Alright, I wasn’t going to do this but as life gets crazier and crazier I have decided to talk about being prepared. Because of the Covid-19 hysteria, people are going out and stockpiling supplies. Not really sure what the logic is behind that because it’s not like the Zombie apocalypse is coming but essentially what this has taught me is that most people are not prepared. This is applies to business as well. Most people don’t prepare for growth, decline, or changes in their business because we are so sure that we will have time to do it later.
Procrastination is something pretty much everyone struggles with and I see it a lot when it comes to implementing systems and SOPs into a business. Many business owners don’t realize that adding SOP’s and systems into your business is part of building a strong foundation and is necessary if you want your business to be around long term. When you create SOPs for your business you make it easy for other team members to pick up tasks when you or another team member are sick. They make it simple for you to bring on new people when some one quits unexpectedly. But most of all, it prepares your business when life throws you for a loop because there is a clear outline for what needs to happen in your business.
If you got a life threatening illness tomorrow and had to spend 2 weeks in the hospital, is your business set up so that someone can fill in for you? I would say 90% of small businesses are not prepared for something like that. This is why it’s important to have systems and SOP’s, if you have the structures in place so that other members of your team or even a family member can jump into your business and keep it operational then it becomes easier to handle problems that arise. SOPs should be written in a way where a monkey could understand how to do the job. This is because you want to be able to lean on family and friends (people who may have 0 knowledge on the subject) to help you keep your business running in times of crisis.
It’s so important to add these systems and SOPs into your business before you actually NEED them because by the time you need them it will be too late and it could cripple your business. There is no time like the present, begin adding SOPs one day at a time. I recommend creating the SOP as you do the task so you know you didn’t miss any steps. If you do it in this way I promise it won’t be so stressful and you will have them all done in no time. If you have not picked up my SOP template yet, you can get it using THIS LINK! Stay safe and don’t procrastinate
