Summary: Until you put things down on paper, you'll never really understand your business. That goes with creating goals, marketing plans and everyday business processes in your business. An operations manual is an ever evolving document that serves as a reference manual for you and your employees and helps to keep your high standards consistent across everyone on your team. Creating an operations manual isn't hard, though the idea of it sounds daunting. Most people think of a telephone book sized document filled with mind-numbingly boring stuff. While it's no Shakespeare, it'll help you run and grow your business and help you scale your business beyond what you can do alone as a business owner. For some businesses, an operations manual may be just a half dozen "how to" pages that outline what's supposed to be done in certain situations. For others, like in franchising, it serves as a business roadmap where even a novice business person can hit the ground running and start turning the wheel faster and faster instead of trying to invent it. In this episode of The Small Biz Express podcast we discuss: Why putting your systems and processes are so important if you want to grow and scale your business Where to start when it comes to creating an operations manual for your business Some good resources to help you create an operations manual How an operations manual is like a diet plan and why Gary's daughters call him "Muffin Top" How franchises use a written operations manual to scale their business even with non-business savvy franchisees How an operations manual becomes so important (and valuable) when it comes time to sell your business People tend to think "cookie cutter" when they think of an operations manual. We discuss why it's the opposite.. Action Steps from this episode: Map out your business by writing it out. Until you put things down on paper, you'll never really understand your business. The success of your business shouldn't live up inside your head, it should be freely available to both you and your employees. How can your employees deliver success (as you see it) if they can't read your mind? By putting those wonderful ideas on paper. If you do something well, document it for the future! Create consistency in your business. You do one way and your employees each do things a different way. Consistency in doing all of the little things right is more important than occasionally "Wowing" them every once in awhile. Just like in basketball, layups win the game. A documented system for key processes in your business will help you and your team stay on the same page when it comes to doing things the way they're supposed to be done. Plus, it'll keep your employees from calling you during dinner because they forgot how to close out the credit card machine....ugh! Build a tangible business asset. When the time finally comes to sell your business, nobody is going to want to buy the ideas in your head. If you run your entire business from inside your head, selling your business for what it's really worth will become difficult. An operating manual with a systems and processes demonstrates that others can continue with the success you currently have. An operations manual becomes a tangible and very valuable asset when it comes to valuating your business. Links and Resources Discussed in this Episode Screen Steps. Great tool if you'll be doing some serious process creating. http://www.screensteps.com/ How To Create an Operations Manual blog post. One of my most popular articles. http://www.thesmallbusinessplaybook.com/how-to-create-operations-manual-for-business/ Screen shots and screen recording. Free and easy to use. http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html Google Sites. Part of Gmail and Google Apps. Easiest way to set up an intranet for your business and to house an online version of your operations manual. https://sites.google.com
