Operational Efficiency & Business Growth: Systems & Processes | Joshua Monge

Ever wondered how meticulous process documentation can revolutionize your small business? Join us as we sit down with Joshua Monge, a seasoned fractional COO and the mastermind behind Think, Adapt, Build, who shares his profound expertise in operations management. Joshua recounts his personal journey, detailing valuable lessons learned from running a marketing agency and emphasizing the critical role of systematic process documentation in preparing businesses for any eventuality. Whether it’s hiring, selling, or navigating unforeseen challenges, Joshua’s insights are a treasure trove for small business owners eager to achieve sustainable growth.

Discover the secrets to developing a growth mindset and crafting high-level "meta processes" that can be honed into comprehensive procedures. From refining your marketing strategies and optimizing customer intake to establishing efficient payment systems and ensuring effective post-service follow-ups, Joshua provides actionable advice to streamline your operations. His practical tips, such as asking customers how they discovered your business and maintaining ongoing communication, are designed to enhance both operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Joshua also highlights the often-overlooked importance of setting up robust systems for accounts receivable, offering personal anecdotes and strategies to ensure timely payments. He underscores the necessity of creating a systemized business that can operate independently of its owner, explaining the distinctions between a hobby, a job, and a business. With his guidance, learn how to implement Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for long-term success and discover the pivotal role a fractional COO can play in boosting your business’s valuation. This episode is a must-listen for any small business owner committed to optimizing their operations and securing their financial health.

Joshua Monge: CEO / Think Adapt Build

Website: https://thinkadaptbuild.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjdmonge/

Email: joshuam@thinkadaptbuild.com

#SmallBusinessGrowth #OperationsManagement #ProcessDocumentation #JoshuaMonge #FractionalCOO #ThinkAdaptBuild #BusinessOptimization #MarketingStrategy #CustomerSatisfaction #SOPs #SystemizedBusiness #AccountsReceivable #BusinessValuation #Entrepreneurship #SmallBusinessTips #GrowthMindset #BusinessEfficiency #SustainableGrowth #MarketingAgency #StreamlineOperations #BusinessOwnerTips #OperationalEfficiency #BusinessSystems #FinancialHealth #BusinessProcesses #SmallBusinessSuccess  #BusinessCoaching #BusinessPodcast #SmallBusinessPivots #SmallBusinessSuccess #Success #Podcast #SmallBusiness #BOSS #MichaelDMorrison #OklahomaCity

Chapters

• 0:00 Small Business Pivots With Operational Expert
• 10:37 Documenting Key Business Procedures for Growth
• 20:24 Effective Systems and Processes for Business
• 33:19 Building a Systemized Business for Success
• 39:35 Business Growth Strategies and Resources

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

All right, welcome to another Small Business Pivots. We've got a very special guest from around the world here, not too far from my home. We're going to let him introduce himself, because we know that business owners can introduce themselves and their business like no one else.

Speaker 2: 0:17

Oh boy, that's a lot of pressure.

Speaker 1: 0:19

Jeez, I was building up, right yeah.

Speaker 2: 0:22

I got it. I got it. Okay, here we go. So my name is Joshua Monge, I am a fractional COO or chief operations officer, and the name of my business is Think, adapt, build, and I have a passion for helping small businesses get the tools and resources they need so they can grow and be contributing members to their community, because I fundamentally believe they are members of the community. They need help. They hire local talent, they provide local services, they spend the money locally. So, as a community member, if they need help, like let's get some the resources they need because they're a community asset. And I come from an operations standpoint because I think there's finance people, there's legal people I think operations is definitely one of those big things that people get stuck on.

Speaker 1: 1:17

You got to be able to fulfill orders or whatever it is you're doing, and operations is a key part of that. So what do you think we're going to help our listeners with today?

Speaker 2: 1:28

Ooh, you know we were talking a little before and I was like, okay, I wonder what we should come up with first, and I think one of the concepts and ideas that I'm really passionate for, of course, is process documentation, not just for the sake of having it documented. But there's a potential time when you're running your business that you're going to either need to hire people or potentially sell your business or there's going to be something that happens and you need some sort of contingency plan for something bad happens in the area. If you have things documented and if you have processes sort of contingency plan for you know, something bad happens in the area. If you have things documented and if you have processes kind of in place, that can help relieve some of that stress when you come to those situations or those crossroads.

Speaker 2: 2:16

It's a little. It's when you do process documentation. People think like, oh, I need to spend like so many hours doing that. But I think you can create a system or a process to document while you're doing things and then just get a baseline documentation and then kind of keep adding to it and the nice thing is you put them all in a binder and you know if you ever did need to sell your business or go for finance or whatever. You can actually show someone how the business runs yeah, yeah, well, yeah, well.

Speaker 1: 2:45

If there was a love language in business, this is mine. I love SOPs, I love documenting, and all of our listeners know that too. So I really encourage all of you to keep listening. But first we're going to introduce the show and we'll be right back. Welcome to Small Business Pivots, a podcast designed for small business owners. I'm your host, Michael Morrison, a small business coach and founder of BOSS, where we make business ownership simplified for success, so that you can own a business that runs without you. To learn more, go to businessownershipsimplifiedcom. All right, welcome back to Small Business Pivots. We've got a load full of information for our small business owners today, but first I want to talk. So our show is called Small Business Pivots and I know for a lot of business owners, we've had trials and tribulations growing up. Did you have any of those and how did you overcome that? Because mindset is a big deal for a business owner.

Speaker 2: 3:48

Oh, definitely I as a consultant, I would definitely say don't hire a consultant unless they've actually failed.

Speaker 1: 3:57

So everybody can hire me, is what they're saying.

Speaker 2: 4:00

You know, you, you learned a way not to do something Like. That's pretty valuable, but yeah, I, oh my gosh, my heart goes out. I think part of the passionate reason why I'm so wanting to help small businesses was because I did run a terrible marketing agency for 10 years. I never knew where the money was coming from. I took on projects that I shouldn't. I, you know, was very optimistic that I could get things done and rely on other people to get things done. And they didn't. I didn't have plans in place, they didn't have margins in place and it was a very tough time for our family to to, you know, rely on me as the breadwinner, to to help, you know, keep our family fed and electricity on and everything else.

Speaker 2: 4:44

And you know, I thought that being good at something was just sufficient, but really it's. You could be good and have a skill, but you got to do all the other stuff that entrepreneurship and business ship, business management requires and unfortunately I, I had to learn the hard way and so, um, yeah, I've had, I've learned very much how not to run a small business. That's, that was easy. Uh, the most recent versions of, uh, the business that I've had, they've all matured, and they we've. I've had to make some pivots um into other opportunities, but it's all on the road of progression. So, uh, yeah, definitely, definitely.

Speaker 1: 5:22

I've seen things though, too, for sure that's interesting because most coaches, consultants, have written a book and they're all about strategy and moving forward.

Speaker 2: 5:33

Well, I wrote one book and it's called do not, in capital letters, start or run a business my way you know, it was funny because we were at a chamber event last night and they were recognizing small businesses and giving out awards. And I was like uh, and I happen to be sitting at the table in the back with the people that are a little cynical, and you know, we're just, we're paying attention, but probably not as much we should have, sorry, but, uh, I, so we came up with the idea these are all the people that succeeded in business. What if we had an award show for the people that failed in business, like I mean, we had a word show for the people that failed in business? Like I mean, we could pack that thing out. I'll tell you, right, for every one person on the stage there's, like you know, at least a half a dozen people that didn't make it.

Speaker 1: 6:15

So we had a networking event just last week and a group of us entrepreneurs were standing there talking about something similar. And it wasn't failures, it was who owes the most money.

Speaker 2: 6:28

Yeah, yeah, oh, my gosh, yeah, yeah, those, those and the fact that you guys can talk about that and have that conversation, that actually shows a level of maturity, I think, for business owners. And, um, not to get all like pithy, but I think those are the conversations that you need to have. If you're an entrepreneurship and you're in business, you need to have that conversation with somebody. So I think that's great. Yeah, you got to have yeah, it takes us all.

Speaker 1: 6:58

I want to hit on. So you're, you're an operation. So you had a company that maybe not completely failed, but you felt like you failed. And so how did you come out of that? And all of a sudden you're like the operations guru, the goat of the operations.

Speaker 2: 7:14

Well, so, yeah, I actually went back to school. I went back to college I'm very much a self-learner back to college, I'm very much a self-learner, and so my my shelves here are littered with books of just every inclination of business and ideas and sales and um. So I actually went back to school, got a degree in economics and then, um, I was the director of economic development for a chamber for three years and so I had like the hard knocks learning that I had in the and then the experience that I had working in corporate and different jobs. And then when I left the chamber, I had to start my own business again and I and I recognized between the chamber work and what I did before. The businesses that succeeded or were doing well had some resiliency because they knew what they were doing, they had clarity of vision and they had systems in place to take care of themselves. And so when I started um it was actually an seo business right at the right at the beginning of covid I knew very quickly like I need to know who I'm selling to and I need to know what I'm, what they're, what they want to buy. I need to provide that in a very clear, simple way. And so I did seo audits as a very simple way to do that and, and because of that simplicity and very targeted focus and having a clear process, I was able to get to six figures in 18 months just by being very focused. And so that success.

Speaker 2: 8:38

I had a buddy of mine that was a fractional CFO.

Speaker 2: 8:41

He was like Joshua, between the work that you did, the chamber, the experience that you had, the chamber, the experience that you had, and then what you managed to do with your business, you know, that's all operational pieces that some other people could use.

Speaker 2: 8:53

And just before COVID, I was being considered for a COO position for a $10 million manufacturing facility. And so, based on all of that manufacturing facility, and so, based on all of that, uh, fractionals were just getting started, or the the concept or the idea in this new wave. And so, with my buddy telling me, hey, you should be a fractional COO, I was like, oh, I'll give it a shot. So put a shingle up and man people once, once I got past that initial conversation, they were like, oh my gosh, yes, can you make my business run easier? Can you save me time? Can you help me make more money? You know like they were so excited to talk to me, and so then I started picking up clients and again having operations in place, having structure in place to do that and facilitate that has been extremely helpful. So I'm basically eating what I'm cooking.

Speaker 1: 9:42

So yeah, well, let's talk about those systems and things like that, because I know, you know, we both know, and many of our listeners know that they all hear systems and processes, sops, and that they know they need them. A lot of them don't even know where to start. Some of them they're just like, yeah, that's for other. I don't want to do that and the problem I find with that is, if you don't do it, you're not going to survive. I mean, there's, you're really not. You're going to be working yourself to death. And business owners that come to us for business coaching they're burnt out and they think that's just one more daunting task that they have to try to do, have to figure out. So can you help us with that big conversation I just stopped with? Can you help us clarify, like it doesn't have to be that difficult and maybe some processes that they can start with?

Speaker 2: 10:37

Yeah. So I think, first it starts with and I think you've talked about this like growth mindset or having the idea of you know what the future can look like and that potential um. So I think, starting off, I know it feels very much, you know, for people that are very tactile, they're like wait, I have to sit and think first, yeah, sit and think, yeah, one get the idea of one growth, growth mindset, so that you want to grow, that you want you're going to do what it takes to kind of make that next, next phase happen. The second thing is, um, as, think of it as process improvement, right. So even that first pass, that you do something. It's not perfect, that's okay.

Speaker 2: 11:15

If you write down like answer the phone is like your intake process, or write it down on one sheet like that's fine, at least you're starting the documentation process and then and then, as you go through the rest of kind of like the customer journey or the customer experience, I would basically and I have a formula for it and we'll go over in a second but basically just document those what we what I would call like meta processes, like how do you do payroll, or how do you take money from a client or how do you follow up with them? All of those like big concepts. Just write those down in a basic, simplest form that you can and then, in a week or two or when you have time again, go over those and then write the next level of what that looks like and then go over it again, then come up with the next level and eventually you'll get to the place where you'll know that when somebody calls, george is going to answer it, he's going to document it into your CRM, he's going to dispatch it out to Joe. You know, mary, mary's going to book the, you know, and you'll have the whole thing mapped out. But to get there, um, start with the meta process, kind of the big high level, and then kind of work your way down and then, since you said, I get to talk a little bit. So with that, the processes that I would start off with, one is um, how do you raise awareness of your product or service? Like, and that's marketing, but like, how does that work? And if you can't answer that question, then whoever you're paying for marketing, you need to go ask them. And if they can't answer the question, then you probably should find a new marketer. But you want to ask a question like how are people finding us, or how are people getting aware of us? And then you want to document what that looks like. And then you want to set up a tracking system. So a very simple way to do that is when you answer the phone or when you get an email, or however they book ask the question how'd you hear of us? It's very simple process to put in place. You document. It adds tons of value.

Speaker 2: 13:05

The second thing that happens is the customer intake, right? So this is your chance. You've convinced someone to buy whatever it is you're selling. Now you've got to make that experience align with what they're paying you. So you want to make sure that they felt like they're being welcomed, right? So somebody comes, you invite somebody over your house and you're like figure out which door to come in and good luck. Yeah, that's. That's not a very welcoming experience, right? Um, so you want to figure out, like, how are they being received? What's going to happen when they get here? What does that process look like?

Speaker 2: 13:37

And then, if there's additional things that you need, like, be sure to let people know ahead of time to expect that. So, if you're a home inspector and you actually need to physically come into the house. It would be helpful to tell the person hey, by the way, when I do my home inspection, I need to be in your house for an hour or two hours, so, like, let's schedule that ahead of time or let's prep that, so that would be one way. Or a plumber or a landscaper, whoever like hey, I need this, I need these additional things, not just the price that you're paying me, but I need these additional things for you to help me get to get this done appropriately. Build that experience, make sure that people are aware of it and then document that.

Speaker 2: 14:14

The third one is some sort of payment. Everybody, I mean right, we all do work. We're all going to get paid. Some people get paid up front, some people get paid after the service, whatever that is. Make sure you have a good, clear payment system in place. Um, you know if you're taking cash or checks or whatever, like create, create a process around that, um, so then the next part is then fulfillment. You actually have to do the work. Yes, make sure you have a system in place for that. Document how that gets done, um, and then, once the work's done, then there's a documentation and reporting, right, you gotta let the client know that the work's done. What does that look like? Document that, uh, and then the last piece to it is now that you've done all of that, can you market to that person afterwards or can you continue that relationship with that person?

Speaker 2: 15:01

I focus on service-based businesses. So the idea is that you know there's that first time you're going to do something, or that transactional kind of one-time experience. Okay, but how do you turn that into a lifetime value where, if you are a plumber or, let's say, electrician, sure you did that one project. But then what if you followed up with the person in a month or two months, you know with the newsletter or with the thank you or just some way of staying in touch with those folks? Then next time they need somebody they're not rushing to the phone book or they're doing a google search they're actually going to remember oh yeah, who's that guy that was in here last month, or who was that guy that was here last year, or who was that woman that you know did that big project. Oh yeah, that's right, I get an email from them every month or two months. So so there's some simple documentation, there's some simple processes. I don't know. What do you think? Does that, does that?

Speaker 1: 15:49

help. You just opened Pandora's box for me. I've got to comment on almost every one of those you just mentioned, but one of them is well, they're all super important and I love that flow and that's a great starting point. First off, I hear business owners say one of two things I don't have time to do one more thing, so how much time can they expect to spend doing this? And then, how many processes should they expect to get done? In other words, should they focus on one or two a week? So it's not just overwhelming? Or maybe 10 a quarter? Have you found a good number there?

Speaker 2: 16:30

Um, I think it's really about prioritizing your goals and what you want to do. So you know how many, how many of us I mean, I've done this too. Like I look at my income for the month and I'm like, holy crap, I'm a little shy here. Yeah, I gotta, I gotta hustle up, right. So then I basically put everything off else, off to the side, and I'm focused on the sales and I'm pushing that to get done and so I can get that money in for that next bill.

Speaker 2: 17:02

So I think with this, it needs to be a priority for you. That needs to kind of be the undercurrent of everything you're doing. So I would say, you know, ideally the best change happens small increments over time because you get a compounding effect. So I would say, figure out a schedule for yourself. If you can do five, 10 minutes a day, just document one thing. I would strongly recommend that you have what I call one source of truth. So I have that one folder or that one binder that you're going to do this in and then write down those processes and just sketch them out and then, like I was saying, layer those right. So then just write down one. If you do that every day in five days. You've just mapped five processes. So the next week when you go back through even if you want to fix those you can go back over them again and then refine them, refine them. If you do that, it might take you a couple of months to actually get those five processes fully documented, but then you'll have five fully documented processes.

Speaker 2: 17:55

Yeah, and, and you know this, like Michael, when you're documenting these things, you're also thinking, oh wait, why do we do it that way? Oh, you know what, like I had one client. They documented the process for approving receipts and they went to the owner to approve to approve any expenditure receipts. And they went to the owner to approve, to approve any expenditure, like, and there was an email chain and two hours of work spent on a $25 receipt that was missing, and and and the owner sent me the email chain and she was like why are we doing this? And I told her one why do you let that happen?

Speaker 1: 18:31

It's your business, I don't know.

Speaker 2: 18:34

But two. I told her. I was like well, what's the authorization level that these people have to be able to make these choices? Or like, figure this stuff out. She goes, oh, I never did that and I was like okay, so let's, let's call this a $25 problem. Do you need to be involved in a $25 problem? No, Great. So then let's let the bookkeeper know. If it's less than 25 bucks, just deal with it. Right, oh, that's a good idea, Great, she's like. But 25 is kind of low. How about a hundred? I was like sweet. Now it's there you go. We just created a new process. Anything under a hundred dollars, you guys take care of it. I did add one caveat when we have multiple under 100, let's set a value max for that. So then you don't want a $10,000 problem, but $100 problems. That nobody told you about. Right, Once it gets to 1,000 combined, then maybe give you a heads up.

Speaker 1: 19:24

You're listening to Small Business Pivots. This episode is proudly brought to you by BOSS, where business ownership is simplified for success. At BOSS, we help business owners create their businesses to run smoothly without them being there 24-7. Our seasoned business coaches who have walked the path themselves, provide invaluable guidance and support and with additional services like fast business loans, some approved within 24 to 48 hours, comprehensive online courses, detailed workbooks and engaging classes, boss offers a wealth of resources to help you succeed. Discover how small business success begins with Boss at businessownershipsimplifiedcom. If you're enjoying the podcast, make sure to stay connected by hitting that subscribe button giving us a thumbs up. Sure to stay connected by hitting that subscribe button, giving us a thumbs up or leaving a positive review. Your support keeps us going. Now let's get back to our incredible guest On to another part of your processes. Oh, and I do have a question, because this is kind of the. I'm asked this a lot Is it processes or processes?

Speaker 2: 20:32

Oh, my gosh. I think it's tomato or tomato right Okay?

Speaker 1: 20:36

I just want to make sure there's people that try to correct me on that. I'm like processes. I don't know systems and processes. Process C sounds like I'm eating some fancy food or something.

Speaker 2: 20:48

Depends on what part of the country you're in. Right Sure, All right.

Speaker 1: 20:51

So I will, and to piggyback on top of the one that you talked about receiving, like accounts receivables, like collecting money for business owners that are listening. If you don't have cash which most of them don't you either't have processes for your collections. I see so many business owners with 45, 60, 90 day monies out there because they never picked up the phone. They don't have a process to say do on receipt. They call within 24 hours, they send an email. You know I mean what is it? The squeaky wheel? Or the loudest, whatever gets? I don't know. Whatever that saying is, you know what I'm talking about.

Speaker 2: 21:34

Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, it's, it's funny. Yeah, that was actually one of the things I had. So when I ran a terrible business before, that's what I did. I never followed up with people. I hated asking people for money, and so my solution was always either go get another, go get another person to give me money uh, you know, that would start up another project, start up another project. Or I would like ask the person like hey, by the way, is there anything else I can do for you? And they're like, well, yeah, of course I would love this. I'm like great, and my hope was that if I did enough stuff, that maybe they would feel bad and give me money. But that was a terrible way to do it. I was going to say how did that work out for you? Yeah, no, absolutely terrible. Because, again, projects, yeah, scope creep, scope creep, you know, and it just, and they just owe you more money.

Speaker 1: 22:16

Yeah, I know right.

Speaker 2: 22:18

So it's like trying to put out a fire with more gasoline. So then what I did was, when I did this you know, next version of my business um, I use a pay uh, a bookkeeping system that will send out the invoices, and then I set auto follow-ups, uh, for payment dates, um and so, and then I set auto follow-ups for payment dates and so, and then I have it in my contract. But I also have like, so the notifications automatically go out. So my, my system will automatically send you a. Hey, you didn't, you're three days past due. Hey, you're a week past due. Hey, you're two weeks past due. Like the system already does that. And so that's enough to kind of get people motivated like, oh, yeah, cool, let me go ahead and take care of this, um. And then I think that solved probably about 80, 80 to 90 percent of the.

Speaker 2: 23:02

The money collection problem was, and there was honest mistakes like somebody forgot, or like you know they. There was just some weird little hiccup. Okay, great, that took care of it. When there was a problem, like, oh, we updated our payroll system, our accounting system, we forgot to transfer you over as a vendor, like okay, we're gonna come a check then right, like you know, right, but um, having a system like that, great. The other thing is, um, if you're the owner and if you feel bad about it, then always, always, have the bookkeeper quote. I'm using air quotes here for people that are on the audio that you can always blame, right? Yeah, like well, my bookkeeper, you know, wanted me to follow up on this You're, you're 30 days behind or 15 days behind, whatever. Blame it on your bookkeeper, like yeah.

Speaker 2: 23:51

Even if you don't have one, because you are the bookkeeper, so you're not lying, yeah, even if you don't have one, because you are the bookkeeper, so you're not lying. Yeah, right, yeah, you put that hat on eventually someday.

Speaker 1: 24:00

So well done. And then one more tip on that you can't figure out, or it would be difficult for a business owner to figure out, why they're not getting collections if they don't have a system. And so that's the importance of a system. And to that note for business owners, I encourage you, if you are putting net 30 still on your invoice, stop doing that. Put a date or put due on receipt. Put when you want that money, not net 30 days or whatever. That will help your cash flow. Also, I promise you Ours are due on receipt and as soon as that invoice generates because it automatically recurring, as soon as it auto populates or whatever the software does, it dings their card. So due on receipt is like right now for us.

Speaker 2: 24:44

So be that specific, yeah, yeah, that makes a lot of sense, especially if you have a service where you can't take things back. Like somebody does plumbing work or whatever you know they don't get paid for 30 or 60 years. Yeah, you can put a lien against the house, but that's forever.

Speaker 1: 25:01

But like you can't go back in and pull the toilet out and be like sorry, I'm taking my work back because you didn't yes, okay, so we have business owners, and I'm just going to start throwing out a few objections, because I know some of them are thinking this because they say it to us all the time. But, mike, when we talk about systems and processes, they go. But, michael, you don't understand my business.

Speaker 2: 25:29

Talk to us about that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, um, yeah, there's actually businesses all run on the same chassis. I mean that's the reason why when I say I help service businesses, people are like oh, is it like what do you mean? Like what? What do you want it to mean? Like are you, you know, you're a lawyer, are you a hairstylist? Are you a plumber? Are you a market? Like that's service-based business You're, you're providing a skill and a service in exchange for money. That all kind of flows the same way.

Speaker 2: 26:04

So I think there are definitely like characteristics or unique aspects of who you are and like that, those kinds of values that you have. Maybe that's what's influencing it. But if you're going to be running a business, got to treat it like a business. And you know, I I would love to say I'm an nba all-star basketball player, but if I never show up to the court, I don't play and I don't know how the scoring system works yeah, I haven't, I've been recognized or recruited then I'm not an nba basketball player. I you might have a great hobby or you might have a great side hustle, but if you have a business, it requires cashflow, it requires marketing, it requires taking care of your customers. It requires paying your taxes, it requires all of those things that are on top of you just simply providing a goods or service. Yeah, absolutely, well, you mentioned earlier.

Speaker 1: 26:55

you said several times write down top of you, just simply providing a good or service, Absolutely Well, you mentioned earlier. You said several times write down, write it down, write it down. What about video? Can someone do that? Or do you find that writing it down is better? And then, how do you? Where do you store them?

Speaker 2: 27:09

Yeah. So it's funny that you mentioned that, because I meet people all the time and they're like oh yeah, sop is editor of documentation. I totally do that. Then they pause and they where's that binder at? Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh, george has he's uh, out at the farm, or yeah, no, um, yeah, when I say documentation, I think, um, video again, I think when you are going through the process of documenting everything, video is fine, but I think eventually it needs to be written down into like a clear process that somebody can access pretty much at any time.

Speaker 2: 27:48

Um, so you can do those electronically. I mean, I hold the binder up as a physical representation. Um, if you can actually get it into a binder, then that's. I feel like that's kind of the final form for it. So, uh, anything along the path, I think that's fine.

Speaker 2: 28:02

Um, you just want to make sure that everybody can access it, everyone can use it, and if all of your instructions are just video, then the trade-off with that is someone's going to be watching the video over and over and over and over again. They're like what was that one thing you said? What was that one thing you said? Whereas if you have it written out, then they can scan down to where that, where that instructions are, and then go back to that point. So that's the only reason why I would advocate for definitely writing it down. And, um, there's, there's enough evidence out there that if you actually physically write something, you tend to remember better. But that doesn't work well if you're, you know, terrible handwriting. So I would say, go ahead and write it down, but then at some point get it typed up and then store it in one place.

Speaker 1: 28:44

And we don't want to write a letter to our grandma on these processes, right? So what are some tips like how many steps maximum, how many sentences, just so people will read it, because I know, like at medical centers and things, I've seen some of their SOPs and they're like pages, nobody's going to read that.

Speaker 2: 29:07

No, I think you use as few as words as possible and nothing less. So, like, keep it as simple as you can. You know, the best way to know if you have enough is to write it up, hand it to somebody that doesn't know anything about what you're doing and see if they can get through it. If they can't get through it and they have questions, then you're going to want to add those details into it.

Speaker 2: 29:31

Yeah, this is a tough one because I so I use a process visualization where I actually will map everything out, and sometimes people are like, oh, this, this is only a five-step process, and then you go through it and you're like but you have to give it through different departments, and then you have different approvals, and then you have all these things. Like, all of a sudden, this five-step process is actually like 30 or 40 steps, and so then do you need to document every single one of those? Not really, it's kind of like a map, right? So if you're in, well, I'm in Tulsa and you're in OKC, so if we had to get from here to there, how much instruction do I need to be able to get from here to there, right, so I can take the highways, I can take back roads, I can take all these different paths. Well, what's the path? What's the clearest path that I can get, and with the least amount of instruction or explanation, I can still get to where I need to go.

Speaker 1: 30:21

Yeah, so I know we're getting close to time, so I want to ask this question to another question that business owners ask is how do I get my people to follow them?

Speaker 2: 30:32

Yeah, um. Well, you can't use some of the old methods, so so the best way to get people to follow them is clearly one have clear expectations of why you're doing this, like let the people know, like, hey, I'm documenting this. You're going to get some people that don't want to document it because they are the process or they feel like they they own it. They own it or they're attached to it, so you want to be mindful of that. But you want to be able to document it because if something happened to that person, you could have somebody else step in and do that process. You're also going to have people that want to be knowledge hoarders, and so you know you could tell someone. Well, the reason why we're documenting this is because the rest of the team needs to know how this works and how this happens, and you know they're not going to like it, but that you have a business. Again, this is the upside of having business that you treat it like such um. And then the other piece of this, if you really want people to to go along with it, is help them create the process that you're writing down like, or help them write that out. So go to them and be like hey, michael, you know you're really good at this. This is great.

Speaker 2: 31:42

Eventually, if you want to move up or move into another position, we're going to need someone else to take the spot. Can you help me document this and write this down, like what you do? Or, in case you're sick, we can get someone else to step in. Can you help me write this down, or can you help me figure this out, if you make them part of the process and they're going to be able to do it? And the last piece I'm going to say and your listeners are probably not going to like this, but there is a statement out there that you know, a fish stinks from the head. So it's the leadership that, basically, is going to be accountable to make sure that people are doing it, and so I would suggest that, if you are a leader, that you demonstrate the behaviors that you want from the rest of your team, so start working on some of your own processes that you're going to follow that makes me laugh, because I see that all the time.

Speaker 1: 32:32

Why won't they follow my sops? I'm like well, you didn't come in that door like you tell everybody else to yeah, right, yeah, you didn't park where you're supposed to.

Speaker 2: 32:42

So why should they? Yeah, and like well, I'm the owner of the business, okay. Well then you know still the leader too. Yeah, I tell CEOs when I work with them. I'm like, listen, I'm here to help you set the rules. It's your business, so you can break any rule you want. But when you break a rule, I'm going to tell you, hey you, you start having a team that's not listening to you, that's not following through, that's not. You know vested in your are interested in what you're trying to do. Then you know you need to change some of your leadership, start demonstrating what you expect, and then you hold everybody to that standard. It's easier to hold people to a standard when everybody's following it.

Speaker 1: 33:17

Yeah, amen. And well, I know that a lot of business owners can't even fathom following our slogan that says build a business that runs without you. Well, this is one of those ways. You have to be systemized. You have to have SOPs in order to have a business that can run without you. Is that fair?

Speaker 2: 33:38

Oh, very much. So I mean it's a difference. I mean just to kind of be a little harsh in the line in the sand. Is it, is it a hobby or is it a? Is it a job or is it a business? Right, those are kind of the three, three little buckets that you land in and if you can't walk away from it, or you can't go on vacation or call out sick, or and you're the only one that can do everything or be the the choke point, basically, for all this work you're, you're not a, you're not a person that owns a business, I hate to say you have a job, you have a job, yeah, and crappy job making less money than you could in the open market probably.

Speaker 2: 34:15

Yeah, yeah right and you're full of debt. Yeah, and I love meeting the service people that are like I quit my, I quit working for you know that regional big guy because, blah, blah, blah, they don't know what they're doing. So I started my own business. Cool man, do you know what you got yourself into? Like right.

Speaker 1: 34:32

Yeah Well, and for business owners out there, we're not trying to be mean, we're just trying to be real. And I always say for the business owners that come to us wanting help or guidance or something, I first have them acknowledge one thing, and you have to fess up on this, and that is the business you have today, the challenges you have today. You either created that or you allowed it one or the other Right, because it's their business, they own it.

Speaker 2: 35:01

Yeah, yeah, the buck stops with you.

Speaker 1: 35:05

So until you change, nothing around you will change is kind of where I go with that statement. And they have to recognize that first, that if they want a better business they have to be a better version of themselves.

Speaker 2: 35:17

Yeah, no, that makes sense. I mean, what was the other? I forgot what the quote was. Sense. I mean, what was the other? I forgot who the quote was. But you know, when you have a successful business when you're not the smartest person in the room.

Speaker 1: 35:31

Yeah, I love that Absolutely. Well, Joshua, we're out of time. I can't believe it. It was fast. So how can someone get a hold of you? Tell us a little bit about your business, how you can help others.

Speaker 2: 35:44

Okay, so I work as a fractional COO. I usually help service-based businesses from half a million to 10 million in revenue. They're kind of at a place where things are working but the bus is on fire, the wheels are coming off and they need someone to kind of step in and help not just with strategy but actually kind of work with some implementation. Help not just with strategy but actually kind of work with some implementation, showing up and helping create order and putting out those fires and the practical ways that I help do process documentation and visualization. So I get a big map and we map everything out, we do flow charts with those. The nice thing then is we have lanes and so then with those lanes we can use those for job descriptions and then we can actually do evaluations for like cost and time and quality. And so these visual maps are they do several things. The other thing they were actually do too is you can go get those copyrighted and those become ip that you can put in your binder or your business binder. So if you ever needed to sell your business or get it evaluated, you actually have documentation that will increase that valuation. And then the second thing I do is help build an operations binder or operations system for people, again sitting in there doing interviews, talking to people and documenting that for them. So you mentioned earlier some guys like I don't have time to do it. Great, tag me in coach, let me let me run alongside you and let me let me get the documentation process in order. So those are like the simple ways I do audits and I do other things too.

Speaker 2: 37:14

So anything operations if you need something, contact me. If I'm not the guy, I will definitely get you the right person and then the best way to get ahold of me. I'm easy to find. I'm hard to book a little bit, so you can find me on LinkedIn. Joshua M-O-N-G-E is my last name. I think show notes. I'll send you some stuff you can throw in there and then my website is thinkadaptbuildcom and then you can send me an email if you want Joshua M at thinkadaptbuildcom. Very cool.

Speaker 1: 37:48

Well, you have helped a lot of people today, so I appreciate your time. You've been a blessing to many, and I encourage small business owners to reach out to Joshua. He and I talk off air here and he knows his stuff. So if you don't want to do it, I encourage you to get it done and call Joshua to do it. So it's that important. And you brought up another point before we close, and that is it increases the value of your business. We didn't even go that direction yet.

Speaker 2: 38:15

Oh my gosh, I think we might have to do something else on that. But yeah, that's the other offset. If you are building a business all of that non-pay stress like joy and pain the offset to all of it is there's a valuation on the back end that at some point, if you ever decide to actually sell this thing, you're building up value that you don't get to realize now. But if you're intentional about it you can have a nice exit when it comes time for you to go.

Speaker 2: 38:41

Absolutely Well, Joshua, if you were standing in a room with a bunch of small business owners in different seasons of business. What's one piece of advice that might be applicable to all?

Speaker 1: 38:59

of them Get out. No, I'm just kidding. Get out. Run, run, forrest Run, I'll do it.

Speaker 2: 39:02

Actually that's my first piece of advice for new entrepreneurs. Just kidding Now, sorry. I would say one piece of advice Put yourself in a position that you are the business owner and that you could potentially exit the business. You don't know what's going to happen with your health, your family, with economic systems, all these things that are external. If you are prepared that at any moment you could walk away from the business pretty cleanly, I think that would be a great place to put yourself in.

Speaker 1: 39:35

Absolutely Well. Thanks again, Joshua, We'll see you soon.

Speaker 2: 39:38

All right.

Speaker 1: 39:40

Thank you for listening to small business pivots. Please don't forget to subscribe and share this podcast. If your business is stuck, you need help creating a business that can run without you, or you need a fast business loan or line of credit, go to our website businessownershipsimplifiedcom and schedule a free consultation to learn why small business success starts with boss. If you want to talk anything small business related, email me at michael at michaeldmorrisoncom. We'll see you next time on Small Business Pivots.