Many entrepreneurs fail to capture the core aspect I like to call a foundation; when working on organizing a business as well as its processes. You are not able to scale a business effectively if there isn’t a strong organizational structure in place. Achieving successful growth can be exceedingly complicated, as it is not the only mount a business strategy should tackle. One of the reasons as to why it is considered a bit simpler is because, unlike many other aspects of a business, this particular one can be solved with ease by focusing on a process approach technique.

The Different Phases of Business Growth – Where Do You Fit In?

A perfect business does not just exist, it is built over time. Different stages or levels exist in which a business matures, and it is important to consider what stage your business is currently in. The stages of maturity can be broken down into four main stages:

1. Self-Employed:

You have shifted from being an employee to a business owner. At this stage, you might hire several people but most of the work will still be done by you. To illustrate, a Chartered Accountant (CA) can leave his job to open a private practice and hire a couple of assistants.

2. Manager:

Eventually, your organization might expand, which means you will require additional staff, and will also have to manage them effectively. Although you have a team working under you, you are still deeply engaged in the day-to-day activities, assuring that you supervise everything to make sure that processes are running smoothly.

3. Owner/Leader:

You are past the phase of shrinking behind daily responsibilities and are now able to vacation without constantly worrying about the health of your business. You have developed processes and systems within your organization that helps it sustain on its own without your supervision. Now you can focus on managing and optimizing your business, instead of micromanaging it.

4. Investor:

If you have done everything right, you can expect to see your business thriving without your constant attention. You can now shift your focus toward investing in additional companies. There’s a reason successful business people own multiple companies, and that reason is the ability to manage processes, recruit the right individuals, and analyze the data. Elon Musk and Richard Branson are excellent examples of this type of entrepreneurship. They own companies in a variety of industries including electric vehicles and space travel.

The Significance of Following the Step-by-Step Approach To the Business:

For companies of any size, adopting a process driven approach has proved to be revolutionary. Global businesses like McDonald’s and Cafe Coffee Day have mastered the art of international expansion by using repeatable processes that guarantee effectiveness at every single branch. Now, what does a process driven approach entail?

A process driven approach refers to defining the who, when, what, and how of an ideal business operation. It entails capturing every detail of the operations and standardizing tasks so that they can be performed consistently, irrespective of who or where is doing the task.

Steps for a Process Driven Approach

1. Scalability

You simply cannot scale your business without processes in place. The business owner is burdened with repeating instructions and guidance which prevents him/her from effectively managing. Unlike the traditional approach, processes guarantee clarity which improves profitability. Documenting your processes allows employees to follow the steps and easily scales the business for new hires.

2. Lesson of Working with Standardization Companies (Branded Businesses)

Branding food businesses is accompanied by a big concern of scale. For example, while purchasing a McDonald’s burger, the consumer expects it to taste the same at a McDonald’s chain located in Delhi and also in New York. For this chain to succeed, it had to achieve standardization in all its operations. The company set up a ‘Hamburger University’ where each employee is trained on how to operate the business from A to Z: how to cook, how to interact with customers, and how to run all other departments of the company. This is the reason for the exponential growth of many businesses. The bubble economy had McDonald’s branches all over the world including countries with developing economies, and they did not have to care about maintaining the taste and portion size cultivated in their home country.

3. Bottleneck and Improvement

With regards to enhancement, it borders on impossible to say any business cannot experience improvement. Process-focused work makes it convenient to determining the areas an organization can work on. In case there is a way to improve a process to reduce the amount of time taken or the amount of resources allocated towards it, they have sufficient information to review to make changes. This refers to one talking with the right authority who can help identify the areas bottlenecking the company and thus making the operations more streamlined.

4. Automation

If you are still using manual methods, it is time to think about automating it. Automation can radically enhance the standardization and consistency of your business processes. For repetitive tasks, automation is extremely beneficial as it minimizes human errors and improves productivity. Documenting and automating your procedures, whether they are physical or digital, will always improve their efficiency: it is best if they are registered as it is easiest to do.

The Road to Business Success:

Achieving long-term business success necessitates an organized and process-oriented backbone. Here are the key takeaways for structuring your business:

– Shift your focus toward a process-oriented philosophy that will allow simplified operations and scalable growth.

– Ensure processes are well documented to enhance system productivity and organization.

– Do not be afraid to seek help in finding problems that need fixing with your processes.

– Incorporate automation into processes where human errors may occur in manual activities for predictable efficiency.

If well-organized, a shift toward a process-oriented model will help you achieve increased productivity and growth in your business, which leads to long-term success.

Categories: Business Automation