You work hard as an entrepreneur. It’s difficult to find time for yourself. You’re swamped with a thousand things to do in your business, but that’s an impossible pace to maintain. Everyone needs moments to recharge in order to be their best selves.
Sounds too good to be true right? But you need time for your practice. You need time for your family and interests outside of work. I’m personally always trying to spend more time with family. Yet, It’s hard to step away from the studio…
Your business is important. You’ve put so much effort into getting it to where it is now. It’s hard to trust your studio with other people. It’s easy to fall into a “If you want it done right, do it yourself” mentality. The problem with that is how do you get away? Where’s the time for yourself?
If you never teach others how to handle your studio you could get burnt out. Don’t lose sight of why you opened a business in the first place. The goal of being a business owner is to have freedom – both financially AND personally.
Truth → If you don’t put systems in place your business will always need your constant supervision
Your phone will keep blowing up at the dinner table. You’ll always worry on vacation. Your business will keep running your life. You didn’t open your studio to micromanage and handle every small task. You need to find a way to stop micromanaging and hand-holding.
Not sure how to break free from this system? Good news! There IS a way!
You can create Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) *Woohoo* *Applause*
SOPs do not seem exciting at first – But you SHOULD be excited! This is your path to freedom as a business owner.
Get the best of both worlds: free time AND a business that runs smoothly
Implementing SOPs takes all the guesswork out of delegating. Your employees will know EXACTLY how to do things, just like you would. Use them as a way to unload your brain so your business can run smoothly when you’re gone. Give more of your energy to growth and development instead of using it on the little tasks.
Think of an SOP as a checklist. You create it to tell a person exactly how to perform a task. Do this in a step by step, foolproof manner. This is straightforward information. It’s ok that the language is boring. This is the one time I am giving you permission to not be creative.
Writing them like this reduces mistakes. SOPs give your employees (and you) something to look back to when help is needed. Think of how you would explain an internal task to a stranger – i.e. opening a room, turning on the lights, setting up a classroom, etc. You would do this in a step by step, clear, easy to follow manner.
Truth → SOPs are documentation that clearly lay out a procedure.
It’s not hard! Someone else should know exactly what to do by following your instructions. Lay out every detail for them. It helps to walk through the SOP with fresh eyes when you’re done, as if you don’t know how to do the task already.
They give others insight to your mind. How valuable is that!
Create SOPs with confidence!
I know what you’re thinking: this sounds like A LOT of up front work. Well, it kind of is.
But it pays off! Think of all the extra time you’ll have when you’re not doing the mundane, day-to-day tasks around the studio… You’d have time for that project you’ve been putting off. That vacation your family has been begging for. There are ways to reduce the work. Try this:
Use an app like google recorder and talk through the process while you’re doing it. Make sure to include every detail – describe exactly what you’re doing. Google recorder has a transcribe option for your recordings. You can now take this and convert it straight into an SOP. You don’t have to tediously type out every word.
There is a lot to be said about SOPs: how to implement them, what processes to make them for, where to store them, and much more. At the Yogapreneur Collective we go over all of this, providing templates to walk you through it. This system adds so much value to your business, especially if you wish to sell one day.
Be confident delegating with SOPs! For more information on what this looks like for your studio, join a FREE Strategy Session with me
