This blog is the fourth blog of our 8-part Rhythm Series. You can learn more about what rhythms in business are here and why I believe they are the foundation of any successful, sustainable, scalable creative business. Be sure to click here to subscribe to my email list so you’ll be the first to know when the next blog drops each week.

---

Do you ever feel bogged down by the sheer volume of things on your business to-do list? 

Are you making silly errors or relying on your memory to keep up with all the things you need to get done? 

Do you feel like the bottleneck that slows everything down?

If any (or all) of these experiences resonate with you, then you’re most likely in need of Operations Rhythms for your business. 

America might run on ‘Dunkin, but successful businesses run on Operations!

As a small business owner or solopreneur your time, energy, and resources are limited. You need to be sure that you are putting your efforts towards the right things in your business to avoid burn-out, & MAXIMIZE profitability and overall success.

Rhythms for your Operations will ensure that you…

• can free up the mental space you need to stay in your zone of genius, and truly step into your role as Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
  
  
• don’t fall victim to human error on a regular basis
  
  
• are ready to easily hand things over to your team members or outsource a project without needing to have your hands in everything!
  

In this blog, I’ll demystify the business jargon associated with operations (“ops”) and walk you through my COO-approved process for managing your “ops”, systematizing your workflows, and supporting your work with the right tools to define clear, reproducible SOPs throughout your entire business. These rhythms will ensure that your business runs smoothly behind the scenes so you can focus on bringing your vision to life. 

What’s in a Name? 

Operations, Systems, Software, & “SOP”s

Before we explore the ins and outs of operations rhythms, let’s define a few essential terms. You can think of this as your operations glossary!

Business jargon can be super confusing! Not only are some terms used interchangeably, but they’re often used incorrectly or out of context which can make things even more mind-boggling. 

Let’s break it down!

Operations (often called “ops”) are any and all of the tasks, responsibilities, or actions that keep your business functioning.

Systems support operations. They tell us “how” something is done within a company. Systems are repeatable and help us avoid reinventing the wheel over and over again. They are broad guides that give us a bird’s-eye view without the nitty-gritty details. 

Rhythms are made up of systems and they keep your systems moving. While systems tell you what to do, rhythms tell you when and how often you’ll use that system. Ex. If your system is to “update your books”, your rhythm is, “I update my books weekly.” Rhythms are the momentum you need to be accountable to your systems. 

Software includes the tools that help your systems function better. For example, your CRM (client relationship management) is part of your sales system that helps you better manage your client experience and increase sales. Some types of software can support several systems at the same time. 

SOP stands for Standard Operating Procedure. SOPs are extremely granular. They are clear, detailed instructions on how to carry out your systems. SOPS are often in the form of a checklist and include each step, timing, and who is responsible. SOPs are helpful in business because they ensure quality and consistency each and every time.

The Difference Between Operations, Systems, Software, and SOPs 

A simple, familiar analogy

Imagine you’re grocery shopping. 

Grocery shopping is an operation that most adults need to take care of as a weekly rhythm. 

Once you get to the grocery store, you have a system you follow.

This system is made up of several steps:

1. You enter the store
2. Select the items you’d like to purchase
3. Get in line to check out
4. Put your items on the conveyor belt
5. Pay the cashier
6. Take your bags
7. And walk out of the store

The system is general, but it provides an overview of tasks that need to be done when you go grocery shopping. Each person may have a different approach to this overall system, but the essential steps are there. 

There are also tools and software that support your systems. When you shop, your grocery cart makes it easy to gather and carry your items. The cashier’s POS (point of sale) software makes it simple to ring up your items and checkout via cash or credit card. 

Finally, you have your grocery shopping SOPs. Now, I’ll be honest, most people don’t go through life carrying SOPs around alongside their reusable grocery bags. You don’t need a checklist to remember the particular way you bag your groceries or the specific brand of coffee you like to buy. These preferences and routines become intuitive. 

However, the game changes when you recruit someone ELSE to do your shopping for you…

Remember that time you sent your significant other to the store in your place (never again!!!)?? Did they bring back exactly what you wanted or pack it up properly? 

Chances are no!

That’s because they used the same system but their own interpretation. They didn’t have an SOP to follow.

Instead, you could have prepared them with more detailed instructions to set them up for success and help them meet your expectations. 

Your shopping SOPs would over-explain what and how each part of your system is to be completed. It would be detailed and unique to you and how you prefer to do things. 

Imagine what you would include in your grocery shopping SOP. This is purely hypothetical, so, to be clear, I am NOT recommending you arm your significant other with an SOP next time they head to the store on your behalf (because I definitely don’t think my husband would appreciate a “How to Guide” AND the shopping list)…

Here’s an example of a grocery shopping SOP that leaves little to no room for interpretation. 

1. Select items for purchase becomes → select the items on your list in this order: non-perishables, fruits & vegetables, poultry/meat/seafood, dairy.
   
   
2. Put the divider on the conveyor belt becomes → pickup the conveyor belt divider with your right hand. Place it 2 inches behind the groceries of the person in front of you in line.
   
   
3. Put groceries on the conveyor belt becomes → Add your groceries to the conveyor belt in this order.
   
   
   • Look at your shopping cart
   • Find the heaviest items that you would like bagged at the bottom.
   • Place these on the conveyor belt first.
   • Continue to add items based on size and weight.
   • Keep meats separate to be bagged separately. 
   • Keep the eggs for last and bag them on top.

I think you get the gist of it! SOPs are super specific!

Your business SOPs are similar. Ultimately they map out what you want and how you want it done in your business. Hopefully, this analogy helps you understand the hierarchical nature of operations, systems, software, and SOPs.

Now it’s time to get your business operations working for you behind the scenes so you can keep your business running like a well-oiled machine. 

Why Your Business Needs Operations Rhythms

As you just learned, operations are an umbrella term for all the things that keep your business functioning effectively and efficiently. This can get tricky because operations tend to impact all of the other rhythms in your business. 

We lean on business operations for…

• Managing our finances
• Developing our team members
• Communicating with clients
• Analyzing metrics and reports

…and so much more!

It’s the reason I consider operations rhythms to be the rhythms that hold all the other rhythms together. 

It’s the “rhythmic glue” so to speak. 

Operations Rhythms are necessary for any business because they get (and keep) your business up and running smoothly. To be an effective CEO, you need to have the right operations in place to support your goals both now and in the future without needing to have your hands in every single project or detail!

Your business systems 

The first thing you need to do as you take inventory of your systems is get everything out of your head and onto the page! Whether you make a list, create workflows in ClickUp, or record each one as a Loom video, you need to start documenting.

Here are some commonly used internal systems in business to get you started:

• File and asset backup
• Organization (file naming conventions and folder hierarchies)
• Software Setup
• Administrative Work
• Team training 
• Customer service/client experience

As you review each of your operations systems, here are some reflection questions to consider:

1. What systems do you already have in place (maybe it’s something listed above or something else)?
   
   
2. What operations in your business need to be systematized? These are usually the things in your business you constantly feel like you’re creating from scratch. Stop reinventing the wheel (hint: if you find yourself doing any task more than once, it needs a system!)
   
   
3. What is the purpose of each system and how is it moving you towards your goals? Are you doing things just to do them, or is this system truly moving the needle forward in your work?
   
   
4. Who is your system serving? Is it an internal or external system, meaning is it client-facing or business-facing? 
   
   
5. How does the system work overall? How would you generally explain it to a friend? 
   
   
6. Does this system feel smooth or clunky? Is there any point in the system where things often get hung up, off track, or errors occur?

With this assessment in mind, you can move through the software and SOP sections to streamline, clarify, and create ease within your systems. 

Your business software

Now that you have the most commonly used systems in your business outlined, brainstorm the tools you use regularly to help you get the job done. 

1. Where does this system take place (a certain platform or app?) Maybe it starts in one place and moves to another platform?
   
   
2. What tools do you have available to you that you don’t consistently lean on? Why? Are they hard to use? Is there a  steep learning curve? 
   
   
3. What tools would make the system easier? Is there a tool you’ve been considering investing in to help smooth things out? How would this tool positively influence your workflows? 

While a tool or software isn’t always the right solution, leaning on technology to support your work is often a great way to reduce your workload, errors, and overall energy exertion! 

A great way to make this decision is to do a time audit. To get started, track where your time is going for a solid 7 days. Just start (there is never a perfect time and there is always a reason why this week is different than any other week). Your time audit will help you understand how much time you are spending on specific tasks so that you can begin to interpret your current capacity. Once you see where your time is going, you will be better able to determine if investing in a tool will help you save time and energy while giving you a positive return on your financial investment (ROI). 

COO Tip: I am a BIG fan of automating anything and everything you can! Not only will it save you time, but you’ll also save money and the frustration that comes with making errors!

Your business SOPs

All right. Now it’s time for the nitty-gritties of your operations rhythms: mapping out your SOPs.

With your systems and software clearly mapped out you’re ready to define each and every piece of your operations so that you can streamline your work and ensure consistency. 

Now, remember, this is all about getting extremely detailed. If it feels like you’re going overboard, you’re probably doing it right! 

Standard Operating Procedures support the Systems and Operations of your business. Embrace SOPs! Because they touch ALL your rhythms and systems. These are the detailed checklists behind each of your systems.

SOPs will tell you:

• Who is responsible
• What the timeline looks like
• How exactly is it supposed to be done
• The tools needed to complete each task

SOPs leave nothing open to interpretation and ensure that each task is delegated and reproducible. Clear SOPs will help you hand projects off without worrying about a lack of quality or consistency no matter who is doing it or when it’s happening. 

When we look at SOPs, make sure they are working towards a particular goal or vision: 

• The Why. They define a clear goal, end product, or result. This is often dictated by your operations.
• The What. They outline the recurring system.
• The How. The exact steps to get there.

Before we dive into mapping out your SOPS, I want to express how deeply detailed this SOP process is going to be. I’ll do that by talking about peanut butter & jelly sandwiches.

Back in school, I remember an activity called: “How to Make a PB&J Sandwich.” The objective was to write the steps for making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich so clearly that anyone could follow the steps and create the sandwich precisely the way you intended. 

It sounds easy in theory but can be tricky to reproduce without people adding their own flair or assumptions. 

Remember, the system is to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The SOP requires way more detail!

Your PB&J SOP would need to include…

• How much jelly? How much peanut butter?
• Should they use a spoon or a knife (don’t assume they know!)
• How many sides of the bread need peanut butter or jelly?
• How should they cut the sandwich? Diagonal? Horizontal? Into 4 squares?

The goal was to be extremely Intentional with your words and painstakingly specific about how the PB&J sandwich-maker should assemble their sandwich. 

You see… people make assumptions! They fill in the gray areas and do things the way they have always done them. 

The problem with leaving your systems open to interpretation is that errors are often made, inconsistencies are created, and often our systems become more complicated than necessary (wasting time, energy, and resources).

To avoid this, we’re going to create our SOPs like we created our PB&J sandwich instructions. With LOTS of detail!

Here’s how to get started with yours:

• Clearly define in a sentence or two WHY this SOP is important and WHAT it is meant to achieve. With a clear outcome, transformation, or goal in mind, you’ll have more direction and be able to ensure your SOPs are aligned and effective.
  
  
• For each system, take time to note every single part of your current process. Use a checklist or step-by-step process to chronologically map out the details.
  
  
• Document where this work is done, who is typically responsible for it, and how it should be done to meet your expectations.
  
  
• Notice anything that feels redundant, unnecessary, or clunky. That’s okay! In the next section, we’re going to highlight where there is room for improvement in our SOPs so that you can optimize them moving forward.

Assess your SOPs

You have everything mapped out. Your operations are clearly supported by systems and tools to get the job done. Your SOPs are so detailed that even your tech-illiterate Aunt Sallie could replicate the processes to a T!  

Now it’s time for some refinement. With your detailed SOP in front of you, begin to assess how your SOPs can be improved and optimized. Here are some reflection questions to get started:

1. See if any steps can be simplified, streamlined, overlapped with another task, or eliminated altogether. 
   
   
2. Automate anything and everything you can! Lean on the technology and let automations do the heavy lifting so you don’t have to constantly start from scratch or do recurring tasks by hand.
   
   
3. Store your SOPs somewhere easy to access. Then they are ready to share with team members or for your reference. Your SOPs aren’t doing you any good if they aren’t available for you or your team to use.

Your Operations Rhythms Quick Start

Ready to create the systems that make up your operations rhythms for your own business? To make this even more tangible, let’s walk through how we would create operations, systems, and SOPs for your customer service or client experience. 

Step 1: Connect to your core values. 

As you’ve built your business you’ve probably done some reflection on your Core Values. They guide the decisions you make in all aspects of your business, including your SOPs and the systems they support. Start by getting clear on how this SOP fits in and lines up with your values. Why is this operations rhythm important to your work? For me, Client Experience is at the core of everything I do. I want to be able to consistently serve my clients at a high level so I am going to focus on the recurring actions that support this value in my business. 

Step 2: Align your systems 

Consider how your systems can support your current needs, your short-term goals, and your broad vision for the future. 

As you align your systems to your current and future needs, remember that you don’t need to get it right the first time. You may not be able to anticipate every future need. I don’t want you to overcomplicate this process, but I DO want you to be on the pulse of your current, short-term, and long-term needs so that you can notice and prep for that “tipping point.” When you tend to your operations rhythms regularly, you’ll be better able to respond to what matters now with an eye on what’s to come!

You will naturally outgrow your systems at some point. You always want to put them in place with the eye towards growth, but you’re going to need different systems and rhythms at different points along your journey. 

For example: What’s right for a team of 5 may not be right for a team of 40. You can reduce those growing pains early on by putting systems in place that anticipate growing from 5-40 with the knowledge that you may even outgrow those systems with time. 

Simply put, It’s important to have the right systems and operations rhythms in place at the right time while paying attention to “what’s next” on the horizon for your business. 

How to align your current state, short-term goals, and long-term vision as you build your systems:

Current State: Focus on building out the systems and SOPs that will support and streamline your work now. Consciously stay on the pulse to ensure they are genuinely helping you move the needle forward. Also, don’t forget to leave some room for growth. You don’t want to create a new system and outgrow it within a month! Keep your eyes on the horizon. 

Short-term Goals: Your systems may also allow you to sustainably scale as you work towards a short-term goal like taking on more client work or launching a new product or program. Remember, “what got you here, won’t get you there!” Consider introducing new systems, software, and SOPs that will save you time and energy as you steadily work towards meeting your short-term goals.

Long-term Vision: Lastly, you may have a big vision of growing to become an agency or hiring a team. You can successfully move towards that future vision when you have clear SOPs in place now. Documenting your systems and SOPs for your current needs will make it easier to onboard and train future team members without sacrificing quality, consistency, or your unique approach. 

COO Tip: I know this can feel like a LOT to think about. But pump the brakes! You don’t need to get ahead of yourself!  If you’re currently a solopreneur, for example, it doesn’t make sense to invest in expensive tools and software that are meant to support a team of 100 (even if that is the vision). You may not get there for a few years, so you can scaffold your systems intentionally as you build towards that long-term goal. 

Step 3: Braindump your current system & SOP

What are the general tasks that make up your customer service experience? Think back to the grocery store (1. Walk in, 2. Get a cart, 3. Select Items, 4. Checkout…)

For that system, create a detailed SOP. Dig deep into how you complete each step, where it is done, who is responsible, and how often it occurred (a rhythm). Think back to how detailed the grocery store SOPs were.

Step 4: Assess & Improve your SOP 

Take a look at your current SOPs and look for opportunities to streamline or be more specific. Consider how you can support your work with software and automations now and as you grow.

Step 5: Put it into action

The front-end work isn’t helpful unless you commit to using it consistently. Keep your system and SOP in an easy-to-access location. Refer to it often until this is established as a rhythm that hums along in the background and supports your operations. 

Step 6: Review Regularly

As you move forward in your business, I recommend you create quarterly maintenance rhythms to check in on your systems and SOPs. In this review stage, be on the lookout for the “tipping point” when your systems no longer support your needs in the best way.

Ask yourself…

• “Is this still working for me in my business’ current state?”
• “Does this system actively moving me toward the goal I established?” 
• “Is it still achieving the outcome or transformation as intended?” 

Everything in business changes and nothing is stagnant so be aware of shifts in your work. 

Key “tipping point” clues

Aside from regular check-ins, be on the lookout for some of these red flags. They often signal that it’s time to update your systems:

• Have you hired a new team member or split a position? This may influence who is responsible for certain tasks. Make sure everyone knows their role and what is expected of them now through updated SOPs.
  
  
• Has your capacity changed? Are you taking on more client work? Consider refining your systems and taking time-consuming tasks off your plate. Explore software and automation options that can optimize your time and help you stay in your zone of genius. 

Choose the operations rhythms that make the most sense for your business and schedule. 

There is no such thing as a “one-size-fits-all” plan for your operations rhythms. There are some tried and true rhythms that just make sense! Here’s some advice to help you choose the right rhythms.

1. Start simple, because starting is, honestly, the HARDEST part. Choose a regular rhythm first and stick to it. You layer on additional rhythms once the first rhythm is established. I suggest starting with internal operations and systems that happen behind the scenes. Choose the operational rhythms that will positively impact your current workflows first.
   
   
2. Allow momentum to be your ally! Once you fall into your new rhythms for a few rounds, momentum makes it easier to keep up with them going forward. Be patient. It’s always tough to get going at first because you’re starting from a full stop and are likely playing a bit of catch-up. I promise the initial effort is worth it and will offer you ease and flow in the near future. 
   
   
3. Make sure it makes sense. If you try a rhythm but find it isn’t the best use of your time, give yourself permission to pivot to a different rhythm. 
   
   
4. Find a balance in rhythms. Remember that operations rhythms are closely intertwined with all other rhythms in your business. Make sure they are effectively supporting one another so you can optimize your effectiveness. 

Let’s Sum Up Your Operations Rhythms

You can walk away from this blog feeling confident in your business lingo! Not only are you equipped with the business jargon terms that will help you stand out as a PRO, but more importantly you will know how to use and apply them to streamline the way your business operates! This is truly that rhythm that pulls all the other rhythms together, so save this for future reference as you continue to build out rhythms for finance, sales, marketing, engagement, creative time and beyond!

Stay Tuned

This blog is part of an 8-part series on creating Rhythms to support your short-term and long-term business goals. So far we’ve explored CEO Time, Finances, Sales, and Operations Rhythms.

Next, we’ll chat about creative rhythms in your business, so be sure to subscribe HERE and keep your rhythm-setting momentum going so you can tackle those business goals and resolutions!

I am so excited to help you put rhythms in place for your business this year. I encourage you to…

• Click here to sign up for my email list so you can hop over to the newest blog in this series at the top of each week.
  
  
• Set time aside time each week (I call it Time Blocking) to apply what you learn and set rhythms that support your unique business flow.
  
  
• Reach out with questions! Click here to email me. I personally respond to every single email and would love to hear from you! Your questions help me share the best content possible (and if you have a question, there are likely 10 other people who are wondering the same thing. Be their hero and speak up!)

With the right rhythms in place, your business will be humming along in the new year creating space, systems, and strategies that will help you to actively work towards, meet, and even exceed all the goals, resolutions, and dreams you have in mind for the year ahead!

---

Save this article to come back to later! Pin it to Pinterest.