“Doing what needs to be done may not make you happy, but it will make you great.” ― George Bernard Shaw
Hands up if you want a main ingredient for business success, served on a plate.
What if I told you it had to do with systems.
I know.
Systems get a bad reputation for being boring and stuffy. Creative entrepreneurs and serviced-based business owners also have the challenge of making sure that systems don’t leave their businesses sterile and soulless. That’s why traditional systems can leave a bitter taste in your mouth. Unfortunately, the bigger your business gets, the higher the risk of losing its authenticity.
Ignoring systems is off the table
Shutting your eyes to systems will lead to the closure of your business and burn-out. Neglecting to develop or organize processes and systems for routine and repetitive tasks is a leading cause of business failure.
How to have your business systems cake and eat it
Is it possible for entrepreneurs and business owners to benefit from the power of systems without compromising their individuality and authenticity? Absolutely yes! But first, we need a rethink to rid systems of its negative undertones. Instead of using complicated tools to create documents and processes that are hard to follow and control, systems should be user-friendly, flexible and work with the flow of your business.
The plus points of personalized, flexible systems include:
- Saving you time
- Maintaining business authenticity as they capture the ‘secret sauce’ of how you do business
- Changing with your business because they’re easy to update
- Making it easier to build your team
Flexible systems are created using:
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- Easy-to-follow checklists
- Templates
- Screenshots
- Videos
Introducing productivity recipes
I use the term ‘productivity recipes’ to describe personalized, flexible systems that won’t leave you feeling boxed-in like rigid traditional systems can.
Firstly, productivity recipes get rid of the snoozefest flavour of systems. But, more importantly, they can be moulded to suit your personality, secret sauce and business needs.
5 reasons to make productivity recipes the main ingredient in your business
1. Saves time and makes more money
When you create productivity recipes, you can outsource the repetitive tasks to free up your time. You can use this extra time to focus on the things that only you can do, for example, webinars. It just so happens that the tasks that you’re absolutely required to do are the ones that make the most difference to your bottom line. It makes sense to create productivity recipes that promote consistency without compromising your business.
2. Keeps Business authentic 
The personal touches that make your secret sauce are probably the only truly unique aspect of your business. Productivity recipes capture how you specifically do what you do. This approach takes account of your character and the quirks that help your business stand out. As a result, productivity recipes help you to scale with authenticity.
3. Provides consistent and improved customer service
Have you ever been a customer of a small business that lost the personal touch as it grew? Disappointing isn’t it? The disconnect between how a business starts and what it grows into can be off-putting. It’s a sad fact that some customers vote with their feet when they can no longer relate to a business. Productivity recipes make sure your customers won’t get any nasty surprises, like a difference in your communication tone, as you scale.
4. Makes hiring and team management more efficient
You’ll know exactly what’s required of everyone when growing your team. Continuous learning is the key to business growth. It’s a good move to encourage suggestions on how to improve productivity recipes. The beauty of productivity recipes is that you can assess suggestions and only add the ones that are in keeping with your brand. Training new staff is simpler as there’s a specific pattern to follow. There’s also minimum disruption if a team member is absent or leaves because it’s easy for someone else to follow the productivity recipe and continue the work.
5. Reduces stress
With productivity recipes in place, you can take breaks from your business, knowing that things will be done your way. There’s no need to keep all the plates spinning by yourself. Make anxiety-filled vacations a thing of the past. Productivity recipes are not only useful for planned time off. Life has a way of throwing you curved balls. So, set your business up in the best way possible to deal with the unexpected. Put personalized and flexible productivity recipes in place so that the flavor of your business is unaffected, no matter what happens.
Systems should be a staple of any business, but inefficient processes and inflexible systems can cause more harm than good. To enjoy the benefits of systems, make sure they’re suited to your business, personalized and flexible. In other words, your systems should be the recipe for you to boost productivity and profits in your business.