Today Im talking about business processes and some examples from my business that you might need in yours. There are a lot of processes when it comes to running your business, but I'll share with you the ones I use the most that might be helpful for you to implement in your own business. So, if you want to learn more, let's dive in.
What is a Business Process?
Before we start, let's define what a business process is. A business process involves taking the same steps every time to accomplish something, which increases productivity and better management. Without it, you might feel overwhelmed.
Some business process examples are your onboarding process, offboarding process, project management, and content creation. These processes are important because they ensure consistency in your business, making sure a task is completed the same way every time. This is especially useful for employee onboarding or if you're planning to hire a virtual assistant.
Having a specific process encourages innovation and provides a framework for continuous business process improvement, which is essential for growth and scaling your business with a specific business goals. It also increases efficiency; for example, having a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) outlines every step in a workflow and can include screen recordings, making it easier to onboard new employees or freelancers to business operations. Lastly, a well-defined process improves time management by ensuring tasks are done correctly and efficiently. Without these processes, you'll feel like a chicken with its head cut off.
Why are Processes Important?
We want to make sure that there's some sort of consistency in our business and automated business processes ensure this consistency because we can instruct if we have employees, for example, or we want to bring on a virtual assistant. It makes sure that a task is completed in the same way, every single time.
They also encourage innovation. Having a specific process management, you can really brainstorm, collaborate with different team members on how to make it better and how to streamline it. This can really create some innovating processes to solve business problems that you've run into. Having a process provides a framework for continuous improvement. It can really help your organization grow and scale, which is definitely what you want.
Having a process also increases efficiency. If you have an SOP, then you can really outline every step and that will really increase efficiency and productivity. That way when you do end up bringing on, or if you want to end up bringing on more employees, then you can lead them to the standard operating procedures and everything is right there for them and you don't need to teach someone every single time.
The last important thing about processes is that it's going to improve your time management and, having these documented steps, it's going to make sure that certain activities or tasks are done correctly and they're going to be more time efficient because we know what steps to move forward in. We're not guessing where to go next.
Let's break down the benefits...
Ensure consistency: Business processes ensure consistency because they instruct every employee completes a task in the same way.
Answer questions: Often, business processes function as a reference tool that can answer questions about a particular task or process.
Encourage innovation: Creating a business process automation requires extensive brainstorming and collaboration between team members. This can result in innovating processes to solve business problems.
Provide a framework for continuous improvement: Making small and incremental improvements to a business process can help an organization grow.
Increase efficiency: As a business process outlines every step, it can increase efficiency and productivity.
Improve time management: The development of documented steps and processes ensures companies can complete certain activities or tasks.
Onboarding Process
An onboarding process is going to look a little bit different for services vs. product-based businesses. Starting off with service-based businesses, since that's what my business is, the first step of an onboarding process: I like to think of it from the very beginning where my customers are finding me.
1. Found on social media, podcast, blog, or word of mouth
There are probably four main ways that people are going to learn about me and it's going to be through social media. This includes Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, possibly one of my ads or a podcast episode, a blog post that they have found on Google, or word of mouth from, from satisfied customers.
2. Get them on my website
Once they have that awareness, the second step of the call to action is always going to be to get them on my website. If I have an Instagram post, I will always push them to a link in my bio and they can listen to my podcast or read my blog on my website. If they are looking for logo design specifically I want to lead them directly to that service page (www.zsquaredstudio.com/logos) so that it's really easy for them to learn more about that service and decide if they want to keep moving forward.
3. Fill out a form
From there, they're most likely either going to send me an email or fill out my contact form. I'll respond personally so that every email is custom and then I'll lead them to get on a discovery call with me.
4. Book a discovery call
This is how you can build trust, answering more questions while they can hear your voice or see you on a video call. If you don't know what a discovery call is, it's a call where people can learn more about your services, who you are, where you get to know the business or company a little bit more, and then you tell them a little bit about your services and how it works to work together.
5. Email follow up
After this call, I then follow up with an email where I mention an overview of everything we talked about.
6. Follow up in a week (if I don't hear from them)
To stay top of mind, I'll follow up with them in a week if I don't hear from them.
7. Contract and retainer
Once they are ready to start, I will send them a contract and retainer. This is the most important part of a partnership!
8. Start the project
Then we'll start the project!
Offboarding Process
I'm going to be honest, I am not as good with this one. But I think it is a really important process to have, to be able to offboard as well so your clients feel supported. Plus, it's a chance for you to get reviews and feedback.
1. Review request with final files - should follow up again in 2 weeks
The first part of my offboarding process is I will send them their final files, if we are creating a logo together. Or if we're creating a website, then I'll hop on a 30 minute to an hour call about how they can edit their website themselves.
2. Send review request
If I'm sending them final files with the logo, this is included at the bottom of the email. For a website, I'll send them an email a week later saying, "Hey, how's the website going? If you love it and loved our experience, here's a place you can leave a review." If they haven't sent a review, I would follow up again in another two weeks to make sure that they have everything they need; their logo is working great, their website is working great, and to send a review. Reviews are so helpful and worth reaching out for.
3. Send a thank you - card, sticker
A part of my onboarding questionnaire, I have my client give me their mailing address and I have a bunch of thank you cards that are branded to my branding. It just says "thank you" on the front, in my signature blue. Then I write them a custom handwritten note inside. On the back, it has my website and my phone number. Then, I order them stickers if they did a logo with me; stickers are a nice way to really show off your logo.
4. Send a birthday card
I also ask them for their birthday when I give out a questionnaire. I also like to send an automated birthday card with Postable (note: I wasn't able to find the referral link, so if you decide to sign up for Postable, you will not get the discount mentioned in the podcast episode). It's really nice to be able to add in the address, their birthday, and then it automatically will send a birthday card when it's close to their birthday.
4. They get emails from me weekly
They also get weekly emails from me that share my most recent podcast episode. If they have filled out my contact form, they automatically get added to that list.
Project Management
I have two avenues in my business. We could either create a website together or we can create a logo and branding.
When it comes to project management, it's really nice to have a central place to put your projects. Someplace to keep your files, resources, notes, images, and videos. There's a lot that goes into creating a website. It took me a while to find this resource, but I like to use Milanote. There, you can add to do list and you have different boards. I like to call it "creative chaos," which is the way my mind works. You might've heard of other things like Monday, Asana, Notion, or Trello. Those are all project management tools, but I really like Milanote because, again, it's a really nice way for me to be creative and organized at the same time. I don't like being confined to a spreadsheet.
This is how my project management works for a website project... 1. Onboarding
I take them through the onboarding process, which we talked about earlier.
2. Send questionnaire
To get to know their aesthetic, who they are as a business, I send them a questionnaire. I also ask a bunch of other questions, which I use to write their web copy.
3. Follow up meeting or Zoom meeting
I do a follow up meeting, whether that's in person or a Zoom meeting, where we go over the questionnaire. And then I also show them a mood board with fonts and colors that I can use to create their website, maybe some layout ideas.
4. Create home page
From the meeting's information is where I can start on and create a home page for them.
5. Gather more content
This is normally the part where I gather more content because they probably need more images and photos.
5. Approve homepage
After getting enough content, this is where they approve the homepage so we can move on to the next steps.
6. Create rest of the site
The homepage approval gives me creative direction to create the rest of the website.
7. Site approved
After finishing the other pages, I send the new site over to them for approval.
8. Back end
I work on the mobile version, the tablet version, and then I add all the SEO, meta titles and descriptions, favicon, all the backend things behind the scenes
9. Hand off website
I give them access to their new website!
10. Offboarding
I offboard them with the process I mentioned above!
Keep in mind that when you do create your project management process, this is going to take time. This is not what my processes looked like in the beginning. It was simple at the beginning. Thinking back to when I was creating my first couple of logos, I didn't even have a questionnaire. They would send me an email and we would go back and forth. Which was not ideal; it was taking twice as long to create this logo than what I quoted them for. That's when I started to bring on the questionnaire, but even after I brought on the questionnaire, I was still once in a while getting people who would get into proof 5, 6, 7.
Start off simple, run a couple clients through your process, and then see where things need to be fixed and refined.
Heres an example process for logo design:
1. Onboarding 2. Send questionnaire 3. Follow up meeting or Zoom meeting 4. Proofing 5. Final files 6. Hand off files 7. Offboarding Content Creation When I'm creating content, I do blogs, podcasts, and once in awhile I do social media graphics, but I feel most of the time that is too much on my plate so I play it by ear. But this is the basis of what happens when I go to create my blog posts and my podcasts:
1. Keyword search
I use KeySearch for my keyword research to make sure that the content I'm creating is something that people are asking for and something that people are Googling. This is how I'm creating content that is really intentional, but then also strategic so that people can find me via Google. Whether people are looking up "how to build a website" more, or maybe people are looking up something else.
2. Think of title
I use that keyword research to think of a title that has that keyword in it. For example, for this blog, the title is "Business Process Examples You Need in Your Business," but the keyword that I'm trying to rank for is "business process examples," so I added 'You Need in Your Business' to the backend of that to make sure that it sounds good as a title.
3. Create the podcast and blog
After I get a good title, then I create the podcast or the blog, and I normally will outline something for the podcast so that I speak, it's organized. I know what I'm going to talk about and it saves me time with brainstorming. Also, it makes it easy for me to write the blog because I already have my headers listed and I know what bullet points to put underneath each header.
4. Edit
Whether that's me or my virtual assistant, this is where we will edit it down to make sure it's clear, concise and make sense.
5. Add SEO
We then add whatever keywords are needed to make sure that the blog lands on a really good ranking on Google. I find these SEO keywords on KeySearch via the Keyword search, through the Content Assistant. There are must-have keywords that you can add into your blog posts to make your blog posts rank a little bit higher
6. Auto publish
Both the blog and the podcasts are set up for auto publish; that way, it's consistent every single week. I don't have to touch it and having it auto published works better for both the algorithm of the podcast and having it show up on Google.
7. Share it - email, social media Then I share my content with my email list. If I have time, I'll share it to social media. LinkedIn is really quick because it doesn't have to be aesthetic, it's easy to write a caption and put the podcast link into the comments. Tip: If you put the link in the actual caption of your writing, it looks spammy and tells LinkedIn that this is spam; so I always put links in the comments.
Sharing your work is the most important part of creating content, because why are you creating if no one's going to see it? I think email works really well because people are choosing to read your content. If they don't want to see your content anymore, they can unsubscribe. I definitely thought I was being really annoying at first by sending emails about my podcast weekly but honestly, there's a point where you don't care anymore and if it helps the reader thats all I ask for and if it doesn't, then they can unsubscribe, no hard feelings.
Asset Management This is where we go over organizing all your customers and their files. I have a lot of different customers who have a lot of different files, who have a lot of different projects.
1. Create a customer folder named after the business
This is the name of the business; let's say that's Alaska Seaplanes. I'll create a project folder underneath that customer folder first.
2. Create a project folder corresponding with the invoice number
Normally I have a project folder corresponding with the invoice number. For example, it would be 508 (the invoice number) - Designed Proposal Pages.
3. Include subfolders for multiple projects
Within that project folder, I have sub folders for multiple projects if needed. This keeps everything organized within the same project.
4. Have a folder for all links and main files to keep everything organized All the images that I'm using, all the files that aren't the main files, will go in a links folder. I try to keep the main design file, whether that's an InDesign file or an Illustrator file, in the main folder.
Let's say you're a photographer and you want to have these files on your computer.
Then you would have the name of the customer as the main folder and then the project folder. Maybe that's weddings and then you put the date and then you put all of their wedding photos in that wedding folder. You can have sub folders as well! Then maybe they come back to you and they're like, "Hey, I really loved our wedding photos.
Can we do newborn photos?", so that's another project folder that you would put underneath the customer folder.
Here is a visual of what these folders look like:
To recap, the processes discussed today include onboarding, offboarding, project management, content creation, and asset management. Each process plays a crucial role in ensuring efficiency, consistency, and growth in your business. Start simple, run a few clients through your process, and refine as needed.
That's all for today; I hope this was helpful and gets you thinking about your own core business processes. Remember, creating and refining processes takes time but is essential for scaling your business effectively.
Happy designing, and bye!
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