Organization + Systems
Your Top Questions About Business Organization, Systems & Processes
September 15, 2023
When it comes to organizing your business, a lot of questions are bound to come up. Truth is, we absolutely love answering them! After all, systems and processes are what we’re all about, and we’re always so excited when we can help business owners get back on track so they can focus on doing what they love.
That’s why we’re sharing answers to the most common questions we get about systems and processes, including some helpful tips and tricks along the way. Let’s get started!
Psst! If you’re looking for specific questions and answers, use the links below to get to them more quickly!
Questions about business organization
Processes in your business are basically every task that it takes to complete a sequence of events in your business. For example, the process it takes for us to build out an entire ClickUp systems for someone has a bunch of specific tasks that we need to do in order to consider this project complete.
It is important to have these written down and organized so that, 1.) there is no guesswork and so our clients have a clean and organized flow and, 2.) so that other people can repeat the process if we grow our team.
You never want to have someone on your team, or a new client who is onboarding ask, “Ok, so… now what?” That’s what a great process can do for your business.
Systems, on the other hand, are what you create to hold, organize, and automate those processes. So for example, when we build a project for someone, we have every step templated and organized in our ClickUp ready to go. Everything is assigned to the team, we have automations, instructions, communication, and everything we need to coordinate our projects without a hitch. You want to think of your systems as a well-oiled machine.
Of course, in order to create your systems, your processes must be nailed down first. That’s why these two terms are often used together!
Where you are now in your business will impact the types of processes you need. If you’re just starting out, chances are you need project processes to keep track of ongoing tasks, help with time management, and communicate with teammates or clients.
If you have grown your client list substantially, chances are you need client processes for onboarding, project kick-offs, invoicing, emails, and everything else you need to nurture those relationships.
If both sides of your business need organizing, chances are you need both types of processes to manage each. Our go-to’s for each are, of course, ClickUp for project processes and HoneyBook for client processes.
In simplest terms, a workflow outlines all the steps (from start to finish) to show how something goes from being unfinished to finished. It’s basically just a fancy word to describe a list of events that need to be completed to finish a task. It can also be interchanged with “processes.” (We know, it can get a bit confusing, stick with us!)
Workflows are necessary if you want to save hours of time (and tons of brain space) when it comes to checking things off your to-do lists and completing repetitive tasks. And, once you actually build your workflows, you have all the pieces you need to get the task finished that much more quickly and efficiently!
Personally, we manage my workflows in HoneyBook, and it is easily one of our favorite things to do! Check out the short video below to see some HoneyBook workflows in action. And if you need help getting started with your workflows, reach out to me!
We get it, sometimes getting started is the hardest part. That is why we always suggest asking yourself four questions:
Over the course of a week, pay extra close to all of your current processes and continue to ask yourself these four questions. As the answers start to reveal themselves, start to make a list of priorities for each. Which tasks do you want to automate or delegate first? What will provide the most immediate relief?
Repeat this process for all of tasks, and before you know it, you’ll start to become a more well-oiled machine!
CHALLENGE: During your first week of implementing this new tactic, challenge yourself to automate ONE thing in your business!
For business owners, answering emails can take up so much time. That’s why we often share two life-changing words with everyone: canned emails.
In other words, creating templated responses to the most common questions you get and the most common emails you send. But these aren’t just for potential clients and follow-ups — they should also be created for your current clients to make sure you’re nurturing them, too.
Here is a quick breakdown of some canned email examples you can start to implement for your business:
And check out this example of a canned email response below:
Onboarding new clients can quickly become overwhelming. For most people, we recommend getting started with HoneyBook right away. But if you’re not quite there yet, here’s a basic checklist of all the onboarding information you should be sharing with and gathering from new clients!
1. Your business policies
2. Their business info
3. Social media links
4. A list of tools/programs + passwords they use
5. Branding info
6. SOPs
7. Business Goals
Psst! If you need a little extra help, I have a FREE onboarding guide you can download to get started!
First, we recommend that you always prioritize tasks that help minimize clutter on your computer and in your inbox. Here’s what those look like:
Whatever those tasks look like for you, set a date on your calendar to do a weekly clean-up — and stick to it! This will make sure you are staying on top of your workload and protecting your brain space!
When it comes to new processes and workflows, it can take some time to get used to things. Remember to be patient with yourself and aim for consistency!
Everyone is different, and it can take a bit of trial and error until you find the right project management for you and your business. Personally, we think ClickUp has the most features of any project management tool we’ve tried. We also think it is the best platform to help business owners streamline the most disorganized aspects of their business, like:
So, if you struggle in any of those areas, ClickUp is a great go-to solution. Here’s a quick look at how you can use it for all of that!
First, I want to say that feeling overwhelmed at first is totally normal. It usually takes a bit of time to get the hang of new systems, processes, and platforms. That said, here are a few of my favorite ClickUp tips that save me so much time and energy!
Check out these quick videos below to see these tips in action!
ClickUp Automations
Task Tray & Favorites Bar
Do you still have more questions that you didn’t see covered on here? Let’s get you some answers! Feel free to leave a comment below, or reach out to me if you have a more personalized question about organizing your biz or navigating ClickUp or HoneyBook!
