What is one way to organize business processes in a developing startup?
To help business leaders structure their operations, we asked CEOs and company executives this question for their best advice. From developing an organizational structure to considering automation solutions, there are several strategies that may help you plan business processes for your startup now and as you scale.
Here are eight tactics to organizing business processes in a growing startup:
- Make Room for Revision
- Plan for Scalable Resources
- Develop an Organizational Structure
- Create an Audit of Your Supplies
- Consider Automation Solutions
- Define Business Goals
- Review Workspace Needs
- Keep Your Team Motivated
Make Room for Revision
Organizing your business processes in a developing startup requires, in some part, a place to reflect and revise processes. Create a place in the workflow that is all about feedback or allows for pivoting. Processes may evolve as your startup grows, so be prepared to revise. Successful entrepreneurs do not shy away from introspection and reflection on their business goals and direction. Being afraid of that may limit you and create stagnation.
Vanessa Molica, The Lash Professional
Plan for Scalable Resources
When you’re organizing your business during the developing stages, make sure that your business plan also includes the types of insurances you’ll need. You may not think it’s important now, but it’s going to be largely important to the human resources department. And even with only a few employees, knowing what your plans look like now, from business to health and dental insurance, can help you in case things expand and your company grows. You want to make sure you have all the appropriate resources already built into your plan from the start.
Brandon K. Berglund, Berglund Insurance
Develop an Organizational Structure
When it comes to organizing your business processes in a developing startup, knowing your organizational structure is going to be key. Depending on the type of company you’re building, cross-departmental activity may be more necessary than others. Knowing the goals of each department can help you map out a better business strategy when it comes to learning how best to create a fully aligned business and creating proper channels to ensure the success of your business.
David Wachs, Handwrytten
Create an Audit of Your Supplies
Take an assessment of the material resources that you’ll need to do your job. A lot of technology is changing the way we handle customers and our own back-end process management. But the truth of it all, in some regards, is you might need something technology can’t quite fix. For us, as a rental RV service, we know that we might need certain supplies for our rental kits. Things like towels and brooms are necessary. By having an assessment of what things you’ll need, you can help to find a way to leverage technology to best fit your needs — whether it’s automation check-in and checkout or something simple like a to-do list that helps you remember when to stock up on your essentials.
Randall Smalley II, Cruise America
Consider Automation Solutions
As startups mature, streamlining business processes is an essential task. Hone in on your ideal tech stack that will improve common pain points such as productivity and communication. Consider a digital transformation of some work processes using solutions that leverage machine learning and artificial intelligence. For example, a startup could incorporate email automation to save time or implement an AI-powered text predictive service to increase productivity.
Guy Katabi, Lightkey
Define Business Goals
When initiating your business venture, establishing unique contribution goals at those early onset stages is key. This consists of clearly defining what products and services you aim to provide for your consumers and how you plan to give that positive experience in a way that sets you apart from competitors in the industry. At AVANA, we promote growth within our business by defining how our desire to help the community relates to who we can best support. The entrepreneurial process can be a challenging business opportunity, but stating the relationship between your actionable goals and customers from the beginning will ultimately serve as an advantage for your business.
Allan J. Switalski, AVANA Capital
Review Workspace Needs
When you’re organizing your business startup, don’t forget about workspace needs. Even if your plan, for now, is to stay relatively small, realize that there are a plethora of options available to you when it comes to the location of your business and what space needs you require. Shared workspace is a field that’s only going to continue to grow as more businesses crop up. So, looking into one now can save you a lot of time and headache in the future. This can also be a budget-friendly option to your financial plan, as being able to get out of leases and contracts can be trickier if you’re renting solo and you need more space or less space than you initially thought. There’s flexibility in these kinds of options that can’t be beaten.
Kyle McIntosh, MAC6
Keep Your Team Motivated
When a business is growing, it’s critical that your employees are motivated so that processes and plans keep progressing. We help our employees reach their full potential by helping them create and follow through on quarterly goals that align not only with our agency’s goals but with their personal growth, as well. When planning for the quarter, we use SMART criteria to guide the preparation and conversation. We find motivation comes from the team’s desire for personal growth along with a fun bonus for the successful achievement of their SMART goals.
Jenn Christie, Markitors
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