Many people started their own business to have more personal time, gain freedom, reduce stress, and ultimately build their wealth.

Some found success.
Most fail or still trying to figure things out after years of hard work.

This is not easy, and many business owners find themselves struggling with time, stress, and now reports to even more bosses(tax authority, government agencies, business stakeholders).

If you want to achieve freedom and build a long lasting company that serves you, then you should consider learning how writing a Standard Operating Procedures can transform and improve the way you run your business.

What is a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)?

An SOP is a procedure specific to your business operations. It describes the activities that are necessary to complete any given tasks while ensuring compliance with state laws, industry regulations, and the standards that you have set within your business.

A simple example is a coffee shop. Your coffee should taste good, be healthy, and be safe for your customers to drink. This can only be achieved by establishing good business practices with step-by-step instructions to make good coffee. SOPs should be well written, properly documented, and accessible, as they will later be used to train your staff. The SOP should contain information such as what kind of coffee beans to use, correct water temperature, and amount of sugar or milk to be used. SOPs, just like a recipe, will determine the quality of the output or product that you make in your business.

SOPs is not only an important tool in producing quality products but is also important in producing quality services. Not only that, it is critical in securing the financial transaction of your business. It is a must-have tool for any business that is scaling up for growth. How many SOPs do you have in your business? Are they well documented? Are they easily accessible? Are they easy to maintain?

What are the other key benefits of establishing an SOP system in your business?

Writing and preparing SOPs for your business is time consuming and can be expensive. Before you make the investment, ask yourselves if the following benefits are relevant and necessary for your business.

An SOP system is probably the single most powerful tool for any business. It is so transformative, it will:

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Developing an SOP is about systemizing all of your business processes and documenting them, so they become accessible to everyone relevant in the organization.

Every business organization is unique. Each has its own best practices and organizational culture. Thus, no two businesses will have an identical collection of SOPs. Below are examples of the kind of SOPs that you may want to consider writing for your own business.

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Tips

• Review and start writing only the most important SOPs first. Or you can start with only the most problematic processes first.
• When writing SOPs, be mindful to keep them as simple but as practical as possible. Avoid or delay implementing complicated SOP format in favor of quicker adoption and implementation by the organization.
• SOPs should at least be reviewed annually or biannually to keep up with any significant changes.
• Develop procedures in the language, style, and format best for the establishment (your industry/operations knowledge is crucial here).
• Write SOPs in clear, concise language so that processes and activities occur as they are supposed to.
• The level of detail in SOPs should provide adequate information to keep performance consistent while keeping the procedures from becoming impractical.
• Keep written SOPs on-site so that they can be used by supervisors and employees.
• Drafts should be made and tested before an SOP is released for implementation.
• The more decision-makers, employees, and complexity in the business, the more SOPs are required.