Business Design Process
Every small business has a unique challenge.
You likely found me because you know that something about your business could be running more efficiently, or maybe just an amorphous, undefined “better”.
If you’re a new or aspiring business owner…
You have a hobby, passion or side-gig making a product or delivering a service, and have always wondered if you could actually make a living doing what you love.
Maybe you dream about quitting your day job and finally striking out on the thrilling, scary ride of entrepreneurship.
Let’s explore your “what ifs” and find out how to bring them into the real world.
If you’re a new or aspiring business owner…
You have a hobby, passion or side-gig making a product or delivering a service, and have always wondered if you could actually make a living doing what you love.
Maybe you dream about quitting your day job and finally striking out on the thrilling, scary ride of entrepreneurship.
Let’s explore your “what ifs” and find out how to bring them into the real world.
If you are an established business owner…
You’ve demonstrated all the right persistence, grit, and know-how to get your doors open.
Now you notice that the admin side of your business, which served you pretty well when you opened, is something you deal with only when necessary and with plenty of dread.
It has grown confusing and unwieldy, and is monopolizing your precious time and energy.
If you are an established business owner…
You’ve demonstrated all the right persistence, grit, and know-how to get your doors open.
Now you notice that the admin side of your business, which served you pretty well when you opened, is something you deal with only when necessary and with plenty of dread.
It has grown confusing and unwieldy, and is monopolizing your precious time and energy.
If you are a seasoned business owner…
As your business has succeeded, you’ve grown and evolved with it! Congratulations!
Now you’re feeling the edges of burnout, because your original product and/or service delivery model has not stood the tests of time, changing markets, and a changing YOU.
You want to sustain your success, but in the context of your present-day circumstances.
If you are a seasoned business owner…
As your business has succeeded, you’ve grown and evolved with it! Congratulations!
Now you’re feeling the edges of burnout, because your original product and/or service delivery model has not stood the tests of time, changing markets, and a changing YOU.
You want to sustain your success, but in the context of your present-day circumstances.
Every small business is unique, and each challenge it experiences is just as specific; the practical, actionable solutions for your business won’t be one-size-fits-all.
It all begins with a conversation.
Your business’s path to intuitive design begins with our first conversation. I’ll find out who you are, what unique gifts your business brings to the world, what your vision is for your successful future, and which unique challenges you and your business face in attaining that vision.
Investment
This introductory conversation is totally gratis, and is our opportunity to confirm that I’m the best fit for your situation.
Return
After our conversation, I will be able to provide you with a preliminary outline of areas we’ll want to address, as well as how much time and money you’ll be asked to invest in your assessment.
Getting to know you.
As a unique business with the unique challenges we’ve discussed in our initial conversation, your assessment process will be customized to address your areas of challenge and concern. For solopreneurs, we might meet for two hours, and for larger teams it may be a half day.
It might be important to me to visit your physical space and review your processes as they happen in the real life day-to-day. I’ll ask for a walk-through of your software and applications and how you use them, as well as current process and workflow documentation. If you don’t have any documentation, that’s okay!
I’ll want to meet as many of the members of your team as possible, and I’ll ask everyone to share with me how the resources and processes in their purview are working or not working for them.
Investment
The charge for the assessment will depend on the scale of your business and the scope of challenges to be addressed.
Return
I’ll create your customized assessment document, which includes a recap of the areas of improvement, the resources currently available to you, and my plan for designing the solutions that will allow your business to run smoothly, efficiently, and most profitably. This document will also function as a proposal, with timelines and cost estimates included.
Do I need a Business Design Overhaul?
Unsure whether you could use my services?
Take a look at the following diagnostic questionnaire.
These are the areas in your business that are crucial to your success and can burn up your most valuable resources when they’re weak or deficient.
Strategy Design
- Are you clear on the value your business is creating?
- Do you know your target market?
- Do you have solid plans for sales and marketing?
- Have you defined your business’s relevant reporting metrics, processes for data collection and analysis, and protocol for integrating a constructive feedback loop?
- Is everyone on the team on the same page about the business’s mission, vision, values, and their individual and collective accountabilities?
Strategy Design
- Are you clear on the value your business is creating?
- Do you know your target market?
- Do you have solid plans for sales and marketing?
- Have you defined your business’s relevant reporting metrics, processes for data collection and analysis, and protocol for integrating a constructive feedback loop?
- Is everyone on the team on the same page about the business’s mission, vision, values, and their individual and collective accountabilities?
Accounting Design
- Accounting Processes: Is cash flowing in and out on time?
- Financial Review: Is your business profitable?
- Do all the right team members have visibility to and understanding of the financial health of the company?
- Do you, as the business owner, experience any uncertainty, confusion, or dread when you think of your business’s financial performance?
Accounting Design
- Accounting Processes: Is cash flowing in and out on time?
- Financial Review: Is your business profitable?
- Do all the right team members have visibility to and understanding of the financial health of the company?
- Do you, as the business owner, experience any uncertainty, confusion, or dread when you think of your business’s financial performance?
Operations Design
- Do workflows make sense to everyone in the business? Are they following them?
- Is everyone on the team clear on their role? Is everyone happy with their role? Do they feel empowered and resourceful in both the day-to-day and when the unexpected arises?
- Does your business have process documentation that ensures easy onboarding and on-the-fly position coverage?
- Is there space within your operations to introduce and receive special projects with enthusiasm?
- Do you embrace change and have confidence in your and/or your team’s ability to manage new workloads?
Operations Design
- Do workflows make sense to everyone in the business? Are they following them?
- Is everyone on the team clear on their role? Is everyone happy with their role? Do they feel empowered and resourceful in both the day-to-day and when the unexpected arises?
- Does your business have process documentation that ensures easy onboarding and on-the-fly position coverage?
- Is there space within your operations to introduce and receive special projects with enthusiasm?
- Do you embrace change and have confidence in your and/or your team’s ability to manage new workloads?
Resource Design
- Do you have the right tools for the work you’re doing?
- Do you have the right amount of tools for the work you’re doing?
- Can everyone on the team find what they’re looking for right away?
- Does everyone feel confident that they have all the necessary resources to solve problems, even the ones that are not in their regular purview?
Resource Design
- Do you have the right tools for the work you’re doing?
- Do you have the right amount of tools for the work you’re doing?
- Can everyone on the team find what they’re looking for right away?
- Does everyone feel confident that they have all the necessary resources to solve problems, even the ones that are not in their regular purview?
If any of the above questions created tension, wistfulness, hope, and/or desire, I’d love to help!
