Have you ever built LEGO?

Have you tried to build an amazing construction without the instructions? Go on, give it a go!

  • Where will you start?
  • What is next?
  • Which bit goes where?
  • Oh, you made a mistake? Totally fine… but how do you check what needs fixing?

Yay! You completed it!

  • How long did it take?
  • Was it simple?
  • Could you do it all again by memory?
  • Or explain how to do it to someone else?

Now, apply this to your business. Does any of this resonate with you? Each brick is a small parcel of your blood, sweat and tears. How do you protect and transfer the value of all those little bricks that you have made and turned into a masterpiece? And how do you show someone how to use it? Or, will you even be able to do it again yourself?

And finally… Would you like to sell this masterpiece? Wait… The buyer wants the instruction manual!? No instructions? Now they will only give you half of what it could have been worth!  Or worse… No sale!

Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) are all about protecting your hard work. Storing and systemising it to make it simple for you and your team to replicate, repeat and refine processes quickly and easily. And most importantly, it gives you a firm foundation to build from, scale successfully and exit with a much higher multiple.

Brokers & accountants have commented many times on the value of an operations management system that holds a business together. It provides instant access to data and reports that easily demonstrate how your business is performing. It could be the thing that makes or breaks a sale.

What many businesses face at this point is exactly that reality. To try and build these systems retrospectively can be a very time consuming and costly exercise. And sometimes impossible. Having your business looking and performing like a professional, could be the difference between it being worth 5-6 figures, or 7 or even more!

The decision is up to you of what you consider your time and effort to be worth. After all you didn’t start a business to just have a job, you are an entrepreneur with big goals, treat your business well and it will always look after you in return.