When you are a successful business owner, more than likely you have a team who is supporting you. If you don’t have a team, then we need to talk! 

As a business owner earning at least six-figures in your business, you can’t do it all and that is where your team comes in. They are there to support you and help you take your business to the next level.

There are many elements to running a great team, here I am going to share with you 4 of the top elements I feel are important to not only keep things organized but to keep your team happy and motivated in helping you.

SOPs

First, what is an SOP? Well, they are your standard operating procedures – in short, they are the step-by-step processes of how you run your business.

You want procedures documented and created for each business tool you use, each automation you have set-up, the process for taking on new business, etc. I am going to say this again… you want everything documented, every step you take to complete a task with-in your business.

SOPs are the foundation of your business and are very vital for it’s lasting success.

Once you have a system that works, you don’t want to spend your precious time recreating it the next time, most likely you will forget an important step.

So write down your steps and stop wasting time figuring the same thing out over and over again.

A few tools to help you create these SOPs are creating a Google Folder for just your SOPs, having a digital notebook like Evernote, creating cards in Trello for each tool or process, or whatever works best for you.

One thing to keep in mind when working with a team, importantly a virtual team, you want your SOPs to be accessible for everyone to refer back to when needed.

This ties into the next element…

Delegating

You have a successful business, you can’t possibly do “all the things” that’s where your team comes into play.

Before you start delegating tasks and projects, take the time to make a list of everything that needs to be done in your business. I am talking daily, monthly, quarterly, and yearly tasks.

After each item, mark it if it is something only you can do, or if it is something that can be handed off to someone on your team – **This is where your SOPs come in! 

When you are delegating tasks and projects, make sure they have all the “how-tos” to work on the task successfully, otherwise, they will be asking you a lot of questions.

In your SOP, list all the tools and systems they will need access to and provide the necessary log-in details via LastPass.

If need be schedule a training call or do a quick Loom tutorial video showing them exactly what to do. I know for myself, I like to have a visual along with the SOPs to ensure I do all the necessary steps.

If you don’t currently have someone on your team who is interested or has the capacity to take on more responsibilities, then you will want to reach out for referrals to find a new team member to support you with these tasks.

This leads to the next element…

Communication

When managing a team, communication is a big deal – you want to make sure everyone has what they need in order to complete their work or move on to the next step of the project. 

Communication is a huge thing for me. If we don’t share what it is we are looking for or need, then how can we support and help each other?

If you are looking to delegate more projects, reach out to the team to see who is interested in taking on something new, it helps not only to build skills but also building confidence within the team.

It shows you trust and value your team and are willing to hand-off more to them.

Now onto our final key element…

Team Building

You have a team to support you, but it’s important to support them – what is it that they want to do or learn?

I think it is very important to keep the communication open and see where each team member is at, are they enjoying the projects they are working on, or are they ready to do something new?

Holding regular team meetings is a great practice to have, not only will it keep everyone in the loop of what is going on within the business, they are good to keep the communication open and to see if there are any questions or areas they feel could improve.

Letting everyone contribute shows they are valued and are appreciated for all the support they provide.

Of course, not everything needs to be work-related, make part of your meetings or your days light and fun with some team building questions or activities.

For example, start out your meetings asking fun questions to get to know everyone better – being virtual can be lonely – but you are still connecting and building relationships with those you are working with.

You could post a fun challenge to share in your next meeting, for instance posting a recipe or a cake decorating theme and everyone “attempting” to recreate it – have you seen the show “Nailed It” on Netflix or the “Pinterest Fails” – hilarious!

Regardless of what you chose for the challenge or activity, the important thing is to keep it fun! 

Everyone on the team, including the business owner, should always feel valued and appreciated!

What is something you do with your team to keep things fun and engaging? Please share, I would love to hear from you!

As you can tell, all of these elements are important and they all work together to create not only an organized business but an aligned one!

If you need help with creating your SOPs or managing your team – reach out and schedule a complimentary call with me I would love to talk with you!