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How to Create an SOP Guide in 5 Easy Steps

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A Standard Operations Procedures (SOP) Guide: It sounds much more intimidating than it is when it really is just a fancy term for documenting how things get done in your business. And yes, while it sounds totally boring, it is super imperative for your business as you scale and start to outsource.

You will need an SOP Guide to make sure tasks are delegated and executed correctly. Unless you are super specific about how you want something executed, there is a good chance that it won’t happen the correct way.

I’ve broken the process for creating your SOP Guide in five easy steps. That’s right- just five steps!

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Virtual Freedom: Takeaways from Chris Ducker’s new book

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The concept of online businesses and running virtual teams is still hard for some people to wrap their head around. It makes me so happy that thought leaders are trying to change this by building awareness about this world.

That’s why I was so excited when Chris Ducker released his new book Virtual Freedom. I had the pleasure of attending the book launch party in Portland during World Domination Summit where I picked up my copy. Chris is a well-known virtual CEO and has been an advocate of outsourcing and virtual teams for a long time. The book dives into his own story of working tiring hours as a CEO with no freedom (afflicted with “Superhero Syndrome), and the strategies he’s learned about outsourcing and working with virtual teams.

I highly recommend the book for anyone that runs an online business (whether you are ready to outsource or not). Chris breaks down the different Virtual Assistants or VA’s (the overarching term for any virtual team member you bring on your team) that a business owner will work with and the strategies for how one works with each. He debunks myths and addresses common concerns amongst business owners for outsourcing.

You will need to read the whole book to get all of his juicy tips. In the meantime, I’ve summarized my key takeaways from the book.

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How to Create an Engaged, Loyal Virtual Team

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A virtual team can be a life saver for an online business owner. Your team members may be spread across the country or even the globe. When your staff work virtually, you don’t have activities that typical companies have like team-building workshops, happy hours and holiday parties. So if you don’t see each other in person on a regular basis, is there a way to make virtual staff feel like they are a part of a team? Absolutely!

I’ve worked in many virtual teams and the teams where we were engaged on an ongoing basis made it much more enjoyable and a place that I was excited to work for everyday. I was made to feel like I was on a mission with colleagues. I wasn’t just in a corner by myself plugging away day-after-day.

If your staff is engaged, chances are that they will be loyal and stay on your team long-term and stay loyal to you and your business.

Here are some quick easy tips that I’ve learned from working in some amazing virtual teams. All thanks to everything I’ve learned from them!

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Why Systems Are Essential For Your Business

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If your business is sucking the life out of you, your business is not broken. I promise.

Your business needs systems!

First things first: What are systems, you ask? I define systems as the process for how things get done. Whether you know it or not, you have a system for everything in your life. When you intentionally create systems, THAT is when your business will not suck the life out of you.

You might be wondering, “Why the heck would I create systems when I am busy running a business?” Putting together systems may not seem urgent, but goodness it is important! Here’s why.

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Structuring Your Team Support

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Whether you are starting up or have an established online business, the right team structure can make all the difference. You started an online business to live your best life and the right team support can make that a reality.

But how should you structure the support in your business as it grows beyond what you can do on your own? What if you are just starting out and you’re not sure what support you should have?

Depending on the phase your business is in, you may structure your support in one of  three ways.

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Are You Fixing the Illness or the Symptoms In Your Business?

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33/365 Down with the Sickness
When I was in high school I was constantly sick with a cold. My best friend was convinced I had some sort of cancer (she is a little bit of a hypochondriac :))

The colds were never bad enough that it significantly impacted my life but I was always low-energy and foggy. I thought that this was just the way my body functioned and accepted it for a long time.

It wasn’t until I intentionally started working towards a healthier lifestyle years later that I understood what the real problem was. I realized I wasn’t taking care of the deeper issues that were the actual causes of my colds in the first place. I didn’t exercise; I didn’t know healthy boundaries with my energy so I said ‘yes’ to working too many shifts at the party store (my first job!); I didn’t know how to handle my emotions; I had terrible sleeping habits, etc.

Rather than just resting and taking medicine to address my symptoms, I looked at how I could improve my health for the long-term by creating better habits and tuning into my body more.

When I work with businesses I look at it from a similar perspective. Whenever an issue (a symptom) comes about, I stop and ask “are we addressing the illness or just the symptoms?”

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What 400 High School Students Taught Me About Project Management & Operations: Simplify, Standardize, Centralize (Part II)

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A few weeks ago, I wrote the first part of my experience in managing a 400 person conference and what it taught me about project management and operations. The first part talked about having the right people on your team (love my OC’s!). This next part will talk about the principles that helped me keep order with almost 400 students from 20+ countries and 40+ staff members.

The principles are: simplify, standardize and centralize.

You will have many moving parts and pieces of information while you are working on any project. In order to keep details from falling through the cracks, look for how you can implement these principles.

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What 400 High School Students Taught Me About Project Management and Operations

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In a past life, I produced and managed large conferences. When I first started this line of work, I had no idea it would teach me everything I needed to know about launching and running successful projects. The one conference in particular that taught me the most was a week-long conference for 350+ high school students from mostly Muslim countries that were part of a Department of State sanctioned exchange program (not your typical conference in any way, shape or form).

When I managed the first conference for these students, it was- for a lack of a better word- a shit show. The second conference was also a shit show. There were sleepless nights organizing flight information for students flying to Lebanon, missing documents required to take students to the hospital and so on and so forth. When the third conference rolled around, lots had to change. I took what I learned from the first two conferences and revamped the whole planning and onsite execution process. The next time you are launching any sort of project, there are a lot of key things to keep in mind, but this one will be vital.

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