Ep 127: Processes = Profits

Subtitle:

Processes. For many that word sounds boring, but for the wise owner it means profit. It’s one of your best tools to increase your profit. On this week’s episode, the guys dive right in, emphasizing the importance of developing and optimizing processes in business. By streamlining tasks and creating templates, businesses can work more efficiently and achieve better results. The guys also provide practical tips and tools that businesses can use to develop and optimize their processes, helping them to navigate uncertain times and achieve their goals. 

 

Summary:

The guys stress that in uncertain times, it's important to figure out how to optimize what you're doing and create less cost while generating more profit. They emphasize that this is why processes are important. Processes can help to standardize operations, streamline tasks, and help teams to work more efficiently. The guys discuss how to get started with developing processes, suggesting that the first step is to document how tasks are currently done. By documenting tasks, businesses can create a foundation for developing SOPs that can be used by all team members. The guys also discuss the importance of seeking an outside perspective when developing processes and systems. The guys then dive into the specifics of how processes and systems can be developed and optimized. They talk about two areas where processes and systems have major value: delivery and product creation. The guys use an analogy of Lego blocks and a menu of items to express the importance of organizing and creating templates for each product or service a business offers. They also discuss how using tools like Monday can help create templates for projects and increase efficiency and organization. Monday is a project management tool that allows businesses to create project templates that can be easily customized and duplicated. The guys emphasize that tools like Monday provide accountability for all team members and clients and ensure that everyone is on the same page. The guys stress the importance of creating a culture that makes data and metrics fun, so that team members are more likely to engage with them. They also discuss the importance of setting goals for the business and using processes and tools to achieve them. By setting goals, businesses can work backward to determine the processes and systems needed to achieve those goals. Finally, the guys discuss how to improve results and charge higher prices by improving processes. They suggest asking how to charge 10 times what a business is currently charging, which can help to identify areas where processes and systems can be improved. By improving processes and delivering better results, businesses can charge more for their products or services.

 

Top 3 Curtain Pulls in this episode: 

 

1. Document any and all processes. Documenting current processes is a simple way to get started with process optimization. It enables clear communication and can help identify areas that need improvement. Having a centralized location to store all processes and systems can also streamline operations and ensure everyone has access to the right information and resources. These simple steps can help businesses create effective and efficient processes for improved productivity and success. “One of the most simple things you can do to get started on this more process oriented and time and resource saving endeavor is to simply document how you do things.”

2. Create product templates; you want to be a menu, not a personal chef. Creating templates for products using systems and processes brings immense value to a business. It standardizes and streamlines the production process, saving time and resources while maintaining consistency and quality. This eliminates the need to create new products from scratch and ensures efficient and error-free production. “We want like Lego blocks, or a menu of actual items. And so we don't want to be making new Lego blocks.”

3. Set goals; what do you want to achieve through these processes. Goal setting is crucial for any business and requires the use of processes and tools to achieve them. Without a clear target, it becomes difficult to measure success. It's important to consider how to handle projects and manage them efficiently, especially when scaling up.“You can't hit a target, and you can't see or you can't measure.”

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About The Guys: 

Bob Hutchins: Founder of BuzzPlant, a digital agency that he ran from from 2000 -2017. He is also the author of 3 books. More on Bob: 

• Bob on LinkedIn

• twitter.com/BobHutchins

• instagram.com/bwhutchins

• Bob on Facebook

Brad Ayres: Founder of Anthem Republic, an award-winning ad agency. Brad’s knowledge has led some of the biggest brands in the world. Originally from Detroit, Brad is an OG in the ad agency world and has the wisdom and scars to prove it. Currently that knowledge is being applied to his boutique agency. More on Brad:

• Brad on LinkedIn

• Anthem Republic

• twitter.com/bradayres

• instagram.com/therealbradayres

• facebook.com/Bradayres

Ken Ott: Co-Founder and Chief Growth Rebel of Metacake, an Ecommerce Growth Team for some of the world’s most influential brands with a mission to Grow Brands That Matter. Ken is also an author, speaker, and was nominated for an Emmy for his acting on the Metacake Youtube Channel (not really). More on Ken: 

• Ken on LinkedIn

• Metacake - An Ecommerce Growth Team

• Growth Rebel TV

• twitter.com/iamKenOtt

• instagram.com/iamKenOtt

• facebook.com/iamKenOtt

 

Show Notes:

[1:07] Bob asks the guys how they’re doing, launching a discussion about their businesses and the economy in the new year.

[5:08] Ken talks about how hard seasons in life and business are necessary in order to grow stronger. “Good times create weak people, weak people create bad times, bad times create strong people, strong people good times.”

[6:48] Ken segues into this episode’s topic, processes. “It's always good, especially in these times to figure out how to optimize what you're doing. And if you can create less cost, and create more profit, then you have a better way of producing at a profit. And so that's why processes are important.”

[7:32] Brad mentions a quote he’s heard recently that ties into his word for the year and how those things relate to processes. “If you don't know how to put what you're doing into a process, you don't know what you're doing.”

[10:21] Bob talks about where to start when looking at how to create and define the sometimes overwhelming processes in your business. “One of the most simple things you can do to get started on this more process oriented and time and resource saving endeavor is to simply document how you do things.”

[12:50] Brad discusses the importance of seeking an outside perspective and having one location where you can store every system and process each employee uses.

[14:22] Ken talks about two areas where processes and systems have major value; delivery and the actual products. He uses a Lego analogy to express the importance of organizing and creating a template for each product or service you offer. “We want like Lego blocks, or a menu of actual items. And so we don't want to be making new Lego blocks.”

[17:23] Brad dives into the specifics about how he and his business utilize his tool, Monday, to create templates for their projects and how it has increased efficiency and organization. “So what we do is we've started templates for our projects. We literally will just drag that project and start a brand new project. It automatically has all the hours for it, and we pretty much know what the cost is. You can tweak it, if there's some nuances and stuff. But then what happens is, the whole project is already set up all the timelines, all we do is we trigger it.”

[21:52] Brad discusses how his tool, Monday, has really helped his business because, “it just gives accountability to your customers, it's really accountability for everybody, and clarity.”

[24:30] Bob talks about the value and saved time that result from having templatized products.

[31:13] Brad says, “you can't hit a target, and you can't see or you can't measure.”

[32:35] Bob talks about the importance of creating a culture that makes the data and the metrics fun so that you are able to optimize the processes. “If you can create a culture, you not only make it better for the client and for yourself, and you are able to optimize, but you also catch things quicker.”

[36:41] Brad talks about the importance of setting goals for your business and using processes and tools to achieve them. “Let's just dream a little bit? And let's just say we actually are able to meet this goal? How are we going to be able to handle these projects? When, you know, without? How do we do this? How do we manage? Efficient? How do we scale?”

[39:51] Brad says that in order for your processes to be successful, you have to plan on them being used by the average person. “There's going to be superstars in your agency who can do projects quicker, get them up on their feet quick. But you have to plan for the average person and their speed.”

[41:11] Ken wraps up by asking, “how can we charge 10 times that? Ask yourself that question because then it forces you to the next step to ask, how can we improve the result that it creates?”