I was noticing that there were a lot of unnecessary issues in our business. Things were taking longer to get done then they should have. I was dropping a lot of balls and not moving tasks along. There was this feeling of clutter and logjam after logjam.

And I totally hated it. I felt like I was spending most of my time taking care of fires instead of working with my customers.

I was craving that most of my time was spent working with my customers to make them happy, not to take care of the same issue day after day.

So I went on a hunt to figure out how to clear the log jams.

When there is a good flow in your business, your customers and vendor will notice the difference.

You will also give off the feeling that you have your shit together because working with you is seamless.

So again, since I love 3’s. Here are my top 3 ways to identify and correct when you have a workflow issue in your business.

1) Creating a clear workflow that others can implement without you present.

Do you have a clear workflow as to how things need to get done? Do you have a way to track where any project or client is at in your workflow? It can be something as simple as a dry erase board or something a little more complex as asana. Whatever system you use is up to you and your business. Just make sure it is written down and trackable.
***bonus tip*** You know that the system is working when it can be followed even if you are not present.

2) Now take the time to put everyone/thing into your new workflow and see physically see where the logjam is at?

Is it onboarding clients? is it following up? is it delivering the goods promised? Take the system you have identified in the first task and put your customers in that work queue. I personally love to write it out. So for our motorcycle shop, it’s a whiteboard. For our other business its a Trello system that has a workflow and customers are assigned to each queue.

Once you’ve identified the logjam, take some time and start moving clients/projects through that logjam. Get things cleared up and also make sure that projects/clients are getting moved through from oldest to newest. It’s too easy to do whats easy first. But you need to get the oldest work out first, to give that extra level of self-care to those customers that choose you. It’s also a way to make sure that you have really solid repeat customers too.

3) Start tracking where you are losing time/money.

Are you constantly reordering parts that you don’t need, because you cant find the stuff you ordered last time? Are you misplacing a client’s info because your customer management system is in three different places? Take this time and document where your losing time and money. If this is hard for you to identify, then spend some time with your bookkeeper. Ask them to find ways that you are spending unnecessary money. Look at your business and see what is actually being used versus what you paid for. Also look at subscriptions that are on your card. Each service or part or thing you are not using is creating clutter in your business. Once you have identified it, go back to step one and create another mini workflow for those issues.

Then entire point it to create a system that not only can operate regardless if you are there. But it also a way to make sure that your business can handle the ups and downs of regular life. If you get sick or hurt, your business is less likely to suffer because it’s gone through its own stress test. Plus you have systems in place to make things as smooth as possible.

Now I want to hear from you. Tell me in the comments below three areas where you are log-jammed in your business and how you plan on fixing them.