A great majority of businesses are classified as small business. And here’s a common dilemma if you’re in a small business: Most of what you do is stored inside your head. So what do you do to keep business going if you should get hit by a bus?

What’s extremely effective is creating an ‘operator’s manual’ for your position. In the case of the business owner – yes, this means getting everything you know out of your head and into written form.

I really appreciated an admin assistant I had years ago named Lynn. She took meticulous notes on everything and created an administrative guidebook that I still refer to.

Don’t think that because you’re a small business that no ops manual is needed. On the contrary. Being in a small business is all the more reason to have an ops manual. Otherwise, in the case of an accident, a large chunk of know-how can be lost.

So what goes into one of these manuals? I’d suggest starting with the basics. What is it you sell, and why do you sell it? Who is your target market and who are your main customers? Why do they buy what you sell? Who are your suppliers? List them all, and include all their contact info as well as a description about the type of relationship you have with each of them. List all your major clients and do the same. At minimum, these questions should be answered.

You’ll also want to write down the names, addresses and phone numbers of all your support people, such as your lawyer, your banker, and your CPA. Be sure at least one of these key people knows your account information and any other important financial arrangements.

Also list any other support people such as marketing and advertising firms, media contacts, and relationships with service organizations or networking groups.

Once the basics are covered, the nuts and bolts of operations should be addressed. Describe your advertising program and how your budget is laid out. If you send out to an email list, be sure to record instructions for how to access that list and how to publish your e-zine or newsletter.

This “ops manual” doesn’t need to be anything fancy. A simple spiral notebook will do the trick. The main thing is that your knowledge has been documented. Besides, writing this stuff out has other benefits, too. In fact, I’d highly recommend documenting the brainpower of everyone in your organization. After all, you never know who might get hit by a bus.

Share This

Filed in Work, Business, Opinion, Management, Leadership