If You Started Your Business Again, Would You Build It the Same Way?
As businesses grow, their systems don't always keep up. Take a fresh look at the processes you've inherited along the way.
In this guideJump straight to what you need3 sections
When a business is first established, most decisions are made with the information and resources available at the time.
A spreadsheet handles customer details because it's convenient. An email inbox becomes the place where enquiries are managed. A simple calendar keeps track of appointments.
As the business grows, new tools are introduced to solve new problems.
Another spreadsheet appears. Someone purchases a customer management platform. A separate application handles scheduling, and an accounting system takes care of invoices.
None of these decisions is necessarily wrong.
But after several years, it's worth considering whether the resulting collection of processes and applications still makes sense.
Businesses change faster than their systems
Imagine a hypothetical Wellington service company that began with two employees.
In the early days, the owner handled enquiries personally, recorded jobs in a spreadsheet and arranged appointments through email.
The approach worked because the volume of work was manageable and everyone knew what was happening.
Five years later, the business employs twelve people.
Customer enquiries arrive through several channels, different employees coordinate jobs and information is maintained across multiple applications.
Yet many of the original procedures remain unchanged.
Employees still copy details between systems, check spreadsheets and rely on informal messages to keep work moving.
The business has grown, but its internal processes haven't necessarily evolved alongside it.
This isn't unusual.
Changing the way a company operates requires time, and the immediate demands of serving customers often take priority.
Improving a business doesn't require rebuilding it
When existing processes become frustrating, it's tempting to imagine replacing everything with a completely new system.
But a large overhaul isn't always necessary.
Sometimes the business simply needs clearer responsibilities or better documentation.
In other situations, connecting two existing applications could eliminate repeated data entry.
A spreadsheet might benefit from automated updates, while a customer management system could make outstanding enquiries easier to track.
Custom software may be appropriate when the business has requirements that standard applications cannot reasonably support.
But the choice should follow an understanding of the actual problem.
Introducing technology without examining the process can create additional complexity.
The most useful improvements are often those that make everyday work simpler without disrupting what already functions well.
Take another look at the way things work
A useful exercise is to imagine designing your business's internal processes from the beginning, knowing what you know today.
Would you still record customer enquiries in the same place?
Would employees need to enter the same information into several applications?
Would appointments, jobs and invoices move through the business in the same way?
Some existing decisions will still make sense. Others may have survived simply because changing them never became a priority.
You don't need to address everything at once.
Choose one process that regularly creates unnecessary work. Follow it from beginning to end, identify the frustrating steps and consider whether a simpler approach is possible.
It may require a small procedural change, a built-in software feature or a connection between applications.
Whatever the solution, the important thing is recognising that the way a business operates today doesn't have to be permanent.
The systems that helped a business get started aren't necessarily the systems that will serve it best as it grows.
At Software Logic, I help New Zealand businesses explore practical software improvements, automation and integrations between existing applications.
If you were starting your business again tomorrow, knowing everything you've learned, which processes would you refuse to build the same way?
Have a question about your business? Talk to Liam.