I’ve got a lot going on. A real estate team, lending team, and Impact Club. Then there’s the media aspect of my business, which includes a radio show, podcasts, and video production.

It’s a lot. It’s both awesome and overwhelming.

It’s forced me to take a look at the critically important side of business that no one likes to talk about: Operations. Executing proven systems.

Enter Sarah Taylor, our new Operations Manager.

Sarah will be developing and refining our processes and systems across our many initiatives.

It’s daunting, but not impossible.

When it’s just one or two entrepreneurs operating out of their garage selling a few widgets they made online, operations isn’t that important.

Once those entrepreneurs are up to bat and hit a homerun, it forces them to pour a ton of time and energy into Operations. Going from selling a few to selling thousands means they can’t make and ship the widgets the same way. They need to create detailed and precise instructions of how they build the widgets so the process can be followed exactly by anyone.

Most small businesses plateau or even fail when the founder stops innovating because they get mired in the day-to-day activities of the business. It stifles growth. A business can’t grow if the owners are the bottleneck for every decision and every important task.

I’ve been the bottleneck for my company for years, because I didn’t release control of many important decisions and tasks.

What I’ve learned from studying many great companies and their leaders is that they started with the same problem. UNTIL they hired someone wired for efficiency and systems. Someone who bugged the founder with a million questions to understand how and why they made each decision or completed each task. From this, they could write detailed, step-by-step system guides that others could follow to get the same result as the founder.

That was their tipping point.

They removed the bottleneck so the business could grow and keep the same level of quality (or even improve) as they brought on more talent to the team.

So I made a leap and hired Sarah 3 weeks ago. And then I doubled down by enrolling her in training to study with one of the best operations teams I’ve ever seen. If you’re going to learn, learn from the best.

I have a mission to make lasting impact in my community through my companies and Impact Club. Not just fairytale impact, but real, measurable, trackable impact. But I can’t do that, at least not at the level I’m striving for, without a great team and great operations. I’m making investments now into our long-term mission.

What are your thoughts about operations?
Do you have a story about a company with great or poor operations?
I’d love to hear it.

Mike Turner

Co-Founder: Impact Club Boise
Host: Idaho Speakeasy
Collaborator: Value Drive Approach
Founder: Front Street Brokers
Author: Agent Entrepreneurs
Voice: 208-340-8399