You, my entrepreneur friend, are a master problem solver.
For most of your life — and your business’s life — you’ve probably solved problems when they show up and smack you in the face. I know this because it’s how I lived for years, how many of my clients function, and it’s just human nature to avoid things until they’re urgent.
While being responsive in the spur of the moment and quick to rise to any occasion is a fantastic skill set, it can become one we rely on too heavily. I call this skillset ‘reactive’ mode, which can cost you time, efficiency, and clients in the long run.
“Proactivity requires foresight, and foresight requires imagination and fearlessness…As long as everyone learns from mistakes made, innovation can flourish.”
As your business expands, your schedule as a CEO fills with responsibilities, and your team grows, you’ll want to take a more proactive approach to problem-solving.
You know what a performance review is…but what do they have to do with back-end ops?
You’ve probably heard of or experienced performance reviews and measured key performance indicators (KPIs) at a former job or in your own business. While both are essential to success, they totally leave out the best part of your business.
Okay, I’m biased about your back end being the most bomb part of your biz, but hear me out.
Every business has issues that won’t show up in an individual employee’s performance review or make themselves evident in measurable KPIs (key performance indicators). You can spot those sneaky issues in the inner workings, the systems, the processes, and the flow of your business.
I suggest you LOOK for them PROACTIVELY!
Because when it comes to your business systems and back-end operations, ignorance is not bliss. At least, not for very long.
The big bad ugly A-word that I not-so-secretly loooooove!
I have a name for the process of giving your business back end a performance review, and there are two reasons I didn’t use it in the title of this post.
#1: Because Google would think I was writing about business taxes and finances.
#2: It sounds a bit hairy and scary (so you might not have even clicked on this post, which would be such a shame).
I can promise you; it’s neither of these.
I call this review process auditing. I do audits regularly with my OBM clients and teach my signature process in my group programs.
What does it mean to audit a business’s back end?
An audit is simply combing through your current systems, processes, team communications, and customer service standards to see where you’ve got room for improvement, gaps to fill, and potential weak spots that need a boost.
An audit goes beyond what KPIs can measure because an audit investigates ways you can make your business better before you’re surprised by lackluster results, frustrated clients, or disconnected team members. Inside an audit, you want to look at your business’s sales and marketing aspects with a ‘back end lens.’ This means that even if you’re looking at ‘front-end’ parts of your business, you’re asking what can be done on the back end to make them even better.
What are the benefits of auditing?
Regularly auditing your business allows you to become more agile, resilient, and visionary in your company and industry because you’re proactively anticipating and creating the future. This results in:
- Very clear priorities and regular re-alignment with your values
- Having plenty of time to address problems before a big launch
- A dramatic reduction in the number of bottlenecks and barriers in your biz
- Five-star, white-glove client experiences and customer service
- Higher-touch services and an increase in your attention to detail
Get started with my DIY audit guide today!
This guide will walk you through how to use the 7 pillars to audit your business so you can eliminate friction and scale with ease.
Get your FREE 7 Pillar Business Assessment here! ⚡
August 23, 2022
