TL; DR
Build good operational foundations into your new venture from the get-go.
A good simple starting point:
- Keep your bookkeeping and legal files in order, even if you don't like it. A little bit every day should be enough. Just don't procrastinate.
- Pick your 1 key process. Map it. Document it. Improve it. Repeat with other work as capacity allows.
- Track how good you are today (e.g., speeds, costs). With every repetition, track how much better you got, just from staying aware of what can improve.
Why growth advice causes problems after a while
Common advice is ... kinda ... good
Thought leaders tell startups to focus on creating demand because nothing else matters until you have confirmed demand. If you have perfect operations but no customer demand, your business will go out of business.
That's true. But only up to a point.
Standard advice comes with an expiration date. Ignore it at your peril
At some point, the business (hopefully) achieves some traction and generates demand. And then, very quickly, under-developed operations are not scalable and are overwhelmed by the demand for which they weren't built.
Now the company's leadership has no time to build better operations because there already are problems. So they try quick fixes instead. With heroic work, that may work for a bit. But of course, after a while, they either fall apart or are overwhelmed again, and the pattern repeats.
At this point, a lot of smart people offer silver bullet-style, supposedly "easy" solutions.
- Authors offer "operating systems" (e.g., EOS). But those only deal with management routines... But the work isn't done yet.
- Integrators offer multi-purpose apps (e.g., Notion or Make.com). But those still need configuring. And nobody knows yet to WHAT to configure them... The work still isn't done.
- App makers offer fancier solutions (e.g., ClickUp). But those only help with project management, dashboards, charters, and the like... The work STILL isn't done.
- Consultants offer diagnostics. But those only tell you what you knew: That your operations can't keep up with your business.
A better way
What ACTUALLY helps is to build really light versions of good operations up-front. E.g., Samiron Ray calls these "high-leverage tasks."
IMHO, it can be even simpler. I call them "big levers."
- This can happen in parallel with work to grow the business.
- It instills good habits.
- It's still flexible enough to adapt and fine-tune as you go.
- It can morph into more sophisticated solutions.
Fractionals make it cheaper, while keeping it good
Of course, it takes experts in each of the relevant fields (e.g., supply chain, manufacturing, finance) to create those light solutions. That gets pricey.
And many professionals are so used to heavy-duty solutions where everything already works that they can't simplify things down. They just don't know what the "critical simple parts" are. And they get so excited about how much better things could be that they ignore the opportunity cost of creating all that capability that's not needed for a long time yet. Many other things could have happened at the same time.
This is where fractional professionals help. You get multiple fields of expertise in one person and can direct them to what's most needed right now. Even then, they won't know everything. But you'll get by with one or two people, rather than hordes.
Build "good-cheap" ops
Good foundations.
In light early versions.
That can expand as you grow
without blowing up your growth.
How to use this
Three actions are worth it for any team:
- Keep your bookkeeping and legal files in order, even if you don't like it. 10min/ day should be enough. Just don't procrastinate. It adds up if you let it go too long, especially because you won't remember what was what.
- Tools like Xero ($15/mo after intro period) and QuickBooks (~$35/mo after intro period) aren't super-fun or totally cheap. But it's money well spent ... as long you actually use them! Then it'll soon become routine.
- And as for keeping legal stuff straight, usually that just means printing emails to PDF and keeping a central file folder ... again, that you actually have to use. 😄
- Why: This is critical for compliance, financial health, and preparing for later cool stuff like tracking growth.
- Pick your 1 key process. Map it. Document it. Improve it. Repeat with other work as capacity allows.
- This can happen in any low-key tool you like. MS Word. Miro. Notion.
- Maybe avoid super-visual tools like Canva, MS PowerPoint, or adobe Illustrator though. You'll be too tempted to focus on visuals over content. And their defined page edges can make things feel crammed. One exception: If you know how to draw process diagrams, then PowerPoint and Canva make it easy-ish. But even then, Miro can be better because of its infinite canvas.
- Why: Starting with the most impactful process means you'll get better and reduce risks where it has the biggest impact.
- Track how good you are today (e.g., speeds, costs). With every repetition, track how much better you got, just from staying aware of what can improve.
- Specifics differ here, based on what topic we're talking about. But, for example, let's say we are talking about your production costs ("cost of goods sold"). Then dump every last receipt for every expense related to a customer into a single folder. Put all that info into a simple spreadsheet in Google Sheets or Excel. Basic is all you need. Leave a spot for your next sale and its associated costs. Then again collect all info. But now you already have a basic template. It'll be much faster and easier. Keep at it. Importantly, track how you get slightly better each time.
- Good things to track starting out: Production costs. Marketing expense to get a customer ("customer acquisition costs"). Response time to customer questions.
- Why: It's easy to feel like you're treading water and making no progress. Only actually writing down where you were at once upon a time will let you remember (and check if you actually are getting better).
Want even more? Here are three more activities that I'd recommend next:
- Automate small, repetitive tasks.
- Identify recurring tasks that you actually do a lot. (There are plenty of routine things that you do so rarely that you won't need to automate them at first. Stick to simple things like meeting scheduling, via tools like Calendly. "No code" programming tools like Zapier or make.com actually take some expertise and fine-tuning. They are awesome but won't deliver instant value.
- Why: Automation makes things consistent and, more importantly, frees up time for higher-value work.
- Make a weekly, simple plan with your team.
- This can be super-fast. E.g., enforce a 10min end time even if you are not done. You'd be surprised how fast people will get at setting goals, identifying bottlenecks, and planning small improvements.
- Why: There's tons of psychological research on how writing goals down makes you more likely to achieve them, and committing something to others makes you more likely to get it done..
- Start building your playbook.
- Create simple checklists or how-to guides for recurring tasks, even if they’re just bullet points in a Google Doc.
- Why: Companies eventually involve a lot of work. Even early companies actually do a lot. Starting now will eventually get you through everything. Starting later puts you behind the eightball.
Further reading:
Ray, Samiron. "How to manage your time before you've found product-market fit." Substack (Oct. 28, 2024)
