Make Your Business Work for You: The 3S Profit Optimizer (Part 3)
This article is a continuation of Make Your Business Work for You: The 3S Profit Optimizer (Part 2). If you haven’t read that, I recommend doing that now.
Assuming you read Part 1 and Part 2 about Phases 1 and 2 of the 3S Profit Optimizer, you should now be familiar with documenting your core processes and your support processes, which prepare you to scale. Before diving into Phase 3, let’s do a quick review of the 3S Profit Optimizer.
The 3S Profit Optimizer: Simplify, Systematize, and Scale
My signature 3S Profit Optimizer is a proven framework that will simplify, systematize, and supercharge your business’s scalability and profits. It consists of three key phases:
Phase 1: Secure & Sign More Clients
Phase 2: Simplify & Systematize Operations
Phase 3: Supercharge Scalability & Profits
Phases 1 and 2 help move you from Steady (but Stuck) to Scalable, and Phase 3 will move you from Scalable to Saleable.
The overall approach of the 3S Profit Optimizer is to Document It, Use It, and Optimize It (DUO). In Phases 1 and 2, you document and use the processes, and in Phase 3, you optimize.
Recall that Phase 1 was about documenting and using the processes that touch clients, e.g., marketing, sales, client onboarding, etc. Phase 2 of The 3S Profit Optimizer is the same process as Phase 1, except you worked on the support processes that increase your capacity and prepare you to scale to any level, e.g., human resources, finance, and operations.
Phase 3: Supercharge Scalability & Profits
Phase 3 of the 3S Profit Optimizer begins after you’ve documented the core and support processes and they’re up and running without being dependent on one person. You need some consistency in your work to measure results and set a baseline.
The goal of Phase 3 is to establish systems to optimize productivity, performance, and revenue growth and achieve higher profitability. Optimization is an ongoing process, with metrics being tracked and analyzed at a frequency that makes sense to help identify any gaps, inefficiencies, and bottlenecks in the current processes and systems. For example, some data might be reviewed weekly, while other data may be reviewed monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually. The secret to accelerating business optimization is using a few key metrics to inform decisions about existing processes and systems. You’ll create a dashboard that provides visibility into your key metrics so you know when changes in your business systems or processes are needed.
4 Steps to Supercharging Scalability & Profits
Before you can jump into a continuous improvement system, you need to determine what data you’ll use to inform decision-making. Select up to seven metrics that provide the most insight into your systems’ performance, typically one per core process. For example, track website visitors for marketing or profit margin for product/service delivery.
Next, create an accessible dashboard where you’ll display the key metrics so they’re visible to everyone in the company. It does not have to be a fancy, high-tech undertaking. It can be a whiteboard that shows each metric and the date when it was last measured. Show the past few measurements of each metric so the trends are apparent. Each metric should be measured at least monthly. You may decide to increase the frequency later but don’t bite off more than you can chew to start with. Identify someone (not the CEO or business owner) to capture each of the metrics.
Here are the steps that should be repeated based on the frequency at which you are collecting data.
1. Analyze key metrics. Analyze the data. Are they getting better? Worse? Staying the same? Which ones are a cause for concern? Prioritize the concerning data for further investigation. The data analysis should not take a long time. Set up a template or a few key questions to help you analyze the data at the determined frequency.
2. Identify problems. Based on the data analysis, identify problems such as gaps, inefficiencies, and bottlenecks that could be causing the issues.
3. Optimize. Develop systems-based solutions for the top priority issues. Minor solutions can be implemented quickly, while larger challenges may require separate projects led by your Systems Champion. Test the updated processes with relevant team members.
4. Monitor results. Continue to track your key metrics and determine whether your updated processes are moving the needle in the right direction. Make sure to update the dashboard, whether the results have improved or not. Sometimes, it takes some testing and a few revisions, but that’s the nature of continuous improvement. Once the solution is achieving the desired results, update the documentation and roll out the changes as you did in Phases 1 and 2.
Lather, rinse, and repeat!
Once you have this supercharging system down, you have a business that can be scaled to any level. You can scale up or scale back at any point in your business. You are in control of your business—your business is not in control of you!
Embrace the Continuous Improvement Journey!
Forget about perfect systems! Delivering top-notch results doesn’t hinge on flawless processes. In fact, the idea of a perfect system is nothing more than a myth. What works like a charm today might lose its magic when another system gets a makeover or an external curveball comes your way in a few months.
Don’t get caught up in trying to be the next McDonald’s or Starbucks. Those big shots have had years to fine-tune their operations and pour millions (or even billions!) into their processes and systems. Instead, focus on your own unique starting point and resist the urge to compare yourself to the corporate giants.
The secret sauce to success? Embrace the journey of continuous improvement! Stay laser-focused on the process and keep pushing forward, one step at a time. Slow and steady wins the race, remember? By consistently making small tweaks and enhancements, you’ll be blown away by the progress you can achieve over time.
So, buckle up and get ready to harness the power of persistence, adaptability, and a growth mindset. With these tools in your arsenal, you’ll be well on your way to building top-notch systems that deliver mind-blowing results. Get ready to crush it!
