Thread by @oliverflips

How I outsourced most of my Amazon business virtually overnight

If you are just starting - you NEED to read this

/thread

First, let me use a buzzword - SOP

SOP stands for Standard Operating Procedure

It basically means "the way you do stuff"

Do you know how you do stuff?

Most people know how they do stuff, but they never wrote it down.

"I am too small"

"It's just me, I don't need to document anything"

WRONG WRONG WRONG

An SOP is not a fancy document filled with words you learned in a NYT Bestselling business book.

You literally just write down, step by step, how you do anything, divided by category.

But you don't have VAs or employees, why do you need it?

Reason #1

Because you need to do everything the same way, every time

When you put your process on paper, it automates the system in your mind.

This allows you to change one small part of the process, observe the results, and keep the change if it works better.

If it does not improve things, you change it back to the old way and then you tweak something else.

Maybe it doesn't need change, you just need to do it more.

That leads us to..

Reason #2

You already have the process recorded for your first hire.

This is the key.

You don't need to teach them everything - you just need to hand them your SOP.

Now you have another human offering real time feedback on your process.

They may have new ideas to improve the process.

They may need clarification and will expose holes in your process you didn't know you were missing before.

Once you have a new hire, you can have them create processes for future roles as they learn them.

Then, you hand those SOPs to the new hires after that.

Now, you are not training and your employees are not training, they are reading SOPs and coming to their superior for clarification.

This is highly efficient and saves 100s of hours when scaling quickly.

Reason #3

You now have the information you need for automation.

You know what needs to be done, when, and in what order.

When you get too big so that it makes more sense for software automation to step in, you already know what solution you are looking for.

It is simple - it automates the process you ALREADY have.

So how do you start?

#1

Create a document in the cloud on Google Docs or Notion.

It can be shared, it can be commented on, it can be changed easily without having to send out new copies.

#2

Be specific, but not too specific.

Don't include "how to turn on the PC"

If they don't know how to turn on a PC, they are not the person for your job.

Your employees should be able to think with common sense.

Only included the meaningful steps,

Use Greenshot to screen capture easily and insert images with notations, arrows, etc into your SOPs.

Visual examples are powerful and can remove confusion with verbal instructions.

#3

Separate each SOP into its own category:

-How to source for Amazon
-How to source for eBay
(include buying criteria for these)
-How to prep a shipment
-How to handle customer inquiries
(create a template with frequently asked questions and responses)

#4

Don't be afraid to change SOPs

Don't be afraid to keep them the same

Don't be afraid to taking feedback from your employees

Don't be afraid to create a whole new SOP and see if you can do it better

As your business grows, your needs will change and the way you do things may need to change.

Do not resist this change - the only way to grow is to change.

#5

Review your SOPs Monthly and Quarterly

They key here is to make sure you are not missing anything big.

If something is going wrong in your business, review the SOP related to the department. Go through it with a fine tooth comb, experiment with tweaking areas.

Creating SOPs in the very beginning of my business felt like a huge waste of time I could have spent doing other things.

But now, I can hand my entire company manual to a new hire and spend only minimal time helping them through areas they need more help with.

Invest in your SOPs NOW and they will pay you dividends in the future when the time is right.

Thank you so much for reading!

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