Templates to Save Time and Provide Freedom for Your Creative Business
Templates are a lifesaver!
For service providers and small businesses, templates may feel as though you are taking the “personality” out of your service. I promise, if you create your templates with your brand and clients in mind, it won’t!
Templates give us a head start in our process (The process that sets you apart and brings your clients in). They give consistency to our business: internally and with clients. They ensure quality.
Templates will also give you freedom
If I’ve convinced you by now to give them a try, read on to get ideas for how you can create templates in your business.
1. Business Processes (SOP)
This one may seem like overkill when you’re a solopreneur but now is the right time to lay it out. These aren’t the stuffy SOPs of your corporate grandfather. These would include a recorded video, an associated checklist, and a location of where the SOPs are.
2. Projects
Do you consistently do the same type of work for project? Document yourself doing the project steps, then setup a template inside ClickUp (or other tool of choice) so you can easily copy and paste those steps the next time. If you are using a tool like ClickUp it is easy to create the template and then to re-create it.
3. Client Onboarding
I know we all want to provide excellent customer service from start to end. Consistency is the way to do that. Create a template(s) for your client onboarding process so you only need to do the personalization. This won’t diffuse your service, it will elevate it.
4. Tasks
Just like projects, some tasks are repeatable. Set up repetitive tasks in the system you’re using but if it requires several steps to complete, add those in and then create the template. Again, copy and paste will speed up your life! If you are using a tool like ClickUp it is easy to create the template and then to re-create it.
5. Marketing Content
Utilize templates in your visuals, templates for your hashtags, and templates for the way you track and document your content. There are endless ways to streamline marketing through templates. Think Canva, Airtable, and ClickUp.
6. Analytics
You should be reviewing your own analytics (sales, customers, followers, email subscribers, website data) each month. Create a template for doing this and bonus points if you can feed the data from the source. This will eventually allow you to outsource this task.
7. Employee Onboarding
Templates and forms are highly underrated when it comes to employee onboarding. Any time you can provide a base for the new employee to utilize, it will help empower them. We hire to release our work so make sure you are creating templates that don’t include you in the process.
8. Forecasting / Financials
Just like analytics, you should be reviewing financials every month and forecasting each quarter (or at least 2x a year). Have a template to capture that data so it can be reviewed and analyzed.
9. Emails
Any email you’ll be sending more than once should have a saved template. Setting up automated emails using your email provider is amazing for funnels but if you’ll need to send one off emails, create a template so you just need to personalize and send. It may seem like only a few minutes but over time, it adds up.
Create templates as you go
Create templates as you do the work and use these templates moving forward. They are not set in stone and can change as you learn and grow. This head start for tasks will eliminate decisions and will allow you to provide the same service every time. Nothing says professionalism like consistency.
