Stage Three: Structure

What systems and processes do you need so this thing can actually get delivered, again and again, without you holding it together with duct tape every time?

That's the question at the heart of this stage. And I learned the answer the hard way.

Early on with my leather goods company, I called myself a “custom” leather goods manufacturer. If you had an idea, I would attempt to build it. And honestly, it was a lot of fun. Every piece was unique. There was wonderful engagement with clients, back-and-forth drawings, and a lot of creativity. I loved that part.

But I found myself so buried in the details that it was hard to stay on top of anything. Because the client was part of the creative process, they felt free to change things midstream. Halfway through designing a bag, they would decide they wanted something different, and since I was new and eager to make people happy, I went along with it. Meanwhile, I was spending far more time and doing far more work on each piece than I needed to.

That's when it hit me. I needed to create a line of goods that lived within a manageable, consistent structure. Pieces I could build quickly and cost-effectively because the design was already settled.

This became even more important as the company grew. I had professional leathersmiths and operators handling the day-to-day, and customers placing orders online without ever needing to talk to us. Once I standardized the process, customization still existed, but only within the products we already offered. A little bigger, fewer buckles, whatever the need was. The foundation stayed the same.

Bottom line: once I created a system that was replicable, anyone on my team could make it happen with or without me around. We could scale. Quality control got easier. And we could stand behind our product with confidence because we knew the standard every single piece was built to.

The sooner you come to these conclusions for yourself, the better off you'll be. What are your systems? What processes do you want to create and build? If you can design them with the mindset of other people running them, you'll be much further ahead than I was. I had to learn it the hard way. If I could do it over again, I would have standardized much earlier.

Here are a handful of questions worth sitting with:

• What processes can I standardize and clarify so I can hand them off to my team right now?
• What can I add to my website that lets a customer make a purchase or move forward without needing to engage my staff every time?
• Are there ways to digitize this process?
• What role can AI play in maintaining quality while speeding things up?
• How do I keep systems in place so my client never feels like I'm avoiding them? What videos on my website explain the process and the product? Does my photography actually reflect what we make?

These are questions I still ask myself as I move into new ventures. What systems can I create so that everything runs more smoothly, whether I'm in the room or not?