How to Finally Kick Off Your SOP Library
You’ve probably had “create SOPs” on your to-do list for months, if not years. You know your business would run more smoothly if processes were documented - not to mention it would be easier to onboard new hires, delegate tasks, and scale. But, the idea of sitting down to write a polished manual for every single task feels overwhelming.
Here’s the good news: you don’t need polished. In fact, the faster (and messier) you start, the more likely you are to actually get it done. We’re looking for momentum, not a masterpiece.
Five Steps to Finally Kick Off Your SOP Library
1. Determine the Key Categories of Your Business
Before you write a single SOP, set up a simple framework to keep things even minimally organized. Think about the big buckets of where your processes live. Don’t overcomplicate it - just sketch out the categories that will give you an easy filing system to drop SOPs into as they’re created.
The easiest way to do this? Group the categories along departments or lines of business.
Think: Marketing, Sales, Client Support, and Billing.
Or: Social Media, Website Management, SEO, and Paid Ads.
You can always fine tune down the line when you’re ready to refine. Right now, we just want to get started.
2. Pick a Platform that Your Team Already Uses
You don’t need to invest in a fancy SOP tool to get started. In fact, if you set up your library in a platform that your team already lives in, it’s far more likely people will both contribute SOPs and actually use them.
Later on, if it makes sense, you can always upgrade to a dedicated SOP platform with all the bells and whistles. But for now, convenience and accessibility are what matters.
3. Get the Whole Team Involved
If you have a team working with you (and yes - even one other person is a team), don’t make the mistake of trying to document everything yourself. Ask your team to help capture the processes they already do every day. These don’t have to be polished or final - bullet points, voice notes, or screen recordings are all fair game to get that raw material into your library.
4. Use the “Next Time I Do It, I’ll Draft It” Method
Don’t lie to yourself by blocking days on your calendar for dedicated SOP-writing. We all know that more important things are going to come up and it’s going to get pushed… again.
Instead, take a real time approach: the next time you do a task, jot down the steps as you go.
Same as in the previous step - do this in whatever medium makes it the easiest to make it happen - record your screen, babble into a voice note, keep another doc open on your screen where you can jot down running notes. It might make the process take a few extra minutes, but you’ll be building your SOP library little by little without derailing your day.
5. Clean It Up Later
Your first drafts won’t be pretty, and that’s okay. Once you’ve built up a base of messy-but-functional SOPs, you can revisit and refine them. The hardest part is starting - that’s why it’s still on the to-do list, not the done list.
And let’s be real: for a lot of smaller processes, a messy rough draft is all that will ever be needed for the function to happen.
The Bottom Line
Stop waiting for the “perfect” moment, the “perfect” template, or the “perfect” tool. An imperfect SOP library that exists is infinitely more valuable than a polished one that lives in your head.
Start messy, build momentum, and refine over time.
