Agape Business Network

~Hacking Team Growth
I have had the privilege of working with close to 60 people over our nine years, directly employed under eMsika, and they were amazing in their own right. We struggled for the first four years as a business with things like selling strategies for our product, marketing skills, customer courtesy, financial record-keeping, and, not to forget, handling our team.

So, when another entrepreneur reached out last week to tell me how their front-facing team had been mistreating customers—to the point of arguing with them—I just laughed with him because I remembered us having similar issues back then.

How I worked on covering these incompetence's early on was by asking people around me with expertise to come and train the team. In strategy and organization design, my wife helped. For sales and marketing, I remember paying friends like Sandy-Multiple K500 just to share lessons from his time at Vodafone. For customer care, I paid Ketiwe-Multiple K500 to explain the skills she gained managing top-level call centers. When I needed team cohesion to reach goals, I paid the same to Tafadzwa-Goal Gettaz, and she came. I failed to submit a Profit and Loss document to an investor because we didnt have it, I called Vernon-Zpos to assist but it was too late.

All these people were my friends, yet each time I asked them to train us, I paid them what I could afford. I learned this from the wisest King, Solomon, who said wisdom is more precious than rubies—and then added, BUY IT. (This was six years ago; I’m sure they have new rates now.)

Now, I’m also being called by friends and beyond who need my strengths, such as technology mapping, business systems, pitching etc., in their organizations.

Lesson 14: When you need help, it’s near you—just be willing to invest.

Grow your K3,000+/month business with systems → https://forms.gle/zereYGPx6HLS28RE8

Find more stories like this here→ www.agapebusinessnetwork.org/blog 

Do you know why it’s easier to go to school, get a qualification, and join a big company? Well, apart from the salary and other perks, it’s simply because things are already set up—all you need to do is follow the processes in place. For example, there’s a simple system or even software for requesting leave days, advance salaries, etc. When you join, it’s plug-and-play. You can focus on applying the expertise you learned in college or university.

But in a young business, there’s the YOU-PROCESS—dictated by the owner of the business—which can be frustrating, especially if a team member has no prior work experience and has no idea what to do next. I must say, it’s hard and time-consuming for a business owner to think through policies, implement them, inform the team, follow up, incentivize those doing the right thing, and penalize those who aren’t. For an owner, the mindset is on getting sales to cover salaries and extra for the business’s needs.

At Emsika, to avoid some of these challenges—especially around payroll calculations, leave days, advance requests, etc.—we decided to use a software called xp.shengamo.com. The HR team can compute salaries, pensions, taxes, and health insurance easily, while employees can receive payslips and request leave online.

This helps establish a process beyond the owner’s head. And for small teams, the software is affordable and easy to set up.

I have used digital tools to help create and enforce policies.

Lesson 13: Company policies help team members know what to do without constantly consulting the owner.

Grow your K3,000+/month business with systems → https://forms.gle/zereYGPx6HLS28RE8

I have always wondered whether people who work in small businesses behave the same way they do in a big organization in terms of loyalty and order. For example, a business colleague was telling me how a key team member left the company without any warning and has already reported to a new job. Now they have to chase her around to retrieve company equipment. This has happened to us in our business a couple of times, and when it comes to turnover, you can’t keep track.

So, my question again: do employees behave the same way in small businesses as they do in big ones, despite having similar qualifications (e.g., diploma or degree)?

Personally, I don’t think so. There are factors that make some of these big organizations different—e.g., good salary, name prestige, incentives, and security. But today, I want to allude to policies.

Small businesses, because the owner runs the business from his or her head, often lack policies and means of enforcing them. Things move based on what we think on that day as owners. People can’t build familiarity with any process apart from the owner. You are the process, the system, and if you get moody, then the system gets moody. I can assure all of us founders that people are only following the YOU-PROCESS because they have nowhere else to go or simply need the little salary they are getting.

Set up a culture beyond yourself—a mini HR process, from recruitment to onboarding and departure. Make it so efficient that you can replace anyone in any position within three business days, seamlessly.

Lesson 12 – Build a process or policy around how your team is put together.

Looking to grow your K3,000/month or above business with systems? Apply HERE