How to Start Systemising with the 4Ps

Right now, you've got critical business info scattered across:

Here's the kicker: You tell yourself you'll "get organised someday."

“Someday” is where solo businesses go to die.

You're not documenting because nobody taught you the hierarchy. You're trying to write War and Peace when you need a comic book. Everything feels equally important, so nothing gets done.

Today, we fix that.

Stop trying to document everything at once. Start thinking in layers.

The 4Ps create a clear hierarchy:

One page. That's it. If someone had to run your business tomorrow (because you're on a beach or in hospital), this is what they'd need:

Most solo operators skip this because "it's obvious." Yeah? Try explaining your business to your spouse at 11pm when a client emergency hits. Not so obvious now, is it?

What goes in it:

These aren't procedures. They're the big-picture workflows. Think "Client Onboarding" not "Send Welcome Email."

A process shows the full journey from trigger to completion.

Examples:

Keep these visual if you can. Flowcharts beat walls of text every time. If you can't draw it on a napkin, it's too complex.

NOW we get detailed. This is where you put the "click here, type this, select that" instructions.

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These live UNDER your processes. They're the detailed turn-by-turn directions for each exit on your process highway.

The test: Could a reasonably intelligent human follow these steps without texting you questions? If no, add more detail or screenshots.

Example: Under "Client Onboarding Process," you'd have procedures for:

Not everything needs measuring. This isn't McKinsey.

Pick 3-5 metrics that tell you if the business is healthy. That's it.

Solo operator metrics that matter:

Skip the vanity metrics. Nobody cares about your website traffic if you can't pay yourself.

Week 1: Write your one-page Profile. Even if it feels stupidly obvious. Especially if it feels stupidly obvious.

Week 2: Pick ONE process that's currently making you mental. Map it out. Napkin sketch first, fancy flowchart later (or never).

Week 3: Write 2-3 procedures under that process. Include screenshots. Your future stressed-self will thank you.

Week 4: Pick 2 performance metrics. Just 2. Track them weekly, not daily.

The compound effect: Do this for one process per month. In 6 months, you'll have documented the core of your business. In 12 months, you can take a holiday without your phone.

I learned this the hard way, like everything else.

It’s 2023. Good client, complex project, custom workflow I'd "perfected" over three months. Delivered brilliantly. Client loved it. Six months later, they want the exact same thing for their sister company.

Could I remember the workflow? Could I hell.

Found scattered notes, half a Trello board, and some cryptic email threads. Spent two weeks reverse-engineering my own bloody process. Made half the money in twice the time because I was too clever to write it down the first time.

The real joke? I'd been a process consultant for a decade. I'd literally been paid to document other people's businesses while mine ran on memory and prayer.

That's when I built the 4P structure. Not because I read it in some business book written by a 26-year-old guru, but because I was sick of being my own worst client.

Documentation isn't about perfection. It's about getting the chaos out of your head so you can use your brain for actual thinking instead of remembering.

You don't need beautiful flowcharts. You don't need a 200-page operations manual. You need a hierarchy that makes sense and the discipline to fill it in one piece at a time.

The 4Ps aren't sexy. They won't get you on a podcast talking about your "revolutionary business system." But they'll get you home by 5pm without anxiety about what you've forgotten.

Start with the Profile. One page. Tonight.

Stop treating your business like it's too special to document. It's not. You're not. And that's exactly why this will work.

Next week: Why your "productive" 12-hour days are actually making you worse at your job (and what to do instead)

Got a spare 10 minutes? This week on the podcast we covered how you can stop automating the wrong things. You can access the calculator at https://lonewolfunleashed.com/automate

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