Step 1: take stock
Before writing anything, you need to know where you're starting from. Three questions are enough:
- What's already written down, and where? (Website, decks, scattered documents, emails.)
- What depends on a single person?
- What keeps landing on the owner's desk?
The result: a short list of topics, in order of urgency. If you're unsure about timing, start with the 10 signs.
Step 2: write down your direction
A small business strategy should be short and easy to reread. It answers a few questions: who our customers are, what problems we solve for them, what we sell, what sets us apart, how we make money, where we want to be in three years.
The trap is writing it alone. A strategy reviewed with the leadership team, then presented to everyone, becomes a shared reference. A strategy kept in a drawer is useless.
A framework that helps. The CED method (Dynamic Business Canvas) breaks the strategy into 14 sections: target customers, offers, customer experience, people and culture, governance, vision… See the CED method.
Step 3: clarify who does what
Three simple deliverables:
- An up-to-date organisation: teams, roles, who reports to whom.
- A job description for each person: the mission, the responsibilities, what's expected.
- Decision rules: who decides what, up to what amount, within what limits. That's what lets the owner truly delegate.
Start with the decisions that always come back to you: they free up the most time once handed over.
Step 4: document your key processes
Not all processes: three to start with. Choose them among those that:
- happen often (invoicing, onboarding a new client);
- are costly when done badly (proposals, delivery);
- depend on a single person.
The golden rule: the method is written by the people who practise it, from a template, then approved by leadership. Details and examples in how to document business processes.
Step 5: set goals and a rhythm
Three to five goals, no more, tied to the strategy. Each has a numeric target, a measure and an owner. For example: reach a revenue figure, reduce the share of the top three clients, shorten the time to onboard a new client.
Then a rhythm: a short weekly check-in on what needs to move, a monthly review of the goals. Without rhythm, structure becomes a binder nobody opens.
Step 6: keep the structure alive
The step that separates efforts that last from those that fizzle out:
- Accessible: everyone finds what they need in seconds, according to their role.
- Up to date: every document is dated, has an owner and gets rechecked regularly.
- Used: the team relies on it every day, including in its AI tools.
This is often where wikis fail. See why company wikis fail to avoid it.
The 90-day plan
| When | What you do | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1–2 | Take stock, choose priorities | The list of topics, by urgency |
| Weeks 3–5 | Write the strategy, review it with leadership | Your direction, on one page |
| Weeks 6–8 | Organisation, job descriptions, decision rules | Who does what, and who decides what |
| Weeks 9–11 | Document the three key processes | Three methods written by the people who practise them |
| Weeks 12–13 | Goals, rituals, roll-out to the whole team | A structure that's followed and used |
This pace assumes a little time each week, not one big project. To go faster, two options: lean on AI for the writing, or get help.
Mistakes to avoid
- Choosing a tool before knowing what you want to write.
- Trying to document everything at once.
- Writing methods on behalf of the people who practise them.
- Forgetting to present the result to the team.
- Never revisiting what was written.
For the big picture: how to structure your business, the complete guide.