When most small business owners hear “SOP,” they think of corporate handbooks, red tape, and unnecessary documentation.
But after helping founders scale across industries from short-term rentals and service businesses to healthcare and logistics, I can tell you this:
The businesses that win aren’t the ones with the most talent.
They’re the ones with the best systems.
I’m Dr. Connor Robertson, and today I want to show you why standard operating procedures (SOPs) are the most overlooked growth lever in small businesses and how to use them to unlock freedom, margin, and scale.
What Is an SOP—and Why Does It Matter?
An SOP is a step-by-step guide that explains how to complete a recurring task.
Simple, right?
But in most small businesses, everything lives in people’s heads.
If someone quits, gets sick, or goes on vacation, the whole thing falls apart.
That’s not a business. That’s a liability.
SOPs turn tribal knowledge into company knowledge.
They make your business teachable, repeatable, and transferable.
The 5 Reasons SOPs Are the Secret to Scaling Small
1. They Enable Delegation
You can’t delegate what you haven’t documented.
SOPs make it easy for team members to take ownership without constant supervision.
2. They Improve Onboarding
Training a new hire?
Hand them your SOP library.
You just saved 20 hours of explanation and ensured they do it the right way.
3. They Eliminate Guesswork
When your team knows exactly how to do a task, you eliminate:
- Inconsistent results
- Miscommunication
- Fire drills and last-minute errors
4. They Improve Profit Margins
Operational efficiency means fewer mistakes, less rework, and better use of time.
All of that drives margin.
5. They Make Your Business Sellable
Buyers pay premiums for businesses with systems.
If your operations run on SOPs, you’re not just growing, you’re building equity.
What I Do for Clients
When I work with founders, SOPs are one of the first things we install.
We:
- Identify all recurring tasks
- Record or write clear instructions
- Organize SOPs by department
- Assign owners for updating and training
- Store everything in one accessible location
Whether it’s a short-term rental check-in process, a lead follow-up sequence, or a payroll workflow, if it happens more than once, we systematize it.
Where Most People Go Wrong
- They wait too long.
You don’t need a 100-person team to justify SOPs. You need clarity now. - They make it too complicated.
A Google Doc is fine. Just write the steps. - They don’t update them.
An outdated SOP is almost worse than none at all. Make it part of your culture to refine processes quarterly.
Real Estate and SOPs: The Overlooked Advantage
In real estate-backed businesses, especially short-term rentals or multi-site operations, SOPs change everything.
Think about:
- Turnover processes
- Vendor coordination
- Guest communication
- Emergency escalation
- Pricing updates
If these aren’t systematized, you’re rebuilding the business every week.
I’ve helped STR businesses scale from 3 units to 30+ by doing one thing right:
Write it down. Make it repeatable. Hold people accountable.
Final Thoughts from Dr. Connor Robertson
If your business depends on memory, you don’t have a business.
You have a series of unscheduled emergencies.
But if your business runs on SOPs?
Now you’ve got something scalable.
You’ve got something that grows even when you’re not in the room.
I’m Dr. Connor Robertson.
And if you’re ready to stop being the instruction manual and start building a real machine, SOPs are where we begin.
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Written by Dr. Connor Robertson