Are you used to working in a large organization with a lot of support departments, established policies and procedures, and administrative systems? If so, you may complain about some of it as being bureaucratic, too slow and burdensome. You may take a lot of it for granted. But it also helps you get your work done most days.

Before you think the grass is greener on the other side as the saying goes, remember that start-ups don’t have any of this day one. By the end of the first year they probably have the basics in place. As they grow and scale, they create the new systems and processes they need.

I am one of those people who worked my entire career in very large organizations. I’ve been on the start-up side with StarBridge Advisors now for a year and a half. We were fortunate to have basic back office functions available day one through a shared service agreement. But there has still been a lot of new to create.

Based on this new world for me, it’s probably no surprise that I have some lessons and tips to pass along. Here goes:

Create standard templates – Whether it’s administrative tools to reuse such as your master services agreement (MSA) and statement of work (SOW) or tools for client work such as interview forms and assessment outlines, you need to create and continually evolve them. It will make you more efficient and provide consistency for your team and your clients. Our Toolkit for Interim IT Leaders is one example of those tools.

Establish repeatable processes – That old saying “no need to re-invent the wheel” is applicable here. But first you need to create your “wheels” for different processes then regularly revisit them to ensure they are as streamlined as possible.

Share documents – Creating a document repository with good version control should be a first order of business for even the smallest of firms. After all, you need a place for all those templates and documented processes.

Don’t duplicate efforts – Be clear who is responsible for what and who owns what. Collaborate and get feedback from one another but don’t trip over each other. You have a small team and limited hours so every minute counts.

Determine minimal data needed – As you establish systems, think about the inputs and outputs and the workflow. Ask yourself who needs what data for what purpose. Follow the KISS (keep it simple) principle – you can always expand on it when you need to.

Communicating as a virtual team – If you are used to working in an office environment where you can easily find someone in person for urgent questions, being virtual workers is a new challenge. You need to respect that your colleagues have their own schedules and may be heads down on a client deliverable or travelling. Use text and calls judiciously and rely on asynchronous email for much of your work.

Schedule regular touchpoint meetings – This was an early lesson. We had so much to discuss. Every adhoc call we had felt scattered and rushed. Establishing weekly calls with a clear agenda brought structure we needed. We start each call confirming priority items to discuss, especially important when there are way too many items on the agenda. As we grew, we added an additional weekly touchpoint to go deeper on key topics we couldn’t find time for otherwise.

Be flexible with channel partners – As you work with other firms, recognize that they will have their own set of processes and systems. If you want to do business together, be open and flexible to the best way to meet your common goals.

Establishing internal systems can be time consuming. The creative work of selecting logos and designing websites can be fun. But every member of your new firm needs to prioritize work that creates revenue.

Consider every new and unexpected issue that comes up as one you just need to figure out and address. It’s all part of your growing pains. And growing pains are a good problem to have.

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