The how-to guide for turning your biz into a scalable company
The free “How to Build a Business Playbook” masterclass is finally here!
Welcome to The Manual Weekly - LI Edition, the can’t-miss newsletter for small business leaders. You’ll find snackable bits of news highlighting emerging trends, actionable resources, and proven best practices that can help take your business to the next level.
Hot off the SMB press this week:
Here’s the blueprint for building a scalable business
It’s finally here: You can now access “How to Build a Business Playbook ,” the free masterclass for any and all business leaders looking for the step-by-step guide to building scalable companies.
Join Chris Ronzio, founder and CEO of Trainual, and Daymond John, founder of FUBU and star of Shark Tank, as they deliver eight chapters on the blueprint that successful companies are using to craft the perfect business playbook — AKA, your company’s go-to for documented policies, processes, and company knowledge.
You can start digging into chapter 1 and learn how building a business playbook will align your team, help you scale your business, and take you to the next level. We’ll cover:
Template of the week: Welcome to the Company
Tell us if this is you: Staring at your screen, wondering how you’re going to start your brand new business playbook . There’s so much to document — your team’s roles, the policies that define your company guidelines, the processes that define your business operations, the list goes on!
Here’s where you should actually start: your company profile. What’s your origin story? What’s the mission that defines who you are and who you serve? What vision are you striving towards? By documenting your company profile first, you’re laying the foundation for everything else you need to include in your business playbook. Your people, your policies, and your processes all stem from what your company does and why you do it.
?? Let us help you get started with our Welcome to the Company template — a full blueprint for documenting your story, mission and vision, core values , and anything else that defines your business.
Want more templates to help you build your business playbook? Check out our entire template archive of free, multimedia-enhanced, and customizable policy, process, and role starters. New to Trainual? Try for free .
How this law firm saved thousands of dollars in labor costs
We get it.
Taking on a business playbook software to document everything about your business can feel a little like a leap of faith — especially if you’re unfamiliar with what a business playbook is . You may ask yourself, “Can’t I do this documentation in Google Docs?” or, “Is documentation even that important to business success?”
Not to toot our own horn, but we’ve seen hundreds of small businesses organize themselves, train their employees, and scale beyond their wildest dreams — all by building their business playbooks with Trainual . Don’t believe us? Then just ask Rossen Law Firm.
This is their story:
Rossen Law Firm is a criminal defense legal team based in South Florida that handles felony and misdemeanor cases, including criminal, DUI, and white-collar charges. Before starting the firm in 2015, founder and CEO Adam Rossen was part of a two-person legal practice, where they did everything themselves to keep the day-to-day operations running (sound familiar?).
Now, his legal firm operates in six different locations, boasts 21 employees, and is looking to scale further — all with the help of Trainual.
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Trainual does knowledge management and training, all in one platform.
Adam and his team knew they needed some form of a company knowledge base. So, they tried to set up their own internal wiki using WordPress — only for it to fail to launch.
They found Trainual and initially used it to house their employee handbook and all their operational processes. But they soon found that it was also the perfect platform to train their staff — especially during a period of high rotation.
Trainual effectively replaced the need for Adam and his legal partner Manny to walk new employees through onboarding, and saves them from having to remind employees of processes and policies that they may have forgotten. Ultimately, in Adam’s words, Trainual has saved the firm “six figures in labor training costs over the past year.”
And as the firm continues to expand their reach and reputation across South Florida, they need a platform that will scale with them — and help them deliver the same top-notch service in all of their different offices.
Why your employees need skills training now more than ever
Is your SMB having trouble filling open roles?
You’re not alone! Though ongoing tech layoffs have been a hot topic, front-line workers in other industries are hard to come by (and retain). In fact, data from this past month shows that there are over 4M more job vacancies than unemployed workers.
The good news: There are plenty of fish in the sea of applicants. You just need to beat out the other businesses to lure in the best ones. Which means you need to implement the right recruitment tactics (that other businesses aren’t leveraging).
I’d love to! Tell me how.
A recent report found that 74% of workers rated employer-provided skills training as an important factor in staying at their job and in their current role. In fact, 68% of frontline workers who are unhappy with their job and considering leaving say that skills training would encourage them to stay.
Ultimately, you need to show your employees that you care about their professional development and will work to get them in the right roles . (Otherwise, they could leave, costing you up to two times their salary to find and train a replacement.)
Right. So how do I implement a skills-based training program?
If you already have a training and documentation software (like Trainual ) you’re already ahead of the game. All you have to do is assign your front-line workers existing training for the roles they’re interested in learning about.
Here are some strategies to keep in mind as you create your skills training program:
This week's highlight reel
?? Mo’ money, no problems. Are you a leader in a fintech startup? Apply for the Visa Everywhere Initiative 2023 for a chance to win up to $50K . If you make it as a finalist, you can even get your business in front of Visa’s executives, potential clients, and investors. Or, if your restaurant was impacted by natural disasters, apply for one of 100 available $10K grants via DoorDash’s Restaurant Disaster Relief Fund.
?? Ring, ring. We roll our eyes every time Amazon tries to take over another sector, but this time we like it. Rumor has it they’re negotiating with big providers like Verizon and T-Mobile to provide a $10 per month (or possibly free) phone plan to Prime members . Um, yes, please. Ryan Reynolds has no snarky comment at this time.
? What, like it’s hard? For most business leaders, imposter syndrome — feeling underqualified, undeserving, and inadequate in the workplace — is inevitable. But over time, you can sharpen your sense of true self-assuredness, helping you better navigate conflict and be more vulnerable with your team. One way to help you get there: Use these nine phrases , handpicked by a Harvard-trained psychologist, that portray empowerment, confidence, and emotional security.
?? Good doggy. A Seton Hall University attendee took her service dog to class with her every day. He would sit attentively, learning alongside the other education majors. So it was only fair that on graduation day, he received his own diploma and applause. Is someone cutting onions in the office kitchen?