#amplifybusiness

[amplifybusiness-blog]

"I think that you have to give some stuff away but it’s an if I, will you’ scenario. There’s got to be a trade-off as you can’t just give stuff away. Even to my girlfriend and my family and friends I can’t give stuff away. I give them discounts sometimes but it is a business and people need to understand that that product costs you money and you need to recoup that cost and then some in order to survive. Otherwise there’s no point in existing.” - Thomas Mo @albertaapparel

[amplifybusinessprofit]

The power of volunteer or staff handbooks

If you've been running your business by yourself for a long time, chances are everything you need to know is in your own head. But chances are you're also exhausted and wish people had a place to go instead of directinq questions at you 24/7. 

The most powerful way to do this is to write everything down. Big businesses thrive with HR departments and employee handbooks but with smaller businesses these important tools are often left behind. They take a mountain of work to create but once you have them, they're an indispensable resource. You can leave town and know that how to fix the wifi or how to add up an expense sheet is written down in exacting detail for someone else to follow. 

At CESHEO, introducing a volunteer handbook meant the overworked Project Manager and Assistant Director could have a break from consistently answering the same questions over and over again. Debra helped them craft a 20 page handbook that addressed everything from where to get more blankets to bus information in Siem Reap. For a volunteer organization with a high turnover, these questions were being repeated on a weekly basis and we're taking too much unnecessary time and stress to answer. 

We introduced the same idea to Bamboo Lounge in an attempt to cut down on the confusion and solidify the expectations of volunteers coming into the restaurant. It was a much smaller handbook but addressed every question and problem a volunteer or staff member may have. Though each staff member or volunteer received training upon arrival at both Bamboo Lounge and CESHEO, the information was often overwhelming and impossible to digest in the first few days. Having a reference guide helped immeasurably.