Cooking Without a Recipe Works…Until You Want to Scale
On the outside, your business looks like it’s thriving. Clients are happy. Your calendar is full.
But behind the scenes? It feels like every task takes more effort than it should. Processes were never fully defined. The few that exist live in your head—or your VA’s. And if someone left tomorrow, the entire system would collapse.
The impact is real:
Output isn’t standardized, so client experiences vary.
The business is overly dependent on one or two people.
Processes can’t improve, because they aren’t even documented.
This is what happens when you run your business without SOPs.
It’s a lot like cooking without a recipe.
And to be clear, it’s not that the cooking is bad. In fact, some of the best cooks in the world don’t use recipes. The more experienced you get, the more you improvise. My mother, aunts, and mother-in-law rarely touch a recipe card. In both Ethiopia and Haiti, food traditions are passed down by memory—measured in handfuls, pinches, and intuition. The kitchen is alive with tasting, adjusting, and innovating as you go.
When my mother-in-law was here, she taught me how to make our favourite Haitian dishes. I learned so much just by cooking alongside her—absorbing the basics, watching her techniques, picking up little tricks. But the real test came after she left, when I found myself second-guessing: How much of each seasoning? Which order of steps? What subtle thing did she do that made her version taste better? Without a recipe, I either have to call her back, research on my own, or try to piece it together from memory.
That’s the limitation of undocumented knowledge. It works fine when you’re the one doing everything. But when you need to replicate it across chefs and meals—or in business, across clients, offers, and teams—you need more than memory. You need documentation, especially if you want to scale quickly and deliver the same calibre of results every time.
That’s where SOPs come in.
SOPs Are More Than Busywork
SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) are the recipe cards of your business. And just like in the kitchen, they bring structure, clarity, and consistency to everything you do.
Without them, growth feels shaky. With them, you get:
Consistency – Clients receive the same seamless experience every time.
Clarity – Your team knows exactly what to do and how to do it.
Capacity – You finally have space to grow, instead of being stuck in repeat mode.
SOPs aren’t here to stifle your creativity—they’re here to make sure your brilliance can be repeated, refined, and scaled by others.
My Approach to SOPs
After creating 50+ SOPs for coaches and consultants, I’ve refined an approach that balances detail and usability. My goal is always to create SOPs that your team will actually use—not ones that sit forgotten in a Google Doc.
Here’s what every SOP I create includes before we even begin detailing the process:
Title & Naming Convention – Clear and consistent.
Dates – When it was created and when it was last updated.
Objective – Why the SOP exists.
Responsibility – Who owns the process, who supports it, and who reviews it.
Tools Required – The software, platforms, or spreadsheets involved.
Associated Resources – Loom videos, related SOPs, tutorials, checklists, templates, or other resources.
Only then do we move into the step-by-step process breakdown.
This structure ensures SOPs are not just instructions, but full operational playbooks.
The First 5 SOPs Coaches and Consultants Should Create
In cooking, you don’t learn every dish at once. You start with the staples—the ones you use over and over.
It’s the same in business. Start your SOP library with the processes that protect your clients and your cash flow:
Client Onboarding – From signed contract to kickoff call.
Client Offboarding – Closing engagements, collecting feedback, opening doors for renewals.
Content Publishing – From draft → edit → live, so your voice stays consistent.
Lead Management & Follow-Up – How new inquiries are tracked, responded to, and nurtured.
Invoicing & Payment – How invoices are created, tracked, and reconciled.
These are your “base recipes.” Once they’re documented, you can layer in more complex processes without fear of inconsistency.
Tools & Tips to Make SOP Creation Feel Lighter
SOPs can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to start from scratch. Think of it like using shortcuts in the kitchen—gadgets, timers, or prep bowls to make cooking smoother.
Here’s how I make SOP creation lighter for my clients:
Outline First – Jot down the high-level steps.
Record Yourself Working – Narrate while doing the task (Loom/Zoom); let your OBM polish it.
Start with Templates – Standardize so every SOP looks consistent.
Use AI Tools – Platforms like Scribe can record your screen and generate draft SOPs, while ChatGPT can turn rough notes into a structured process.
Set Metrics & Goals – Track SOPs like any other project:
2 new SOPs per month
80% of core processes documented in 12 months
Quarterly reviews for accuracy and updates
When approached this way, SOP creation stops feeling like a burden and begins to feel like progress.
How to Build & Maintain Your SOP Library
Here’s the rhythm I recommend (and deliver) for my clients:
Create a central library – A single folder or database for all SOPs.
Commit to ongoing creation – Even just 2 SOPs per month builds a powerful library over time.
Practice SOP hygiene – Review quarterly, update when tools or roles change, and archive outdated versions.
Like a recipe book, you don’t write it all at once. You build it page by page.
A Reflection
Most coaches don’t resist SOPs because they don’t care. They resist because they think their work is “too unique” to standardize, or because they believe documentation will slow them down.
But the opposite is true. SOPs don’t dilute your uniqueness. They protect it.
They ensure every client experiences your coaching at its best, no matter who delivers it. And they free you up to focus on the parts of your business that only you can do.
Your Next Step
At Keizer Virtual Solutions, SOP creation isn’t an afterthought—it’s a core part of how I support my clients as a Certified OBM.
To date, I’ve created 50+ SOPs for coaches and consultants, and in every retainer I take on, SOP development and refinement is an ongoing commitment.
Because you didn’t start your business to carry the weight of every process. You started it to make an impact.
Book a call, and let’s start building your recipe book for scale.
About Victoria de Keizer
Victoria is a Certified Online Business Manager and the founder of Keizer Virtual Solutions, a boutique operations and systems consultancy supporting impact-oriented professional service businesses - including consultants, coaches, and growing firms.
With a calm, grounded approach to operational leadership, Victoria helps founders and firm leaders design and steward systems that support sustainable growth, strong client delivery, and healthy internal operations. Her work spans client onboarding and CRM builds, full operational ecosystem design, and long-term operational partnership.
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