📚 This is Part 5 of our 5-part series: 5 Use Cases Every Small Business Owner Should Master First.
Catch up on earlier issues:
1️⃣ Part 1 – The 15-Minute Email Advantage: Create Emails Effortlessly with Our AI Templates
2️⃣ Part 2 – AI as Your Content Co‐Pilot: From Concept to Caption
3️⃣ Part 3 – FAQ Automation for Small Business: 20-Minute Setup Guide
4️⃣ Part 4 – How to Follow Up After a Meeting (Without Wasting Hours)
👋 Welcome back to Bite Sized Bots!
Let’s be real — most small business “systems” live on sticky notes, in scattered emails, or in someone’s head. And the idea of creating polished SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) can feel like a corporate nightmare.
👉 Put simply, an SOP is just a step-by-step guide that explains how you or your team get a task done.
But here’s the good news: you don’t need fancy software or a 10-hour workshop to get started. With just one tool you already use — ChatGPT — and maybe one helper if you want to get fancy, you can turn that chaos into a draft SOP in about an hour.
The point isn’t perfection. It’s to finally capture your process in a way you (and your team) can build on.
🗂 What You’ll Find in This Issue
Why SOPs are essential for small businesses today
A 3-step, 1-hour framework to create your first SOP draft
Pro tips and common watch-outs to keep SOPs useful
A simple weekly action plan you can try immediately
A curated list of AI tools to make SOP creation easier (with my starter pick)
🌎 The Big Picture: Why SOPs Matter Now
Here’s the thing: Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) used to be seen as “big company” tools. But today, they’re essential for small businesses too:
Studies show small businesses lose 20–30% of revenue each year due to inefficient processes.
Documented processes reduce errors and free up your time for high-value work.
The good news? You don’t need to start from scratch. Everything you need is already hiding in your sticky notes, voice memos, and emails. AI simply helps you translate it into your first SOP draft—fast.
🕒 Your 1-Hour SOP Draft Framework
In just one focused hour, you can go from messy notes to a usable draft SOP:
Step 1 (15 minutes): Gather Your “Chaos”
Collect the raw material for one process you repeat often:
Sticky notes or handwritten steps → snap quick photos with your phone
Scattered email instructions → copy/paste into a single doc
Voice memos → record yourself talking through the task step by step
Live demo → screen record yourself doing the task while narrating
👉 By the end of this step, you’ll have a first draft SOP — a clear, step-by-step guide that anyone on your team could follow.
Step 2 (30 minutes): AI Translation
Turn that pile into something usable:
Transcribe (if needed)
Drop your voice memo directly into ChatGPT and ask it to transcribe.
Or, if you prefer visuals, use Scribe to auto-capture clicks.
Now you’ve got text instead of scattered thoughts.
Organize with ChatGPT
Paste your raw text (from transcription or emails) into ChatGPT.
Ask it to structure the material into a numbered SOP draft.
Prompt to try:
“Here’s a messy set of notes about how I handle [insert process].
Turn it into a first draft SOP with:A clear title and short description of the process
Numbered steps with concise instructions (use sub-bullets if needed)
A checklist version at the end for quick reference
[Brackets] wherever information is missing so I can fill it in
A practical, friendly tone that’s easy for a teammate to follow”
Add the Human Touch
Fill in shortcuts, exceptions, or “things only you know” so the draft actually works in practice.
👉 By the end of this step, you’ll have a first draft SOP—already 80% polished—based on your real process.
Step 3 (15 minutes): Quick Polish & Store
Standardize formatting (title, steps, checklist)
Save it somewhere easy to find (Google Drive, Notion, Dropbox)
Use a consistent naming system: [Process] – [Department] – [Date]
💡 Pro Tips & Watch-Outs
Don’t over-engineer. Start with your most repeated task, not your whole business.
Stay Human-First. Let AI draft, but add your voice so instructions feel personal.
Avoid “black hole storage.” If no one knows where SOPs live, they won’t get used.
Review quarterly. Processes change—keep drafts fresh.
✅ Action Plan for This Week
Pick one task you explain all the time (like sending invoices or onboarding clients). Follow this framework and create your first SOP draft. It doesn’t need to be perfect—the goal is to get version 1 on paper.
👉 Reply to this email with the task you’d like to “SOP-ify,” and I’ll share a custom AI prompt to help you get started.
📌 Resources of the Week
AI tools that can speed up SOP creation (but remember, ChatGPT alone will get you 80% there):
💬 ChatGPT
Best for: Transcribing voice memos + turning messy notes into SOP drafts
Price: Free → $20/mo (Plus)
Ease of Use: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Universally useful, familiar, and flexible. The simplest place to start.
🖱️ Scribe
Best for: Auto-capturing clicks → step-by-step SOPs with screenshots
Price: Free → $23/user/mo
Ease of Use: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Push-button easy for click-based tasks, but limited scope beyond that.
🎥 Loom
Best for: Quick screen recordings + automatic transcripts
Price: Free (25 videos) → $12.50+/user/mo
Ease of Use: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Very intuitive — record, share, done. Great for visual explainers and quick process capture.
📹 Guidde
Best for: Polished, narrated video SOPs for training libraries
Price: Free (25 videos) → $20–44/mo
Ease of Use: ⭐⭐⭐☆
Powerful but more setup-heavy. Best if you want branded, shareable training content.
💡 Starter Pick: Begin with ChatGPT only — the simplest way to structure your first SOP. Add Scribe later if you want auto-generated screenshots.
🎯 It’s a Wrap!
This issue wraps up our 5-part series on AI use cases every small business owner should master.
Remember: your notes, reminders, and “quick fixes” aren’t clutter — they’re the raw material of your business knowledge. With the right mix of AI tools and your personal touch, you can finally turn them into systems that work for you and your team.
That’s what Human-First AI is all about: letting technology handle the structure so you can stay focused on the relationships, decisions, and creativity that only you bring to the table.
🎥 Want to see this in action? Watch this week’s YouTube video for a short demo of the 3-step workflow.
Until next time!