Real operators, real playbooks — free SOPs you can run this week. Every episode of the Unscripted Small Business podcast hides at least one repeatable play a small team could run starting today. This series pulls the strongest one out of each conversation and writes it up as a clean, do-this-today standard operating procedure — with a free, printable PDF and no email gate.
Prepare Before You Scale SOP: Prove It, Get One Real Consultation, Then Paper It →
Business and tax attorney Delina Yasmeh, Esq. says most small business owners don’t prepare enough before they start or scale. Her general approach as a checklist: prove the concept, research until you have real questions, book one consultation, and rank the work by budget and risk. Questions to bring to a professional, a prep sheet and a checklist. General education only, not legal advice.
AI Job Description SOP: Ask What AI Can Help With and What Stays Human →
Start AI adoption from the job, not the tool. Barry Moline of BJM Solutions, a CEO for 29 years, updates each job description with the employee, asks AI what it can help with and what should remain human, then builds from the manuals the business already has. Printable worksheet and checklist.
Right Shoulder Rule SOP: Stop Giving Your Happiness Away When the Day Goes Sideways →
You’d never hand over your right shoulder just because someone asked. Anil Gupta, The Love Doctor, wants you to treat your happiness the same way. An 8-step reset for the moment a customer, a teammate or the day goes sideways: respond instead of reacting, see the facts, drop the label, check the intent, let it go and repair out loud. Printable PDF with four lines to keep by the register.
Contractor Paperwork SOP: Get the W-9 Before You Pay and File the 1099 in January →
Most 1099 trouble starts at the first payment. Maya Weinreb of Solvency Now Bookkeeping, whose team keeps the books for over 150 companies, lays out the routine: get the W-9 before you pay, log how you paid each contractor, reconcile to the bank and file on time in January. Printable contractor log and checklist.
AI Lead Callback SOP: Call Back Within the Hour and Let a Human Close →
AI might bring the lead, but buyers still want to talk to somebody. Rich Thomas of CHAOS Moto picked up three new customers in a month by calling AI-sourced leads back within an hour. His 8-step play: one owner per lead, small talk first, the fit questions a form can’t ask, and a follow-up booked on every call. Printable callback opener and lead log.
Simple Systems SOP: Write Processes Your Team Will Actually Follow →
You can’t scale chaos. Mitchell Wilson of Coachbirds’ 8-step play for owners stuck in a busy job with overheads: know your numbers, write the leakiest process on one really simple page, hand it over with real authority, and keep a human in speed to lead. Printable one-page worksheet.
AI Adoption SOP: Win Over the Three Kinds of Employees Who Resist AI →
Your team isn’t resisting the tool, they’re resisting what they think it means for them. Dr. Gleb Tsipursky’s three-profile play: commit to growth for the alarmists, survey hated tasks for the pragmatic resistors, and model your own AI use for the reluctant adopters. Printable one-page worksheet.
CEO-Speak SOP: Report Marketing in the Numbers Your CEO Actually Uses →
Turn traffic and engagement into the numbers your CEO reads: potential demand, conversion, revenue and a tested attribution model. From Rich M. Smith.
The AI Animated Product Ad SOP →
Melissa Denning, founder of Mom Aid, turned one ad she couldn’t stop watching into her own 45-second animated product ad: Claude writes the plan, ChatGPT builds the stills, Runway animates them, Suno makes the song and CapCut cuts it together. Then a human checks every frame. Printable one-page checklist.
The Customer Question Notebook SOP →
David Levine of I am Your Virtual Professional says to go old school before you go new school. Log every question customers ask for 30 days, answer them in plain language on the pages where they belong, build town pages where permits differ, then read one automated email as your customer and set reply-time expectations. Printable one-page checklist.
Trust Economy SOP: Win the Buyer and the AI That Recommends You →
Bruce Ashford of The Ashford Agency says you now have to win the trust of the humans who buy and the AI models that recommend you. His eight-step audit: a baseline score, public reviews, visible pricing, a case study, an about page about the customer, author pages, a free FAQ, and schema plus NAP from your IT person. Printable one-page checklist.
Guest Readiness SOP: Get Booked on Podcasts Without Needing Oprah →
Victoria Bennion of The Best Podcast Guest Booking Agency turns away clients a host cannot look up and understand. Her seven-step check before the first pitch: the hold-off gate, a story bank, a one-sheet that reads like a CV, three pieces of kit, a practice interview, a hand-written pitch, and the host as the first win. Printable one-page checklist.
Insider Hire SOP: Staff Your Service From Inside the Building You Already Serve →
Melyssa Jaskiewicz of Leveling the Fields does not bring outside volunteers onto a school campus. She hires the school’s own teachers as paid coaches — money into a teacher’s pocket, authority already established, classroom management for free. 6 steps + a printable two-page worksheet.
AI Paste Audit SOP: Know What You Are Giving Away Before You Hit Enter →
Richard Gearhart of Gearhart Law on why a public AI tool is two problems at once: it describes your unreleased idea out loud, and it leaves a record someone else may later be entitled to read. Six steps to audit what your team pastes.
Founder’s Prenup SOP: Have the Hard Conversation Before You Sign →
Phil Crowley of Crowley Law had a client download an operating agreement off the internet. It was not one, and he nearly lost $50,000. Six things to settle with a co-founder before any paperwork exists.
The 1% Rollout SOP: Stop Swinging for the Fences With AI →
From Brett Schklar (AI First Leadership): skip the flagship AI project. Give every person one hour a week to make one part of their own job 1% better, keep a human on anything that ships, and share what worked. Over 52 weeks that compounds to 68% more done. 6 steps + a printable two-page checklist.
The SOPs so far
Influencer Pre-Flight SOP: Fix Your Site Before the Creator Posts →
From Sherri Langburt (BabbleBoxx): the six things to verify before a creator posts — criteria, inventory, geos, landing pages, promo consistency, and the search result. Because “if it’s happening to the influencer, it’s happening to the consumer.” 6 steps + a printable two-page checklist.
The Clarity One-Pager SOP: Map It Before You Build It →
Business psychologist Dr. Julika Novkova’s pre-building step — define the role of every asset, map the client journey, and write down what you are NOT, all on one page, before you build or automate anything.
AI Guardrails SOP: Write Down What Your AI May Never Say →
From James Ernst (Core Order): capture your red lines in discovery, write them into an instruction file the system reads every run, and add a second agent that checks the output against them. 6 steps + a printable one-pager.
Speed-to-Lead SOP: Stop Lighting Your Marketing Budget on Fire →
From Cameron Tope (Emerson Property Management): assign someone to answer and close inbound leads fast — before you spend another dollar on marketing. 6 steps + a printable checklist PDF.
Browse every SOP as it’s published on the Small Business SOPs category archive →
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