Lean Six Sigma Secrets Every Small Business Owner Should Steal

Secret 1 • Define Everything Before You Build It
Most entrepreneurs move fast. We’ve got 19 ideas before breakfast and want them all done yesterday. The problem? Nobody on your team knows what the end result should look like because you didn’t stop to define it.
Lean Six Sigma forces you to start with “Define.” You set the target, the outcome, the customer promise. In small business terms, this means your VA knows the email needs to be scheduled by Friday at noon, not “sometime soon.” Your accountant knows the numbers you’re tracking, not “figure it out.” Your social media manager knows the exact CTA, not “make it pop.”
When you define outcomes with precision, you stop babysitting and start delegating.
Secret 2 • Measure or It Didn’t Happen
Gut feelings are cute, but numbers make decisions. Lean Six Sigma says you can’t fix what you don’t measure.
So what does that mean for you? Stop saying “sales are slow.” Start saying, “I had 200 leads last month, 40 booked calls, 20 showed up, and 10 closed.” That tells you your problem is a 50% no-show rate, not your offer.
Numbers give you power. They tell you where the money’s leaking. They show you where to tweak. Without them, you’re just guessing, and hope is not a business strategy.
Secret 3 • Analyze Before You Fix
Lean Six Sigma loves a good root cause analysis. Translation for small business? Don’t waste time fixing symptoms, fix the source.
Let’s say clients keep missing their payments. You could send reminder after reminder, but the root cause might be that your invoices don’t have a payment link. Fix the link, and the late payments disappear.
One time, I thought my clients weren’t engaging in group coaching because they didn’t care. Wrong. It was because I scheduled calls during school pickup hours. Once I shifted to evenings, engagement skyrocketed.
Always analyze the “why” before you pour energy into solutions.
Secret 4 • Improve With Small Tweaks, Not Giant Overhauls
People think improvement has to mean burning everything down. Wrong. In Lean Six Sigma, “Improve” usually means a tiny change that gets big results.
Examples
- Changing your call-to-action from “Contact Us” to “Book Your Free Strategy Session Today” can double your conversions.
- Putting your onboarding documents in one PDF instead of eight separate attachments saves hours of back-and-forth.
- Automating your scheduling link instead of manually playing email tag clears your inbox.
- Improvement doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. It can be as simple as removing one friction point a week.
Secret 5 • Control Is Sexy
The final step in Lean Six Sigma is “Control.” That means once something works, you don’t leave it up to chance. You lock it in.
Small business owners are notorious for breaking their own systems. You finally create a workflow for client onboarding, and then someone says, “Oh, I’ll just do it differently this time.” That’s where consistency dies.
Control means SOPs, checklists, and accountability. It means your team knows the playbook, and nobody colors outside the lines unless you say so. That’s how you scale without reinventing the wheel every time.
Why This Matters for Women Entrepreneurs
Women entrepreneurs juggle more than most ➝ business, family, teams, clients, life. Lean Six Sigma is the friend that shows up with a label maker, three shots of espresso, and a plan to get your life back.
When you define, measure, analyze, improve, and control, you stop running in circles. You free your brain. You find the gaps that are costing you time and money and plug them. You reclaim your CEO chair and stop being the janitor in your own empire.You don’t need to be a black belt to steal these secrets. Start by defining one outcome today. Measure one process this week. Analyze one problem before you throw energy at it. Improve one system. Put one control in place.
The compounding effect is powerful. It builds momentum. It scales profit. And it keeps you from burning lasagna while your business runs off the rails.
So here’s my ask - grab a virtual coffee with me. Because if you’re ready to stop guessing, start measuring, and build systems that make your life easier, I can show you the fastest path.
Bring your biggest headache, and let’s fix it with a Lean Six Sigma secret or two.










