How do founders transition from doing everything to writing SOPs for their first hires?

Founders should start writing SOPs by recording themselves performing the tasks they want to delegate. Do not try to write documentation from memory — record the workflow as you do it and let the capture tool generate the guide. Start with the 3-5 tasks you do most frequently, then hand them off one at a time. Each SOP takes 5 minutes to create and saves hours of verbal explanation.

What should founders document first?

Priority	Task	Why Delegate This First
1	Customer support responses	Highest volume, most repetitive
2	Order processing / fulfillment	Time-sensitive, error-prone
3	Social media / email marketing	Consistent cadence, low judgment calls
4	Data entry and CRM updates	Tedious, high accuracy required
5	Invoice and payment processing	Structured, follows a fixed process

How does the founder SOP workflow work?

1. Pick one task to delegate this week
2. Open Glyde and click record
3. Perform the task at normal speed — do not overthink it
4. Click stop — review the generated guide (2-3 minutes)
5. Add context — "We do this every Monday" or "Skip this step for orders under $50"
6. Share with the new hire — They follow the guide, you answer questions
7. Repeat with the next task

What is the founder's mental shift?

Before SOPs	After SOPs
"It's faster if I just do it myself"	"It takes 5 minutes to record, then I never do it again"
"I'll explain it on a Zoom call"	"Here's a guide — follow it and ask me if anything is unclear"
"Nobody can do this the way I do"	"The guide captures exactly how I do it"
"I don't have time to write documentation"	"Recording takes the same time as doing the task"

The key insight: recording a workflow IS doing the work. You are not spending extra time writing documentation — you are performing the task once and capturing it permanently.

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This answer is part of our guide to SOPs by role and use case.