The Documentation Roadmap: What to Document at Every Stage of Growth
Growth is accelerating, and I’m grateful for it. But unchecked scaling breaks systems. Most home builders operate with outdated “truck and phone” processes despite revenue reaching $5M-$10M.
Phase 1: The Solo Scramble (Start-up to ~$1M)
You’re the solo operator handling sales, project management, and leadership.
Documentation needs:
- Minimal notes kept in phone or notebook
- Basic contact lists for subcontractors and leads
At this stage, speed is survival. You don’t need an employee handbook — you need to get paid.
Phase 2: The Agency Handoff (Core Team Phase)
Controller and project manager are hired. An external agency manages your digital presence.
Documentation needs:
- Domain registrar, hosting, Google Business Profile, and analytics account credentials
- Original logo and brand asset files stored internally
Critical warning: Agencies churn. Relationships end. If a third-party vendor owns your domain or holds your Google account hostage, your growth stops the day you fire them. Own your assets.
Phase 3: The First Marketing Hire ($5M-$10M Revenue)
You can afford a mid-level marketing manager with ~$1M gross profit at ~20% margins.
Documentation needs:
- Standard operating procedures for lead intake and prospect nurturing
- Brand guidelines and voice documentation
- Vetted freelancer and vendor contact list — the “Rolodex”
- Marketing experiment documentation tracking successes and failures
You are paying for leverage. If you hire a marketing manager but give them no systems, you haven’t hired help — you’ve hired a project.
Phase 4: The Machine (Full Team and Specialized Roles)
Scaling past 20 employees with a senior marketing leader and specialized staff.
Documentation needs:
- Comprehensive knowledge management and formal onboarding processes
- Expansion templates for launching communities or entering markets
- Attribution models tracking spending and returns
Consistency at scale. When you have a team, you can’t rely on tribal knowledge.
A Closing Note on AI and Documentation
AI thrives on documentation. The more you have documented, the faster your people can scale your business when AI starts handling the execution for them. Documentation isn’t just for humans anymore — it’s the foundation that makes AI tools actually useful in your organization.
