Some tasks are just not worth it for you to do yourself. Not in your business, and not in your life. If the alternator goes out on your car, chances are you’ll take the car to the shop to have an expert work on it. If one of your kids falls and breaks a bone, you’re going to take your child to the doctor.
After all, you’re not educated in working on your car and you haven’t been to medical school. It’s a much better idea to visit an expert to get help, rather than trying to do it yourself.
But do you do the same in your business?
Most businesses start out as one-person shows, with the owner wearing the hat of customer support, visionary, graphic designer, copywriter, bookkeeper and more. But eventually, all those extra hats start to weigh you down.
If you’re a one-woman show and you’re doing everything in your business, eventually you max out–on time and your sanity.
That’s when it’s time to start delegating work to other people, outsourcing the parts of your business that don’t bring you joy or revenue, and the things that aren’t in your area of expertise.
Why Delegate
Time constraints aside, trying to do everything in your business isn’t efficient or very effective. You start to fall into the context shifting trap, losing ideas and the ability to focus on one thing at a time. This is where projects fall between the cracks and you start to feel like you’re barely treading water.
In addition, as many businesses grow, they start to offer higher-level services as they start to attract a different set of customers. It’s difficult to offer higher levels of offerings with a single person’s skill set. You need other areas of expertise available to you in your business on an ongoing basis.
But the biggest reason to start delegating tasks in your business is because it can give your bottom line a big boost. You’re no longer drowning in tasks and to-do’s so you have more time to close those sales and do the work that brings in the money. When you outsource things like marketing, administrative work and more technical tasks that you have to use trial and error for, you establish tunnel vision for the growth and development of yourself as a leader and your business in general.
What to Delegate
Look at the tasks you’re doing in your business every day. I recommend spending a few days making a list of everything you do during your work day. Then ask yourself:
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What are the tasks that don’t bring in revenue?
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What are the things that you don’t love to do?
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What are the tasks that took up too much time?
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What are the things that are outside your true expertise?
These are the things you should hire for, starting with the biggest time-sucks. And keep in mind, if it’s a small task that you tend to procrastinate, that’s a time-suck too!
As you create your list and answer these questions, think about what it would feel like to have these tasks off your to-do list. What would you do with your extra time? Close more sales? Create more products? Take advantage of visibility opportunities? All of these can lead to more money and more growth.
How to Delegate
This is where the struggle comes in for so many business owners. You’ve been THE person in their business for so long that’s it’s difficult to let go of even the most mundane or unglamorous tasks.
There’s a mindset and organization practice that goes along with delegating and outsourcing in your business, but some tips include:
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Have a documented process in place before hiring someone so you can set your new team member up for success.
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Develop communication avenues so your team members can access you with questions when needed.
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Know that no one will do the tasks exactly like you would, and that’s okay. Bringing new ideas and expertise into your business is valuable and may help you find better ways to do things.
Chances are your business will hit a ceiling at some point if you continue to run it solo. Bringing more people onto your team will help you develop as a leader and grow as a business–which ultimately will improve your bottom line.
