How Entrepreneurs Can Delegate to Accelerate Growth
As a fast-paced entrepreneur with a bold vision you’ve probably already discovered you can’t keep up with everything on your plate. With a to-do list that never ends and lots of new ideas and opportunities, it doesn’t take long to figure out you can’t possibly accelerate growth if you don’t have help. One of the questions I get asked the most is, “Melanie, I know I SHOULD delegate but I don’t know what to delegate first?”
Here’s the scoop.
You have certain strengths.
And if you are being really honest with yourself then you also know that you have a few weak areas too.
Those weak areas are costing you big time. Perhaps you are feeling drained because your day is full of activities that suck the life out of you. You never seem to have time for the things that make you feel fulfilled and motivated. If you don’t spend enough time doing things you are passionate about eventually you will question whether or not you want to have your own business after all!
When I’m helping a small business owner build their dream team the first thing we look at is what their relationship is to certain activities.
These six types of tasks should be delegated right away so that you can make room in your day for the money-making activities that help you accelerate results.
Make a list of the activities you spend time on throughout the month. Now, look over that list and mark any activities that fit the follow description.
1. Tasks That You Procrastinate
If the activity has value and can produce a viable result but you put it off find someone else who loves doing it to delegate the activity to. If you hate making sales calls but you know it must be done, hire a sales person. Do you “forget” to pay your bills? Get a reliable bookkeeper to stay on top of invoices.
2. Burn You Out
If a certain task drains the life out of you (like project management does to me) then hire someone who thrives with that activity. When you spend time doing tasks that burn you out you are depleting the energy you need to grow your business. The cost is too great (and if you run the numbers you’ll see there is a good ROI in hiring someone to do it for you.)
3. You Make Mistakes On
When you make mistakes there is a cost, right? You have to slow down to fix it. If you have activities where you routinely make mistakes hire someone who can do it better. For instance, I always made mistakes when booking my own travel (I’d mix up dates or get my location wrong.) When I outsource it to my assistant I know she’ll get it right (and save me tons of cash fixing my airplane tickets!)
4. Costs You Too Much
Do you know what you are worth per hour? I guarantee you that your time is worth at least $100/hour if not ten times that! So when you look at that list you must consider what it would cost to hire someone to do it for you. Could you re-invest that hour into an activity that makes you more than what you pay that person? If the answer is yes, it’s worth delegating!
5. Someone Else Can Do It Faster
You might have super powerful multi-tasking skills but if the time you spend trying to figure out a software program could be put to better use, you should consider delegating that task. If someone else can do it better or faster then it’s worth delegating! Especially when you know how valuable your time is.
6. Requires a Deep Learning Curve
Yes, you do want to know how things work in your business. But if learning how to do a certain task will take you away from money-making activities for more than a couple of hours, you really should delegate it. If you don’t need to be an expert let it go. Hire someone who already is an expert or is willing to learn. Your job is to know what result you want. Let someone else figure out how to get there.
Getting all of these tasks off your plate at the same time might not be a wise decision but you do want to work towards freeing yourself up.
If learning to delegate profitably and build a high performing team is something you’d like some more help with, here’s a free training that will be invaluable for you.