Written By: Chris Tolley (Director of Operations)
Jan 19, 2020 | 11:20am
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Goldfish grow ONLY as big as the tank they swim in. (It’s true!.. Look it up).
The same is true of your business.
Your business simply cannot grow past its limits. It’s likely contained within the tank of inefficient habits and unhealthy attitudes.
I see a lot of business owners swimming in the tank of “If I don’t do it, it won’t get done
right,” and “if I don’t do it myself, it will fall apart.” But by trying to do every little task yourself, all the way down to small, tedious ones, like website updates, social media posting, invoicing, and so on, you will be unable to grow your business to become the money making machine you dream of.
You will be stuck swimming in circles in a small tank the rest of your life.
Thankfully, there’s a solution.
It’s one that’s been around since the first business was started.
Learn to delegate work.
Assigning the dull, time-consuming jobs that kill your day and your enthusiasm to someone else can leave you free to focus on actually GROWING your business, to expand the size of your tank and reach the success you dream of.
Here are 4 Problems that result from not delegating.
If you notice any of these problems in your business, it’s time to move to the pond of real business:
1) Burnout
As they say in the health world – if you feel thirsty, you’re already dehydrated. The same applies to burnout – if you are feeling like you need a break, you are probably already burnt out and need to take action NOW!
Feeling tired, not having motivation, or being continuously overwhelmed are all signs that you’re over-exerting yourself.
Instead of pushing on like that, take a break! Assign some work to others! Although hard work is important, your business will not be sustainable if you continue the same exhausting level of work.
2) Neglecting Tasks
This is typically the step before burnout. You are SO busy that you are missing things in your business, sometimes almost intentionally and sometimes not. This can be disastrous! You will feel unfulfilled, as projects you know you need to finish never get done. If you have employees, they will begin to think of their boss as disorganized and ineffective. Worse, you might neglect family events or other personal responsibilities.
You need to build a chain of responsibilities so that as things come up, you don’t have to touch them. A simple, “Bill, you handle this, thanks,” can ensure you don’t neglect your main priorities. But this can’t happen without the upfront work of creating roles and hiring your people.
3) Missing Business
Turning away business is a great problem to have, but you want to do it because a client doesn’t fit your business, not because you don’t have the time to keep up! If you don’t learn to delegate now, you won’t be able to scale, and therefore won’t be able to grow.
If you find you don’t have time to take on new business or even search for new business, you need to get someone in to help before you start going backwards!
4) Feeling Disorganized
Ever had days where you walk in and have so much to do that it becomes difficult to focus on any individual task? Having so many responsibilities can lead to a disorganized and cluttered mind.
Without a clear mind, you work more slowly and less effectively, hurting the success of your business. If you feel disorganized, you MUST delegate work and free up your mind.
What's The Solution?
Now, obviously delegating is easier said than done. Hiring a new employee at $40,000 a year (+ office space, benefits, etc.) is a significant risk. If they don’t work out, then you’ve wasted considerable money, as well as the time needed to interview, hire, and train the employee.
If you simply outsource tasks to a freelancer, you can avoid the risks of high costs and time investment, but you take on the equally significant risks of security and quality. Freelancers don’t know you or your business as well as you, and they won’t care as much because they are not actually a part of your business.
The simple, Goldilocks solution is to hire a Virtual Assistant.
Someone who is dedicated to you alone, who gets time to learn and improve with you, who understands how your business operates, WITHOUT the risk of costly expenses or legal issues if they don't work out.
The fact is, companies using Virtual Assistants save up to 40 Percent in Business expenses. It’s not just their low costs; by taking care of all your tedious tasks, skilled VA’s free you up to focus on the work that actually grows your business! And most importantly, you get to develop the skill of managing others.. which is an ABSOLUTE necessity to operate a business at scale.
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