This month, I’m talking all about productivity, and the next skill set I want to cover is delegating tasks in your business (and even your personal life).
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I’ve had virtual assistants. I’ve worked with contractors throughout the years. But it wasn’t until 2019 when I hired my first full-time employee. And it was then that I realized, “Whoa, you really needed help. You were doing a lot on your own, even with the contractors.” And that’s how I knew that delegating was going to stick around in my business long-term.
What is delegating?
Delegating is basically the art of handing off tasks to other people and then trusting them to actually get it done. Because there’s no point in delegating if you’re going to be a control freak and on top of people all the time.
And I think one of the mistakes business owners make when they start delegating is that they become control freaks. And then they drive their contractors and their employees crazy. If that goes on long enough, their contractors and their employees quit on them. And as a business owner and as someone who’s type A, I understand you have certain standards for things and your business is your baby. I totally get that. I know that it’s really hard to trust other people to just do their jobs. But you have to trust other people to do their jobs. There’s no way around it.
Why delegate?
And the reason for this is because there is no possible way that you can grow your company and just do everything yourself. In fact, I didn’t get to six figures in my own company until I really started throwing down on the delegating. Luckily, I’ve always been really good at asking for help. I know that’s an area where a lot of people really struggle. I’m actually quite good at it. I don’t have a problem asking for help. I don’t have a problem accepting help.
And I think a lot of people struggle with asking for help because they’re afraid of being rejected or they don’t want to look weak. But the thing is that if you don’t ask for help and you just take on more you’re going to lose it. And that’s actually how I started to feel at the end of 2018. Even with the support of contractors, it was just so much going on in the company that I felt like I was starting to crack. And then I was starting to lose it and it became very apparent that I needed full-time help.
How To Start Delegating Tasks In Your Business
Let’s start talking about how to start delegating tasks in your business. First, let’s acknowledge that the fears are gonna be there no matter what. You just have to move through them. There’s no way to get over them.
So now let’s start talking about the more practical things. Like what do I start delegating? I personally started delegating many years ago with tasks like accounting and bookkeeping. I also delegated some administrative stuff like invoicing or calendars.
Now, in terms of the money, you may be thinking “Oh my God, where’s the money going to come from?” Ideally, you invest some of the money coming into the company. You reinvest some of it. And then the idea is that these people take stuff off your plate so that you can go focus on the things that go make more money. It works. And I know that and I’m amazed sometimes at the amount of money that the company spends delegating either to contractors or people who help us run this thing and the company keeps making more money.
How to delegate when you don’t have a lot of money
So if all you can do right now is get started with a virtual assistant, that’s totally fine. If all you can do is hire someone to help with graphics or bookkeeping, that’s fine. The point is that you just need to start somewhere because if you think that you’re going be able to grow your business to a point where it can sustain you while you’re doing everything yourself, you’re going to get a rude awakening.
So delegation. Learn to do it. I know it’s not easy. It is definitely a skill that I’ve learned to get better at. I know it’s not always easy to trust other people with your baby. That’s also a skill I’ve learned to get better at, but it is so, so worth it.