How to Delegate So You Fall In Love with Your Business Again
It’s exciting starting and growing your own business, isn’t it? It’s an opportunity to create something exactly as you envision it.
No one is there to tell you what to do or how to do it. It’s your baby to nurture and develop and give you the freedom to be yourself.
But all too often, reality sets in. And it’s not always a great reality. Your baby is demanding. There are so many things to do.
So many behind-the-scenes tasks it takes to run a business that you weren’t exactly thinking about when you pursued your passion.
Tasks that aren’t necessarily in your zone of genius and are taking way longer than you know they should.
So there you are with this amazing thing you’ve created, but you’re tired. You’re stressed, you’re overwhelmed, you’re headed for burnout (or maybe you’re already there), and you might even feel like shutting it all down.
If it’s any comfort telling you you’re not alone, please know that is true. I’ve seen it time and again with the business owners I work with.
So many of us are extremely capable and could probably win a multi-tasking contest if there was such a thing. We figure, hey, I’m great at getting lots of things done, so that’s what I’ll do in my business - all the things.
But guess what? Doing everything in your business is exactly what you should not be doing. In this post, I’ll be stepping you through a simple delegation process that I take my clients through.
Written by: Cory Zacker
Learning how to delegate
The key to a successful business that can grow and flourish is learning how to delegate. If you get clear on the tasks you love doing most (and that light you up) and get even more clear on the things that drain you, you’ll be well on your way to improving your delegation skills.
And hear me when I tell you this: assigning tasks to someone else does not mean you’re any less worthy. It does not mean you’re lazy or incompetent or less than. It means you understand what you do best and are willing to entrust someone else with those things you want to let go of. That’s a big part of the mindset of delegating and something I encourage you to embrace.
Assigning tasks to someone else
So how do you get clarity on what exactly you want to pass on to someone else? I like to use a simple strategy I call the Yea, Nay, Give Away exercise. It’s concise, clear, and will probably take no more than 15 minutes to complete.
Make three columns on a piece of paper (or a document on your computer) and label them Yea, Nay, and Give Away.
Yea
In the Yea column, list those things you love doing in your business. The tasks that energize you and come easy. For me it’s face-to-face client work, networking with colleagues, and writing. Those are three of the things that light me up.
Nay
In the Nay column, list the ones that take too much time and sap your energy. Things you might not be that great at and resent spending your time doing. (Remember, you might add a few personal things in this column that are taking you away from your business, e.g., cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.)
This one is easy for me. Numbers are important in any business, but they’re just not my thing. I pay attention to them, but I don’t want to spend time doing my bookkeeping and accounting myself. It doesn’t come naturally to me and it takes way too much time.
Give Away
Then in the Give Away column, choose some items from the Nay list that you can either get rid of altogether or delegate to someone else. (Hello, accountant!)
Once you have your Give Away items, take a good look at them and figure out who or what can help you. Would hiring a virtual assistant for a few hours a week take care of some of those tasks? Or maybe a babysitter/mother’s helper can tick a few of those boxes. Can a bookkeeper take over your billing? Or maybe a tech person could set up automation for you.
Why delegating actually makes you money
When you get clarity on what you need and who can help you, delegating doesn’t seem so hard. I’ve seen just a few hours a week of hiring help make a huge difference in someone’s business.
Take Sherri - an amazing woman I know with a hugely successful business. She was doing everything herself and was overworked and overwhelmed. Once we figured out who she needed to hire and what tasks she was going to delegate, Sherri had way more time to nurture her current clients and find new ones. Within a month of hiring a project manager, she was able to sign a new client who paid 5x what Sherri was paying her new team member. So delegating actually made her money.
What assigning tasks to others can do for you
So what does delegating in your business bring you?
Time - sweet, delicious, abundant time just for you. Time to not only rest and recharge, but to do what you love doing (remember that Yea list?).
Growth - yup, it’s true. With more time on your hands, you’ll be able to nurture your leads, create new offers, and reach more potential clients. I’ve seen it happen.
Peace of mind - fewer tasks equals less stress. Less stress equals a calmer you.
You created your business out of passion. So I’m inviting you to take some time to make more time for this thing you love. And more time to step away from it when you need to. (And it’s okay to need to.)
Let’s try to eliminate the word solopreneur, shall we? There’s no reason to do it all by yourself and learning how to delegate is the key to falling back in love with your business.
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About the contributor
Cory Zacker is a business consultant and strategist, as well as a certified Positive Psychology coach. She helps brilliant service providers grow, nurture, and manage their business with personalized growth strategies and business mindset coaching. With over 20 years of entrepreneurial experience, Cory uses her business wisdom plus her warmth and humor to help entrepreneurs align with their core values, simplify their systems, and manage and grow their teams all while reducing the stress and overwhelm of growing their thriving business.