Freedom. That’s the lure that draws most of us into starting a business – the freedom to be your own boss. While we do have that freedom, there’s also the reality of long hours and even longer To Do lists.
That doesn’t mean we can’t have the life we dreamed of. You know, the one where we’re directing our businesses while others handle the daily tasks.
But if you want your business to grow more while you do less, you’ll need to delegate.
An Online Business Manager or OBM like me can help carry some of that daily load in a variety of ways.
Here are the top 3 tasks or areas we recommend you take off your list now. Once you reap the benefits, you’ll wish you did this years ago.
Top 3 tasks small business owners should delegate
Every business has operational tasks that can be done by employees or contractors. Delegating the following items will let you focus on the big picture and have a better work/life balance.
1. Accounting
While you should always keep a close eye on finances, you can defer the daily tasks to someone else. This is especially true as your business grows and/or your bookkeeping becomes more complicated.
An employee or contractor can send out invoices, record income and expenses and do monthly reconciliations. We can refer experienced bookkeepers who will keep your books up to date and easy to manage.
2. Marketing
Why keep up with the constant changes on social media, in Google or in the digital marketing world? Leave that to a marketer who can keep your programs running on a set schedule.
Even small budgets can be accommodated by most marketers with better strategies than you’re likely to come up with on your own. We’ve managed social media, email marketing and other areas with successful results.
3. Website development
As we’ve mentioned in other posts, your website is your business headquarters online. You’ll want to have a good presence on the internet, so prospects can find you, contact you and buy from you.
Hire a freelancer or contractor who can keep your website running smoothly. A good one will also provide monthly reports on site visits and activity that will help you measure your marketing efforts.
Do you find it hard to delegate?
You’re not alone. Many business owners find it hard to delegate when they’re used to doing everything on their own.
Reasons for not delegating often fall into 3 areas:
- Loss of control
- Lack of time
- Lack of trust
Feel like you lose control by bringing in others to help? Don’t want to spend time training others when you can do it faster? Don’t trust others to do it as well as you do? These are all things that can be overcome.
Remember, as the leader of your business, you should spend your time on high-level strategic tasks. These are top-level priorities that no one else can do but you. If you don’t have time for these areas, your business won’t grow.
Get comfortable delegating by…
Starting with areas outside of your expertise
Start by bringing in help for areas you’re not equipped to handle. Don’t have experience in marketing? Bring in an OBM or a specialist who can do it better. Don’t know much about web development? You’re better off outsourcing. Feel like you’re not the greatest writer? Consider a freelance writer.
Then moving on to smaller, repeatable tasks
Once you’re more comfortable hiring out the areas mentioned above, look at smaller, repeatable tasks that others can be trained to do for you. Even if you feel it takes longer to train someone than to just do it yourself. While it does at first, that investment in time up front will save you time over the long run.
For example, let’s say it takes you 1 hour a day to answer customer emails. If it takes you 3 or 4 hours to train someone to do this (maybe even provide template responses), then you should get the time back after a week or two.
Having your process laid down in a Standard Operating Procedure or SOP will help with training as well. Read our post on the top 3 SOPs that will help your business.
Don’t get bogged down in daily tasks that take up too much of your valuable time, delegate.
If you need help figuring out what to delegate first, let us know below or send an email.
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