Control is something everyone strives for in their lives. It gives people a sense of power. In order to be successful in business and free up time for yourself to work on bigger tasks or just take a break, you need to do what most people refuse to do. This dreaded but necessary and liberating challenge is relinquishing control. When you do this in business and begin to delegate, you will be able to see the bigger picture of how to scale and grow. Most people think that they need to do everything themselves and that no one can do things better than them. While they may be good at a lot of the things they do, taking a step back and understanding what you need to focus on and what is just keeping you busy but still needs to get done is key. A lot of business owners spend time on the minutia of tasks which in turn keeps them from growing and scaling. This is such an issue and a big reason why lots of small businesses fail. But how do you know where to relinquish control in your business in the first place?
differentiating minutia from income driving tasks
Minutia can be defined in this instance as anything time consuming that needs to be done, and can easily be delegated to someone else. In other words, the day-to-day maintenance of your business should be carried out by others while you work on more key tasks for generating income and scaling. Some key questions to ask yourself here are, what activities do I do that result in the most business? What tasks need to get done on a day-to-day basis, but are something anyone can do for an hourly rate? How can I take my business to the next level by opening up new locations or growing my online presence? What am I having the most trouble with that I can hire a professional team member to help me with? (ex. social media manager, store manager, marketing manager, etc.). What do I do best that I know will help my business run better if I focus on that single aspect instead of everything all at once? Sitting down and writing these questions and their answers on a piece of paper is a great way to start when trying to identify what your roles should be in, and what needs to be delegated.
Mindset shift
Relinquishing control in your business in this way is not necessarily what it seems like. In a sense, you are gaining greater control over your business by having multiple brains create systems and develop ideas to make your machine run more smoothly. Getting past the ” I need to do everything” phase can be a huge hurdle. Many people are prideful and scared of getting over this hump and rightfully so. This is your business that you built, and taking it to the next level is scary, but you have the understand the end goal. This end goal is to create a well-oiled machine of systems and people that work for you while you do that tasks that only you can do that help generate the most income.
from fish cleaner to fish catcher
In the book Sold by David Greene of BiggerPockets, he describes the majority of people as fish cleaners in the world of business. Think of the fishing analogy in this way; when you go fishing, usually the hardest thing to do is catch the fish itself. Most of the time, the people who catch the fish are the leaders of the group, and the ones who subsequently clean the fish are their helpers. The fish cleaners have never caught an actual fish, but they are damn good at cleaning them because this is a repeatable task and one that can become easy and mindless over the course of time and practice. Catching a fish on the other hand is difficult because the way you catch one is almost never the same. One may fight harder, one may snap the line, etc. Your goal as a business owner is to be the metaphorical fish catcher. They are constantly innovating and coming up with new ways to catch more fish (or create more income sources). The fish cleaners on the other hand in the world of business can be hired out and paid hourly to manage the day-to-day and keep business operations running smoothly. These people are not tasked with growing the business or finding new business, their only job is to manage the business you already “caught”. You as a business owner need to identify the tasks that “catch you the most fish”, and spend your time on those activities.
Hiring Virtual Assistants
Hiring virtual assistants or VAs as they are often called can be a big asset to you in the long run. Combining VAs with in house employees can ensure your business is managed well, and a business machine is being created and followed. VAs are great to have to manage your schedules, check your email and summarize important information, make phone calls on your behalf in situations that warrant such, and many other tasks. These people are often inexpensive per hour, and can be sourced overseas if need be. They help take some of the most time-consuming things out of your life and condense it into a manageable way for you to digest. There are many different websites out there for you to choose from to hire VAs, but be make sure you vet any virtual assistants before hiring them to make sure they’re right for you.
Suggested reads
Sold by David Greene: This book is directed at real estate agents, but really offers great principles to follow for any business owner. I would recommend this book highly to anyone looking to simplify and grow their business.
Who Not How by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy: This book talks a lot about how to identify problems the right way, and how finding the right help can make a huge difference. I highly recommend this book as well.