Many small businesses start off with a similar structure and situation. The founder has embraced the hustle and is handling all marketing, sales, product development, account management and finances. To do this, they are working 80+ hours a week, all while trying to make it look like they have their $h!t together.
As they begin to grow, they get stretched even thinner and have to make a choice: work even more hours and say goodbye to any type of work-life balance OR let go of some of their responsibilities and delegate to others.
This was the scenario for a client of mine in the real estate world. He had been growing his business for a number of years and was living the daily grind while holding onto every part of his business. His growth was slowing down and frustrations were rising as his team was working harder and doing what was asked of them. During all this, there was one major thing that was holding them back - structure.
The founder had a team in place but the roles and responsibilities were shared and not clear. This caused him to be accountable for every part of his business. We built out what that structure should look like to get them where they wanted to be in the next year. This clarified who was accountable for what and allowed the founder to LET GO AND GROW!!
Not only did they grow nearly 70% last year, but the founder is now spending more time on what he's passionate about. He has let go of what he's not good at to his leadership team, and they are absolutely crushing it!
It's Time to Let Go
How many times have you walked into a restaurant and the same person took you to your seat, took your order, cooked your food, served you your food, brought you your bill then cleaned the table after you've walked away? Let me guess…….ZERO times!? Why is that - because in order to grow you MUST let go of the vine. You cannot be the server, the head chef & bus the tables.
You need to determine where you can bring the most value to your organization. This is the sweet spot where you want to focus the majority of your time. The other responsibilities that don't fall into your sweet spot should be let go of and delegated to the right person. You can either chose to hang onto all of your responsibilities and hit a ceiling or grow by surrounding yourself with the right people, that you trust, and can delegate these responsibilities to.
To set yourself and your team up for success there needs to be trust. Having clear expectations and accountability will help you develop the trust levels you need to let go and grow. This was a key learning piece for my client. The more trust he was able to build with his team, the more responsibilities he was comfortable delegating. This has given him more of what he wants from his company - including growth.
Not sure where to start? No problem, read on...
1. Write a list with all of your daily tasks
Set aside 30 minutes and jot down all the tasks & responsibilities that fill your day.
Identify what you like doing and are good at
Identify what you don't like doing - whether you are awful or awesome at it
Would you rather spend your time doing what you're passionate and good at or something you don’t enjoy (like taxes or cardio for me :) )? Exactly!
2. Let Go & Delegate
Now that you know where you want to spend your time, it's time to chip away at the items that you don't enjoy.
Select 1-3 tasks that you can let go of & delegate to the right person in the next 90 days
Create a plan and take action to make this happen so you're focusing more time on tasks that you enjoy
Rinse and repeat
This doesn't mean just passing your tasks off to the nearest warm body. If you're wanting to let go you need to be sure that the person taking over understands the business function and roles, wants to be in that role and takes on this responsibility as well as having the skills & time to do so.
Having your structure built out with an accountability chart will help clarify who to delegate these responsibilities to.
Does this sound familiar?
"I'm the only one who knows how to do this"
"It will take me longer to fix their mistake so I'll just do it myself"
"I'm not good at teaching others my way of doing things"
Everyday business owners struggle with this. You have every right to.
When you've put years of your time, passion and money into growing a business, it’s tough to hand any part of it over to someone else. However, as a result you end up hitting a ceiling with your business. What got you to where you are today doesn't mean it will get you to where you want to be next year. This is why letting go and delegating to others is an absolute must if you want to grow!
Now what should I do?
Hanging onto too many parts of your business is stressful and is impacting your business and sometimes even worse, your family. Contact me to schedule a free meeting to learn more about your unique situation and see if we're a good fit to remove some stress and put you more in control.