Delegation? Never met her.
I was sanding my stairs (true story), listening to The Money with Katie Show, very intrigued by this author speaking about mini-retirements. There was a line in the episode that really stuck with me, not just because it was so simple and logical, but it’s something I see everyday – business owners holding on so tightly they limit their own growth. Me being a (wo)man with a plan, I wanted to create a path for anyone to find this freedom.
The guest, Jillian Johnsrud, was talking about a business owner she worked with. She shared, “It was his whole life. It took all of his bandwidth, all of his time, all of his energy. And then he stepped away for about 18 months and had to do all this work of simplifying, automating, documenting, delegating, raising up the team. He came back and realized, ‘It doesn’t require forty hours of my time; all of my emotional bandwidth.’ And he bought another conference and another business! He tripled his business because he did the work to step away, and then he had that time and bandwidth to do what business owners should be doing – their highest point of contribution.”
Wow. It made me wonder: How many business owners are out there, working themselves to exhaustion and burnout, either because “No one will be able to do this as well as I can,” or they feel bad delegating because, “I should be able to handle this.” To the first point, I say, “Really??? You’re an expert and the most qualified person to do EVERY aspect of your business?” I have never met someone who is an expert at finance, project management, business development, IT, legal, human resources, PLUS whatever it is that inspired you to start your business in the first place. Engineering hyper-specific parts to help clients create their own custom manufacturing equipment? Crafting jewelry that is dainty but durable? Training leaders to be better public speakers? Very different skill sets than all the pieces required to operate a business, if you ask me. And time-consuming pieces, too!
I bet when you started your business, you weren’t doing it because you couldn’t wait to start learning how to do bookkeeping or plan and manage every single step of a customer’s lifecycle, from acquiring that customer to creating and delivering the product or service, and ensuring they were happy with the result. No! You just wanted to create or deliver! Am I right?
Somewhere along the way, you decided that you were also the best person to write social media or blog posts. Although you hated English and writing when you were in school. Maybe you’re incredibly creative and artistic – math was never your strong suit, but now you feel a need to be a bookkeeper. Fun. And since those aren’t your natural strengths, they take you five times longer to do than someone who DOES find joy in spreadsheets and reconciling numbers.
When you start letting go of the work that drains you, something amazing happens. Your spark, your creativity, or energy starts coming back. You see opportunities again. You can hear the angels sing! You start leading instead of just reacting.
Hopefully, you’re starting to realize this extra work is not the best use of your time. But still, you feel stuck. How could you possibly let go?? Here’s a little path – you can follow it, you can adjust it, you can ignore it. Up to you.
Step 1: Block off AT LEAST 30 minutes of time.
Yes, you can do it. Tell anyone who may need you ahead of time that you are taking 30 minutes of uninterrupted work time. If there is an emergency, a TRUE EMERGENCY that COULD NOT POSSIBLY wait for 30 minutes or less, they can reach you via… Name your Kim Possible contact method here. Then, set your phone to do not disturb. Better yet, put it in a different room. Do the same with your computer/laptop/tablet/watch. You get the picture. I hope you still have some paper lying around.
Step 2: Think. Write.
Woah. When was the last time you had uninterrupted time to just think?? Now, to help you focus during this time, start by taking a few deep breaths in and out to calm your nervous system. Close your eyes, and let your mind wander to that first spark of inspiration that made you want to start your business. What work were you doing that you felt a need to share with the world? How did your body feel when you were doing that work or crafting your master plan to make that work your entire focus? Take a few minutes to bask in that feeling, and then write it all down.
Step 3: Write more.
Now that you wrote down the feeling and work that inspired you to leap into entrepreneurship, think about your past week. Then your past month. What percentage of your work time did you get to dedicate to that work? What percentage of time did you feel something similar to that initial business-starting energy? Write it down. Now think of that remaining percentage, the time you spent on work not in your zone of genius, not at your highest point of contribution. The work that made your anxiety spike and your stomach drop with dread. Maybe you get anxiety poops. I’m talking about that work. What are those tasks and responsibilities that make you run to the toilet? Write them all down.
Step 4: Reflect. Honestly.
Very nice. You’ve written down all your work – what lights you up and what makes you want to hide. I’m proud of you. A lot of people self-sabotage by avoiding these steps. And it only took you 20 minutes! Now, take these last 10 minutes to reflect and start a plan. Reflect on the following questions. Maybe you even want to do more writing.
Looking at your workload, is a majority of your time being spent on your highest good?
Are the things you’re spending your time on growing your business, or maintaining your business?
Pretend you live in a perfect world. Bookkeeping does not exist, yet you’re still magically getting paid, and the IRS is leaving you alone. You are spending the majority of your time working at your highest point of contribution. How does that impact your business? Does it grow or reduce your revenue? What else are you noticing in this idyllic world?
Step 5: Plan
Back to the real world – the IRS exists again. Boo! First things first, how are you feeling? Hopeful? Dreading life? Wanting to quit? All your feelings are valid. Good for you for tuning in. While you may want to see a therapist to continue processing those, let’s get back to business.
Now that you have a good idea of where your time is going and how the current way-of-life is impacting your bottom line, time to plan. What work makes you want to run away or hide under your desk the most? Name it, and let’s find someone to take it over. Let’s pretend you hate spreadsheets and anything involving spreadsheets. There are people out there who looooove spreadsheets. Just take a look at Emma Chieppor, the Excel Dictionary. She has 654,872 followers on LinkedIn, all ready and willing to nerd out on spreadsheets. You have lots of options when it comes to finding people who put on their party hats to work in a spreadsheet. Keep going down the list. Anything you hate doing, there are people out there who loooooove that work. That energized, Tom-Cruise-on-Oprah’s-couch feeling you were just fondly dreaming about 15 minutes ago? Yeah, someone feels that for the work you hate. Why are you going to deny them that joy? Hand. Off. The. Work!
Okay, whew! Hats off to you! You took the time for yourself and your business. You even started to make a plan. Let your brain marinate on it a little bit, and choose one small action to move forward. Maybe you know what your most dreaded task is and you’re ready to hand it off. Awesome. Get on LinkedIn and search for someone with that skillset. Ask your friends and family if they know anyone with that skillset. That’s step one.
You’re a smart cookie. You started a business. I’m sure you know where to go from here. But if you would like some support, that’s my zone of genius, and I’m ready to help make your business work for you again. You know where to find me.
(It’s samantha@ygiservices.com, if you didn’t know.)
