Tuesday Afternoon Confession: Time to Delegate and Outsource!

This is my first Tuesday afternoon confession but I have a feeling this will not be the last.

It is amazing how much clarity you gain when you take a moment to evaluate the way you’re doing things. If you haven’t done that in awhile, you may want to.

I’ve been in business for 3 years now. One of the biggest mistakes I made at the beginning is I totally under-estimated the growth of my business. I bought into the “It’s a recession…It’s hard to find clients…” idea.  Because of this, I didn’t plan for growth at the rate that it came.

So, as a result, I’ve spent a significant amount of time during the last 3 years working like a crazy person – oftentimes, 12 to 16 hours each day, 7 days a week.

It’s time to get real! I’m trying to handle too much. It’s affecting my business and my family, and it doesn’t have to be this way.

While my habit of trying to be everything to everyone isn’t anything new (my mother was is the same way), it’s a habit I have to get under control, and I figure now is as good a time as any to do just that.

I’m letting go of some things so I can FOCUS only on what I’m most passionate about.

Just in case you’re at the same point in your business, I’m going to share the first two steps I’m taking to better balance my workload.

1.    Delegate more

For starters, I’m delegating more to my team members. I’m blessed to have a handful of sub-contractors that I work with on various projects, but I’m not delegating nearly as much as I should. They are more than willing (and capable) of handling many of the projects I have on my plate. I just need to let go and give them an opportunity to put their skills and experience to use.

2.    Outsource to others

Every now and then, I’m presented with a project that’s either not ideal for my business or I have no real interest in taking it on. In those instances, I’m going to outsource those projects to others. Actually, I’ve already started doing this and I can tell you, it feels really, really good!

By letting go, I will free up more time to focus on creating, reading, writing, practicing, learning, and growing!

Do you find yourself trying to do it all – saying yes when you should say no? Are you ready to start delegating and outsourcing more?

Tagged as: Entrepreneur, Outsource, Small Business