TFT: Is It Time to Hire?
When you need to Delegate and how as a Founder.
Many solopreneurs and founders struggle with scaling because they try to do everything themselves. That is how it started and they assume that if they do not do everything then it will not be done correctly. They assume that they have to be the one to maintain the image or the brand of the company. While it is important for them to be involved, they do not have to do everything themselves. In fact to actually grow and scale a business you have to start delegating at some point. Otherwise the growth of the business is limited to you capacity. This post will cover when to make the first hire (or outsource) and how to delegate effectively to free up time for growth.
Signs it is time to hire or outsource
You will have to do everything to start. That is just the way it goes when you are the Chief Everything Officer (CEO). But keep in mind at some point you are going to want a day off. You are going to want a vacation. You are going to need to unplug from the business. So it is important to be ready for that time when it does come. As this time approaches you want to start outlining what you can delegate and what you should delegate. So how do you know when it is time to start delegating? If you see one of the following you are well past the point of needing to delegate.
There is more work to be had if you had more hours in the day.
Deadlines are starting to slip.
You have 3-4 hours of sleep to cover the work.
If you are approaching any of these 3 situations it is time to start thinking about delegating. You need to start documenting the process so that others can take it over. You need to note the non-negotiable that your team must do to maintain the brand. Keep in mind here that others will do things differently and that is ok. You want to be very clear on what cannot change. Take it one process at a time and start to document what you doe. Consider screen casting tasks so it is easy to share how you do it. Start doing this long before you need to delegate so you can think about how you would delegate. Keep in mind everything will take long because you are still working in your business every day. As you approach the time to start delegating the next question is what should you delegate?
The first role a solopreneur should hire for
As you look at what do delegate this may seem obvious but look at all of the items that you do not enjoy doing. Consider the following:
Something you are terrible at and dread doing.
This will be easier to delegate.
Very repeatable task.
Very simple task.
What is something you avoid doing?
By starting in these areas you will free yourself up for the items that energize you. You will also find someone that enjoys doing those tasks and they will 100% do a better job than you will do. It will honestly feel like you delegated half of your workload because you will get rid of the anxiety you felt leading up to the task or as you were avoiding the task. Your customers will get a better quality product as well. The key here is you start with items you dread. Then you can move on to items that are enjoyable because as your business grows you need to grow with it.
How to let go of tasks and focus on business growth
As your business grows you will likely want to take more of a strategic role and you will have to let go of more and more of the day to day tasks. There are pluses and minuses to this. You may enjoy the day to day of some items, like engineering, or marketing. You may want to stay engaged with your customers, which is always a good as a company grows. As you do delegate and free yourself up make sure you take some of that time to work on the business and no in the business. This also includes working on your role in the business. Consider:
What do you want to do day in and day out in the business?
More strategic?
More day to day?
What tasks will you never delegate?
Because you are the best?
Or because you just love them?
How can you empower your team to act like owners and founders?
These questions will help you define your role in the future of your company as it grows. You will have to delegate some items so make sure your “items to keep” list is not everything. Then focus on hiring great people. I know that means more time, but find good people and you will add a lot more freedom to your day. Once you hire people give them direction and check in from time to time, but let them work. You spent the time hiring for a reason. Let them work.
Yes, this is your baby, but to see the full impact you need great people around you.
Action Step
Now that you know you need to delegate the key question is are you ready today or not. Take 30 mins this week to review your week.
How was your work load?
If you had to delegate 3 tasks from this week which 3 would they be?
Now develop a plan to document the key steps of those tasks. If you already have a team member on board talk to them about a delegation plan for these tasks as you move into next week.
Additional Readings
“Delegating for Solopreneurs (Took Me Years to Figure It Out)”
“8 Signs It’s Time to Hire Employees”
“14 Delegation Strategies That Will Help Entrepreneurs Build A Business”
Are you looking to improve your sales process or hire your first sales professional?
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If so, we’re here to help! Reach out to us with your specific challenges, and we’ll schedule a time to discuss how we can develop a customized plan to meet your goals.