As Entrepreneurs, we're often multi-tasking geniuses.
Not because we want to be, but more so because we have no choice.
On a daily basis your job as an 'entrepreneur' may entail meeting with a lawyer, registering a trademark, shipping packages, catching up on bookkeeping, designing products, managing social media, writing emails, customer service.... the list goes on!
When you're just starting up though, it can be tempting to do it all.
Why? Well, firstly it's cheaper, and second, it's sometimes easier/faster than taking the time to find someone to do a task for you.
As I've started to scale up my fashion line, Encircled, I'm realizing there are serious advantages to hiring out your to-do list for your business.
1. Hiring out your to-do list frees up your time to focus on working on the business, not in the business. Many Entrepreneurs are guilty of spending too much time in business operations versus on profit-enhancing activities such as marketing, partnerships or business strategy. Hiring out some key operational activities will help accelerate your business growth because your mind will be laser-focused on the higher-level business vision.
2. You can actually have your weekends back. Yes, hiring out means more free time which equals the ability for you to (gasp) take a vacation day (or week, or month...). Even taking personal tasks such as having your home cleaned by a professional, can lighten the load and free up your evenings to spend quality time with your friends or family.
3. You'll feel re-energized to work on your business. Outsourcing some of the more mundane, repetitive tasks of managing your business may re-ignite the original spark you had when you started your business. Day to day tasks such as bookkeeping can totally suck the fun out of being an entrepreneur. The sooner you hire them out, the sooner you can start taking your creativity to the max.
4. Your stress level will decrease. Inherently if you're working on minute tasks that you do not derive joy nor satisfaction from, you'll eventually start to feel a degree of stress when you need to do them. For me, that's fulfilment. I love getting orders. Do I love packing them up? Not so much.
5. You get to test your skills as a leader. Hiring out, whether internally or externally will inevitably test your ability to delegate. This is an excellent skill to hone, that many people who haven't led teams or companies haven't had the opportunity to practice. Even if you're a born leader, the new playing field of business will push your personal development in this area which will lead to added strength in this area.
6. You get to test your business systems. In my post about "How to build a process for your business", I wrote about the need to develop systems and processes in order to scale your business. For many startups this is not the focus, but as you start to delegate or hire out tasks, you'll realize the gaps in your systems. This will help you solidify your business base, and provide a good foundation for growth.
7. You'll get fresh eyes on your business. Having others work on tasks or areas of your business that have been run exclusively by you opens up the opportunity for improvement. The hiring of a professional in their respective field (or even just a new hire, who hasn't been involved in your business) will bring new perspective to your business. The result? Identification of areas of improvement and enhanced efficiency in your business!
Hiring out your to-do list can be a scary thought. Do you outsource or insource? Do you hire a contractor or employee? What do you pay them? How do you direct them on tasks? How do you measure their performance?
The questions are endless but here's what, you'll figure them out. The first step is making the decision to stop driving yourself crazy with endless to-do's, and the rest will work out as you move forward in your business.
Have you hired out some or most of your to-dos? What was your experience?
Leave it in the comments below!
Wishing you much abundance + retail bliss,
