Help! I’ve got Growing Pains!

by Ludwina Dautovic

Do you remember having growing pains when you were a kid? You were probably around 11 or 12 and your body was going through quite a physical change. Your bones were extending and your body’s getting taller and your joints are screaming at you to ‘stop’!

One part of you wants to stay a kid but your body is telling you it’s time to grow up. You resist the experience for a while but then realise that in order to mature you have to grow. Well, it’s like that in our business too; isn’t it? It’s the point when you realise that you’re spending far too much time working ‘in’ your business instead of ‘on’ it.

It’s when you find yourself spending most of your time answering the phones, entering data, making changes on your website, following up leads, tidying the office, sorting your receipts, filing, running errands; the list goes on and on. When you do finally have time to sit down and consider how to take your business to the next level, your week has already past.

 

Sound familiar?

 

Then perhaps it’s time to delegate.

 

Imagine for a moment, how many hours you would have each week if you were to delegate just the administration tasks alone. Would it be 5, 10 or even 20 hours per week? What would it free you up to do?

 

The idea of delegating sounds exciting, but the reality is, you have to find more time (that you don’t have) to train someone (who hopefully will work out) to do what you already know how to do. Yet if you don’t, your business will either stay the same size or deplete altogether.

 

So how do you do it with the least amount of pain possible?

 

To make the process easier, I have five simple steps to get you going down the road of delegating. And trust me, the journey will be less painful then you think.

• To begin it’s important to define what you want to delegate. Begin with keeping records for one week of tasks you find yourself doing that can be done my a P.A.

• Create a system of how to do these tasks. i.e. an operation manual. In this operation manual clearly show where files are stored on your computer, where your programs are, how you like your customers dealt with, passwords, contacts etc.
  
• Make sure you have the hardware (computers, phones etc) and space (desk, office) for a new staff member. If you are running a home office, make sure you employ someone who is comfortable with being in a home environment.
  
• See if your assistant can work ‘virtually’. This way she doesn’t have to be in your workplace at all. This might be convenient if you have small children still at home.
  
•  And finally, start planning to make it happen.

 

What you’ll find now is a lot more time to work on your business instead of in it and the good new is – you’ll have far less growing pains!

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