The allocation of your time is probably one of the most important factors in business success. If you plan to grow your business, the way in which you choose to manage your responsibilities will have a greater impact on your success rather than hard work alone.
Time Management
Think about what your core role is, the value that only you can provide to your clients.
Remind yourself, why did you choose to go into business in the first place, and are you on track with your business plan and initial vision?
Delegation – To do, or not to do?
Delegation can be a great route forward for many small business owners, it reduces the risk and costs associated with taking on employees and allows you to focus on your core business tasks and responsibilities.
Once you have decided that you need some additional support, you need to you identify which tasks and projects could and should be delegated.
Prioritise your tasks. Focus on high-impact activities – deciding what NOT to do is as important as what to do.
Set clear goals and define what success looks like for each task.
If you’re bringing onboard external support for the first time, this can be quite daunting. Your business is your ‘baby’ and letting go of some of the responsibilities can be hard.
It’s also very common to know that you need help, but you just don’t know where to start, or how to identify which tasks to delegate. If this sounds familiar, drop me an email and I’ll send you a document sharing 3 practical techniques that will help you get started.
Effective Delegation
Take time to find the most suitable person to support your business requirements, it’s not just about skill set and availability.
If this person is going to be an extension of your business and team you need to make sure they’re a good fit both personally and professionally.
Do they portrait the same work ethics and values as you? Most importantly, if you plan on this being a long-term investment and close working relationship, do you get on well?
To achieve ‘effective delegation’ and fully benefit from any assistance, make sure that the person you have chosen to support you has:
- – The capacity to accommodate your tasks.
- – The appropriate skills and resources in which to carry out these items successfully.
- – A good bank of reviews and testimonials showcasing their expertise.
- – The ability to work independently and pro-actively, without the need for micro-managing, or failure.
- – Fully understood your expectations.
- – The scope to document the tasks being performed as they complete them (if you don’t already have these processes in place) as this will form a basic Ops/Training manual which will make any future delegation, training or the need for unplanned cover much easier for someone else to step in and run with and with less disruption to the business.
Evaluate the Delegation Progress, Reflect and Adjust
Once you have your support in place, you’ll want to diarise regular catchups especially during the first few months so both of you have the opportunity to discuss how things are going.
Evaluating the delegation process is important, don’t be afraid to make changes if something isn’t working and keep an open mind to suggestions of new ways of working or improvements.
I personally know the pressures when trying to grow a business, so finding a way to help remove, or reduce some of the load really does help (no-one can do it all on their own).
Building a ‘team’ around you and documenting core business tasks will add a layer of protection to your business which will help with future growth.
I hope the information in this article has been useful, I’m always happy to have a chat with anyone feeling overwhelmed, or in need of some advice as to the best way to move forward. A good Virtual Assistant will always both support and positively challenge you, fostering a great and productive relationship.
“In order to grow, you must be able to let go”. -Richard Branson.
Mastering Time Management and Effective Delegation article written by Louise Richman of Indigo Eleven a member of The Local View Cambridge.
