It can be frightening to hire someone to help grow your business. When you first launch your company, if you’re anything like me, you want to have control over everything.
This means doing it all yourself.
Although this is often manageable when starting out, as the business grows you may soon realise it’s not sustainable in the long-term.
It happened to me.
I took on too much, worked too hard on my own and faced burn out.
When my doctor said I could risk long-term damage to my hearing from a sinus infection I’d developed, it was a wake up call.
I knew something needed to give
I knew some big changes were needed. I was swamped, I had no time for my family, everything was getting too much.
But if I stopped working, all the clients that depended on me would be let down, and that was not an option for me.
This was when I decided it was time to outsource some of the work within my business to specialists.
Gaining control over my life
With one powerful decision to delegate, I quickly got control of my life back. An added benefit was that it actually ended up saving me money, because I could focus on other elements of my business.
It also meant more security for my clients, because they knew business would operate as normal if I decided to go on holiday, or if I had a day off due to illness.
After the first year of running the business trying to do everything myself, I learnt that the best way to move forward was to hire help.
Since then, I have employed four people to help me, while outsourcing other work to specialists. And what is the end result? I’ve grown my business three fold in eight months!
What outsourcing has meant for my business
Now I have time to not only focus on growing my business, but I’ve also saved money by concentrating my efforts on high-impact activities.
Since making this major decision, I have freed up funds to invest back into the business, which I’ve put towards coaching and mentoring, marketing, software, and implementing systems and processes.
That latter of which is vital for business growth.
Having the right systems in place
You need to make sure you systemise everything and have standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place to guarantee your business can run without you.
Think about it. If you were hit by a bus tomorrow, would your business be able to carry on?
Awful thought, but you want your legacy to last.
I’ve used a few different tools to help me to organise and automate my business, and I thought I’d share them with you in case they are beneficial to you and your business.
These systems could help you grow your business:
Workflow Max
Workflow Max automates job allocations so nothing is forgotten, detailing checklists to ensure all tasks are completed to a high standard.
All our staff tracks their time through this software as well, allowing for invoices to be issued and staff performance to be monitored.
G Suite Business Solutions
For collaborating with my team, we use G Suite because it lets us work from the cloud, sharing files securely. We can edit these documents in real-time, so it’s easy to stay on top of what each of us is doing at any time.
Zoom
This program makes meetings and briefings a breeze. Although my home office is a central point for training and team meetings, we catch up daily through Zoom, as all employees work remotely.
Communication is the key to success
Like with anything, I know that communication is the key to running a successful business. By asking for each other’s opinions when we need it and giving each other feedback, I can now throw ideas around with my team to keep achieving my best work.
A year of growth and learning
The biggest lesson I’ve learnt in the last 12 months is that sometimes you can’t do it all yourself. And if you’re willing to ask for help, most times the end result will be a lot better than what you could’ve achieved on your own.
You might surprise yourself and grow your business in a way you’d never imagined.