So, you're looking to free yourself up so you can grow your business? I can totally understand and feel your pain! I have had to do that in the past few years in my own business – to free myself up from all of the day to day stuff and put myself in a position in my business where I can grow it and do the things that I enjoy doing instead of the things that I dread doing.
Here are some ways in which you can free yourself up to grow your business. The first thing you can do is to set up a list of all of the things that you need to do (and yes, I know that's going to be a very long list). It took me pretty much an entire weekend to put that list together. This will help you to create a centralized area and a list of everything that needs to be done.
So, number one is to create a list, and number two is to get all of that information out of your head. The reason this is so helpful is because as long as your subconscious knows that you have not made a list, it keeps reminding you. You know how sometimes it'll be midnight and you'll wake up and go, "Oh my gosh I forgot to do such and such." That is because your subconscious is reminding you. So, as long as you're subconscious knows that you haven't made a list and that everything isn't on a list, it will continue to remind you – and it usually will remind you at times when you can't do anything about it. Start making a list of all of the things that you need to do and keep adding to that list as your subconscious reminds you. I use Evernote so that way if i think of something, I can just go into my list and add it to the list on any device at any time.
Once you have completed that list, the next thing that you need to do is to start looking at what is on that list and assessing if it's something that only you can do, something that you really don't need to do it all, or something that you can delegate. For the things that you do need to do, you'll next determine when do you need to do it. Do you need to do it now or do you need to do it later?
After you have completed that list for the things that only you can do, you then pick the three most important projects and then you identify the most important tasks that you need to do for each of those three projects. This will help you prioritize the most important things that you need to be doing and then to be very clear on what the next task is that you need to accomplish for each project. So, when you have downtime or when you put time on your calendar to work on that particular project, you have 100% clarity into what the next task is so that you can jump right in and take care of that task. As you're prioritizing within your top three projects, you also need to be clear on what the next task is, and then the one after that, and then the one after that. That requires doing some planning as far as what your projects and tasks are. But in terms of being able to use your time effectively when you have down time, then you know what your top three priorities are and then you know what the next task is for each one so you can dive right in.
Of course we know the reality of a business owner is that we always have tons of things to do, but there's something that happens in the mind clutter that is in your brain when you start doing these things. When you start writing down everything that you need to do, and when you start prioritizing, your subconscious will then calm down and won't be as cluttered as it is right now. Then you will have a lot more mental clarity to get everything done and to then prioritize what's most important.
The next thing that you need to do is to give yourself permission to know that and understand that, yes you might have a 100 things to do, but they're not all going to get done today and you need to give yourself permission to be okay with that. Again, when you go back to the top three priorities, as human beings that's about all we can handle in terms of projects, the top three projects. That means that you need to start doing some strategic planning for what you are going to accomplish this quarter, next quarter, this year, next year, and you work toward it.
So, usually as business owners (and again I'm speaking from personal experience), we want to get it all done and all right now because we're full of ideas and they're great ideas and we've got to do it now. We're continually frustrated because we can't get anything done because we're so busy. Actually, a lot of that busyness comes from the mental clutter and all of the ideas that we come up with. So again, write it down, prioritize, strategize, plan in advance, and give yourself permission to know that you're not going to get everything done today, but by the end of the year you will have six projects accomplished!
Next, you need to delegate. Because we tend to be control freaks, it is extremely hard as a business owner to delegate to your team or to employees. If you don't yet have employees but you're at a point where you can't handle all of it on your own, then you need to hire contractors or employees. I started out hiring several part time employees and that's how I scaled my business, then I hired full time employees. You have to delegate and you have to be okay with employees making mistakes too, because they will make some mistakes. I used to joke about the fact that I would tell my husband, "I pay employees to make mistakes." But that is the only way that they will learn. You can tell them all day, "Don't do it this way because you'll make this mistake." But when they make that mistake, if they're a good employee, they won't make that mistake again. You do need to invest time and effort into your employees to get them to the point that they can handle these things for you. It is a process and it takes time, but you have to delegate. You cannot grow a business if you don't delegate.
Lastly, in terms of looking at delegation, also look at areas then where you need to delegate to experts or professionals. For example, consider delegating your accounting and booking. If you're still trying to do your own bookkeeping and your business has over $300,000 in revenues, it's time for you to think about working with a professional, especially when you're looking at freeing yourself up to grow your business. You have to then start looking at whether it's worthwhile for you to spend your time doing your bookkeeping and accounting, knowing that you're not trained to do it, or are you better of taking that time and spending it growing your business? I think you would agree that you're better off growing the business!
You'll then need to find someone who you can trust, who is experienced, and who has experience working with growing businesses. I have another video that you could check out about hiring a qualified accountant or bookkeeper. But for now, make the list of everything you need to do, decide what's most important for you to do, and then figure out what you need to delegate in order to free yourself up. You'll see that your productivity will increase, your mind clutter will decrease, and you'll actually have a lot more time and attention to be able to grow your business.
