If you are like me, you started your own business so you can do what you love, do it well, and get paid what you deserve. Chances are you can outsource some of your daily tasks to improve efficiency and feel more successful.
But as time goes by, you realize you are so buried in the minutia everyday tasks that it can feel like you’re constantly swimming against the current just trying to keep your business going.
But it’s not impossible to regain that joy and excitement you started out with. With a some careful thought and planning, you can get your business running efficiently so you get back to doing what you do best.
Reconnect with your Why
When you started your business, you had a reason – a driving force behind it all. It might have been something as simple as wanting more freedom or flexibility in your life. You lose track of your why.
Or maybe your reasoning was more specific, like “I want to start my own voice and acting studio so I can empower young and talented artists to see their dreams come to fruition.” (If that actually is your goal, you need to be a part of The SpeakEasy Cooperative run by Michelle Markwart Deveaux.)
When you reconnect with your why, it will help reignite your passion for your business. Why not start now!
Write down your reason for starting your business and post it somewhere where you can be reminded of it daily.
How do you serve your clients?
How can you help your clients, customers or students grow, when you’re so busy running errands or typing up forms that you don’t have time actually teach the lessons or update your signature curriculum that makes your business what it is?
The truth? You can’t.
Here’s where you start realizing the tasks you can outsource so your business can flourish. Read on…
What keeps your business running?
Take a step back and reassess what keeps your business running. As you go about your work day, take notes of what you are doing. Then go through those tasks one by one and ask yourself questions like:
- If I weren’t the one doing this task, would my business suffer or improve?
- What do I look forward to doing every day so much that I want to jump out of bed in the morning and get started?
- What am I doing that gets in the way of my actual job?
- What is the first thing I would stop doing right now if someone else could just do it for me?
- Why am I doing this task when I hate it and don’t even know what I’m doing?
In Mike Michalowicz’s book, “Clockwork”, he refers to what he calls the Queen Bee Role (QBR). Everyone must protect the QBR, or the business will fail. Everyone in the business has their own place in protecting the QBR.
He even has a process to “Trash, trim, & transfer the work” so each team member can do what they do best. If you haven’t read this book yet, I highly recommend it.
As I work with my colleagues and clients, I’ve seen a trend of busy work we get stuck doing because it’s just important and has to be done. These are often things that if we hired someone else to do them we could achieve three business-saving accomplishments:
- Create time to do more of the things we love in our job
- Create time after work to actually enjoy our life
- Create better outcomes because the team is laser-focused on their specific work rather than trying to be a jack of all trades.
Here are seven time consuming tasks that are perfect to start outsourcing:
- Website design and content updates
- Email management
- Social media management
- Task creation and coordination (go figure!)
- Meeting planning
- Event coordination
- Invoice preparation
Chances are you doing some of these tasks on a daily basis, when you could should actually be spending that time improving the parts of your business that make it unique and enticing for your ideal clients.
As micro businesses and small business owners, we need to keep each other motivated and inspired so we can show what we’ve got to offer the world. Let’s get started.
How will you increase efficiency in your day to day tasks so you can start reaping the rewards of owning your own business? Get that list going and drop it in the comments below.
If you are already outsourcing to contractors or have hired a virtual assistant or part-time staff for your business, let us know how you got started in the comments below. Did you start with saving time or money first? Where did you get stuck.
Here’s to your success!
p.s. If your online business is causing you stress, that’s what I take care of for busy small business owners. Take the first step and book a quick call here to see if I can help you!
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