5 Signs It’s Time to Delegate
“You can do anything, but not everything.”
We’re not sure who said it – but this is one of our favorite quotes at Elevate. We love it because it’s simple and true.
If you own a business, it’s your job to focus on the business. But more often than not, CEOs, founders, and business owners get lost in the never-ending to-do list that comes along with running a business.
This happens to almost everyone, so don’t feel like a failure if you’re currently stuck working in your business – managing all the day-to-day tasks and responsibilities, serving clients, marketing, selling, and more – instead of on your business.
When you’re first getting started, you often need to handle everything because you don’t have the budget to build a team or outsource anything. That’s okay!
But today, we’re sharing 5 signs that it’s time to reach out and get some help, so if you find yourself relating to one (or all!) of these signs – it’s time to delegate.
5 signs it’s time to delegate
You’ve reached burnout
Burnout is a dangerous place to be. This is the reason most businesses fail to grow… or fail completely.
Nothing kills productivity like burnout.
Burnout looks like:
Exhaustion – physical, mental, and emotional fatigue even when you’re getting enough sleep or taking breaks
Increased irritability – if you’re usually pretty go with the flow and you find yourself snapping at everyone and getting annoyed at small things, that’s a good indicator you’re experiencing burnout
Apathy – feeling disinterested or indifferent about your business, your clients, and your responsibilities
You’re Neglecting Your Responsibilities
When we're overwhelmed, responsibilities fall through the cracks.
Forgetting assignments, dropping the ball on projects, missing meetings, or forgetting to follow up with clients are all signs of neglecting responsibilities because you've just got too much on your plate!
You’re Losing Business or Missing Out on Sales
This can be the most damaging to your business if it's not addressed immediately.
As a business owner, there are plenty of things in your business that you shouldn't be managing. Admitting you need help so you can focus on the growth of your business is the first step in getting back on track.
You’re Disorganized
If you're losing track of invoices, emails, meetings, and a handle on life in general, it's time to start delegating.
The detail an EA will put into your tasks will far exceed what you have the capacity to do. Once you delegate responsibility, you'll see how much productivity you add to your day by having someone organize it.
You’re Ready to Scale
When your biggest goal is scaling your business – that’s an absolute sign that it’s time to bring in some help and get as many tasks off your plate as possible.
You simply can’t scale without outsourcing.
I know it’s time to delegate, but how much will it cost?
Once you’ve embraced the idea of delegating your work, it’s time to strategically choose what to delegate and how to afford the support.
To start – determine your budget by completing a simple audit of your time.
Write down how many hours you spend on admin or operations tasks each month. (If you want a truly accurate number, time yourself for a week or two and then multiply it out to equal a month.)
Multiply those hours by your hourly rate.
If you spend 30 hours a month on admin and your hourly rate is $250, that means you’re spending $7500 a month!
Delegating those tasks will only cost a fraction of what you’re spending now.
Think about the ROI for the work you do in your true CEO role. If a sales call leads to a $10,000 project - freeing up even a few hours to spend on more sales calls is a massive value-added.
What should I delegate?
The task list you compiled in your time audit - Those are all the tasks you should be delegating.
The goal should ultimately be to offload any task that isn’t 100% focused on your CEO role. But that can take time, so don’t be afraid to start small.
Our Executive Assistants often take over things like:
Managing your schedule
Running your inbox and other communications
Preparing proposals, contracts, and other important paperwork
Project management
Event planning
Because our EAs are significantly experienced and backed by a supportive team with a wide variety of specialties and skills, they have also helped clients with more “out of the box” things like:
Custom Nike orders
Vet research and scheduling appointments for a new family pet
Researching and hiring a massage therapist for a team retreat
Ordering groceries for delivery
Assisting in the complicated surrogacy process
With the right EA on your team, there’s honestly no limit to what you can outsource!
We would love to chat with you about how our experienced team of EAs can help you get back to your CEO role so you can grow and scale your business. You deserve to have the best support as you work toward your big goals!
