So you own your own business. You’re literally the first one to work and the last one to leave. You dream about your business.
You start to see W9 forms in your SpaghettiO’s and that potato chip you just ate for dinner looks freakishly like your last client. You’ve got business on the brain.
It happens to nearly every small business owner. They fall in love, especially when the business is based on something that was previously pleasure or leisure.
But business is a rough mistress. And she has the power to ruin families and friendships while taking herself out in the process.
It’s tough as a business owner to know when to step up to the plate and when to step down and hand a task off to someone else.
When something comes up and you need to decide whether to handle it yourself, or hand off the task you need to ask yourself a few questions.
Is someone else in my company better suited for this job?
This is the most important question when looking at any task. If the answer is yes, skip the next two questions.
If someone is better for the job outright, they should be the one tackling it.
It’s common for entrepreneurs to be a jack of all trades and to be unwilling to trust other people with important tasks, but an important part of running a business successfully is learning to delegate tasks, especially if they’re very time-consuming or require a lot of training to do well.
Is this a skill or job that will carry on in the future of my business?
Take social media for example, it’s not going anywhere. If you intend to take on the extra work yourself then take the time to learn it and understand it.
This is something that will stick with your business for quite a while. Know it. If you can’t invest the time, hire someone, and ensure that they’re competent.
Also make sure that you do your homework before posting things on the internet. You’d be surprised how often small business owners will use trademarked words or phrases like “super bowl”, “just do it”, or “It’s on like Donkey Kong” in their online advertisements and are shocked when the law comes knocking.
What does it cost me to hire someone else to do the job?
If you don’t have the necessary skills to complete the task yourself this is a pointless question because you’ll be forced to hire a professional and deal with the consequences regardless.
However if it’s merely an inconvenience, or you think your time would be better applied elsewhere you need to do the math and figure out how much more it costs you to hire someone than it would for you to do the work yourself.
Running a business is one of the most daunting tasks someone can face, but it is also the most rewarding.
Next time your brand is faced with a new task you’ll find that deciding who is best for the job will be easier than ever.
Image courtesy of imagerymajestic at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
