Learning to delegate

Overcoming the do-it-all-yourself mentality.

When is it time to delegate tasks?

The early days of a business are everything but glamorous. For the most part, it’s a one-person band – and that person is you. You are the production manager, the social media person, the photographer, the accounts person and often your own cheerleader.

With the list of tasks you’ll need to take often feeling never ending, it’s still common for new business owners to shy away from delegation.

It’s worth taking time to work out what support you need. Every one of my mentees have said they’re too busy doing tasks they don’t enjoy or aren’t best suited to – just so they can keep the business running. But it becomes so much that they can’t even pause to look for support.

Jennie Horton, director of operational planning, BAE Systems

Cash flow is a common barrier for new business owners

The main reason for this is a lack of budget – you won’t necessarily have the funds to hire staff when you first start out. It’s also normal to feel anxious about relinquishing control and worry that someone else might make a mistake or do things differently.

As Jennie Horton explained: “It’s worth thinking about the tasks you’d want to pass on to someone else from day one, but realistically cash flow is likely to be a limit at that stage so getting support in would happen later."

Once your business starts to take off, you’ll have a better understanding of which areas you enjoy working on the most and where you can add the most value. For certain other tasks, it could be time to look at outsourcing.

Why should you consider outsourcing?

Outsourcing involves hiring a third party to carry out services or job functions, either on a contract or ongoing basis. This is different to hiring your own employees and putting them on your payroll.

The risk of having a do-it-all mentality is that it can lead to burnout, frustration and lower quality work. If your business is growing and you’re trying to do everything yourself, you’ll end up rushing tasks, forgetting something and ultimately not spending your time where it is best spent – setting the strategic direction and engaging with customers.

The advantages of outsourcing early

Some of the benefits of outsourcing early include:

The ability to focus on what you’re good at and what you enjoy
An increased chance of tapping into new markets
Money saved on overhead and labour costs (as opposed to hiring team members and putting them on your payroll)
Peace of mind that your business will continue operating, even when you take time off
Overall increased efficiency

In the past month, I’ve hired a virtual assistant, a subcontractor and an editorial assistant. It’s been game changing. I’m going on vacation at the end of the month and, while I’m gone, many of my projects will be moving forward…without me. It’s blowing my mind.

Jenni Gritters, business coach for freelancers, via Twitter

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Tasks you can outsource include…

Accounting and finance
Social media management
Customer service

Expanding your team can be daunting, but if you want to grow, or give your business a chance of being able to operate without you in it, you'll need to relinquish some control.

According to YouGov data, the most common tasks outsourced by small businesses are IT support (34%), payroll (28%) and accounting (24%)

Which areas are you most likely to outsource?

Digital (e.g. IT support and software development)
Financial (e.g. accounting and payroll)
HR (e.g. recruitment)
Something else