Avoid thinking that you need to do all the work for your company. One major weakness of many business owners is the need to control all aspects of the operation. The successful entrepreneur, however, adopts a different strategy. To make a business grow exponentially, you must focus on the key result areas (KRAs), and delegate everything else.
Delegation requires more than hiring a staff to do the day-to-day work. You must have a clear idea of the work that needs to be done, determine the right people who can perform the tasks, and provide the training to improve the quality of the product or service.
More important, the business owner must dedicate the majority of time to building the business. To do that, you must identify the areas that generate the most revenue, and spend most of your time with those activities. Avoid getting caught in the administrative trap. Doing paperwork, responding to routine emails, and running errands wastes your valuable time.
#1: Identify the work that defines your company.
In business school, you learn the importance of the mission and vision of the organization. For example, Apple has two important words in its mission statement: creative and innovation. Therefore, Steve Jobs was focused on providing the customers with products and services that were aligned with its mission. Most would agree that the iPhone, iPad, and iTunes are both creative and innovative products.
Before doing any work, take the time to jot down what makes your company unique. If your unique selling proposition (USP) is unparalleled customer service, you must spend the majority of the time on activities designed to improve the overall customer experience. To that end, you hire and train a workforce that understands the importance of wowing your customers. You can also develop an incentive program for employees who exceed expectations. In short, your entire day is consumed with activities that will provide your company with a competitive edge based on fantastic customer service.
#2: Open your mind to outsourcing.
The world is flat! If you have a mentality that work can only be done within the confines of your office, you are limiting the potential for growth. In fact, many businesses often fail because employees are an expensive fixed cost, and it’s difficult to find workers who have the specialized skills you need. Think of outsourcing as an employment process in which you hire on demand.
It’s imperative that you’re open-minded about employees who can work remotely. Today, you can hire both part-time and full-time employees from India and The Philippines who provide quality work at a fraction of the cost you would pay for a local employee. You can begin by outsourcing a small project, and keep building from there.
#3: Use “cloud computing” to run all facets of your business.
Just 20 years ago, software applications were loaded by using physical media, diskette after diskette. Most of the software back then was expensive, and had limited functionality. In most cases, you had to wait a week or so for the media to arrive via the US Postal Service, FedEx, or UPS. Today, through cloud computing, you have access to powerful and affordable applications that are downloadable from the internet. In just a few minutes, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) program can be helping you nurture potential clients.
Automation is synonymous with delegation. In essence, you allow technology to manage the day-to-day business operations, including payroll, search engine optimization (SEO), and email marketing. With just a few hundred dollars per month, you can look like a major leaguer.
Those business owners who find it difficult to delegate will eventually fail. Success depends on your ability to focus on the KRAs. For that to happen, you must leverage the power of outsourcing and technology.
Building a successful business is more about maximizing brainpower, and less about a brute force approach in which you are adamant about maintaining full control over all operations. In short, the smart business owner focuses only on work that is closely aligned with the mission and vision of the organization, and everything else is delegated to competent workers, keeping in mind that outsourcing can provide a competitive advantage.