How To Delegate When You Can't Afford A New Hire (Yet)
Picture the scene: you're working all hours weekdays, evenings AND weekends and you know that something has to give. Because if it doesn't, you're going to hit burnout and stop loving your business.
But what happens if you find yourself in the tricky situation where you don't have the funds available in your business to bring in a team member to help?
In an ideal world, you'd have enough money in the business bank to hire a full time member of staff to take the pressure off.
And while there are a load of benefits to bringing in a full-time employee to your business, I know it's not always an affordable solution.
So what do you do when you're not (yet) in the financial position to make a full-time hire? Here are my tips to help you in this situation.
Consider the different hiring options
Most business owners think the first and most effective way to hire is to bring in someone full-time to their team - but this isn't always the case.
Think closely about WHAT you need help with (check out this blog I wrote a few weeks ago to help you identify what you need help with!)
Once you know the tasks you could get the most benefit out of delegating, you might find there are the most cost-effective options available to you.
Hiring an expert or a freelancer to complete specific, skilled tasks can allow you to clear these time-intensive things off your plate and help catapult your business growth without the financial burden of a full-time team member.
In today's business climate you can hire everyone from online business managers to social media managers - all experts in their own zones of genius.
And if you need a little extra help before hiring your first freelancer, I love this article.
Get help at home to pick up the slack
Often, business owners get overwhelmed because not only are we spinning plates in the office, but we also have busy family lives, too.
I know this has always been a challenge for me, and something I work hard to maintain in my own home.
If you don't have the finances to be able to hire someone in the office, maybe your budget could allow for some help at home instead?
Say you spend 4 hours every week cleaning the home including doing all the laundry. How much better would your life be if you could bring in a cleaner and laundry service to take that task away from you?
Those extra 4 hours are then yours to spend as you wish - either in your business, or finding that work/life balance again.
Call on friends and family to help
If you find yourself going through a particularly busy period, or you're struggling with chronic disorganisation that's slowing you down, then it might be time to call on your support network.
While many tasks in your business will require an expert eye, there are more than you might think that could be done by a family member of friend with little-to-no training.
For example, clearing out the hundreds (if not more!) of emails that should be deleted, or filed away for future use. Or sorting your Google Drive folders so everything is easy to find, helping you to save time. You could even ask someone to reply to standard enquiry emails for you, using a canned email template.
Being a business owner can feel lonely sometimes, but the truth is, our support networks want to help where they can. Don't be afraid to ask for help where and when you need it.
Over to you
So there you have it - some quick, actionable solutions for you if you can't quite afford to hire someone into the team just yet. Once you have some additional help, you'll be surprised how much more growth your business can make and how quickly you'll be financially stronger.
Which one of these solutions will you implement first? I'd love to know in the comments!
All my best,
Selina
P.S. The Ultimate Delegation System is filled with actionable steps and advice to help you get the most out of your business through delegation. You can find out more here
Selina Johnson — Business Support Expert, solution seeker and freedom fixer — helps successful coaches, consultants, speakers and entrepreneurs from across the globe to scale their businesses, make more money and achieve faster, sustainable results without compromising their time.
Over the past 16 years, she’s supported high profile individuals like award-winning architect Dame Zaha Hadid DBE, Sunday Times Top 20 Most Influential Entrepreneurs In The UK Sháá Wasmund MBE, former Co-Director of the Serpentine Gallery Dame Julia Peyton-Jones DBE, and Russian billionaire Timur Sardarov.
Today, she teaches brilliant entrepreneurs just like you how to implement her simple methods that result in BIG wins in their businesses — including the dynamite delegation strategies, time management hacks and mindset mastery she’s used to halve her hours, double her income and ditch her commute, leaving her free to create and live the life she loves.