Everyone is an entrepreneur. There are a few key differences in what makes some entrepreneurs more successful than others–because we’ve all been there. When starting a business it becomes your child, you’ve invested everything you have into making something possible. It holds your hopes and dreams on your path to success. That’s why sometimes it is hard to let go of the reins to move forward and expand your business. It is about control, and about having your fingers in every single step of the process to make your business successful. But what we have found is that task delegation is a key ingredient to creating an empire.
Almost all entrepreneurs love to research and are perfectionists. So, when it comes to handing over a piece of your business for somebody else to run it can be a very difficult process mentally. However, the great part about being a thorough researcher and business owner is that you have given yourself very specific knowledge about whatever topic, may that be content creation or marketing. But the next step is to realize that to continue growing your company, is to know that you know enough about that specific topic to hire someone else to do that specific job. Hiring is very scary, it’s like somebody having a stranger babysit your child. However, with the right briefing, this person can take over those set tasks and give you more time to focus on what you need to get done. The one thing money can’t buy is time, but it can afford you more time by hiring more people.
Hiring someone to take over a specific job such as content creation, is great not only because it gives you time, but their sole job is to do that one function and they probably have more knowledge about it than you do. Which further sets you up for success. This applies to all channels, even bookkeeping.
How To Let Go
Letting go is hard, trust us we’ve been there. Sharing is difficult but necessary. We suggest writing out specific categories of your business and figuring out how those could be broken down into different roles. Then figure out which one cost you the most amount of time. Are you able to hire someone to do that job to give you more time to do those other roles? Keep going further, you can even start with something simple. What is a small role that can give you more time during your day if someone else was covering that position? Hiring a smaller position and working your way up, is kind of like dipping your toes into the water for the first time. This gives you an idea of what to expect when bringing in more people to your team and how to delegate. This also gives you confidence in your structure and your ability as a boss.
Task Delegation
Now that you are going through the process of letting go to keep moving forward and growing, you must work on task delegation. If you are hiring someone to be your content creator for say: Instagram, you’re going to have to have an already set basic script of the things that you are going to have them get done for the following month. Such as a spreadsheet with the appropriate captions, buckets of keywords/hashtags, and any other specific imagery you would want them to include. This sounds like you just did their whole job for them, however, this gives the content creator a good idea of what to create for you seeing that they have never been a part of your specific business before. Therefore, brand standards are so important, you have an already set expectation of how your business is going to appear and look on social media. Over time you will be able to give this person more and more responsibility as you begin to trust them with your business. In turn, they might start copywriting and keyword research, if they weren’t already hired to do so. Baby steps are important when figuring out your way for the first time, however, once you have started to gain that freedom it will be the stepping stone towards becoming a larger business.
When starting a business whether it is eCommerce or not, here are a few suggestions of who to hire first and why.
A graphic designer/brand strategist. Regardless of how many ads you run the first thing people see is your visual identity. A designer and strategist will help you narrow down what your target audience likes to see and how your content will get their attention. It’s not just about logos, it’s about the whole design package and the strategy used to make it successful.
A copywriter. Copywriting takes a lot of time and effort; this is very specific for captions and call-to-actions within your ads. Also, for all the written content on your website to get people to go through the actions you intend them to take. This is very important and will also be helpful for you if you are having articles on your website as well.
A web developer. If you are not using Shopify with simple plugins, we highly suggest that you hire a web developer/designer to help create a website map to help drive people to the specific goal you intend. Also, for all the back-end coding.
A photographer and videographer. If you have a physical product and you are just getting started a great way to photograph your product is using your iPhone and editing accordingly to create clean images. But if you want something more professional that is clean and can get your products a higher quality image if you are selling a tangible good it is great to get a photographer and videographer.
There are so many different tasks that can be filled with various job positions, however, when first starting and building your brand these were some of the key people needed to help launch your business. As you continue to grow, you might want to bring on some of these people full-time or freelance when needed. But the best part is these people will help make your dreams come true.
