“Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.” -Jessica Jackley.
When you start a business, there is little time and so much to do. But what if we told you there is a way to use your time wisely and avoid unnecessary stress? Tessa Ashford, Director of Marketing, and Leticia Garcia, Marketing Coordinator at IdeaPros, share seven tips to help you efficiently delegate and banish your business overwhelm.
Before You Start
Ask yourself if you are supposed to be doing what you’re doing, or can you use your time better? Your time is more valuable than most of the tasks on your to-do list. Focus on income-producing activities (IPAs), like building relationships, networking, or anything that will get your product or app in front of more people. But the question is how to do it, and where do you begin? Here are seven tips to help you hire the right help and delegate the work:
Tip #1- Be Clear About Expectations
The first thing is to decide if the task is a priority and the deadline. Then you can reschedule the existing work to focus on priorities. You should know what the task is. If you already have a template for a specific project, share it with the person supposed to do the job. It will make their life easier. The next thing is to be clear on how long the task should take because a misunderstanding can be expensive. Maybe you think it will take 2 hours, but the person spends 24 on it trying to make you happy. Give them clear instructions and ask them if they think they can do it in that amount of time.
“If you’re only giving them two to three hours then they understand that that’s not gonna be beautifully polished when it comes out.” – Tessa Ashford
Tip #2 – Maintain Clear Communication
You wouldn’t be delegating if you had more time. But, no matter how busy you are, find a time to meet and talk. You can use Zoom or a Slack channel to keep in touch. When you say the deadline is March 4th, define if it’s until the business day or till midnight, so they can organize their time around it and deliver on time. If you are a micromanager, this will be one of the hardest things you ever do in your whole life because you have to trust that somebody else can get these things done.
“You cannot scale or grow until you’re willing to trust somebody else to accomplish something on your behalf.” – Tessa Ashford
Tip #3 – Do a Test Project
You can hire multiple people and figure out who is the best fit for you. Whether they’re in the same time zone, have a similar personality to yours, or whatever is important to you. It’s a good idea to use the same test projects across more people, as it gives you an apple to apple comparison, and you will still get stuff done. Treat the people well from the beginning, as you want to build the relationship off the bat.
Tip #4 – Be Realistic
Until you know someone and work with them, there will be a lot of ups and downs. Also, someone can do a task differently than you would do it, but the point is it still got done. Be open and prepared for errors, but look for people who take ownership over their mistakes.
“It’s difficult to have a good working relationship with someone who’s always projecting blame.” – Tessa Ashford
Remember, as a manager, you are the one who could have done something better. Ask yourself if you communicated the deadline well if they didn’t hit it. Mistakes will improve your process, and you’ll become better at delegating with time.
Tip #5 – Find Problem Solvers
Don’t look for task doers, look for problem solvers. Tell them to think about a problem before and offer a solution. Even if it’s not the right solution, the initiative is always appreciated.
Tip #6 – Encourage Questions
You want proactive people who are not afraid to ask for help and additional explanations. Let them know there is no stupid question and they can ask you anything, as this will save you time and money. If you are too busy, attach another person they can reach out to.
“If you have terms in your industry, make sure you have a little-term sheet they can turn to for clarification, especially if they can mix them with something else.” – Tessa Ashford
Tip #7 – Understand The Power Of a Specialist
When you hire specialists, it’s often more expensive, but their industry experience is valuable. Before you do so, check Indeed for job descriptions and what the world thinks that person does, and then go and search for them.
Where to Find Help?
Magic is one of the services where you can get something done for as little as $10 per hour. Their text service is $25 per hour. You text them, and they get the task done.
The other one is Fancy Hands, where five requests cost $30 and are 20 minutes long. You can see how much time you’ve saved, set up recurring tasks, and use it for both personal and business errands.
On platforms like Upworkand Fiverr, you can find people to help you with different areas. Upwork does your tax forms, lets you set a bidding task, and you pay weekly – nothing goes upfront. Fiverr is for smaller projects, and it takes a bit more time than Upwork, as they need to approve the work.
At onlinejobs.ph, you can find people from the Philippines to help you with your tasks.
Are you feeling more empowered to bring team members now?
The “Idea Pros” at IdeaPros have the resources, experience, and tools to help you at this step or any step in the entrepreneurial journey. We partner with entrepreneurs at any stage and who are ready to invest their ideas. Apply for an interview and let’s explore partnering together.