This quote by time management expert, Peter Turla “Don’t be stomping on ants when you have elephants to feed” holds true for all SME business owners.
If you find that separating with your hard-earned cash as an entrepreneur difficult to do, perhaps it is time to stop and take a deep breath to rethink your strategy, as chances are that you have been flying solo for too long. A common mistake often made by entrepreneurs is that they are unwilling to let go and battle to delegate. Remember that delegation does not mean abdication.
Entrepreneurs, especially in the start-up stage of their business, usually find it hard to part with money to pay for wages and salaries; this encourages them to work unnecessary long hours in order to reap the financial rewards they set out to do. Positive client satisfaction is an understandable result from this mind-set, with the tendency to fly solo often becomes a habit resulting in many entrepreneurs struggling to keep up with growing business demands due to time constraints.
Business ideas and tips to give entrepreneurs the courage to start delegating:
- Giving out simply seems a bridge too far for many entrepreneurs with many having tried and failed.
- But for whatever reason it makes little financial sense for an entrepreneur to be bogged down with menial tasks that can be efficiently delegated.
- R1 000 per hour entrepreneurs are often found to be doing tasks such as administration including filling out their own tax returns which could probably be done in half the time by a trained accountant.
- DIY might save money, but has the solo flyer considered that using the time more effectively to pursue new business opportunities or improve existing business systems that fall within their jurisdiction? After all, time is money – spend this with vision.
- Business owners would be well advised to make a list of everything that they need to deal with on a day to day basis and to eliminate from that list all the specialised tasks that only they can do.
- The rest of the responsibilities should then be classified into ones that can be delegated immediately or ones that can be delegated only after staff training to avoid mistakes.
- Tasks falling into the former category are then delegated and reasonably monitored freeing up precious time for the entrepreneur to focus on what’s most important.
By implementing these very necessary business hints and tips, entrepreneurs will then be able to build a far more effective business.
