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The Art of Delegation for Business Owners

Guest post by: Anne Bachrach

Article Overview: There will come a time in your business (for most business owners, this comes sooner rather than later) when you feel overwhelmed. You may find that you have too many tasks to accomplish without enough time to get them done. It is when you come to the realization that delegating the small or low-priority tasks to an assistant would make your life a whole lot easier, that it is time to do it.

The Art of Delegation for Business Owners

Delegation for business owners is a must-do for success! When you can hand over your administrative tasks and projects off to an able assistant or employee, you can focus on more important tasks that only you can do to grow your business and increase revenue. The art of delegation is an essential part of establishing a growing business. Why Delegate?

There will come a time in your business (for most business owners, this comes sooner rather than later) when you feel overwhelmed. You may find that you have too many tasks to accomplish without enough time to get them done. It is when you come to the realization that delegating the small or low-priority tasks to an assistant would make your life a whole lot easier, that it is time to do it.

Delegation allows you to eliminate the low-priority tasks so you can free up time to focus on the high-payoff producing tasks. Clearly, this can allow you to focus on increasing your revenue, and it can also free up time to center your energy towards expanding your business. When your business continues to grow, eventually reaching another plateau, you may find it necessary to hire more assistants or outsource more tasks.

Common Tasks to Delegate

• Answering Phones/Returning phone calls

• Sending/returning emails

• Performing research

• Bookkeeping

• Filing

• Scheduling appointments

• Website design and maintenance

• Some aspects of marketing

• Writing articles and blogs

Generally speaking, administrative tasks should always be delegated to an assistant. While answering the phone and responding to emails is important, your focus should be on the tasks that directly increase the growth of your business. For instance, your energy should be focused on conducting seminars, creating new products or services, networking, meeting clients and prospects in person, talking to strategic alliances or centers of influence, expanding into new markets, etc.

The common tasks mentioned in the above category should not require your attention. Hire an employee or virtual assistant to take full responsibility for their maintenance. These sample tasks are simple tasks that almost anyone can do, but other tasks that require a specific skill set should also be delegated to experienced professionals.

You may have a background in web design, and be capable of completing the task, but it's worth it to delegate. A professional website designer will get the job done right, in a timely manner, and make your website look professional while you can focus on growing your client list.

Questions to Ask Yourself

• Does delegating make sense for me to grow my business?

• Does my business have the revenue to delegate? If not now, when?

• How much time am I spending on tasks that are slowing my growth?

• What should I look for in employees/contractors?

• How would I feel to not have to do administrative tasks or things that don't directly relate to generating revenue and growing my business?

Big-name businesses didn't get to the point they are at today by the owners or executives doing everything themselves. They implemented the art of delegation when the time became necessary to take their business to the next level. Delegation for business owners is the ideal way to grow your business without having to take on more responsibility and sacrifice your personal time with your family. The bottom line is that delegation always makes sense.

First, look at delegation of tasks to someone as an investment and not an expense. If your current earnings as a business are only covering your business overhead and your personal expenses and not much else, unfortunately, you're not in the ideal financial situation to delegate tasks. However, sometimes it takes delegating to increase your revenue. Consider the investment in a person or people and do your best to find a way to make it work as soon as possible - for the sake of your business.

You have two options: hire an in-house assistant or enlist the services of a virtual assistant. Though having an in-house assistant may be convenient, keep in mind that you must pay employer taxes and might have to provide benefit packages in order to attract quality candidates. However, hiring a virtual assistant can be far more cost efficient. Not only are you free from paying taxes on their income, you can hire them for less money. Hiring a virtual assistant with experience can get more work done faster, in some cases, than an in-house or permanent assistant.

Finding a part time virtual assistant online is easily done and can cost as little as $10 per hour. One word of caution: you get what you pay for. Look for virtual assistants with experience or are members of a well-respected organization, such as the International Association of Virtual Assistants. An experienced virtual assistant with a solid reputation will usually cost a minimum of $20 per hour and as much as $70 per hour.

Implementing the art of delegation to your current business model can lead to an increase in business and an immense decrease in stress for you. Delegation for business owners is the single most efficient way to run your business without having to spread yourself thin. You don't need to hire an army worth of employees or contractors, just delegate the tasks that are hindering you from increasing your revenue! Do what you do best and let someone else do the rest

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  Delegation

Article Tags: business owners, delegate, delegation, virtual assistant



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