I’ll bet that you aren’t delegating as much as you should? If you’re a small business owner, you’re more than likely a perfectionist and a control freak. I am totally guilty.
The problem control freaks face is delegation. You know you should be delegating more. You know that delegating administrative tasks could help your business, let alone your work/life balance. You understand that you can’t grow your business if you’re busy with minimum wage tasks.
Small business owners can delegate more, yet most don’t delegate like they should. Why?
Money. Even though delegating work would allow you to make more money, you don’t delegate because you don’t feel like you have the money to spend.
If money is the issue, look for an college student who needs to complete an internship for course credit, or ask a family member to help out temporarily.
Control. Even though you know that someone else could get the job done right, you don’t delegate because they might not do it your way.
If control is the issue, decide what you must do and decide what you can live with if it is done differently or less than perfect.
Time. Even though you know that delegation would free you up to focus on bringing in more new business, you put it off because you don’t have the proper systems set up and you don’t want to take the time to train someone.
If time is the issue, look for someone who is already doing the job you want them to do for someone else. Tell them you don’t have a process in place and ask them to create a documented process for you.
If you can relate to one of the above statements – or all of them, don’t worry! I used to be in your shoes! The secret to successful delegation for me was to start small and take baby steps. I didn’t try to delegate all of my administrative work all at once. I started with one task at a time.
If you’re having trouble figuring out what you should delegate in your small business, here is a list of 132 things small business owners can delegate:
- Assembling Information Packets
- Assembling Press Kits
- Assembling Presentations
- Backing Up My Marketing List
- Backing Up My Website And Database
- Booking Guests For My Radio Show
- Booking Radio Show Interviews
- Booking Speaking Opportunities
- Bookkeeping
- Bookmarking My Content On Social Bookmarking Sites
- Checking My Mail
- Checking Voicemail
- Content Repurposing
- Coordinating Networking Events
- Copywriting Sales Pages
- Creating A Custom Tab For My Facebook Page
- Creating A Marketing Plan
- Creating A Procedures Manual
- Creating Forms
- Creating Information Products
- Creating Mailing Labels
- Creating Opt-In Boxes For Teleclasses, Webinars, And Special Promotions
- Creating Surveys And Questionnaires
- Customer Support
- Data Entry
- Deliveries
- Designing 3d Information Product Graphics
- Designing Ebooks
- Designing Home Study Systems
- Designing Marketing Materials
- Designing My Facebook Graphics
- Designing My Twitter Background
- Designing My Youtube Background
- Designing Online Advertisements
- Designing Special Reports
- Designing My Website
- Designing My Business Cards
- Designing My Powerpoint Presentations
- Designing Flyers And Handouts
- Distributing Press Releases
- Fixing Broken Links And Creating Redirects
- Follow Up
- Document Formatting
- Email Newsletter Formatting
- Gathering Testimonials
- Grocery Shopping
- Housekeeping
- Invoicing Clients
- Keeping Track Of Meeting Minutes And Documentation For Legal Entities
- Laundry
- Maintaining My Database
- Making Bank Deposits
- Making Travel Arrangements
- Managing A Product Launch
- Managing Advertising Efforts
- Managing Client Appreciation Campaigns
- Managing Google Adwords And Pay Per Click Advertising
- Booking Guests For Teleseminars
- Managing Link Building Campaigns
- Managing Monthly Marketing Promotions
- Managing Affiliate Marketing
- Managing My Blog Feed
- Managing Contacts
- Managing Domain Names
- Managing My Facebook Page
- Managing Joint Venture Projects
- Managing My Marketing List
- Managing My Podcast
- Managing My Team
- Managing Onsite Sales At Events
- Managing Printing Of Marketing Materials And Handouts
- Managing Teleclasses
- Managing User Names And Passwords
- Managing Webinars
- Media Relations
- Moderating Blog Comments And Deleting Spam Comments
- Optimizing Social Media Profiles
- Optimizing My Website
- Optimizing Videos
- Organizing Files
- Paying Bills
- Payment Processing
- Payroll
- Picking Up The Dry Cleaning
- Planning Logistics For My Events
- Posting Evergreen Content Posts To My Social Networking Profiles
- Preparing Handouts
- Preparing Powerpoint Presentations
- Processing Affiliate Payments
- Project Management
- Proofreading
- Publishing Blog Articles
- Publishing Videos On Youtube
- Purchasing Office Supplies
- Putting Together Proposals
- Reconciling Bank Accounts
- Registering New Domain Names
- Research
- Researching Statistics And Facts For Articles And Presentations
- Reviewing And Creating Website Analytics Reports
- Reviewing Potential Haro Opportunities
- Scheduling Appointments
- Screening Email, Deleting Spam Messages, And Responding To General Inquiries
- Sending My Email Newsletter
- Sending New Estimates
- Sending Thank You Notes
- Sending Holiday Cards
- Sending Client Appreciation And Thank You Gifts
- Sending My Email Newsletter
- Setting Up My Email Marketing Account
- Setting Up My Shopping Cart
- Setting Up Social Networking Accounts
- Setting Up Social Bookmarking Accounts
- Submitting Articles To Article Marketing Sites
- Technical Support
- Tracking Shipments
- Transcribing Audio Recordings
- Transcribing Videos
- Typesetting
- Updating My Resume
- Updating My Social Networking Profiles
- Updating Website Content
- Video Editing
- Working With A Fulfillment House
- Writing Articles
- Writing Autoresponders
- Writing Blog Posts
- Writing E-Books
- Writing Press Releases
- Writing Social Media Posts
- Writing Special Reports
- Yard Maintenance
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Jennifer, loved this blog post! Great points as to where business owners are overwhelmed, but reluctant to get the support they need to grow their business and bring balance between work and leisure.
Brenda Violette
Online Business Manager
VBS Online Business Management
Glad I saw you share this list on Twitter. I’ve been practicing the art of delegation and find myself “taking things back” if they are not done right. The real balance (and freedom) comes in allowing others to do things a different way and not to stress if delegated tasks are not “perfect.”
Thanks for expanding the options of items we can take off our plate!
Dana – OMG, me too! I struggled with the “taking it back” part of delegation for a long time. I’d say just in the last six months have I really embraced true delegation – where I let someone handle it their way, and as long as it gets done, I’m happy… What a difference it has made. Now I just need to do it more often!
Hi Jennifer!
Great post – and the list certainly gave me some ideas of things that I can start delegating! :)
I haven’t been delegating at all, but it’s in the works for January to start hiring out some of the stuff that I don’t need to personally be doing. I’m looking forward to getting some things off my plate and having someone else handle them! ;)
Jess – WooHoo! New ideas are good! I think we all struggle with delegation. I know that there are things I am doing right now that I most definitely should NOT be doing. But for me it’s baby steps – and it works :) Much easier for me to delegate home stuff vs business stuff.
Great List. I have just discovered the joys of delegating and my business has literally tripled within a month. It takes some getting used to, and you definitely have to let go a bit – but its worth it.
Jennifer,
I would love to use this article as a handout at an expo booth. May I have your permission to do that? Do you have a pdf version that includes your contact information? Thanks so much!
Deb
Deb – Thank you! Of course you are welcome to use the article (as long as this URL is cited as the source) and I definitely can provide the article as a PDF! I’ll contact you by email to send it over. -Best Wishes, Jen Bourn
What an awesome post. I delegate some things, but I know that I can continue to expand on what I can get off my plate. My battle has always been that I’m able to do it faster than others and that has bothered me. But, I know that isn’t the point, the point is I could be working on more money generating things… okay off to revisit the list and get some stuff off my plate!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by jenniferbourn and In Your Shoes, Brenda Violette. Brenda Violette said: RT @jenniferbourn: New Post: 132 Things Small Business Owners Can Delegate http://goo.gl/fb/vIflk. Thanks for a great post! [...]
Great List. I have just discovered the joys of delegating and my business has literally tripled within a month. It takes some getting used to, and you definitely have to let go a bit – but its worth it.
Jennifer, loved this blog post! Great points as to where business owners are overwhelmed, but reluctant to get the support they need to grow their business and bring balance between work and leisure. Brenda Violette Online Business Manager VBS Online Business Management
Jess – WooHoo! New ideas are good! I think we all struggle with delegation. I know that there are things I am doing right now that I most definitely should NOT be doing. But for me it’s baby steps – and it works :) Much easier for me to delegate home stuff vs business stuff.
Jennifer,
Thank you for sharing a well needed article with small business owners. I’ve recently opened a Contemporary Art Gallery and mistakenly tried to do everything myself.
With your advice I have hired a publicist and an art director to help take the gallery to the next level.
Warmest regards,
Carla