Angela Henderson talks about how you can make the journey from being vital to the daily running of your business to building your business so that it can run smoothly while you aren’t there.
Recently I had Carl Taylor on my podcast, Business & Life Conversations, to talk about how to build your business so that it will work without you. In the podcast, he takes you through his framework for the different levels of business owner you can be. Here, I’d like to talk about how you can make that journey from being self-employed and vital to the daily running of your business, to building your business so that it can run smoothly while you aren’t there.
Building a business that will work without you
Automation
At the beginning of your business journey, you might feel as if you’re frantically trying to get things done while your to-do list grows longer by the day. You’re in a constant loop of trying to find work and then complete the work, repeating this pattern day in and day out. The way you can break this cycle is by introducing automation into your business.
Are there social media posts you can schedule? Could you start using email campaign software to help with your marketing? Is there any accounting software you could use to streamline your invoicing process? The basic idea is to look at any routine task in your business and try to cut down the amount of time it takes to complete the said task by automating it.
Outsourcing
There are some things you just can’t automate, which is where outsourcing comes in. We all have our strengths in business, and outsourcing is about recognising where a job could be done better by someone other than you. Whether it’s a copywriter, a social media manager, a web designer, virtual assistant, or any other type of service that you know you need help with, hiring some help will do wonders in your business.
People often hesitate before outsourcing as they don’t believe their business can afford it. The reality is that outsourcing will probably earn you more money than it costs you. Instead of spending all of your time doing jobs you aren’t that good at, you can focus your energy on the tasks you rock at, which will ultimately grow your business.
Working on your business rather than in your business
The basic idea of having a business that works without you is to free up your time so that you can work on your business more than in your business. This means ensuring that you aren’t needed for the day to day running of the business and instead can focus on the big picture problems and solutions.
By working on your business, you can grow your business quicker and expand into areas that you just wouldn’t have time for if you were busy working in your business.
Beware of boredom
Once you reach the stage of working on your business more than in it, make sure that you don’t get bored. A common issue that many business owners face when they start freeing up their time is they start to get bored. This is a problem as it can lead to you interfering in your business where it isn’t needed, overcomplicating things and breaking the processes that keep your business running without you. Learn to enjoy your free time and stop meddling.
Building your business to work without you will give you more time than you know what to do with. If you would like to learn more about this topic and Carl’s Four Stages of Removing You from the Business, check out my podcast episode Building a Business that Works Without You.
Have an awesome day,
Angela