Is your business still a one-man band? Here’s how to know when you’re ready to hire some help.
It’s fun running a business on your own, but it does have some limits. If your long-term goal is to grow big then eventually you will need to hire someone. But when is the right time? Becoming responsible for someone else’s income can feel daunting. Hiring that first contractor can feel like a huge leap and many small business owners wait too long before making the jump.
These are a few signs you may be ready to hire some help, whether it be contractors for specific tasks (VA related things, a web designer, SEO help) or actual hourly/salaried employees.
You’re turning away potential clients. Do you have new clients knocking at your door but not enough time to serve them all? Are you constantly running out of stock on popular items? This is a big sign that you are ready to expand. You could hire an assistant to take on simple but time-consuming tasks so you can spend more time with your customers. Or maybe you need some sales people to help you sell your product/services. Figure out where the bottleneck is happening and consider hiring help to increase your client/customer capacity.
Your current clients are complaining. Are you getting emails from clients complaining things are moving too slowly? Or that the work quality is suffering? This is a sign that you have spread yourself too thin, and hiring someone to help could really make a difference.
You don’t have time for invoicing and paperwork. Constantly behind on paperwork? Delegating this to someone else will not only take the stress off you but will help keep you in your passion zone.
You’re feeling a major learning curve. It could be building your website, writing content, analyzing SEO, marketing, advertising or anything that you simply don’t have the skill set for. You could spend hours upon hours figuring it out on your own OR you could pay someone who already knows how to do it. Do you want to spend your time or your money? If you don’t have a certain skill that is vital to growing your business, it could save you a lot of time and even money to hire someone else to do it for you.
You are multitasking frequently and/or staying up until 2AM. Are you answering emails while on the phone with clients? Are you staying up until 2AMmore than a couple times a month? Hiring help could greatly improve your quality of life and help your business run more efficiently so you can be 100% present with whatever task you’re working on.
Craig Murphy who runs specialist web design company ALT Agency in Birmingham believes that when looking to hire a web designer you should not jump into signing any contracts with them. Whilst it’s very exciting working with a new web design agency, it’s important to define key items such as:
Will they be charging by the hour or per project?
How will your project be managed?
In what format do you need to deliver your brief to them?
How quickly can the agency respond to you submitting tasks?
It’s important to know these things before jumping into bed with any web design agency as it will save you headaches and a lot of time in the long run.
Do you resonate with 2 or more of these points? It might be time to bring on your first contractor or employee.
“You need a list,” they said. “The money is in the list,” they said. “You need an autoresponder,” they said. So you purchased an autoresponder; you added an opt-in box on your website; you have a couple of subscribers; now what?
Now, you sit down and plan out what you’re going to send to your list. The money is in the list ONLY if you stay in contact with the list. If you send out random emails every few months or every few years (yikes!) chances are you’ll have several unsubscribes and maybe even a few spam reports. Simply because you weren’t consistent in your communication and your subscribers probably don’t remember who you are or how they got onto your list.
Know Your Subscribers
Your subscribers should also be your ideal clients. You may have a few who don’t fit that ideal description and maybe they subscribed because something about your opt-in offer intrigued them but basically, speak to your ideal clients.
What do they need? What are their pain points right now, this minute? How can you help them? What products or coaching packages can they use in their lives right now?
Knowing the general details of your subscribers’ lives and their needs will naturally tell you what kinds of offers to make. Of course, offer your own services and products first but also investigate affiliate programs of products that compliment what you offer.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions
In this social media age, people are gung ho to offer opinions on absolutely everything, so don’t be afraid to ask open ended questions about what your subscribers need. This is market research and shouldn’t be construed as an invasion of privacy. You want to fill their needs and guessing isn’t a productive way to use your time.
Get Used to Planning
Consistency is key to developing loyal followers so plan your emails to correspond with your other content efforts during the month. Decide how often you will email your list then pick a specific day of the week. Mark it in your calendar so it’s official (yes, you should consider yourself a client). At the very least, tie in your weekly blog content with your email theme/offer or get adventurous and choose a monthly theme. Write it all down so nothing falls through the cracks.
Your Clients Want Your Content…Are Your Producing?
Email marketing is just one small part of content creation that every online business owner should be doing. If you’d like some more tips for creating content your clients want, join my free webinar, “5 Tiny Content Tweaks that Boast Big Benefits.” We’ll talk about how to create content, how to repurpose content, and mistakes to avoid when creating content. Don’t miss it!
Entrepreneurship is an exciting and rewarding lifestyle, but it can come with a cost.
“I feel like there is no such thing as weekends as an entrepreneur…the responsibilities never end.”
“Vacations use to be a break from work but now I have to bring it with me.”
“I haven’t fully unplugged in months.”
Can you relate?
Until I created functional systems and processes in my business, I felt like a hamster on a wheel.Running and bustling through each day with intensity and never getting a break. I would check one task off my list while simultaneously adding two or three more. It was craziness!
The average American worker is spending 14 hours a week JUST DOING EMAILS!
Imagine if you could create a system to streamline and automate that process so you could get the same work done in just 4 hours a week or less…
The following steps take some energy and thought to implement properly, but once they are set up, they will dramatically improve the efficiency of your business.
Not only that, but systems enable you to focus on what you LOVE in your business and also give you the freedom to unplug once in a while.
Here are 3 steps to implementing systems in your business:
Identify.Look for areas that are frustrating, take a lot of time, or are outside of your competency/skill realm.
Create processes.On paper, write down how these processes run currently in sequential order. Often this will show you immediately where time is being wasted, inefficient patterns, and where unnecessary bottlenecks are being created. Fine-tune the process until you have a numbered step process that is as simple and efficient as possible. Then determine whether this is a process you will run or one you will outsource.
Execute.Implement your processes immediately. There may be some trial and error, but you should be able to quickly polish the processes until things are running smoothly. You can take time weekly, monthly or quarterly to re-evaluate your processes and continue to improve them.
Investing time to create these processes may be scary at first, but will literally save you hundreds of hours down the road.
One of the biggest hurdles my clients face in scaling their business is learning how to delegate.
It’s tough, isn’t it? You have the vision for your company. You know what you want. It’s hard to just hand things to someone else and expect they’ll apply the same excellence that you do.
If you’re like most passionate entrepreneurs I work with, your business is your baby. You’ve poured your heart and soul into it along with blood, sweat and tears.
But each small business owner comes to a point where there is just TOO MUCH on the to-do list.They simply don’t have the capacity to do everything effectively so that their business can get to the next level.
And so they must learn one of the most vital keys of running any business…delegation!
It’s not easy at first but trust me, learning to delegate effectively is not only going to make your life more enjoyable but it might just be the key to 10x the success of your business!
Here are 5 tips to get you started.
#1 Figure Out What Tasks You Dread
What do you NOT enjoy doing when it comes to your business? Writing emails? Taxes? Payroll? Website stuff? Whatever it is, make a list of the tasks that drain your energy because you don’t enjoy them. This is your list of tasks to start delegating!
#2 Delegate Strategically
Each of your employees or contractors have different things they are good at. You’ll be surprised to find that the very things you hate the most are someone else’s passion zone. Take some time to hone in on the different talents/strengths of your team and arrange delegation of tasks accordingly. If you are missing certain skills in your company, it might be time to expand and bring in some new people.
#3 Give Clear Expectations & Instructions
When delegating a task to someone, communicate clearly and simply as possible. Make sure you know exactly what you want them to do, how you want them to do it and when you want it done. It’s a good idea to give these instructions verbally and in writing so that no one forgets details.
#4 Acknowledge & Appreciate
When you’re done handing off a task to someone, finish by acknowledging them for taking over. A simple “Thank you for taking this on, I’m so glad I have you on my team.” will help them to feel important and create more motivation for them to do the task well. Once they complete the task, always show appreciation. Employees who feel appreciated are much more likely to show excellence in their future work than those who feel undervalued.
#5 Create A System For Reporting Effectively
Create a clear system for who reports to who. You may be the one everyone reports to but there should still be a clear way for doing so effectively. If you stay on top of emails, an email might be good enough. But if you are fairly busy you might want to set up a different system by using an online organization program for businesses. The goal here is to create accountability so that tasks are completed in a timely and effective manner, and none slip through the cracks. If you don’t have a good system, tasks will start to slide and your company’s efficiency and follow-thru will suffer.
Once you pass even a few simple tasks to the right person, you’ll be amazed at how much of a difference it makes.
You’ll have more time to focus on what you LOVE in your business.
You will be able to reach business goals and milestones more quickly.
You will be able to make it to your kids soccer games on the weekends without being on your phone the whole time.
New, awesome ideas will come from employees that you wouldn’t have thought of on your own.
Marketing statistics tell us that it costs 6 times more to bring in a new client than to keep an existing one.
And a small 5% increase in client retention canincrease profits by up to 95%.
You knew customer retention was important, but did you know just HOW important they are to keeping your business profitable and staying within your budget? The numbers don’t lie!
Simply put, you are going to save and/or make a lot of money if you put a good amount of energy into people who have already invested in your brand.
So just what does it take to make peopleLOVEwhat you do and who you are as a company?
What will keep them coming back for more?
Here are4 strategies to create loyal customerswho not only love you but refer you to their friends:
#1 Surprise With More Than Expected
This is huge. If customers invest in your brand and get MORE than they expect, they will be very happy! Make sure your customer service is 150% awesome. Constantly give great value without attachments. Do whatever it takes to make your brand stand out as one that really cares about the client and isn’t just about the bottom line. If you consistently over-deliver, it will also help customers forgive small mistakes that are bound to happen (no one is perfect).
#2 Quality Over Quantity
Always always focus on quality over quantity. No one wants to be bombarded with 5+ emails a week from the same company. That is a sure way to lose subscribers. If someone invests in your product/company, treat them like you would any valuable relationship in your life. Give them quality over quantity. Offer them discounts and/or freebies as a way to thank them for believing in your brand. Show them what it means to be part of your community. Provide quality, valuable information/support/etc.
#3 Insert Emotion
A recent study found that 75% of consumers make buying decisions based on their emotions. Strong emotions are what make people remember certain events/people/places/things more than others. If your brand is emotionally engaging, people are going to remember who you are and when they need a service you provide, they will think of you. When they come to you this way and are also given incredible value in return, they will be more likely to recommend you and keep coming back.
#4 Ask For & Listen To Feedback
Another study found that when customers are unhappy, 96% will simply leave and take their business elsewhere. Only 4% actually bother to complain, leave a poor review or reach out to have their problem resolved. This means that every piece of negative feedback you receive should be treated as extremely valuable/important. Listen to what people are saying about you and make every effort to show them that their opinion was heard and action was taken. Reply to negative reviews and offer resolution.
These are excellent ways to retain customers/clients and create a lovable brand.
