I was just on Twitter, and saw this post: @HeathAll, RT @mombizcoach "Being capable of doing everything is the downfall of many mompreneurs. Focus on your top $-making skills & delegate the rest"
How true this is. I've often said it takes a village to raise a business, and yet so many solo entrepreneurs think small and stay small because they try to do it all themselves.
I have done it myself. I've had the thought, "Why pay someone else to do something I can do myself? I don't have any money to pay that person for their service, so I have to raise the money first. Until then, I'll just do it myself." Instead, I should have shifted my thoughts to say, "I could be making $100 an hour doing work, if only I wasn't entering email addresses into my database, which my assistant can do for $20 an hour." She can work for 5 hours for $100 and I can do billable work in the amount of $500.
I distinctly recall a conversation I had with a business buddy of mine, Todd Grant. Back then, Todd was the founder and CEO of New Territories, and I asked him at a networking event how his day was. He said, "Well, I didn't have much to do." Now, I knew his business was a $5 million company at the time, and I was shocked to hear he was idle. He explained that he had hired the right people, and he was assured that they were doing their jobs properly, and he had just found himself at a point where he had some breathing room in his schedule. I loved that.
When I decided to sell my share of my web marketing company a year before I actually did, I set about to train my very capable staff members to do the stuff I had been doing, because I knew I wasn't always going to be there. They did a better job of it than I did, and many times I found myself asking, "Why didn't I do this sooner?"
This time, I'm doing it right. My goal is to absolutely nothing. Just kidding! But only half so. I want everyone to do what they're good at, and I want to do marketing, which I'm good at.
I have hired an attorney, and an accountant. I have talked to a few event planners. I have handshake agreements to formalize with hairdressers, make up artists, dance instructors, art teachers, reiki masters, reflexologists, fitness instructors, inspirational speakers, videographers, photographers, limo drivers, conference centers, and many more. They will do what they do. I will market their services to our bridal parties. We will all make money. And, our girls will have the best bachelorette parties ever! It's a beautiful thing, a win-win-win, as they say.
Just because I can do it all, doesn't mean I should. (Not that I can in this case - I am a terrible dancer, artist, driver, etc.) But you get the idea. It will take a village to start Fresh, and I'm building it to be scalable from the beginning.
Because I know we're going to get big, fast. I'm a good marketing person! But I don't want to give up snuggle time with the kids in the morning or get stressed trying to juggle two kids and two businesses. I can't do it all, and I shouldn't do it all.
I just wish more mompreneurs would think the same way. If you're reading this, what one thing can you "outsource", or hire someone else to do for you? Maybe cleaning your house? Maybe sending that direct mail campaign? Maybe your bookkeeping? Think about it and make your move!
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