Latest / Online Business Tips: Mind Your Time / Business Tune-up Series: You Have Help, So Why Are You Still Managing Everything?

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Business Tune-up Series: You Have Help, So Why Are You Still Managing Everything? · Online Business Tips: Mind Your Time

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: You hired help so you wouldn't have to do everything yourself.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: So why are you still the one that's keeping track of the work, answering the questions, and making sure everything gets done?
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to imagine having clear responsibilities, processes people can follow, and more time to focus on the work that actually needs you.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: That's what we're going to be talking about in the Business Tune Up series.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: So over the next three episodes, we're going to take a closer look at some of the everyday situations that keep your online business depending on you more than it should.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm going to help you identify what's happening, understand why it's happening, and help you make practical changes to the way your business operates.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: So this is episode one, and we're going to start with a question that I think a lot of business owners need to ask themselves.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: You have help.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: So why are you still managing everything?
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get into it.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Online Business Tips, Mind Your Time.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Shannon Baker, your coffee-loving host and capacity system strategist.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: If you're an online business owner and too many questions, decisions, and next steps still come back to you, you're in the right place.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: On this podcast, we talk about what's happening behind the scenes of your business and the practical changes you can make so it doesn't depend on you for everything.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: So grab your cup of coffee or your favorite beverage and let's get into today's conversation.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: So today we are starting this series with a bit of a black coffee type of question.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: If you've been listening to the podcast for a while, you know what that means.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're new, that means we're going to have one of those conversations that needs to be direct and strong.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: So here's the question: Why are you still the one keeping up with everything in your business when you're paying other people to help you?
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: It could be you have a virtual assistant, someone who creates your content or manages your social media, graphic designer, someone who manages your website.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever the case may be, great job at recognizing that you need help and for hiring people to help you.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: But somehow you're still the one remembering what needs to happen, checking whether things have been completed, answering questions, and reminding people about deadlines.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not saying that you shouldn't know what's happening in your business because of course you should.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: But there's a difference between knowing what's happening and being responsible for everything and making sure it happens.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what I want to talk about today.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to welcome you to the Business Tune Up series where we're going to take a closer look at some everyday situations that can make running an online business more complicated than it needs to be.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: And we're not going to talk about burning your business down and starting over from scratch or overhauling everything in your operations every time something stops working.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: But what we're going to do is look at what's happening, identify what's causing the problem, and talk about practical ways that you can do things differently.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Because honestly, sometimes the problem isn't you need more help.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's just that the help you have is too dependent on you to keep things moving forward.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: And if that sounds familiar, then this conversation is definitely for you.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: So let me give an example of what I'm talking about.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's Monday morning.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: You sit down, you have a few things that you want to get done this week.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're working on a new service, preparing for client meetings, or you're finally going to make time to work on something you've been putting off.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: But before you get started, you remember there are a few things that are left open and you need to kind of follow up on these things.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: There's something someone that was supposed to send you that you haven't received.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: Then you remember you were supposed to send something to a client and you didn't do it.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: And then there's a project that you should have an update by now, but you don't.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: So you have no idea where things stand.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: So what do you do?
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: You open up your email, you look through your text messages and see if you've maybe missed the message, but you don't see anything.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: So you start sending out text messages because it's the quickest way for you to get a response.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: So one is, hey, I'm just checking on this.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: Another is did you get a chance to finish that?
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: Next, can you send me an update?
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: And then guess what?
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: The responses start pouring in.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: But someone needs your approval, another one has a question, someone didn't realize you needed that.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: Now you're answering those messages.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: So you're making decisions and you're trying to figure out what needs your attention first.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: So before you know it, a good part of your morning is gone.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: And the work that you actually need it to be doing, it's still waiting for you to do it.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the interesting thing about this situation is you have people that are supposed to be helping you.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: You've assigned them the work, but you're still responsible for remembering it, tracking it, and making sure it gets done.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the distinction that I want to want you to recognize today.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: Because delegating a task isn't necessarily the same as delegating the responsibility for completing it.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: See, when you delegate a task, you give someone something to do.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: But when that person takes responsibility for their part of the work, they understand what needs to happen, when it needs to happen, what information they need, and what to do next.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: But that doesn't mean they suddenly have authority to make every decision in your business.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: It means they shouldn't need you to manage every step of a process that you've already hired them to handle.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: And when that distinction isn't clear, you end up paying someone to complete work while you're still doing a significant amount of the work yourself.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: That's not the kind of help that we want to have.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: So let's use social media as an example because it's something a lot of business owners outsource.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: You've hired someone to help manage your Instagram account.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: You want to grow your audience, be consistent, and you want to make sure your content supports your growth goals.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I want you to picture two different scenarios.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: Now, in the first one, there's a fully established process.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: Your social media knows what they're responsible for, and both of you understand how the work is supposed to happen.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: So let's say you plan your content out a month at a time.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: You've agreed that your social media manager will send you the following month's content by the 20th.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: You'll review it and you'll give feedback within three business days.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: So they know where to find your brand assets, your content ideas, any photos you provide, and all the other information that they need to prepare that content.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: So when the content is ready, they let you know what's ready for review.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: You give them feedback, they make necessary changes, and once you've approved everything, they schedule the post.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: So when it's time to start preparing the next month content, they already know what to do.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's rinse and repeat.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to remind them to get started.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to ask when the content's going to be ready, and you don't have to keep checking whether or not the posts have been scheduled.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: You still have a role in the process because you're reviewing the content, you're giving direction, and you're making the decisions that require your input, but you're not responsible for keeping the entire process moving.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: So now here's the second scenario I've seen.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: You've hired someone to create your social media content, but you haven't really established how the work is supposed to happen, and they don't manage the process either.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: There's no consistent deadline for when content is going to be ready.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: You haven't agreed on how much time you have to review it.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: There's no process for what happens after you approve it.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: So now it's Monday, and you realize you haven't seen any content for the week.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: So you send a message asking, hey, are the posts ready for me to review for this week?
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: And they tell you that they're working on them, but they need a few things from you first.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: So now you're scrambling, searching for information, answering questions, trying to get everything together so they can finish the content for your review.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: A few days later, the graphics and the captions come through and you look them over, you request a few changes and you send them back.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: Then you have to follow up again and make sure that everything was scheduled and the updates were made.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: And before you know it, you're spending time every week checking on work you hired someone else to manage.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: Now here's what I want you to notice.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: In both situations, you've hired someone to help with your social media.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: And in both situations, you're still involved in reviewing and approving the content.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: But in the first scenario, the process keeps moving smoothly because everyone knows their responsibilities, the expectations, and deadlines are in place.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: And the second scenario, the process depends on you because those things have not been clearly established.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: And that is a huge difference.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: Now I want to be clear about something.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: This doesn't automatically mean you've hired the wrong person.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: They may be doing exactly what you hired them to do.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're a social media manager or you're a content creator listening to this episode, I want you to understand that having an established process for how clients provide you information, review content, and approve the content should be a part of how you deliver your client experience.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: But as the business owner, you also have a responsibility to communicate your expectations and make sure the person you hired has what they need.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: That's where clarity comes in.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: Does the person you've hired understand what they're responsible for?
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: Do they know what a completed task looks like to you?
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: Do they know when something needs to be done?
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: And do they know which decisions require you to be involved?
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: Because when those things aren't clear, people fill in the gaps however they can.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes they'll make assumptions, sometimes they'll wait.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes they come back to you with questions that you probably already answered.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: So you may have a capable person doing the work, but the way you're working together still requires you to manage too much.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: So the issue isn't the person, sometimes it's the process.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: And this is actually one of the things that we look at during an operations reset.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: Because when someone tells me that they've delegated work, but they're still spending a lot of time managing everyone and the work, I want to know what they've actually handed over and how they did that.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: Because sometimes they've delegated the work, but they're still responsible for figuring out what happens next.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: They're answering too many questions and they're making sure everything stays on track.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a gap we need to fill.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what we need to identify before we decide what to change.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: Now here's something else I see quite often.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: If you've been running your business for a while, you basically know how to do everything, where everything lives.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: You know what needs to happen before something gets sent to a client.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: You know what details matter because you've been doing this long enough to recognize things automatically.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: But here's the problem with that.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: All the information is still in your head.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: So you haven't necessarily written it down or shared it with the people helping you.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: So when someone needs that information, they come to you.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: And most of the time you have the answer.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: Because answering the question, it takes about two minutes.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: That's not that much time, right?
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: Documenting the entire process, though, that might take you 15 to 20 minutes.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: And when you've already got a jam-packed schedule, you don't want to stop what you're doing to create some instructions.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: So you answer the question and move on, or you do it yourself.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: Then the next week, another question comes up and it's rinse and repeat in this horrible cycle.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: Guess what?
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: No matter what, you're the answer, but you're also the bottleneck.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: So after a while, this becomes a normal way that work gets done, which means it doesn't get done.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: And when you've got three or four people working with you, all of those questions add up.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: And every time you stop to answer one, you're interrupting the process for you to complete something else.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's why I tell business owners to pay attention to the questions people are repeatedly asking you.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: If someone asks you where to find something, maybe that information needs a consistent home that can be accessed.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: If they're asking you what to do next, then maybe your process isn't clear.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: And if they're always checking to see whether or not they can make a decision, you probably haven't established what they're allowed to handle independently.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: So the next time someone asks you a question you've answered before, I want you to think about why they needed to ask the question.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: Was the information missing or was the responsibility unclear?
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: Was there genuinely a decision that required your involvement or not?
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you keep answering the question without addressing what's causing it, you're going to keep getting the same question.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to encourage you to try something different instead.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: The next time someone asks you a question you've answered before, don't just think about the answer.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: Think about why it came to you in the first place.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: Is information missing?
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: Is the responsibility unclear?
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: Or is the process missing or not as good as it should be?
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: Was this genuinely a decision that only you could make?
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: Because all of these scenarios don't all require the same solution.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: And that's something that I pay attention to during an operations reset.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: Because before we start creating instructions or changing a process, I want to understand why the same questions keep coming back to you.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: Because the solution might be better documentation, clearer responsibilities, or giving someone the authority to make certain decisions without checking with you first.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: And we need to identify which problem we actually need to solve.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: So now we've talked about a few scenarios.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: I want to look at this from another angle as well.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: What happens when someone you've hired isn't available?
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Because this is a big one no one thinks about.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: It could be they're on vacation, they could be sick, or they could have decided to move on to another opportunity.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: What I'm seeing a lot more is this person you've hired has a day job and you're part of their side gig, but their day job, their responsibilities have increased.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: So the time they have for you has decreased.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: So what happens to the work that they normally handle?
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: Can someone else step in and figure out what needs to be done?
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: Or does it come back to you?
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: This is one of those situations that really reveals how dependent your business is on one person.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: And unfortunately, sometimes that person is you.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: But in this scenario, it could also be the person you've hired.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: So let's say your virtual assistant handles your client onboarding.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: So they know what information needs to be collected, what emails need to be sent, and how to set up the new client in your system.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: They've been doing it for months or years, and everything seems to be working fine.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: But an emergency comes up and they're unavailable for a week.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: And in that week, you get a new client.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_00: So now what?
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: Well, is there a checklist that someone else can use?
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: Are there email templates stored that someone else can access and use?
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: Does someone else know which forms need to be sent and where the completed information goes?
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: Or do you have to step in and figure this all out on your own?
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: Because if the process only exists in your virtual assistant's head, you haven't created a reliable business process.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: You've created a dependency on someone else that isn't you.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: And that dependency, it may not become obvious until the person isn't there.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: And that could be detrimental to your business.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where structure becomes important.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not because every business needs a complicated operations manual.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's not because you need to spend weeks documenting every little thing either.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: But it's because the work that happens repeatedly in your business, it should not depend entirely on one person's memory.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes structure is a checklist, a shared folder with clearly labeled documents.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: It can even be a short video showing how something gets done.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: And then sometimes it's simply having an established sequence of steps that everyone on your team understands.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: The level of documentation you have for your business operations, it should make sense for the work.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: And you don't need a 15-page procedure for something that can be explained in five steps.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: But you do need enough information for the work to continue without someone having to reinvent the wheel every time it needs to get done.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: And here's something else to consider.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: When you document a process, you're not just preparing for the possibility that someone might leave.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: You're making it easier for the person currently doing the work.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: Let me explain why.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's because they don't have to rely on their memory, they don't have to search through a bunch of old messages, and they don't have to come back to you every time they forget a detail or a step.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: That is efficient for both of you.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: Now I want you to connect all of these examples because there's something they have in common.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: In the social media example, the person may not have a clear understanding of the ongoing workflow.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: And the repeated questions, information, decision-making, authority scenarios, things probably are not clearly communicated.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: And then the client onboarding example, the process may exist, but it hasn't been documented in a way that allows someone else to follow it.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: They're all different situations, but they point to three things I believe every business owner needs to pay attention to.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: That's clarity, boundaries, and structure.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: These are three pillars that I come back to when I'm looking at how a business operates.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: So let's break them down individually.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: First, when I say clarity, I mean do people understand what they're responsible for?
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: What needs to happen, what your expectations are.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: If you've hired someone to manage something specific, you should not have to redefine that responsibility every week.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: Now, of course, priorities change and new situations come up, but the basic expectations should not be a mystery.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's also talk about boundaries.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: When I say boundaries and business operations, I'm not just talking about when someone can contact you.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'm talking about the boundaries around responsibility and decision making.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: What can someone handle independently?
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: When do they need your approval?
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: What should they do when something unexpected happens?
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: And at what point should a situation be brought to your attention?
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: For example, maybe your virtual assistant responds to routine client scheduling questions without having to check with you.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: But if a client requests a change to the scope of their project, that's something you need to review.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's a boundary.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: It gives the person helping you room to do their job while making it clear when your involvement is absolutely necessary.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: And the third thing let's talk about is structure.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's how the work gets done.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: That is the steps, the systems, the tech tools, the schedules, all the information that makes a process repeatable.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_00: When you have clarity without structure, people may understand what they're responsible for, but they will still struggle to get it done consistently.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: But when you have structure without clear boundaries, then people know the steps, but they keep coming back to you for decisions.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: And when you have boundaries and structure without clarity, people may still be confused about who's responsible for what.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: So you have to have all three because they work together.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: And no, getting them in place does not mean you'll never have to answer another question.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: It also doesn't mean you'll never have to check on a project, but it will reduce the number of times that work stops because someone is waiting for you to give them an answer or to tell them what to do.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the difference.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: You're still leading your business.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: You're just not personally coordinating every step of all the work that has to be done.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: Now, here's why this matters beyond the day-to-day frustrations.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to think about the work you've been saying you need more time to do.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: I refer to this a little earlier in this episode, whether it's developing that new service, maybe writing a book, creating a course, or even building better relationships with potential partners for collaborations.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe you just want more time to work directly with your clients.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever it is, even if it's personal, like you want to take an afternoon off and have uninterrupted time to think about where your business is going and decide what's going to happen next.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever it is, how often does that work get pushed aside because something else needs your attention?
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: And how much of that something else, and I say that in air quotes, is work you've already hired someone to handle.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I'm in no way suggesting that every interruption could be eliminated because that's not realistic.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm also not suggesting that you remove yourself from your business.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: There are decisions that genuinely Genuinely require your experience, judgment, and expertise.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: But everything happening in your business doesn't require those things.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes someone just needs information, a clearly defined process, where they need to know that they're allowed to make a decision without checking with you first.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: And when those things aren't in place, you're using time that could be spent on work that actually needs you.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: So before you decide you need another assistant, another software platform, or another productivity tool, take a look at how the work is already being handled.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: Because adding another person to a process that isn't working doesn't fix the process, it makes it worse.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes it just gives you another person to manage.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm sure that's not what you had in mind.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: So here's what you can do.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to keep this simple because I don't believe every operational issue requires a major project.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to set a timer for five minutes.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: Think about one responsibility you've already delegated, not something you want to eventually delegate in the future, something someone else is already being paid to handle.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: And ask yourself, what am I still doing to make sure this work gets done?
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: Pick one thing and ask yourself what would need to change so that person can handle more of the responsibility without constantly coming to you.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you need to establish recurring deadlines.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you need to put instructions in a shared document.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you need to clarify which decisions require your approval.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe you just need to have a conversation about what you actually expect the person to manage.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: No matter what it is, here's the important part.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: Don't turn this into a project to fix everything in your business.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_00: Just identify one place where you've delegated the task, but you're still managing the process.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: Because once you recognize what it looks like in one area, you're probably going to start noticing it in other areas too.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: And that gives you a practical place to start.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if you're listening to this and you're realizing that you're still spending way too much time managing work you've already delegated, that's exactly the kind of problem we can work on together inside the operations reset.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's a 14-day done with you experience where we focus on one specific problem in your business operations and work on making a practical change.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe someone on your team keeps coming back to you for instructions or you're constantly checking whether something's been completed.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to look at what's causing that and then identify what needs to change so you're not personally managing every step.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: And you don't have to figure out the solution before you book that 14-day reset.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: You'll just answer a few questions when you schedule it, and we'll use those answers to determine what we need to focus on.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: There's a link for you to book that operations reset in the show notes.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: Now, there's another side to this conversation that I also want you to think about in the meantime.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_00: Because even when you have people helping you and you've started putting better processes in place, you can still struggle to make time for the work that actually requires your expertise.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_00: Because having time available on your calendar and actually being able to use that time are two different things.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: So in episode two of the Business Tune-up series, we're going to talk about how you can make time for the work that only you can do in your business.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: So until then, remember to mind your time because your time is accessible, but it's not open access.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for spending part of your day with me.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_00: If something in today's conversation made you think differently about how your business is operating, don't stop there.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: Decide what needs your immediate attention and take one small step to change it today.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_00: You'll find resources in the show notes to help you keep going, and when you're ready for more support, we can work together.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: And remember, your time is accessible, but it doesn't have to be open access.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, keep calm and streamline.