Can your business run without you?

You’ve probably heard the joke that entrepreneurs are the only people who would trade working 40 hours a week for someone else so they can work 80 hours a week for themselves.

That always gets a chuckle, but the truth is unless you can effectively replace yourself as you grow, not only will you be stuck grinding for hours on end, but you’ll also limit the potential of your business. Trust me I have been there. So I am going to be as straightforward as I can with you on this.

But you might be wondering, “But why would I want to take myself out of daily operations?” After all, you’ve created your brand and company from scratch through non-stop tireless hard work, often for wages you’d never consider if you were doing this for someone else, and you’ve poured your heart and soul into it.

Well, you have done excellent work, But you might probably have also wondered, Can this company run without my input?

Well, your answer is yes!

When you cannot juggle everything you thought you could, you will eventually realize that you cannot do it all on your own. However, you also worry that it might not be done in the right way or as expected. Perhaps your biggest challenge is that if you hand off tasks they won’t get done. The good news is that by creating systems, you can replace yourself and free up your time for what you’re really passionate about.

What is a system?

Most people mistakenly think a system is some slick piece of technology or something rigid that only big businesses need. But well-built systems can help any business by making the workflow smoother and giving owners more freedom. In its simplest form, a system is a combination of three key parts. Once you understand how these three parts interrelate, you can create a simple system for almost anything

Put Simply : Systems = People + Process + Tools

People — Who is responsible for doing the thing?

Process — What are the steps or guidelines they need to follow to get it done?

Tools — What do they need in order to complete the task?

If you’re missing any of these pieces or if they are not clearly defined, you’re going to end up doing damage control

Let’s take a look at a simple example:

Managing your calendar.

People — Your assistant.

Process — Outline when you want certain types of meetings, when you want your time blocked out for high-value activities, etc.

Tools — Your calendar or scheduling software.

Let us look at a more complicated example:

Managing customer service.

People — Virtual assistant or customer service rep.

Process — Clear documentation on what responses to use and when. Expectations about response time and how things get escalated and to whom.

Tools — Inbox, task management, or helpdesk software.

The key to replacing yourself with systems is to realize that all three of these pieces need to be in place. One common mistake many business owners and entrepreneurs make is putting effort into the people and the tools but failing to strengthen the processes.

Without that third piece of the puzzle, their system can’t function with high efficiency. Without a clear process, handing over tasks to someone else is always going to be difficult, no matter how good your people or tools are. Putting effort into creating clear processes takes your systems to the next level, saving you time down the line and making sure things don’t collapse when you aren’t around.

Learn to Delegate tasks

Delegating tasks is a powerful way of unburdening yourself from work that you may not be able to do on your own. Use that Super Power! Even if you are the best at it, You cannot juggle that task and run other things at the same time. The whole point of this article is to help you grasp one simple truth, we might or might not have figured out. If we are able to carry this formula with us, Then our lives will be so much better. and Oh what freedom we will have. Truly enjoying the fruits of our labor.