Do you find yourself doing tasks you’re not good at, you don’t enjoy, and that aren’t your best use?
Are you a bookkeeper, IT specialist, CEO, customer service agent, project manager, social media planner, janitor, often all on the same day?
As entrepreneurs, we tend to throw our hearts and souls into our work, performing every job as required and filling all the roles. Result? We are buried in never-ending to-do lists.
Having to wear all the hats is hardly unusual, especially at the beginning. But at some point, it becomes contra-productive. If you don’t pass a few of them, you’ll never break out the habit of working in your business so that you can work on your business.
Why Wearing All the Hats Does More Harm Than Good
When you work a 16 hour-day on ten different things at once, you are too tired to think and too busy to do what you need to do. Consequently, your results become inconsistent; you sometimes overlook important things and struggle to accomplish your priorities.
Yes, you can do anything, but you cannot do everything. And if you try to do so, you will end up working way too hard.
“You can easily hustle and grind, but it’s so overestimated. You can harm yourself in that process and forget what you actually want to do. The reason why you do what you do is to deliver results and make an impact. Doing everything could mean that you’re not making the impact you’re supposed to be making. “
Raoul van Heerden
When we live every day with disorganization, discontent, and dissatisfaction, it’s nearly impossible to move the business forward. Let’s dig a little deeper into this problem with the fragment from episode 2 of the eCom Independent podcast:
Ivana: The cost of doing everything myself has become too high. It’s not only about taking additional workload. I want us to thrive as a team, have more stuff done, try more new things. And make sure that all our projects are scaling and succeeding in all possible ways. Having extra people is necessary for those goals.
Raoul: We’re hiring now as well. It’s the first time we hire somebody for an almost full-time position. Before that, we outsourced a couple of stuff. But we should outsource almost everything. Seriously. I’m still tweaking ad copy myself. I like to do that now and then, but it doesn’t make sense.
If I want to expand my business, I shouldn’t be doing the same things I’ve been doing for ten years. I should do different things and grow as well.
I don’t say you should lose all the touch with the common ground. You should still be in touch with your business and your niche. Make your hands dirty from time to time. But many things can be automated – there are scripts, automated rules in Google Ads, and so many tools. And you have to know what could or should be done by somebody else. I still find stuff I should delegate.
I think the need to wear all hats comes from a place of fear/control.
Ivana: Oh, my God. Yeah. In terms of campaigns, I’m a control freak. It’s so difficult for me to let go and allow someone to do it. I let the person do the ads, and when I look at them, I say something like: “I would do it in 15 different ways. Why would you do that? “
Raoul: I think fear holds us back.
Ivana: Yes. But, we have to wonder – is the best use of our time, writing ad copies,? Or should we write a clean and clear procedure about how good ad copy should be done and transfer it to someone on a lower level in managing campaigns so we can focus on the big picture, strategies, and new directions?
Since we are so long in business, it’s tempting to say: “I will do the ads. I will set this up. I will do this and that, as that is easier and more quickly. “And before you know it, it’s already noon, you finished 15 tasks, and you’re exhausted. Where is the growth there?
Raoul: Yeah, I think you’re right. If you’re a business owner, don’t do the work that a business owner shouldn’t be doing. “
Now, How to Take off a Few Hats?
First of all, follow Raoul’s advice and apply Ivana’s fun technique:
Raoul: It starts with awareness; journaling helped me a lot. Do a weekly review of your to-do lists – write all the things you have done. Then ask yourself questions like “Should I’ve been doing this to grow my company? “and “What & how can I do this differently next time? “.
Ivana: Additionally, you can take a notebook and split each page into six squares. If you have five or six working days per week, you need to be fair to yourself and write down everything you are doing. There’s no point in feeling guilty. As Raoul said, it should come from awareness – visualize what you are doing from week to week.
Also, I don’t ask myself how I feel about some tasks because I know that I could lie and say, “I’m rocking at this, and I don’t want to let it go. “Instead, add an emoji – smiley or sad face. You don’t have to let go of control in some areas if you are not ready. But keep track of what makes you happy and what doesn’t and make space for essential tasks you enjoy doing.
The next (obvious) step is to outsource wherever is possible. Consider it an investment in your sanity and the financial health of your business.
Start with the hats which don’t fit because they’re not comfortable – find all those sad faces in your squares.
Is bookkeeping a drag for you? Hire an expert. If that person will save your time, identify potential savings, and keep you out of jail – isn’t that worth the monthly fee?
You know social media is essential for your business, but it’s not your thing? Find a social media manager.
Maybe you know a thing or two about process and procedures improvements, but it drives you crazy to even think about it. And business plan updates? Ugh. Don’t ignore vital business activities because you don’t like them. Bite the bullet and hire experts.
Find help even for tasks you do enjoy if doing them isn’t the best use of your time. This way you can focus on broadening your business. You don’t need five-figures or six-figures to have a VA, yet having a VA might help you hit those marks.
In a nutshell, handing off some of your entrepreneurial hats can be challenging, but it’s necessary for your growth.
“This topic is very uncomfortable for lots of people, myself included. I would probably skip it because it’s not pleasant. And that kind of thinking is what is stopping you from growing further. Not just in terms of money, but also in any aspect of personal development. “
Ivana Petrović
Want to know more about how you can take off some of your hats and have more time for your business and yourself? Listen to episode 2 of the eCom Independent podcast!
