So many business owners coming to me looking to grow a business couch their request in terms of,

‘How can I find the time to do everything I need to do to take this business to the next level. I am so drowned with everything we do now, I just can’t see how to take on more.

And I just can’t find anyone to do the job I do now as well as I do it’.

Yes, it’s tricky.

Because after all the years of working with franchises, we know how hard it is to grow by creating new outlets which look the same, feel the same, deliver the same, all with the same great, successful service with a smile.

The easy answer is put in operations so people get the job done as specified. But it’s not that easy.

 The difficulty is getting systems in place that people will actually use. Even some of the big franchises who throw heaps of money at their ops have trouble with this one.

Basically, the answer is…

‘You can’t.

Not on your own anyway.

Because it’s all about people, starting with you’.

The first thing is to be able to give away control. Are you sure you’re hanging onto the work you do in the day to day because you can’t find anyone to get the job done as well as you? Or is the thought associated with an overwhelming feeling that you have to be in control. Not sure why, but you just know you must be in control of everything because it doesn’t work without you.

Step 1 Commit to leverage

Start by agreeing with yourself that you want to leverage yourself out of the day to day

But you can’t leverage yourself out of the business in a vacuum.

I agree, you have deal with the tasks you want to drop responsibly. You have two choices. Drop some completely because they are not that important anyway. Bring someone in to deal with other tasks in a way that satisfies you.

The question then is – which tasks to delegate and which to drop? You can only answer that by looking at your business as a whole and deciding what is important and stays and which of those tasks is good to delegate in the first instance and which will follow later.

Step 2 Rationalise your business purpose and structure against the wants of your ideal client

It’s amazing how much you can get rid of when you look at your business against your ideal client and a measure of what is profitable and what is not.

Check out my blog – Good systems – good for business?

Once you have a good idea where you want to take the business, you will be able to decide with more clarity what to start delegating and to whom.

Step 3 Plan the way ahead

Right now, what’s important to move on. What is your pathway to leverage going to be? How much cashflow and emotional energy do you have to manage change and training new help to get the job done?

Is it important first to give away some of the administration tasks you are buried in? Will automating some of these tasks or outsourcing help?

Or is it more important first to delegate some of the day-to-day sales and product delivery tasks which will begin to give you the business growth you are looking for?

Or is it most important to bring in some help to start preparing some of the foundation such as getting critical systems prepared so you can delegate with more confidence? This really is not a task you should be doing yourself. Business owners are notoriously the worst people to write their systems. They are too close to the job to get the big picture right and they never finish the job in a way that will be usable for the organisation. Choosing to do this task yourself is simply sabotaging the whole idea of leveraging yourself out of the business.

Choose someone with the skills in the business or bring in a staff member and give them the responsibility to get the task done with you help on priorities and policy and assistance from everyone else on the detail.

Once the pathway is clear you can start to move ahead.

Step 4 Implement your plan

One task at a time you will be able to move the things you do each day on to others who will be responsible for doing things your way. To begin with you will be moving yourself from working in the business to working really hard on the business.

And the day will come when even working on the business will not take so much of your time.

Then you bring one person in to help you go through a step-by-step process to create a system to let you delegate with confidence.