I was akin to Phil Knight, founder of Nike. In his autobiography Shoe Dog, Knight described the beginnings that led to the creation of Nike back to the time he, along with his college coach, constructed an entire laboratory in Knight’s garage to make rubber soles that were experimental (that ended up leaving the running coach of Knight with a persistent cough from inhaling the dangerous smoke from the burned rubber! ).
Knight had been selling boxes of shoes in his vehicle at a track meet and begging his parents to loan him additional funds to fund another quarter while flying between Japan every month to run the manufacturing facility and warehouse himself. Knight was without employees, only the business associate (his coach), who later left.
That’s pretty much how I described myself and my entire business during the first few months of my business. So I did everything myself: writing/editing content, recording/editing videos, designing my website, handling refunds/cancellations, running social media, managing ad campaigns, and doing my taxes (thank God, my wife helped with that – thanks, honey! ).
You may not have the tools to delegate at this point. That’s fine. George S. Clason in The Richest Man in Babylon: “This is the process by which wealth is accumulated; first in small sums, then in larger ones as a man learns and becomes more capable.”
This principle of money is an essential business premise. To achieve massive success, you must first show that you are capable through small-scale success.
The most enjoyable emails are the private messages I receive from my clients/readers, which make it all worth it.
But I’d wager that most emails are used only to make me feel stressed. I’m distracted; it worries me, makes me jealous, or wastes my time.
If you’re honest, I’d bet you’re in the same boat as you as well. I’m still able to manage the majority of my emails. However, I’m incredibly efficient with it. In the book The Four-Hour Workweek, Tim Ferriss suggests creating an automatic response to each email you receive, explaining that you check your emails every once (maybe twice) daily. This can help break the notion that you have to be available for emergencies and inform people that it is possible that you won’t get back to them promptly.
It is not a good idea to be distracted and lost in email. Some of the most accomplished entrepreneurs I know don’t even use their email. If they do, they have an email address for friends and family and a distinct business email that a third party controls.
There have been nary emails that I’ve received as a business owner ever that I am required to respond to quickly, at the moment. They can wait or be handled by someone else.
Editing Anything
If you’re reading this article, you’re a business owner. This means that you make things that benefit the world.
A significant and demanding element of creating something is editing it. Modify it, fix it until it’s just right. Being a full-time writer, I’m particularly acquainted with this. I’ve had to figure out how to assign edits, publishing, and promoting tasks; it’s too to handle and consumes my energy reserves.
After examining dozens of businesses and many kinds of content, including creating articles or podcasts, releasing video content, publishing on social platforms, making training courses, etc., I discovered that, in nearly every instance, the creator wrote the content and then sent the content to someone else to edit. In this way, the entrepreneur could continue to create content and use their expertise and experience to draw customers.
You know what they weren’t doing? Editing the entire thing after it was completed.
I went to the best-selling author and businessman Jeff Goins’ TribeConference a few years ago. Goins taught a theory that completely changed my outlook on writing. Goins claimed that most writers he had worked with would spend more time advertising their work than producing it.
Taxes and Bookkeeping
My wife joked with me the one day that 97 percent of people around the globe don’t have a position similar to mine.
In truth, it’s more likely than the amount. As an entrepreneur with several different income sources, managing my tax obligations and income can be a pain wrapped up in a mess. It’s very complicated, and, in my experience, I’ve tried to tackle it myself…it did not go as planned. You’re likely to face the same issue if you’re an owner.
I make money from several streams, such as book sales, affiliate links, online classes, training, freelancing, etc. I earn income through various payment funnels, including Stripe, PayPal, personal invoices (incoming and outgoing), checks and contracts, and more. It is way beyond an average wage and requires expert knowledge from an outside source.
The first time I tried entrepreneurialism, I earned about $20,000 using the abovementioned methods. My wife and I attempted to manage the tax and bookkeeping by using a service such as TurboTax and tracking everything on an easy Google spreadsheet.
It was a disaster! We didn’t know what we did. We spent more than we had to, and we weren’t sure that we were doing everything (or everything) correctly. If you have an official LLC or business license, this can get even more complex.
It would be best if you gave these things away as soon as you can. One of the essential advice I offer entrepreneurs is that you should focus on your core activities that generate income and will help grow your business every day.
The tax system and bookkeeping are not the responsibility of anyone’s tasks (unless an individual employs the accountant you’re working with or your tax expert). Assign these tasks to others, and you’ll feel much better.
In Conclusion
The top entrepreneurs in the world aren’t distracted by the task of doing something that they could easily let somebody else accomplish.
Entrepreneurs who invest most of their time performing vital work run the most successful companies. It’s work they can do, only work that is truly profitable and has a positive impact.
It’s not about knowing “how” to do something; instead, you must learn how to identify the “who” that can do it for you.
I understand that you may not always have the resources to give out. I sure didn’t.
However, the earlier you start delegating, your business will develop more quickly. When you focus on investing profits back into your company (instead of spending it), the cash will begin to flow in, and you can create something truly unique.