If you find yourself doing everything in your business and you’re not taking time for you or your family, it’s probably time to delegate.

Easier said than done, I know.🙄

I’ve been there, I’ve had the fearful thoughts “what if it doesn’t work” or even thoughts like “it’s faster if I just do it myself.”

But hiring an assistant is the best thing I ever did because it allows me to focus on big picture goals instead of getting stuck working in the weeds.

Here’s a list of some of the things my assistant has taken off my plate:

• Email support of all kinds
• Creating and emailing web galleries
• Handling retouching orders
• Creating a calendar for my weekly newsletters
• Managing affiliate marketing
• Database entry
• Record keeping
• Gathering analytical data
• Managing bookings, deposits, wait lists etc.

And so much more. Honestly, I couldn’t be as productive without one.

Don’t get me wrong, sometimes our fears are legitimate.

You may end up wasting time training someone who doesn’t work out. It happens to the best of us. None of us have crystal balls.

And yes it is time consuming at first to train an assistant but if you take the time now, it’ll definitely buy you time in the long run. Your future self will thank you.

The key🔑 is to have systems in place in advance.

If you’re thinking of hiring help, I suggest you start with step one.

Take the time to make a comprehensive list of everything you do in your business.

Then figure out which of the tasks on that list you’d like to delegate to an assistant.

Once you do that, it’s time to write out standard operating procedures (SOPs), a fancy word for how each of those tasks get accomplished.

Be as detailed as possible.

These SOPs will eventually become training notes that your assistant will refer to. I like to keep mine on Google drive so that we can both easily access it.

And ideally, the assistant you hire should already have organizational skills and should know how to use a project management tool like Monday or Trello to stay organized.

Next, week I’ll explain best practices for hiring so that you give yourself the best chance at hiring someone who works out well for you.