I’ve mentioned “delegation” as well as “outsourcing” already. They might seem like the same thing, but there’s actually a big difference between the two. Delegation means you’re assigning tasks to people who work for you or with you, such as your employees or your personal assistant.
Outsourcing means the task is done outside your organization, by someone who is not your employee but is available for hire. We’ll cover outsourcing in the next chapter. This chapter is all about getting the help you’ll need for everything you don’t outsource to other companies or to virtual assistants. If you’re using a virtual assistant, you’re outsourcing. If you’re using a personal assistant, you’re delegating. Delegating is “in-house,” and outsourcing is “out of house.”
If you’ll recall, in Chapter 1, I asked you to get out of your own way, and I said the only way you’ll be able to do this is to delegate as much of what you currently do to others as soon as possible. In my opinion, if you don’t develop this habit, you’ll never be truly free and take control of your time and your life. You simply can’t be all things to all people.
You must learn to…..
LET OTHERS DO WHAT THEY DO BEST AND GET OUT OF THEIR WAY AND DO WHAT YOU DO BEST…MAKE DECISIONS
You can’t do everything and get anywhere – no more than a rat running in a circular cage can ever reach a destination, no matter how hard he runs. I guess you could say, it’s delegate or die.
Have you delegated enough? Well, ask yourself, can you take time off and go on a vacation and have your business run without you
If you get sick and laid up for a month, will your business survive? IT TAKES A STORM IN ONES LIFE TO MAKE HIM RECOGNIZE THE SQUALLS. DON’T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF.
In 2009, I had a quadruple bypass. I was in the hospital for five days and then at home on strict bed rest, for a total of thirty days off work. Most brick-and-mortar businesses would suffer greatly or go out of business if the owner took off a month. Mine didn’t miss a beat because I didn’t have to be there. If you don’t feel you can take off a month and have your business run without you, perhaps it’s time to give more thought to delegating. I hope it doesn’t take a heart attack to make that a reality
Delegating frees up time, allowing you to play your proper role in your business: making decisions, generating new revenue sources, and focusing on the big picture. You can’t focus on the big picture if you’re always part of the picture.
The next question is, to whom do you delegate? Of course, the answer is going to vary greatly depending on the business or industry you’re in, but most businesses have the same types of tasks which have to get done day in and day out.
The most important person in your business, when you’re ready for him or her, is a personal assistant. Anyone running a business of any size needs a personal assistant. I wouldn’t be without one. In fact, I’ve always joked, when I check into the nursing home, I want my PA nearby in case I actually come back to my senses and have something I want to get done. The personal assistant is the absolute key to mastering delegation.
Since they’re so important, let’s start by answering a few questions concerning personal assistants and see how you might benefit from using one in your life and your business. First, when do you need a PA?
Well, my answer is, as soon as you can afford one and decide you want to be free. If you’re running a business which is generating more than a quarter of a million dollars a year in revenue, you need a PA. If you have other employees but don’t have a PA, a PA should be next on your list. Perhaps one of your current employees would be good in this position.
The first biggest question on everybody’s mind when considering a PA is, can I afford one? Well, let’s take a look at cost. You can get a good PA anywhere in America for between $30,000 and $45,000 per year. I’ll come back to what their qualifications should be in a minute, but I can tell you, I travel all over the country and $30,000 to $45,000 will hire a good person to do everything you need a PA to do.
Can you pay them more? Certainly, but you can also get them for less. There are a lot of folks out there right now looking for full-time jobs who have ideal qualifications to be personal assistants.
You might be thinking, “Well, gosh, that’s a lot of money.” Is it? It breaks down to about $3,000 a month. The bigger question is, if you hired a PA full-time, would the PA generate at least enough income to cover his or her cost? If the answer is “no,” then you’re certainly not ready for a PA.
However, I suspect by the time we get through with this conversation, you’ll realize the cost of the PA, while not irrelevant, becomes insignificant because having this person is so very important to your ability to grow your business. Nothing will go further in freeing you up from the minutia.
Do you have to have an office to have a PA? Absolutely not. My PA, for years, worked out of her home while I worked in an office. Today, my PA, Tish, works ten feet from me, but only when I’m in the office. Since I’m on the road so much, it really doesn’t make any difference whether my office is ten feet or a thousand miles away from her. The same task will get done by Tish.
With today’s technology and communication, you can be anywhere and have a PA anywhere, and I know a lot of people who have long-distance PAs. However, if you have an office, this is probably where you want your PA. I’m in an office and personally, much prefer my PA and other employees to be there with me. But again, in today’s virtual world, it’s not a requirement – just my preference.
What would a PA do for you? Well, let me first say what mine does for me, and then we’ll talk about what yours can do for you. Tish pretty much runs all of my businesses. That’s right. There is no business I have where she is not in communication with the principles. She plays a stronger role in some than in others, but she plays a role in all of them…
Absolutely the best advice. Thanks Ron!
Great advice 🙂 !!