A common mistake business owners make is not managing their use of time effectively. Entrepreneurs fall into the superhero syndrome very quickly and think that have enormous super powers to do everything themselves. They slowly begin to focus on tasks just because they need to get done or perhaps it is just easier to do it yourself rather than take the time to train someone.

This is the time trap and needs to be avoided. There are only so many hours in a day and you need to focus your time on the task s that will yield the greatest result and outsource or delegate the tasks that don’t provide a large return. It is all in the math. If your hourly rate is $ 150/hr and you are not a strong bookkeeper and it takes you 10 hours to keep your books it cost you $1,500 for that task. If you outsourced your bookkeeping to a professional at $ 25/hr , chances are it will only take them 5 hours since this is their specialty, and cost you only $ 125. A big difference. Not to mention the other benefit—You now have 10 additional hours to work “on” your business rather than “in” it. The strategic planning that will BLASTTM your business to new heights, that next great idea that will bring in a muti -million dollar client or that creative marketing message that will brand you in a class by yourself. Your time is one of your most valuable asset, protect it wisely. Many entrepreneurs struggle with this concept because often cash is tight and they believe they can save a few bucks by doing it themselves. Unfortunately, this has the exact opposite effect and can impede success. Although you may save a few dollars in the short fun and ended up successful in the end, the question you need to ask yourself is would you have gotten there quicker? Would your business have reached its goals many years earlier? A good exercise to begin is to start planning your time…. Business is all about planning.

Follow these tips:

• Develop the main areas of your focus: Sales, Marketing , HR, Operations ect..
• Write down your “to do” list (tasks) — this will be an active list that you will add to each day
• Categorize your task into the main areas and consolidate for easy review and delegation
• Prioritize the importance of the tasks on a scale from 1 to 10 (1 being most important)
• Identify task that can easily be outsourced with a check mark
• Review your list and outsource and delegate everything with a checkmark
• Outsource all administrative tasks, bookkeeping and marketing
• Develop expectations and manage by exception. If your teams are hitting their goals, trust them to continue.
• Remember that at least 35% of your time must be working ON your business.

©Kellie D’Andrea & Associates

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