10 Things That Happen When You Do Everything In Your Business
Are you doing everything in your business? I was up until a couple of years ago.
I happily stepped into a supporting role for so many of my clients, but I was not seeking support in my own business. I was worn out, exhausted, in panic mode ALL THE TIME because my to do list was out of control. I fell WAY behind on projects and felt constant guilt and overwhelm as a result.
I thought there was something special about being and doing everything for everyone. (For every habit or behavior we have, even if it’s destructive, we’re getting some type of reward for continuing to do it.)
I was getting endorphin hits from learning new things and implementing them and feeling smart and being “needed” by my clients.
After taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture of my work, I realized that I was codependent with my business.
I needed my business to need me, to make me feel valuable and important. Even if it wore me out.
I know now that this is NOT a sustainable way to live or work.
Once I let go and delegated day-to-day tasks to a trusted assistant, I discovered a new way of existing.
This did not happen overnight. To let go of the reins, I needed to tighten up my systems and processes and create a resource for anyone I hired on to work with me. The result? I now have an internal website with over 60 different processes and procedures necessary for running this business and building beautiful websites.
Celeste, Designer & Implementer
I have moved from doing everything in my business to being able to hand off a variety of tasks to Celeste, my right-hand woman.
The Liz Lee Media team may grow, but for now I have been able to step into my role as owner/creative director/visionary, etc. because I have an amazingly talented woman supporting me.
(So if you ever get a message from Celeste, know that you are in good hands.)
As I said above, for every habit or behavior we have, even if it’s destructive, we’re getting some type of reward for continuing to do it. So the first five things that happen when you do everything in your business are actually the things that keep you in that space:
1. You get to learn many different skills.
2. You get all the money.
3. You get to take all the credit.
4. You don’t have to manage employees or contractors.
5. You can be as disorganized as you can get away with.
The “freedom” of these five things only feels like freedom for so long. At some point, you begin to experience the following:
6. You can’t scale your business. (Because there are only so many hours in the day.) Even if you scale up your offerings (running programs, teaching courses, etc.) there are a considerable number of tasks that come with scaling up in that way. Can you do them all?
7. You can’t focus on one thing because you are expected to do everything. So you make real progress on nothing because you are trying to do everything.
8. You make mistakes. Because you are filling every waking hour with what you think is the necessary sacrifice of an entrepreneur, you get burnt out and things fall through the cracks.
9. Your business runs you, not the other way around. You remember in Lost, where the guy has to enter the code into the computer every 108 minutes or the whole island will blow up? That’s what it can feel like when you take on every part of your business yourself.
10. You start to resent your business. Or you decide you don’t want to “entrepreneur” anymore. Why? Because you are not able to get into that expansive mental space where businesses are created and recreated.
For me, it just took bringing on one person to relieve a world of tension. I may build in more of a team in the future, but for now, I am SO MUCH HAPPIER not swimming in all the details. I am more creative, more personable, and at the end of the day, my clients are getting better results.
Is there something in your business that you can delegate? If I can do it, after YEARS of resistance, I know you can!
And if you need to delegate the creation and/or care of your website, find out more HERE.
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