Business mentor: Delegation or abdication, it's an owner's choice

Q. I work alone in my business 50 to 70 hours a week and still don't get time to do all the paperwork. I need help but am worried about taking on staff. What would you suggest?

A. Jacqui Jones of Work In Progress replies:

There are two words that every owner needs to get familiar with as his or her business grows - delegation and abdication.

Looking down the abdication path, this may be what you see: You employ Mary to do the paperwork and feel relief that it's not your job any more. Even better, Mary has marketing experience, so you leave that to her too.

You refocus on the chargeable work and are delighted to see the business continues to thrive.

Before long you are back to 50 to 70-hour weeks but just as you are thinking about hiring yourself an assistant, Mary says she needs help. The last thing you want is for her to leave, so you agree to some part-time help for her. You can't now afford your own assistant, so your workload continues to increase.

You welcome Mary's assistant on board and return to your work, relieved that things are back on track again. But that's the point. Whose track?

Now look down the delegation path. You employ Sally to do your job. She has the right attitude and is quick on the uptake. Through the training process you write a procedures manual with the combination of your experience and her fresh perspective.

At first you handle all the work that comes in, find time for training and deal with the most critical of the stored paperwork. But gradually Sally handles more on her own, leaving you to get to grips with the administration. You may have dealt with the paperwork by asking your accountant to develop a system for you to learn and follow. Once you know the system, you can then delegate and focus on other aspects of your business. Eventually your team doesn't need you, because the systems work.

Now you have choices about where and how you contribute.

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