Archive for the ‘Delegation’ Category

Always near the top of the list of obstacles to success for small business owners is not having enough hours in the day. This leads to procrastination – you don’t know what to do first and start feeling overwhelmed as you get stuck!

Take a moment to think about why you went into business in the first place. Do you recall looking forward to having more control over your time so you could spend quality time with the family at the weekend, or go away for a few days with friends?

If you have attended my Vision Formula Workshop you know that we work on how your business fits in with what is important in your life; where your business is now and where you want it to be.

Once you have that plan in place you just need to get on and do it! Work through these steps to get back control of your day and give yourself space to think about what’s important, so you can get it done!

Step 1 Plan your time by thinking through the outcome you are seeking. Refer to your business vision and aspirations. Be clear it is time well spent and is taking you towards your goals. I like to work out a monthly, weekly then daily plan.

Step 2 Prioritise what needs to be done. Consider the benefits of doing a task and the consequences of not. Then decide if they are essential and the timescales required.

Step 3 Record the tasks to be done in a way that suits the way you like to work. If you are kinaesthetic you probably prefer a paper and pen method. I know I much prefer to sit down with my diary and work out what I need to do when. If you enjoy techie stuff and playing on your ipad or smart phone – use that!

Step 4  Have a good look at each of the tasks and think hard if they really need to be done .What would happen if you ignored a particular task? What are the benefits of doing it? Cross out anything that isn’t essential and for which you cannot see a benefit – STOP doing it!

Step 5 Identify what you have to do but would rather not! For items that need to be done but you don’t enjoy and regularly put off, look around and see who else could do them. There will be someone who actually enjoys doing it, can do it faster and dare I say, even better!  It might be your accounts – invoicing, chasing outstanding invoices – or marketing. If you can delegate – do so! You may say ‘but I can’t afford to’. Before you do, make some enquiries; you could be pleasantly surprised as specialists take fewer hours to do the job plus it takes the stress away from you. It will give you more time to do what you do best and enjoy – another reason you set up a business!

Step 6  For the essential items you have to undertake, keep them on your  list and touch them every day. By making progress every day, if only for 10 minutes, it will get done. Make the task an appointment in your diary rather than a task – you wouldn’t miss an appointment with a customer; treat this the same. To avoid procrastination make it the first appointment of the day to get it out of the way.

Step 7 Make a plan for the weekend that includes your leisurely pursuits then you won’t have time to work! Write a list of all the things you want to do but have put off as you haven’t had time.  You are now making time so put them in your calendar and enjoy!

DON’T MISS OUT! For those that need that extra bit of help and support to stay on track, keep an eye out for my Birthday Bonus – coming soon.

Denise Molloy specialises in working with owner managers to build a sustainable and profitable business that suits their lifestyle.

I had the pleasure of recently presenting to a group of ‘Mumpreneurs’, all of whom have newly established or nearly established businesses. I think the way they’ve taken the plunge and are seeking to create a business that fits their lifestyle is an inspiration and I shared with them my top tips for growing that business.

Buss Murton Solicitors were kind enough to host the morning and Robert Sedgwick provided an information packed presentation on the legal matters surrounding setting up a business while Jackie Barker of Wells Associates provided the tax and business planning essentials.

My virtual assistant, Lauren Ford, of A Matter of Time, was one of the attendees and she’s agreed to be my guest blogger this week.

I always enjoy hearing Denise speak. It’s so obvious how passionate she is about what she does and how much she enjoys helping people step up their business. She has a knack of really getting to the point and reminding us to stay focussed on our business vision whilst not forgetting to enjoy what we do and keep having fun!

Here are the key messages I took away from her presentation and as always, they’re a great reminder to me of how to step up my business.

1. Surround yourself with positive and inspirational people who question and challenge you in a supportive way – they may (or may not!) be family, friends or business acquaintances. Steer clear of business discussions with people who are negative or unsupportive.

2. Focus your energy on what you do best – when are you ‘in the flow?’ When time flies, when you feel happier, more inspired and more productive, what are you doing? Take note of it and do more of it! Ditch the other stuff through delegation or outsourcing.

3. Invest in yourself – what’s stopping you step up your business? It might be time, fear resources, procrastination or a lack of confidence. Decide what you need to overcome these and invest in a solution.

4. Write down your Business Vision – articulate where you want to go as it demonstrates faith that you’ll get there and keeps you on track.

5. Implement your plan –
a. maximise your time by focusing on what’s important right now,
b. structure your day, tell people and then stick to the plan you’ve made
c. manage your activity by minimising distractions and staying focussed
d. balance your energy by taking note of when you work best, what renews your energy levels and taking breaks

6. Know your market and plan your marketing accordingly – be really sure about what you’re offering, your target market and your delivery. Remember that a marketing plan should be fluid – you need to measure success and make changes to get the results you want.

7. Be authentic – be you! Remember that people are buying YOU, so show them who you are.

There are just 2 places left on the Kings Hill Step Up Forum that is launching on 10 October but you will have to be quick as the programme kicks off with a 121 with Denise before the first meeting on the 10th.

Find out more now at www.stepupforum.co.uk

Denise Molloy is a business and personal performance coach who works with owner managers to build sustainable and profitable business to suit their lifestyle – find out more on her website.

I’m a member of the Women In Business, West Kent Group and I was recently asked to present on ‘Working from home’. It was a great evening where we shared challenges and ideas with a stark realisation of the common issues home workers face. Jade Pluck, the group’s social media guru, wrote a post and she has agreed that I can guest her on my blog.  I hope the  ideas help you to work more effectively from home.

We had one of our members Denise Molloy speak to us re Working from Home, this is a subject which plays an important part to most of our members, and what a fantastic session it was. I think we all got one or two things off our chest about the trials we face when working from home and you know what they say “a problem shared is a problem halved” and I think was the case.

So what did I take away from the session; well the most important thing when you are working by yourself is to have a Board of Directors, these could be people such as:

• People who you can talk to and who are supportive of your business and you
• Having someone you are accountable to therefore achieving the goals you have put in place
• Partner with people/associates who have the strengths you don’t

We also discussed what our “driver” is, now most of us have set up our business as we are passionate about it which is great and you can really tell the enthusiasm when we talk about what we do, but we all need to think what we want to get out of it, is it a better work life balance or to earn a bigger income to help support your family – whatever it is really stay focused to make sure you get their (don’t forget your Board of Directors if you get stuck).

When it comes to self-management make sure you

• Play to your strengths
• Structure your day
• Maximise your time (doing what is most important at this point in time)
• Manage your activity
• Balance your energy

So how can you make sure you are using your time effectively, quite simply look at this A – E model below:

A – Tasks that must get done, allocate time for them

B – Be good to do

C – Could do if nothing better

D – Delegate

E – Eliminate

In conclusion I think we all took away something that was beneficial to us, for me it’s what I am going to eliminate from my to do list.

Emma Cox took away from the session:

• Surround yourself with supportive people
• Have a buddy
• Know your inspiration for working
• Check your passion – do you enjoy what you do? If not, do something else.
• Recognise your drivers and arrange your business around them.

What did you take away from it?

One last tip,Denise suggested a great book: Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath

If you would like to speak to Denise then please do get in contact with her here.

Written by Jade Pluck of Virtually Anywhere

Denise is running two morning workshops in January to help

‘Get Your Year into Gear’

Thurs 12 January in Tonbridge and Wednesday 18 January in Maidstone.

Full details to follow soon but each date will be restricted to 12 people so if you want to be the first to know make sure you sign up for her newsletter here.

If you have been following my last few blogs, you are probably champing at the bit to take action on the growth of your business! But you may also have that feeling of overwhelm…

Where will you start and more importantly, where will you find more hours in the day to plan for your business when you are spending all of your time working in the business!

Make more time!

A first crucial step I make with all my clients is to review their current use of time. Take the following key steps to help you make more time to work on your business to meet your business vision.

Step One

Take a fresh sheet of paper and add a first heading of Daily Tasks – write down all the activities/tasks you undertake on a daily basis – both home and work. It doesn’t matter how long they take you each day, just write them down.

Step Two

Now add these headings – Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Delegate To, Waste of time!

Step Three

Look through your list of Daily Tasks and really give thought as to how often they need to be done. Then tick the corresponding column:

• Does the task need to be conducted daily, weekly or monthly?
• Could the task be delegated to someone else?  For this one really think about your strengths and if they are being put to good use doing this activity/task.  Is there someone else who could do it better?
•  Does the task actually need to be done at all?  Think about the benefits of undertaking the action and consequences if you don’t.

Step Four

Next, highlight the activities that you must continue to do yourself on a daily basis and record, as best you can, how much time you want or need to spend on each activity. Then take one final time to think about the benefits of doing the activity and why you are doing it.

Step Five

Repeat this process for weekly, monthly and annual tasks and activities.
By writing down and thinking about the actions, you will be able to eliminate or delegate unnecessary tasks and make more time to play to your strengths and to plan for the growth of your business. Once you have made time to work on your business, it is time to take action. 

Next week I will outline where you can get more help to take action to achieve your goals!

Do you want support to STEP UP your business?

Join a monthly forum of success orientated Kent business owners ready to brainstorm and take action on issues preventing you Stepping Up your business! Click here for more information and to register your interest.

For a number of reasons, many business owners have staff but still have difficulty delegating. Does one of the following sound like you?

• You haven’t prepared a proper job description, so neither you nor your employee are clear about their role in the company, their responsibilities and the authority they have to take decisions. As a result, you both shuffle uncomfortably around the issue; you’re not sure if you can trust them – or maybe should even impose on them – while your employee is left wondering why you can’t let him just get on with the job!

• You might feel the business is your ‘baby’ and you can’t leave it in the hands of a ‘sitter’ while you go away and enjoy yourself (or, more probably, apply yourself to some other aspect of the job).

• Maybe you haven’t planned the training your employee needs to perform the job to the level of excellence you expect?

Core to all of the above, is to be sure you have identified the potential of each member of staff to ensure they are working to their strengths. That may mean some shifting of responsibilities to get the best from each team member to maximise productivity and inspire confidence in their ability to do the best job.

Once you know the strengths of your team, you will feel much more able to let go knowing the job will be completed on time and to the high standards you and your clients expect. By delegating effectively, you will have more time to do what you do best rather than trying to be jack of all trades.