Entrepreneurs, more accurately termed “Solopreneurs”, often believe that they are an island, that they must accomplish everything on their own with their own resources. These Solopreneurs think that they are maximizing their chance of survival and profitability. They are totally WRONG. Consider what Micheal Gerber says in his world-famous book The E-Myth: Revisited.
“Picture the typical entrepreneur and Herculean pictures come to mind: a man or woman standing alone, wind-blown against the elements, bravely defying insurmountable odds, climbing sheer faces of treacherous rock–all to realize the dream of creating a business of one’s own. The legend reeks of nobility, of lofty, extra-human efforts, of a prodigious commitment to larger-than-life ideals. Well, while there are such people, my experience tells me they are rare.” – Micheal Gerber
I agree with Micheal Gerber that this image is absolutely absurd! As long as you are a solopreneur, working on every facet of your business, you will be your business’ number one problem!!! As Gerber explains in his book, there are 2 kinds of businesses:
- People-dependent businesses
- Systems-dependent businesses
Which Are You?
How do you know which one you are? Well, simply ask yourself this:
“if I (or anyone else in my company) were to leave my business for 6 months, would the business still exist when I came back?”
If you answer YES, then you have a systems-dependent business. If NO, then you likely have a person-dependent business.
What IS a Systems-Dependent Business?
So what IS a systems-dependent business? Consider this: McDonald’s can deliver the exact same promise – the exact same food and customer experience – whether you are in Edmonton, Toronto, New York, or Kalamazoo. And it’s delivered by disinterested, teenage kids – some of the least qualified employees on the continent. And this do this BILLIONS of times every single year, at thousands and thousands of locations from sea-to-sea.
…and yet you can’t ever deliver that level of consistency to one set of customers of your one business, located in only one city or town. What’s the difference?
The difference is SYSTEMS. Your business depends on you (people-dependent) while McDonald’s depends on systems – the people can be swapped in and out.
I will now ask you: why is it that you are taking care of making sales calls, balancing the books, dealing with inventory, answering calls, cooking, cleaning, and doing all of this ON YOUR OWN?
True Entrepreneurs
The true entrepreneur sets up a system, then delegates it. Once that’s taken care of, then they create a system for another area of their business, and delegate that out. And they do this with every area of their business until they ARE able to walk away for 6 months or more.
And the funny thing is that it is often the mundane, monotonous, pressing / urgent, and repetitive tasks that distract an aspiring entrepreneur from actually doing the “big-picture” items that will actually take their business to the next level.
Build a SYSTEM for these mundane, monotonous, and repetitive tasks, and DELEGATE. Then get re-focused on the MOST IMPORTANT things… building your business, learning new skills, ideas, and strategies, and maybe even spend more time with your kids, spouse, family, and friends.
Systems for More Than Business
And what if you don’t own a business? Well, in your family life you likely DO have many mundane, repetitive tasks that take time away from being with your family.
- Perhaps processing application forms for a charity you volunteer for.
- Perhaps calling all of your relatives for the forthcoming family reunion.
- Perhaps it’s really a pain for you to balance the family cheque book at the end of the month.
- Or maybe it’s a hassle to always be coordinating the parents for Johnny’s soccer team.
Any of these items could be systemized and delegated.
So many routine and mundane tasks…
- WHAT IF you could get someone else to do any or all of this?
- Would that make you extremely happy?
- Would that give you more time to be with your family, kids, and friends?
- Would your life experience be better if you just didn’t have to deal with any of that boring, productivity-killing, repetitive brain-freeze?
Well, having your own Virtual Assistant (VA) may or may not be a fit for you. To find out if and how a VA would help you in your specific circumstance, contact Tina at 1-877-977-4776, or Info@SaveTimeBoostProfits.com to get a FREE 30-minute consultation.
