October was an extremely busy month for our business and it’s continued through November. We have been swamped wondering how we’ll get everything done; Yes, it is a good problem to have. We even had to bring in extra help; now that spells progress.
I wanted to share this with you all because we are always pushing entrepreneurs to be prepared not for just today, but for tomorrow too. Be prepared for when your company grows and you have more clients. How can you do this? . . . by building your team from the start. Staying ready is not about just having your pencils sharp, it’s about being prepared for not only the good opportunities that come but for also health emergencies, that God for bid, may occur as well. Because believe me, opportunities & “life” can be both grand and unexpected. And a missed opportunity is like losing cash out of your pockets.
Here’s a list of to-dos for the small entrepreneur who needs to stay ready and start team building.
- Have a list of “on-call” workers. You may not be in a position to hire full-time, put hire per project. (Tip: I usually find gig workers via schools and also Craigslist.)
- Hire them for small projects now! It will help your workflow and also test their work ethic. This way you can find out on a small project rather than a really important project when it’s too late and difficult to recover. You’ll quickly know if you want to work with them or not.
- Consider those you do hire as part of your team and treat them as such. Don’t say, “I have a new client” but do say, “We have a new client.”
- Don’t be greedy! Share the wealth. Don’t think about the money you may think you’re losing by paying someone else to do a job you could have completed yourself. Just think about how much more time you’ll have and how many more clients you can manage knowing you have the help. Which will in the end increase your cash flow. And you’ll spend a lot less time spinning your wheels. Stop being a hamster on a wheel and start running the race.
The benefits of this will be that you’ll be less stressed trying to do the work all by yourself, and you’ll be starting to leverage your company. Remember what @barrymoltz says, “Fire yourself as soon as possible. If you do everything yourself, then you’ll only have a job and not a company. You only get leverage by hiring a team!” (VIDEO:http://goo.gl/3hzma2 )
So follow our lead and start building your team and gaining your leverage.
