There was a time when it was just you in your business, running all the systems and delivering every service. Now, that time is over.
Now you’ve got employees. Each member of your team has things to learn and you’re responsible for teaching them. You’re also overflowing with clients and projects. As stressful as it was to wear all the hats, you sometimes wish you could go back to being a solopreneur.
Not so fast! Once you get your employees trained and acclimated, there’s only one thing left for it to be smooth sailing: trust.
You can’t build trust in your team overnight but there are steps you can take to ease into it.
Step 1: Slowly delegate more projects and responsibilities.
Step 2: Make sure your systems can run without you.
Step 3: Document this progress and make sure to give them feedback.
I consider that the initial trust building phase. Your ultimate goal is to be able to take time off from your business and not come back to everything on fire. The next series of steps are for right before you take time off.
Step 4: Get a better sense of where they are at in their work and ask them what they still need to accomplish.
Step 5: Using that information and what’s on your to-do list and clearly state the outcome that you expect from your team by the time you return.
Step 6: Make sure they have everything they need, like information and permissions, to reach that outcome.
The last piece is about you. You need to trust in yourself and your business decisions. That may be scary but the confidence comes with practice. Eventually, you’ll be able to step away on a more regular basis without panicking or feeling the need to put up as many guardrails for your team.
For your own sanity and the sanity of everyone around you, you need to take a break. After all, you started your business so that you could realize the vision you have for your life. That vision probably involves travel. You can finally make that trip to Italy you’ve been dreaming about since high school a reality, which will require you to take time off.
If your business finances are the crutch holding you back from that break, you could benefit from a virtual accountant. I’ve laid out even more reasons to hire a virtual accountant in my blog, Why You Need a Virtual Accountant.
If your greatest hurdle is imposter syndrome, read this article instead: Say Goodbye to Imposter Syndrome.
