Alli here. I’ve recently been reflecting on some of the modern appliances we’re blessed to have access to in this day – like dishwashers and washing machines and well, anything else that saves me time and effort by working in the background without my intervention.
Maybe it’s because becoming a mom has made me appreciate the concepts of time and productivity on a whole new level, but as with most things in my life right now, my admiration of dishwashers brought me back to our business.
Before making the jump into the world of freelancing, I read a lot. Mostly articles about what freelancing was really like, how to set yourself up for success, pros and cons – anything to help me gather information and cut my learning curve.
A pervasive theme throughout these articles, was that freelancing was soooo stressful, especially when you decided to do something crazy like go on vacation or enjoy a Saturday. Because work wasn’t getting done. You weren’t making money. And your business would probably fall apart while you enjoyed that umbrella drink!
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
You see, our awesome and fearless leader, Raven, was on vacation a few weeks ago. And y’all, her business DID NOT fall apart. We’re all still here!
Raven Creative kept things moving because of one super-smart decision that Raven has made:
She’s committed to building a team.
Now, whether you run your own business or you’re part of a larger organization, the lesson is the same:
Set yourself up in a way that work still gets done, whether you’re in the middle of it or not.
Maybe this means outsourcing specific projects to an agency so your in-house team can focus on a big initiative. Or perhaps it’s making sure that you don’t have a key man in place by teaching the same skill to multiple team members. Work doesn’t have to stop just because someone needs to attend a meeting or go to a doctor’s appointment.
If you’re a single-person business like Raven was a few months ago, maybe this means carefully examining your responsibilities to see where you can bring in some help. Start small with a virtual assistant and work your way up to a team of contractors.
Because having it all doesn't have to mean doing it all. Click To TweetWhat can you move?
I was listening to a podcast the other day featuring two former teachers who have built themselves a six-figures-a-month business selling digital lesson plans to other teachers. Want to know what they said about growing their team?
They’d always wished they would have done it sooner.
Expanding their team meant sacrificing a little bit of control or money in the short term, but they’ve always seen a return on that investment, because it allowed them to stay focused on the big picture of growing their business.
So think about that today – what projects, tasks or responsibilities need to move off of your plate? How can you restructure your team so that work is always getting done? Drop us a line – we’d love to talk to you about how we can help.
