Life in the water damage restoration industry can be incredibly busy. Between responding to emergency cleanup and restoration jobs and managing the day-to-day operations of owning a small business, the task lists of business owners can feel insurmountable.
Even worse, perhaps, is feeling that maintaining your dream is keeping you from taking your dream to the next level. Lets face it, the day-to-day of our work is important to doing our jobs well but it can also be the exact thing that steals your time from working on your goals for growing your business. As many small business owners know, there is a gap that exists between successfully running a business and taking your business to its max potential.
So, what is the secret to creating margin in your professional life so you make time for chasing down the dreams you have for you water damage restoration business? Don’t be too quick to assume you should be working harder or putting in more hours behind your desk. Instead, we suggest all business owners to something counter cultural to free up more time in the days for growth—working less.
Why working less translates to big growth for your business.
If you’re feeling like slamming your laptop shut right here and now or unsubscribing from this blog altogether, we get it. The idea that less work is the secret to massive growth makes little sense at first glance. Although longer hours certainly might get you to where you want to be, it just might leave you feeling burnt out and resentful once you finally reach your goals.
What we’re suggesting instead is that you spend less time on the day-to-day operations of your business so you have more time in your schedule for the things that will bring your business to where you want it to be.
You are in a position of leadership for a reason; you have the vision and passion to lead your company into the future. So often passion is misdirected and focused on the daily tasks that keep the business running, instead when it should be focused on the bigger, better things ahead.
3 Steps to Freeing Up More Time For Goal Chasing
We get it. You barely finished your task list each day before turning off the lights in the office. How can you possibly let these tasks go? The answer is found in three, not so simple or easy steps, that will change the life of your business.
#1. Hire skilled employees with a bent towards leadership.
Hiring a strong is always the first step before you can back away from the day-to-day operations of your business. Think beyond hiring employees who are good at their job and hire team members who have passion and leadership potential.
Hire employees who see value in the work you do and the way you run your business. These will be the team members who will carry the torch for you while you refocus your energy on the future of your business. These will be the members who are willing to lead by example, modeling faithfulness to tasks list and operational systems when you are not standing over them ensuring each task is done well.
#2. Implement strong systems that will do your work for you.
If we’re not careful, business owners can spend much of their time on details that are important and urgent, but underneath their pay scale and skillset. We’ve met so many amazing leaders in water damage restoration who are spinning their wheels trying to make sure supply orders are placed on time, following up on invoices or pushing new hire training forward.
These things are important, but they shouldn’t fall on a business owner’s task list. Instead, systems should exist that make sure these things are getting done without follow up or double checking by company leadership. Remember, systems are set procedures that ensure the essential operational tasks of a business are completed exactly as needed, every single time.
How do you know what systems you need in your business? We are fairly certain that whatever is stealing your time from pursuing growth in your business is probably a task that needs a system so you can let it go and work less on daily operations.
#3. Delegate tasks that can’t be automated.
Once you have implemented systems in your business, you might still be facing a list of daily or weekly tasks that can’t be automated. If you want more time in your schedule for reaching your business goals, you have to be willing to see the potential in others around you and let them take things off of your plate.
We can’t tell you what tasks you should be giving away, but we can give you a few ideas. Consider seeing the potential in your office manager to take over social media and blog management or hire a contractor for a few hours a week. Ask a team lead to take responsibilities for the first several steps of the hiring process, such as posting available jobs, sorting through applications and performing initial phone interviews. Allow your administrative assistant or team managers with a knack for numbers to prepare a draft of the budget and profit & loss statements, submitting them to you for a quick review before they are finalized.
At More Floods, we help business owners see the weaknesses in their operations that are keeping them from chasing their goals. To learn more about joining our network of talented and passionate entrepreneurs, click here or call 1-866-667-3356.