How Do You Rank as A Delegator?

When I started my restoration business in 2005, I did it all.  Everything from agent marketing, graphic design, QuickBooks, Xactimate, water sucking, soot cleaning, hiring, firing and everything else that goes along with being a brand-new small business owner.

As I grew the business, I continued to do it all until I was completely overwhelmed and then I hired a business coach.  One of the most valuable lessons he taught me was the importance of system development and documentation and until this day, I still make it a habit to document things that I do.

I have to admit, at first it didn’t make sense to me.  Why document the process if I was still the one doing the work?  Why spend the time writing the “how-to” document when I was the only person that was DOING?  When owners and their management teams create documented systems, some great things happen.

1. Hope. It may sound strange but when you take the time to document a system, you are setting the stage for someone else to take over the task at some point in the future.  You are being intentional about not being the one who will take care of this task indefinitely.
2. Simplification. I remember thinking, there’s no way someone else is going to do FILL IN THE BLANK. Then it hit me, how silly to think that there’s no one else who could figure out how to create a 24-hour update to keep agents informed about their client’s water damage or how to create a mail merge to automatically generate 100+ continuing education certificates.  Once I took the time to write how-to document, it became apparent the task wasted very difficult.
3. Mental Overhead. Some tasks don’t repeat very often. For example, once a year, someone needs to go through the worker’s compensation insurance audit. To prepare for this, there are quite a few steps.  It’s a beautiful thing when you can simply open a one-page document with all the directions.  It’s even better when the following year comes along and you’ve got someone on the team that you can hand over the task to and all they need to do is follow the system.
4. Scalability. One person can only do so much. As your business grows, you need other people on the team to help with the continued growth.
5. Consistency. Systems documentation creates consistency and as a result, your business is perceived as being highly professional. You separate yourself from the pack.
6. Working “ON” vs. Working “IN” your business. As the owner, you owe it to your team to be the leader. When you spend time working on leadership, you’ll take the business to a new level
7. Value. As I spend time talking with business brokers, one of the common topics that comes up is related to what tasks the owner is responsible for in the business.  Typical buyers aren’t from the industry and want to step in as a leader rather than having to perform day-to-day functional tasks in the business.  The more you can delegate yourself out of a “job”, the more value your business will have when you decide to sell.

How would you rank yourself in terms of system creation and delegation?  I help owners of restoration companies with Delegation, Sales, Profitability, Cash-flow, Exit Planning and more through a business coaching relationship and specific time-tested tools and strategies.  Let’s have a conversation – I can help.  Click to Schedule a call with me below.

Best regards,

Scott