As a solo-professional or small business owner, you have many responsibilities
As a solo-professional or small business owner, you have many responsibilities. Not only do you have to run your business and manage all the tasks associated with that, you also have to market that business.
But just how should you divvy up your day?
How much time should you spend on marketing?
I believe you need to spend at least half of your time on marketing. In fact, as a business owner, I believe you really only have two main responsibilities:
1) Spending your time on revenue-producing activities
2) Marketing your business
Your time is valuable, so you shouldn’t waste it on mundane tasks that someone else could easily do.
You should be spending half your time generating income for your business. This might include things like servicing your clients and creating products.
The other half of your time should be spent on marketing to grow your business. That might include activities like writing articles and press releases, doing speaking engagements, writing and publishing an ezine or newsletter, advertising, relationship marketing, networking or Internet marketing. Any activity that is designed to bring you more clients or more sales.
But what about “all those other things” that have to get done?
All those administrative business tasks like paying bills, invoicing clients, going to the bank, picking up office supplies, fulfilling orders, monthly bookkeeping and clerical tasks like filing?
Or all of those household tasks like grocery shopping, cleaning your house, and doing laundry?
Find a way to delegate “all those other things”
…so you can focus your time on your top two priorities. If your time is worth $50 an hour or $150 an hour and you are spending it on $10 an hour tasks, it just doesn’t make sense.
What if you can’t afford to hire help?
I was in this boat for a long time myself. My mentors kept telling me to create a team and delegate. But I thought I couldn’t afford to. When I finally took the leap of faith and began assembling a team, my entire business and life changed.
I went from being a lone ranger doing everything in my businesses (yes, it was very tiring!) to a team that includes a bookkeeper, CPA, attorney, virtual assistant, writer, art director and production artist, media buyer, web developer, product manufacturer, fulfillment house, computer technician, real estate partners, property management company and others I’m sure I’m forgetting about right now.
No, I don’t have an office with all these people on staff.
I am still a “company of one.” These people are partners that I pay for specific services when I need them.
And I’ve enlisted the help of my family with the household tasks and hired housekeepers so I don’t have to spend my valuable work hours or my precious free time on these activities.
Yes, I still do some things I probably shouldn’t.
But the point is, over the past two years, I’ve learned to find experts and utilize their services to help me grow my business.
And even though I thought I couldn’t afford to hire a team…
Now I can’t imagine running my business (or my life) any other way. And paying for this help has never been an issue. Because the time they have freed up allows me to focus on my top two priorities, which has grown my businesses.
Your Marketing Step
Look around. Are you trying to do it all yourself? Are you running your business as a lone ranger? Are you spending time on activities that someone else could be doing?
If you are, I encourage you to step back and re-evaluate how your business is structured. And create a structure and a team that will allow you to spend your time on marketing and revenue-producing activities. And then watch your business grow!
Want to see how I spend my time? Visit my blog to find out!
