Traveling back and forth from Colorado to Texas is something that I have done for several years. We bought a vacation home in Colorado Springs and we spend the summers there.
What if I have to be the One?
Transitioning to this was hard. It made me question my value. I was thinking what was I worth if I didn’t do everything. What was my job if I had other people doing it for me. This took a lot of personal growth and hard work to get to this point to be able to leave my business for several weeks or even months while the business still moves forward.
How can you leave your business while still taking care of all of the responsibilities that are required to run a business?
This is an issue that I have been struggling with for a long time. There is this belief that you have to be the ONE! The ONE that does everything. The ONE that makes all of the decisions. You have to do this because that is what your clients are paying you to do. THIS IS THE BIGGEST ISSUE!
Ultimate Success Trap
The other issue is letting go. Most of us have a control problem. We fall into this trap because we became successful by getting things done when others couldn’t do it. This is the ultimate success trap!
As a business owner, you must be able to leverage talent and technology to free up your time. You hire talent. You buy technology. These two ideas can change your life!
People and Technology can Change your Life
While this may sound good, it takes time and work. You have to be able to hire qualified people and understand what type of technology is needed. This is where you have to be the business owner and identify areas of your business that can be automated and the areas that need you, person, to handle.
You will find that these two issues can stand in the way of your desire to leave the business for an extended period of time. You have to be able to overcome the internal voice that is challenging your value and the external issues of finding the right people to take over your work.
Work-Life Balance
This process started about three years ago because I needed to create a balance between work and family. I was finding that I could get so embedded in my work that my personal life was coming apart. I was torn between wanting to be a good dad, a good husband, and an entrepreneur. These forces between family and work were tearing me apart. I felt like the more I worked to take care of my family the worse that my family life was getting. I didn’t know how to overcome this issue.
Reading 4 Hour Work Week
It wasn’t unit I read Tim Ferris’s 4 Hour Work Week that I felt like this is something that I could actually accomplish. Tim has been a master at being able to automate as much as possible. Automation does several things for you, one of the main things it does is give you time to get out of the weeds of the business and start thinking about the bigger picture. This allows you to improve your business. The other benefit is it increases your time with your family and helps with one of the biggest issues I have faced my entire career, work-life balance.
Self Audit
The first step was to identify all of the things we did on a daily basis. Once I had this information in hand I could break down into three areas.
- Things I am required to do?
- Processes that could be automated?
- What could I delegate?
Automate using Technology
The second step was to start looking for technology. You have to start by asking yourself, what would help with the automation? This usually comes in the form of software that solves your problem. The only issue with any technology is that you still need someone to monitor and manage. Once you find the technology then you have to create the processes.
Hire Great People
The third step is to make sure you have the people in place to help with the process. This is where you get your best leverage. Great people can make your business. So developing a process for being able to identify and hire the correct people is a very important part of your business processes.
Transition Clients
One of the issues that you will have the most trouble with is your clients. Your clients may have been used to talking to you, so you are going to have some issues when you start this process. There is going to be some training to get your clients to be able to talk to the people that you have hired. How do you get your clients to make this change?
This is actually one of the easiest of these issues to overcome but this requires training for current clients. They will resist it at first but if you have competent people they will enjoy the transition. As far as additional clients this becomes part of the way you do business and they never question it.
Deliver More Value to your Clients
Once you achieve this level of automation and personnel you will be able to serve your clients better than you have ever been able to in the past. Think about what it is that you actually do for your clients. In most instances, it is your ability to think about the bigger picture.
- How can you serve your clients better?
- Do you know what your clients/customers want?
- What are the issues that you are solving for them?
Then figuring out how to deliver on these questions. NOT ACTUALLY DELIVERING THE VALUE BUT DESIGNING THE PROCESSES TO DELIVER THE VALUE THAT YOUR CLIENTS WANT!
Summary
I am still on this journey of full automation. It will take more work to achieve my ultimate goal. I will share all my issues and successes because it helps me to think through my process. As I learn more you will learn more and I hope that this information helps you achieve the lifestyle that you want faster than you ever dreamed possible.
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