So, hands up, who has ever felt like running a business means that you’ve got about five jobs at once? Yeah? Thought so.
Now, I remember those early days at Crafters Companion when I literally did everything. I was designing the product, packing the orders, answering the customer emails, trying to run the accounts, looking for new opportunities, business development, the lot.
And, I definitely did the whole thing of pretending to put the customer through to different departments when they would ring up on the phone and roped one of my flatmates in to taking a few calls from me, because remember, I was building the business and at university at the same time, doing this around my lectures and coursework.
Today, things are a lot different and we have whole teams who look after the various arms of the business but I’ll tell you something, I still get stuck in and I get stuck into everything.
This is not because I can’t delegate, but because if you want to make it in business, you have to know when to stay involved as well as when you need to step back.
Now, some people have this idea that once your business starts growing, you’ve got to just let go and hand it all over. And you know what? That might be your ideal situation but for me that’s a load of rubbish, it just doesn’t work for me.
You don’t stop being the engine of your business just because the car’s got bigger.
Yes, you need a brilliant team. Yes, you’ve got to trust people. But if you are completely hands off, you lose sight of what created the business and what made it special in the first place, which was probably you, right?
Even today I still get stuck into our product development, chipping with my thoughts and ideas. I still know what products are launching and what’s going to be out next on our next TV show because the opportunity and the innovation, that’s my zone. That’s where I know I add the most value and here’s the trick, you can delegate tasks, but you can’t delegate your vision.
Your team might be fantastic at marketing or operations or customer service, but it’s your job to make sure that everything is pulling in the same direction. That culture, the tone of voice, the feel of the brand, that comes from the top, from you.
So, ask yourself, what are the jobs that only you can do? That’s where you put your focus. Then you build a team that you can trust to handle the rest.
Now, let me tell you, one of the hardest lessons I had to learn was that just because I can do something doesn’t mean that I should. There was a point where I realised that I had become the bottleneck, everything was going through me and as a result, I was slowing the whole business down. So, I started bringing in people who were better than me in certain areas and let me tell you, it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
You’ve got to empower your team to make decisions and then let them shine. Give them ownership. Let them make mistakes, preferably smaller ones. That’s going to be the best way for them to grow and it’s how your business is going to grow too.
And to be completely honest, the best position to be in is to have people working for you who are experts in their field, but who know you, your business and your values inside out and who can make the exact decisions that you would make. That is when you are winning at life, trust me.
Now something else that you need to stay close to as a business owner or a leader is your customers and that is one thing I will never ever stop doing.
I read their feedback, I look at their comments on my page and in our communities on social media. I still make sure that I’m appearing regularly on our TV shopping channel shows and Crafters TV. Because the moment that you lose touch with your customer, you’re guessing and I don’t want to guess what our Crafters want, I need to know
So even as you scale, you find ways to stay connected. Walk the shop floor, answer customer emails now and then, join a focus group, check through those online reviews and comments. It keeps you grounded and it keeps you sharp.
Now, I know systems don’t sound glamorous, but they are your best friend when it comes to scaling.
Once you’ve delegated something, put a system around it and make it clear who’s responsible, what the expectations are, and how you’re going to check in. That way you don’t have to micromanage, but you don’t drop the ball either, which can happen if you don’t get a handle on everything. I call it managing from the balcony. You’re not in the weeds, but you’ve still got a bird’s eye view of everything that’s going on.
So here’s what I want you to remember, the takeaways…
You don’t always have to do everything, but you do have to do the right things in the business. Know where you add value and stay involved in the parts that define your brand but let go of the stuff that’s holding you back from growing because staying hands-on doesn’t and shouldn’t mean clinging on for dear life. It means knowing what’s worth holding on to and being brave enough to let go of the rest.
Now, I hope that’s given you all a little bit of food for thought. Let me know in the comments if you’ve got any other thoughts around scaling up and trying to stay hands-on as a leader because the best people to learn from are other people like this running businesses.
Let’s all share our thoughts and hopefully everyone can learn from each other. Hope it’s been invaluable and I hope you’ve learned a lot!