5 Tactics to get more done in life or business (Part 2)

Last week we looked at the most common way to get more done in your business without working harder. Hiring employees is great, but I know it’s not for everyone. Want to learn more about it? Read more hacks about hiring the right employees the first time. 

Today I’m going to share ways two through five to get more done in your business.

2. Use Contractors
The second way that you can get more done in your business without being the one doing it is to hire someone on contract. This gives you help for a shorter period of time, and they can be focused on just one project. 

This is a great way to try someone out too! Imagine that you’re a little behind on your finance processes and you know you need to hire a bookkeeper, but you don’t know how to find the right fit for your company. You could just say, “Hey, I've got some bookkeeping work for the next couple of weeks. Would you like to come in on a contract to help me with it?” 

When the contractor is hired, you can suss out their suitability for long-term work. When hiring them, be sure to reference your organizational chart to define clear roles and responsibilities for this person’s work.  

3. Hire Freelancers

The third tactic for you to get more done without doing it yourself is to work with freelancers. I love doing this, especially for little projects or one-offs that I could do, but don’t need to do myself. 

For me, working with freelancers has been fantastic. I’ve worked with freelance designers on my book covers, magazine ads, press releases, sales sheets, podcast intros, social media graphics, and online course graphics, to name a few.

Freelancers are often project-based and the more you like working with them, the more you can hire them for future or on-going projects. I've hired the same people over and over again because we know how to work together now (aka the learning curve is over). 

While I usually support hiring local, as a start-up this may not always work for your budget. Look at hiring a freelancer from another country. You may pay less than a local freelancer, and the overseas freelancer is still getting paid well for their work based on their local standards.

Look at sites like Upwork to find freelancers. When you hire someone from those sites, your money goes into escrow until the freelancer has completed your work to your specifications.  This makes it safer for you and for them.

4. Acquire Vendors
The fourth way is to acquire vendors. You could have a trusted vendor who is your print broker. Perhaps you have someone that does your merchandise or promotional materials or can work on your website.

Vendors really want to keep your business so they’re going to work really hard for you. All you need to do is reach out and say I need this done, or I need that done. I don't know how much time I've saved by using my print broker to find the best deal – but I imagine it’s a lot. I’ve worked with her long enough to know that she will always find the best quality for the best price. 

Think about where you can save time and/or money by working with vendors. To give you an idea I work with vendors to post and write my blogs, to produce my podcast, to turn my podcast into a blog post and to post to my social media. This is how I can produce so much content and be omnipresent around my business…because I’ve hired trusted experts and vendors to do it for me!

5. Hire an Intern

Finally, the fifth way is to bring in an intern. Interns are often lower cost. Sometimes you don’t have to pay them at all because of the opportunity you’re giving them. Interns are new, eager, and willing to learn. Just make sure you are willing and able to mentor then. They're students looking for that real-world experience and may even hope to eventually continue working with you, or at least get a really great recommendation from you so that they can get employment somewhere else. 

Interns also often have a fresh outlook. They might have learned some new things, based on their newness and freshness. They probably even have a thing or two they can teach you! 

Think of hiring an intern as being like a kind of probationary period at a much lower cost, with no long-term obligation. Bringing in an intern can be a really great opportunity for a business owner in the short and long term. 

How you can start delegating
Today, I'm smart about where and how I delegate. I've made a lot of mistakes by delegating to the wrong people. Working with contractors, freelancers, vendors, or interns is a really great way to build that trust to test people out before you hire them full-time. 

So, now you have the 5 different tactics that you can use to get more done in your business without you doing it. I also encourage you to think about delegating in other areas of your life. Have others do your laundry, your meal prep, grocery shopping, ironing, gardening, and car care and maintenance. Whatever it may be, consider whether these things are worth an hour of your time and your highest rate. 

For me, I have more important priorities like hanging out with my kids, having some downtime, and spending time with my hubby. Those are important things I can’t delegate. 

Don’t you want to get more done in your business without doing it yourself so you can actually enjoy life? That's what it all comes down to. 

Delegating is going to create more freedom. Take these steps and start delegating today so you can really live the life you were born to live.  

Until next time, stay dynamic!
~Diane