Join your host, Jillian Dolberry, your “pocket online business manager,” in bi-weekly episodes of The Grace-Filled CEO podcast, the resource you’ve been waiting for to manage all the parts of your life.
Jillian speaks directly to the woman wearing many hats (you know you’re living at least some of them): mom, wife, and caretaker … or boss, a writer, a daughter, a sister, a friend, even a CEO. If you’re going to succeed at any or all of them, it’s going to take a lot of work! And Jillian is here to show you exactly how, with timely conversations and solid resources, sprinkled with a little grace for you, your work, and all of the roles you fill! Find this and more on The Grace-Filled CEO podcast.
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You are listening to episode number 10 of “The Grace-Filled CEO” Today we are going to talk about what YOU as the CEO need to be focused on in your business. When you are in charge of leading people, including yourself, you have so many things that will automatically be put in your plate as CEO. And as the CEO its your job to 1. hire the right people to help you and 2. let them help you. Delegate! Although that seems like a simple concept, there is so much that can go into each of those things. But at the root of it, you have to know what are the things that YOU need to be in charge of in your business. What can you truly not let go? What needs to stay on your plate. This is what we will dig into today.
Now before we get into today's topic, I want to share with you a resource that will be helpful to you as we enter a new quarter. If you've ever had great intentions of planning for the quarter ahead but either you run out of time or maybe just don't know how to do it effectively, this resource is for you. I believe in quarterly planning more so than I believe an annual planning. Because there are so many things that can change throughout the year and it can feel defeating when all of our plans have to change. The quarterly planning allows you to take smaller chunks of time and be really intentional. Visit jilliandolberry.com/plan to get your resource to plan out your Q2.
When you start your business, it is almost always just you to begin with. There are so many beautiful, wonderful things about being a Solopreneur. But then when you get to hire someone to join in on the mission and the passion and the excitement with you, you realize that you have been given a taste of something magical and you do not want to go backwards. Having help in your business and being able to outsource is truly a gift. And while not all of us can afford it right away, we always need to have a healthy view of what is ours to do, and what isn't ours to do.
What does that mean exactly? It means that when you have a business there are so many things to do. As moms we have ongoing to do list just in our personal lives not to mention in our businesses as well. And while this is a topic for another day, I highly recommend outsourcing anything in your personal life as well as in your business as much as you can afford.
So bottom line we all have a lot going on. But the best way to approach it with Grace is to know what hours to actually take on and what is something that we need help with. When we take things on that are not ours to deal with it's like we take a seat on a rocket ship press go and catapult ourselves on to planet burn out.
But when we focus our time in our energy on the things that are right for us we're not just protecting our time and our energy but we're protecting our business resources.
So, the question is: what is the best use of your time as the CEO?
There will be things that only you can do in your business. I just had a friend tell me the other day that the minute she started to pull away from her business and let her team run it she noticed that she was out of touch and needed to gain control back. There could very well be things going on in the background of your business that you were unaware of if you take such a big step back from your business. However, there's a healthy boundary there and can definitely be a healthy balance. As the CEO some non-negotiables that you continually need to be a part of in your business, are:
- hiring
- firing
- mission and vision
- big picture planning
- quarterly planning
- team meetings
- sales and marketing
- metrics tracking
- financials of your business. (budgeting, monthly reports, financial projections)
Now the good news is while that can feel like a long list you don't have to be the only person doing those things. You just have to be in those things. You are the one that started your business. You are the one with the mission and the vision. What I have seen so frequently is that CEO mamas in the online business space are overworked, sometimes underpaid, sometimes underpaid, and continuing to do all the little things in their business taking away the finite time that they have.
In Episode 7 I talk about negotiables on your calendar as a CEO Momma. In that podcast I talk about what is essential versus what a luxury. Something specific I mentioned was that taking a shower and eating lunch or essential not luxuries. That's exactly how I feel about this list as well. It's not a luxury to be able to sit and ponder on the mission and vision of your company. It's not a luxury to be able to track metrics or spend time connecting with your audience on Instagram. These things are essential because you are your business and it's a reflection of you. But like I said before you don't have to be the only person working in these areas of your business.
For example, you need to have a pulse on the financials of your business. But you do not need to be doing that alone you need a bookkeeper to help you with budgeting, monthly reports and financial projections. And you need a CPA to help you in tax time rolls around and answer all of the confusing questions that we all have about taxes. You need people in your corner to not only help support you in these areas that you need to be in and your business, but also to hold you accountable in giving them some attention.
So, who can help you?
When it comes to these back-end roles and tasks, you were looking at getting the help of an OBM, a virtual assistant, and a bookkeeper. The amazing thing about bringing those people onto your team is that all of them can be contractor roles if you want them to be.
What about the tasks that still have to get done?
Tasks like inbox management, scheduling, some forms of client work, content creation, the list goes on. These things can sometimes feel like they need to be on your plate because again they have a direct connection to you. However, I challenge that thought. When you think that you have to be involved in something in your business, I want you to ask yourself a question.
Instead of thinking how am I going to fit this on my plate or how am I going to be able to get this done, instead ask yourself who? Who can I hire to help me with this? Who is this best suited for? Who could potentially even take this over for me?
When you choose to approach every new responsibility or old responsibility with the question of who instead of how, you are starting to think like a CEO.
If you feel like this episode is really speaking to your heart and you're overwhelmed and you're overworked, I encourage you to walk away from this episode and make a list of all the things that you do in your business. Start tracking your time if you are concerned that you're not getting enough done. Use that data to inform you if you need and can hire help. And if you can't quite yet, while I believe that you will get there, right now in this moment it's OK to prioritize and not do it all. Figure out what the most important things are to do in your business. What is vital? What has to be done to bring in revenue and keep the business moving?
I have a client right now who has unreliable childcare. And honestly, I think we all have unreliable childcare to some extent because we live in a world with school closures and classes being shut down because someone's been exposed to an illness. But one thing that she and I always talk through is how we're going to get through this busy season in business with limited capacity. She has a plan in place for what her minimal self can do in business in these times. I admire that so much about her and I think that's something valuable we can all learn. What does it look like to operate in our minimal versions of ourselves? Because we will always reach a time in our personal life that does not support the workload in our business. That is definitely a topic for another day so we will stop there.
If you have ever wondered what it's like working with me or my team, I would love it if you reached out and hopped on a call with me. Here soon JDOBM will be expanding in people and capacity and we would love to have you along for the ride. Visit the website at http://jilliandolberry.com/obm-services to join the waitlist and be the first to know if the exciting developments in the works.
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