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We as business owners all know that the way to capitalize on our resources is to spend our time doing the tasks we do best and delegating the rest. When I was new and young in my business I did it all: data entry (handwriting names on 3×5 cards), producing the items for sale (decorated eggs, jewelry), marketing (designing the postcard mailings and applying the stamps myself), etc., etc. I always felt like I didn’t have the money to pay someone else. And besides, it would take longer to explain it than to just do it.
Over time I learned that in order to grow, I needed to let go of the work that I could hire out and that had a lower dollar-an-hour amount in cost. If I could design and sell an egg for $100 and it took me an hour to do that, then anything taking up my time–like filing or licking stamps (this was pre-self-stick stamp days) valued at less than $100 per hour–I would be wise to delegate. Eventually I hired an assistant in my studio at $10 per hour and never looked back.
Nowadays, I spend 90% of my time coaching, speaking and writing for which I have the highest return on my investment. I hire people to convert my online e-newsletter to html, take registrations for my events and outfit me so I look professional and stylish.
Think of it this way if you’re having a hard time letting go. At some point our forefathers and foremothers let go of milking their own cows and trusted that the milk they drank would be okay, even if it didn’t come from the labor of their own hands.
Is there a to-do on your list that you’d like to let go of but are afraid of losing control? Can you trust that delegating this labor-intensive task will free you up to be more productive in your business? Call a goal buddy and commit to letting go of the equivalent of cow-milking. Let me know how it goes.
That’s the title atop page 68 in The War of Art, a volume I recently listened to on CD and also own in paperback. The author, Steven Pressfield, likens being an artist to being in the Marine Corps.
“The Marine Corps teaches you how to be miserable.
This is invaluable for an artist. [My note - You can substitute business owner for artist here.]
…He will be dining for the duration of a diet of isolation, rejection, self-doubt, despair, ridicule, contempt, and humiliation…
Because this is war, baby. And war is hell.”
There’s something perversely heart-warming about how Pressfield states this. I want to say, “Yeah! I’m fighting for my life every day!”
If you’re reading this, and you’re and artist/entrepreneur, you will thoroughly enjoy this book. As promised in the subtitle: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles.
I don’t know an entrepreneur out there who doesn’t face the challenges of, what the author calls, resistances and coaches call gremlins. This book arms you for that battle and makes you proud to show your scars.
My younger daughter Laura, to whom my book Soul Proprietor is dedicated, helped me out this week by listening to the soon-to-be-released audio version of the book. Line by line, she read the text while listening to the recording I’d spent the last couple of months on. I wanted a fresh pair of eyes and ears to catch any stumbles or other errors in the recorded version.
She did a fine job dog-earing any page that had a repeated phrase, a mispronunciation or missed word from the text. I want this to be letter perfect. I plan to submit it for acceptance in iTunes and know that any boo-boos would throw it into a reject pile. (BTW, if anyone knows the best way to get onto iTunes listings, please let me know.)
When she was all done reading this new edition as well as listening to my voice speaking it, I asked her if she had learned anything new. After all, she’s known me for 28 years. I was pretty sure it would be in her bones having lived with and observed me for the first 18. Laura is entrepreneurial now herself, translating Japanese text daily for an international television company. She works independently and takes on other freelance work as it comes.
“I was not aware of how much help you’ve gotten from other people,” she told me. The book is filled with examples of my reaching out and asking questions of people in my mastermind group, taking courses, attending networking events and otherwise relying on a think-tank of friends and colleagues who have been more than generous with their advice and resources.
“I didn’t realize how many people you’ve hired and how much you’ve delegated.”
“I had no idea how persistent you have to be. You would call someone six times before letting go. I’ve never done that.”
I love that Laura had me so magically powerful–that I had created it all by myself. But, I love it more that she knows the truth and has a realistic sense of what it truly takes to be successful: lots of help and the determination, willingness and self-caring to go for it.
I’m just back from a stimulating conference in Waltham, MA put on by the National Speakers Association-New England Chapter. The opening keynote speaker was David Meerman Scott, author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR. His talk emphasized doing things in “real time” rather than pontificating on the ins-and-outs of running a business. Deal with what’s right in front of you and call attention to it.
David played an hysterical youtube video to illustrate his point. A disgruntled passenger was unhappy with the luggage department’s treatment of his instrument, which he’d checked. He dealt with the poor customer service he received in a 2010 – new rules – kind of way. Watch at your convenience and have a tissue ready, you’ll be laughing so hard.
This prompts me to write about an annoying interchange I just had trying to change the hosting of my web domain. Network Solutions, with whom janepollak.com has resided for ages, sent me a renewal form. I began the process of renewing my subscription for what looked like a nominal amount until I got to the checkout page and I noticed a figure in the hundreds of dollars. I immediately wanted out as I know godaddy.com will host you for under $10 a year.
In order to get my domain out of their clutches, Network Solutions kept me (actually, my faithful assistant) busy for hours. Because I’m no longer accessible on janepollak@earthlink.net, they needed about a dozen forms of identification including a copy of my driver’s license, a call on my home telephone line and a long questionnaire to validate that I was indeed the person who signed on years ago. This required enormous dedicated time and attention (i.e. money-making time). Finally, when we’d crossed every “t” and dotted every “i”, the customer service rep asked why I wanted to change services. “Pricing,” I said.
“Oh, if we offered you the same service for $8.50 per year, would that make a difference?”
Of course it would! I immediately signed back on for 3 more years. But why didn’t she tell me that in the first place?
The news here, and I may be late to the party to really get this, is that companies want to hold onto customers. It’s a good time to negotiate, especially if the competition is knocking at your door.
BTW, I asked the customer rep if she’d mind if I blogged about our interchange. “Not at all,” she said. So I did.
I rejected the first cover proof of my book Soul Proprietor because the red in the New Edition area was too dark and the type on Lindsey’s name bled into the background.
My wonderful book designer Kim Barron made the necessary adjustments; we sent it back for modification, and the revised proof arrived this morning to my liking. Approved and checked off the long list of to-do’s.
Not sure you can see it on this size image, but in the dark area to my right, it says “Foreword by Lindsey Pollak.” I can’t tell you what a huge thrill this is for me. For those of you with children, you know that asking for things doesn’t always get you the desired answer. So, I was a little nervous making the request of my very successful first-born. She’s super busy, and I didn’t know if she’d appreciate the extra task on her list. She knocked me over with her generous acceptance, and touched me deeply with her eloquent words and heartfelt references. Wait’ll you read what she wrote…
I’m excited to tell you that I’m now taking pre-orders. We got the website and shopping cart set up. These first orders will be shipping out a month from today. Be the first in your entrepreneurial network to have your copy! Here’s the link to place your order. One of the bonuses in pre-ordering is that you can get an autographed copy. You can put in any special requests–names, salutations, quotes you’d like included in the inscription in the comments area on the order form–and I’ll gladly include them.
Years ago, when I was speaking at a conference in Virginia, I was having technical difficulties getting my laptop to ‘speak’ to the organization’s projector. “Why don’t you just buy your own projector so you don’t have to go through this angst?” the program director asked me. The real answer was “$1500″, but I mumbled something else at the time.I actually had the $1500, but chose not to allocate it on this one item at that time.
Actually, the bigger question is, where do I spend my resources when there are so many hungry mouths–technology upgrades, web upgrades, subcontractors, marketing expenses, etc., etc., etc.–to feed?
I keep a healthy escrow account for my business, but sometimes the demands exceed the supplies. That’s when judgment and prudence are called for. What’s most important at this moment?
I’ve just received a lengthy and detailed plan for my book launch which has me very excited. It was created by a pro who previously worked for someone with deep pockets. I teasingly liken my pockets to the new garment you buy where the stitches are still holding the sides of the pocket in place!
What I’ll do is meet with my team of financial advisers, map out my resources and my desires and needs, and figure out what I can afford and when. Of course, I want it ALL today, but that has a way of not working out for the best. What I can afford today is what I’ll purchase. And as more money flows in, I’ll have my checklist to move forward.
I did buy a projector for my laptop which has been a wonderful addition to my technology collection. I did it at the right time and with consideration. That seems to be my formula for success, even though it’s not a particularly sexy way to operate.
Life without power continues to be a challenge. Here’s a photo of the bugaboo keeping my neighborhood in the dark.
Born with an entrepreneurial spirit, I’m finding a way–blogging this morning from Panera Bread where there is free wi-fi (before the public library opens), showering at my fitness center, putting on my makeup by daylight coming through the kitchen window for last night’s Remarkable Women’s Network event.
Also, today I let my clients know by text that they’d need to call my cell phone for our sessions. I sat in my car with the motor running (fortunately, I drive a hybrid, so it didn’t use up any gas) and coached from the driver’s seat. Appropriate, no?!
This is getting old. It may go on until Friday, we’re told. But here’s what I’m grateful for:
That I live in a country where I am completely assured that this will get resolved.
That it’s Daylight Savings Time and I can still see things in my house without the benefit of my battery-powered lantern until about 7:30pm.
That I have owned a MacBook since last June which retains its battery power for 4-5 hours, or about 3 hours longer than my Dell laptop held out.
That good friends offered me showers and a place to stay should I need it.
That 21 Remarkable Women showed up for last night’s event in spite of whatever was going on at home. One woman even saw an added benefit of the evening that she could charge her cell phone there while networking. I love being around positive, action-oriented people.
I had the good fortune to use the organizing services of Emily Vetrosky of Organized Interiors by Emily last week. I gave Emily my wish list, then left to run a meeting. When I got back I was happy to see the results of her efforts.
One area of concern is the drawer where I keep all my correspondence materials, collections of cards I’ve bought throughout the year and envelopes and notecards I enjoy using. But I had a nanosecond of discontent when I saw the label Emily had printed out with the word ‘stationery’ misspelled. I’ll never forget an elementary school spelling lesson that taught ‘stationery’ meaning writing supplies has the letters ‘er‘ as in paper.
Anyone who has seen my intricate artwork knows my attention to detail. It was a tiny error, but it would bug me every time I opened that drawer. I sent Emily an email thanking her for her outstanding work, then gently letting her know the correct spelling of stationery. Not an important complaint, but thought she’d like to know. She was most gracious.
I knew I’d eventually print out my own label, but it was not a high priority. So you can imagine my delight when I opened my mail the other day and found this:
Besides being an excellent organizer, I now have the experience of Emily as professional, gracious and responsive. I can’t wait to recommend her! Oh! I just did.
I’m so proud of my dear friend, colleague and organizing professional Betsy Krobot. Her image is featured on the front page of the current Fairfield County Business Journal with an in-depth article about her business.
Besides being headline news and having her business publicized, what tickles me about this particular press piece is that the before-and-after featured behind Betsy is MY laundry room! I’m not afraid to reveal what a mess I was before Betsy arrived to help me.
I’m such an advocate of hiring professional organizers. Some of the areas that have helped me throughout the years, due to the talents of Betsy and others, are:
- Keeping a master notebook
- Moving my art books out of my business area to make room for more business opportunities to flow in
- Creating notebooks to track projects I’m working on
- Providing me with a tickler file
- Using the principles of feng shui to attract business and allow positive energy to circulate in my office and home
If you’ve never hired a professional organizer before, I suggest you try out their services this year. The return on investment is exponential. Your productivity will increase and your frustration level will be minimized. I know from my own experience how valuable Betsy’s and her colleagues’ services are.
For those of you reading comments to my blog on Macs, the problem of them getting cut off has been solved by my illustrious blogmaster, Lena West of xynoMedia. Thank you, Lena!
Kate Eisemann of Kate Eisemann Pictures, the talent behind my headshot selections, is busily de-mottling #4–a favorite among many of the voters on Monday. It’s a horse race between #1 and #4, so we’ll see if that makes a difference.
I’m taking the day off today to attend the Macrobiotic Conference put on by the Kushi Institute. I’ve been adhering to a mostly macrobiotic diet for two years now and feel healthier, more energetic and thinner. I will have some face time with Michio Kushi, the founder of the Institute, this afternoon when he meets with a group and offers his wisdom regarding their best health practices.
There’s a theme in this post–asking for help. It’s one of the hardest thing for us independent women to do. However, it has been so rewarding to me when I drum up the courage to ask that it’s become part of my daily practice to humble myself and admit I don’t know it all. What a relief!
