As an entrepreneur, you’re exhausted because when you’re a solo practitioner, there’s too much to do! It’s clear that you became an entrepreneur, or business owner, or solopreneur or freelancer because you had a talent and a passion for serving or creating in a certain way. Whether you love web design, or photography, or home organization, or wardrobe styling, this is the thing that keeps you energized.  

Building a business around your talent makes sense – you can offer it to appreciative clients, and they’ll pay you (and thank you) for your services. It fulfills revenue goals as well as personal development. But it’s been several years since you began and now it seems that you can’t cross off all the tasks in your list day by day or even week after week.  

How did you fall so far behind?

The Reality of Handling Everything Yourself 

Performing the service for the client is just one small part of the entire business owner experience. And that reality is hitting you hard, right in your face. Any company has many obligatory processes and tasks associated with it to sustain success. Falling behind on ordering supplies, planning, marketing, invoicing, selling, and following up is NOT an option. 

At some point, I’ll bet you declared “I didn’t sign up for this!” And you’d be right. 

As a business strategist, I’ve worked with many business owners over the years and one common refrain I hear is that they didn’t want to hire a team to do the work they love, essentially replacing themselves. After all, the client hired YOU and trusts YOU and doesn’t want replacements showing up when they were looking forward to working with you.  

Ever get an appointment to get your hair done with your favorite stylist only to discover their new junior trainee will be cutting your hair? NO THANKS.  

Enter The Role Chart  

You don’t need to be the Exhausted Entrepreneur with too much to do, no matter your budget. Unlike the old-fashioned organization charts that outline WHO does what, a Role Chart will declare WHAT needs to get done. What are all the pieces of the business that must happen? Everything from ordering supplies to returning phone calls to reconciling the bank account to attending networking events, creating social media posts, EVERYTHING. 

If you were to place the name of the person responsible next to each and every task, does it look like this? 

  • Perform client service – me
  • Invoice client – me 
  • Collect client review – me 
  • Networking events- me 
  • Follow up with prospect – me 
  • Social media posting- me 
  • Order supplies- me 
  • Return phone calls- me 
  • Send email campaign- me 

Take a few minutes to pretend you suddenly were gifted a team of 100 people. What are all the tasks you can have them do? 

  • Run down your list and ask yourself, “am I the ONLY person who can do this?” 
  • Also ask yourself, “am I the BEST person to get this done?” 

Spoiler alert, you are NOT the only person who can return a phone call. You are not the only person who can schedule a meeting in your calendar. You’re not even the only person who can attend a networking meeting on behalf of your company. Going through this exercise might shock you, in the best way. “Why the heck was I doing all this myself???” 

What Roles Are You Willing to Give Away? 

  • Are you the baker who loves to bake pies all day? Outsource everything else. 
  • Are you the fitness trainer who loves to work with the client? Outsource everything else. 
  • Are you the programmer who loves to code all day? Outsource everything else. 

There are plenty of interns, freelancers and gig workers who are ready to jump in on a contract-basis. You don’t have to go through the traditional employee hiring process right away. That might come later. Or never. 

Get the picture? Move out of your own way! 

How Can I Help You? 

If you need help and are reaching decision exhaustion and entrepreneurial loneliness, it may be time for you to enter a supportive group environment. The Clear Path Collaborative provides you with access to the Growth Positioning System, a business strategist, and fellow entrepreneurs who experience what you do and are ready to help each other on a steady path of growth. Running all aspects of a business alone is madness. Even when you have a team working with your clients, the buck stops with you and it’s lonely at the top. A peer advisory board has helped millions of business owners. Here’s how you can benefit as well.