Don't just think about it. Delegate!

We keep talking about working ON the business versus IN - everyone has an opinion, advice or at least a comment to make. But at the end of the day, it is what we DO, not what we TALK, that matters, and this is where I keep seeing bottlenecks and failures happening.

Let me explain: I see business leaders and consultants making mistakes in delegating more, but I am shocked by the number of dangerous situations many entrepreneurs get into because of a common failure to understand how complex technology has become. Yes, technology and automation are supposed to make things faster and more accessible, and this is something technology does deliver, no doubt about that. However, if we ignore its complexity, we and our businesses have a high chance of getting in trouble, being less efficient than we could, and failing to reach the growth level we want to achieve.

As you are probably wondering what the heck I'm talking about, I'll stop beating around the bush: I'm talking about delegating your online digital platforms administration or activities to someone else in your business or a third party. The number of times I've seen business owners hand over the password to a third-party agency instead of looking into how to delegate appropriately is simply mind-boggling.

BUT... Stop doing it the wrong way!

Most online platforms have features to allow you to give limited, controlled access to their components to anyone who's supposed to perform various activities. The parts are there, whether system administration, billing and accounting, publishing, or simply using an email account. Or they should be. If they are not, it means the platform is only for personal use, and you should think twice before relinquishing your password.

A while back, a customer came to me scared because the web designer vanished, was not answering calls or emails and had all the passwords to the web hosting and social media accounts. Luckily, we managed to recover most - but not all; hence there is still an Instagram account with beautiful content sitting there doing nothing. We then configured everything, so the customer owns all the online platform accounts and has enabled proper delegation to many freelancers and agencies to do the work.

It's not so tricky (albeit a bit time-consuming), and you need to do it only once.

There is another benefit in delegating the right way. You can measure and compare what your trusted workers do, enabling the team to lift their game based on actual results. It also allows you to focus more on what matters most for the business: your entrepreneurial spirit. Finding new solutions to increase productivity, profitability, new products, and services are all possible when you stop spending time DOING things and move to manage the team.

So, next time you want to have someone else - a freelancer or agency - do some work for you, make sure you prepare first, understand how the respective platform(s) work. Then you can give access, knowing that your accounts, content and data will be safe in the long term.