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Articles for Small Business Owners

Delegating responsibilities as a small business owner: 5 tasks to take off your plate right now

Leading a small business requires wearing many hats; CEO, CFO, bookkeeper and the first point of contact for customer care. You spend so much time overseeing each detail of your business, that sometimes it can feel like you don’t have the chance to step back and focus on actually growing it.

To help with this, participants in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program are encouraged to create and implement their business vision—something that requires leadership and strong communication. One of the keys to achieving this leadership vision is delegating some of your responsibilities. This allows you to spend time on bigger ideas, like strategic growth. Below are five tasks you should consider delegating or outsourcing to others.

1. Social Media

While you should still be overseeing the larger message you are putting out through your social media accounts, delegating the actual publishing of tweets or blogs takes something off your to-do list. To save even more time, task the same person with writing your posts and managing publication calendars.

2. IT Support

Updating and maintaining software systems usually requires a significant time investment. Delegate this task to an office manager or employee comfortable with computer systems. If you don’t have anyone in your business able to take this on, consider outsourcing IT support to a third party.

3. Book Keeping

Cash flow is the lifeblood of your business, and knowing the day-to-day numbers of what’s due in and what’s to be paid will always be important. However, invoicing, bookkeeping and other necessary administrative finance tasks could be passed onto an office manager or outsourced. But remember, if you do outsource, schedule regular check-ins to review accounts receivable/payable and ask if there is an online system you can use for instant access.

4. Customer Service

Once customer service guidelines are in place, there is no reason for you to serve as first point of contact for every customer query or concern. Instead, task an employee with strong personal skills to respond to customers or answer the phone.

5. Production or Labor

A great problem to have is more business than you can handle. If your resources are already stretched thin and you are offered new business, you risk sub-quality work or over-burdening your employees if you take on too much. In this scenario, consider subcontracting out production or labor to another business or vendor. You can then continue to build your business without having to turn down potential new customers. If you are considering this, make sure you have everything in writing about what is expected and work with your tax and legal professional to ensure you are remaining compliant.