I did something this week that I have never done before. It was hard for me to do, but I decided to throw caution to the wind and take the plunge and just do it.
I actually hired a service to mow my lawn. A neighbor left a flyer at the house and I gave him a call. He's a local fireman that has decided to venture out on his days off and start his own little enterprise.
It was extremely hard for me to give up control of my own landscaping. I worried about it all day. But it sure was nice on a 90+ degree day to come home and have the lawn manicured like it hasn't been in years.
And the time that it freed up allowed me to be more productive in doing the thing that I do best, which is lead generation.
I know for a fact that over time it is more cost effective to delegate lesser responsibilities to others and focus on my own work. It's the key to growing a successful business.
And it sure is cooler in here than it is out there!
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Congratulations Richard on giving up the control of your yard. I know it is very hard to give it up but you are probably correct in that the delegating out, in the long run, is more beneficial.
I have never been able to find someone that does it like my husband does. He takes great care of which way he mows to fold the grass and give it the baseball diamond look. Many lawn people don't have a clue how to do that.
Good for you Richard. I hope they do a nice job and continue to allow you more time for other things.
Richard, that is possibly one of the hardest things to do. Good for you, figuring it out! There are just some things we need to let go of and let others do. Just like we are asking people to let go and let us give them advise and sell their homes! I hope you didn't stay to watch, LOL.
Great step forward...I try to do everything myself too, but as you say there's a point when you need to figure out if what you're doing is really cost effective!
You made a wise decision, Richard. Time is a valuable commodity and too often we waste it. And on the other side .... you have helped a young entrepreneur to get started on his way to independence. Two wins with one phone call.
Richard,
I understand the pain of "letting go"...it's so hard when you are a take charge person.
I have been training myself to delegate more and honestly, have been pleasantly pleased by the results of my team. Honestly, they do a better job than I did (trying to do 20 things all at the same time!)
Congrats on your delegation! Now you can bask in the glow of appreciation for your yard being done!
Richard: It's all about how much value you put being worth an hour.. .you are right, delegating responsibilities it's another step to reach a higher level on your business..
Hey Richard, Enjoy! Good Help is hard to find!
Rick...
It's time V. money, and attitude too. I got to where I really hated cutting the grass! Thanks.
Laura...
Well then, you ARE delegating! lol and thanks!
Paddy...
It looks much better than I would have done ... I usually makes it as quick of a job that I can! Thanks for the comment.
I like this! I am seriously considering delegating my house work too! It does get very difficult trying to do it all!
Richard,
Sort of like the commercial concept, "highest and best use." That being said, delegating is still difficult to do sometimes.
Rich
Richard, delegating tasks is the only way to go, but sometimes it is hard to let go. Sometimes my expectations are too high and I end up doing it myself. Starting off with a lawn service is a good way to go.
Andrea...
I forced myself to stay away! (How did you know?) lol and thanks.
Laura...
Part if being a real estate agent is the "type A" personality, which makes it REALLY hard to give up control. THX
Carol...
That's exactly the way I looked at it! Thanks for the support.
I'm a firm believer in paying people to do the job they do best, and freeing up my time to do the job that I do best.
Unfortunately, nobody is willing to pay me to "loiter" (which, according to my wife, is what I do best)... so i practice real estate instead.
I'd delegate all my work if I could still stay in business! I do think it's good management to delegate tasks, and it frees you up to do more meaningful or creative ones.
Richard, congratulations on getting some help. allowing someone else to mow in 90+ degree weather is a wise choice.
Congratulations Richard, I delegate as much as possible. Some may see that as lazy, but me I find it just allows more time to do even more things. So that there is even more stuff to delegate which allows for even more time to do stuff.............and you see where I'm going with this......
Hi Richard... Good for you! Giving up control of even the simplest of tasks can be very difficult for Type A's. When I delegate I always have to work hard to fight the inclination to micromanage.
Smart move, Richard! I have long advocated paying people to do what they do best so I can concentrate on what I do best - and on those things I enjoy doing. Besides, it helps the economy! At least that's how I have always justified it. LOL
good for you. I am big believer in delegating these tasks if you can afford to. It frees up your time for business or to spend quality time with your family.
I understand your feelings on this one Richard. I hate to let anyone do what I feel like is my task, but in the end, sometimes it's better to take some of the load off so you can focus more on work.
Good for you! I just hired a real estate marketing assistant this week. It was a choice between spending a bit more time around the house and time to do prospecting or time to do real estate data entry. I chose prospecting and time around the house. I couldn't do it all.
Now, just wait until you give up some tasks to a Virtual Assistant! It's going to rock your world, Richard. Same concept but the results are even more far-reaching than lawn care!
Congratulations on taking that first step which will put so many things in place for future "letting go!"
~Renae
Hi Richard, Congratulations of feature post. yes we do have to give up some control from time to time, and delegate it to others. nice blog!
www.charlottelakewyliehomes.com
LOL @ Lourdes...I want to delegate my housework too!
Good for you Richard, delegating and knowing what you can and cannot do is important....
Richard, you and Jeff Turner have similar ideas this week about mowing the grass, he doing it himself, you delegating it. Good for you. I delegated this task at least eight years ago and I don't miss the sweat at all. I get my exercise doing other things now. It is a better use of your time letting someone else do it.
Good job!!! I have some one do my lawn and have a gal come in to do house work for me...have had to cut it back from twice a month to once a month....but it sure does help out! When I went to work at Keller WIlliams 3 years ago I also got a transaction coordinator....does she do anything that i can't do or won't do??? Absolutely not. Some may say they can't afford it and I wonder some times myself...but if I continue to do $10 an hour work how can i do the money making activities that I need to do to make my business successful?? It is a huge help to me to have the TC. My new husband lives in another state so i travel to visit him for 2-3 weeks at a time. I also used to have to travel a lot for Association Leadership positions I was in and I couldn't have done it and kept my business going with out the help! And trust me....I still am overseeing and aware of everything that is going on!! I am to much of a control freak not to....and I talk with my clients first before I let her do items that need to be done. But it is such a relief to have a back up like her!!!
Now what else will you delegate?? LOL
Good job!!! I have some one do my lawn and have a gal come in to do house work for me...have had to cut it back from twice a month to once a month....but it sure does help out! When I went to work at Keller WIlliams 3 years ago I also got a transaction coordinator....does she do anything that i can't do or won't do??? Absolutely not. Some may say they can't afford it and I wonder some times myself...but if I continue to do $10 an hour work how can i do the money making activities that I need to do to make my business successful?? It is a huge help to me to have the TC. My new husband lives in another state so i travel to visit him for 2-3 weeks at a time. I also used to have to travel a lot for Association Leadership positions I was in and I couldn't have done it and kept my business going with out the help! And trust me....I still am overseeing and aware of everything that is going on!! I am to much of a control freak not to....and I talk with my clients first before I let her do items that need to be done. But it is such a relief to have a back up like her!!!
Now what else will you delegate?? LOL
Good job!!! I have some one do my lawn and have a gal come in to do house work for me...have had to cut it back from twice a month to once a month....but it sure does help out! When I went to work at Keller WIlliams 3 years ago I also got a transaction coordinator....does she do anything that i can't do or won't do??? Absolutely not. Some may say they can't afford it and I wonder some times myself...but if I continue to do $10 an hour work how can i do the money making activities that I need to do to make my business successful?? It is a huge help to me to have the TC. My new husband lives in another state so i travel to visit him for 2-3 weeks at a time. I also used to have to travel a lot for Association Leadership positions I was in and I couldn't have done it and kept my business going with out the help! And trust me....I still am overseeing and aware of everything that is going on!! I am to much of a control freak not to....and I talk with my clients first before I let her do items that need to be done. But it is such a relief to have a back up like her!!!
Now what else will you delegate?? LOL
I find alot of joy and peace when I left my book keeper help with inputing my business expenses. Like you, I figured my time is best spent on my business.
When I first read your title, I thought you had meant subbing some of the important business tasks and I'm glad you talked about lawn care.
It is hard to let go. I know there are things I should pay someone else to do, but the cash flow is so unstable I hate to commit to the expense.
Shucks. Delegating is one of my best skills. Everyone who comes to my home knows I'm going to be on my computer making the money to pay them to do what they do far better than I.
OMG, Richard, we just did the same thing with the lawn. it's a bit different: we are the builders and did all the landscaping. It felt wasteful to pay someone to do it but... you are right. It is so nice to come home & find it nicely done.
Great post! In the book Millionaire Real Estate Agent, it's mentioned that in order to succeed, you should consider delegating, just as you did!
This is such sensible advice and yet so hard to do. Congratulations on getting the time off from the yard.
It's the little things that you have to let go of and then you will find so much freed up time. Good post about letting go.
Richard, this reminds me of me several years ago. Having moved into a very large 5 bedroom house, I found that I didn't have the time to cut the grass and take care of the flower beds, so I hired someone. Then because of time constraints I hired a person to come in and clean the house. Next, I found that I didn't have time to clean the pool, so I hired someone for that too.... When it finally dawned on me that I didn't even get a chance to relax in the pool until mid June, that I was in too big of a house, too big of a yard, and having a pool that I didn't use enough to justify the cost of upkeep.
So I sold the house, moved into a condo community with a pool. Now I don't have a yard to take care of, a pool that I can use when I have time, a place that I can keep up with when needed to be clean... For me, lesson learned.......
It is great when you have a personal assistant. No more meaningless tasks, just being with people.
I've been trying to figure out a way to delegate some of my real estate work but haven't figure out just what can be delegated. On the listing side, plenty of things can be handled by an assistance but how do you delegate when you work mostly with buyers? Anyone have ideas?
Jenny, maybe have a pa or va to do the downloading the showings, map out the trips either by mapquest or GPS. The va/pa can fill out the contracts subject to your review of course. They can pick up keys, checks, documents. Pick up dry cleaning, do your banking. Drive you and the clients from showing to showing. Now that I think about it--I need a va/pa.