Founders, especially those from blue-collar backgrounds, often fall into the trap of trying to do everything themselves. This 'hero' mindset can lead to burnout, stagnation in business growth, and ultimately, failure. The problem is particularly acute for small business owners who struggle to delegate tasks and trust others, leading to unsustainable workloads and stress.
Pain Points
- Founders feel compelled to handle all tasks themselves
- leading to excessive workload.
- Difficulty in trusting and delegating tasks to others.
- High risk of burnout due to unsustainable work habits.
- Business growth is hindered by the founder's inability to focus on strategic tasks.
- Financial strain from inefficient operations and reliance on paid ads.
When you first start a business, you’re forced to wear many hats. Coming from a blue collar background that 'do it yourself' mindset is magnified. You tell yourself 'If I don't do it, it won't get done' That mindset is a trap. To grow, you have to trust people. # Transition ASAP It’s true that you have to put in an exorbitant amount of work in the beginning - especially if you don’t have capital or a team yet. However, that transition shouldn't take forever. If you’re still in the field doing the manual work yourself, your top priority needs to be getting out of the day to day labor and hiring for sales, daily ops or marketing. It’s incredibly easy to get stuck in a routine, but you have to keep moving if business growth is the goal. You cannot be working in the field, handling calls, trying to drum up business, handle numbers etc. It's a recipe for disaster. # Burn out is real I learned this the hard way. My business was doing well until KO-vid hit, and then everything just got knocked out. I remember sitting in my office - no calls, no messages, just silence. Right then and there, I realized I was in too deep. My business wasn't going anywhere, and neither was I. I knew what I was doing solo was unsustainable. I was burning out daily. It was time to hire help. Wish I realized that sooner. Not through the pain of being overwhelmed but via a lesson from someone else. # Long term vision During the slow time I decided to start hiring. I didn't do it just to get my time back; I did it to allow people who were better at specific tasks to handle them. As soon as I let go of the "only I can do it" mentality, the business finally started to scale. I stopped being the bottleneck. My big bet to invest in help while things were looking bleak worked in the long term and still feels like a big win. In the moment I was scared it would saddle the business with too much overhead but we quickly grew out of it. I mentioned this in one of my previous posts but finding and bringing on a professional to optimize our organic traffic was the most pivotal decision and another big long term win. For a local business like my service in Chicago, showing up in organic search is everything. Before this, We were bleeding cash on paid ads just to keep the schedule full. Once the organic traffic was built and finally kicked in, we were able to completely shut off our ads. Now, even during the notoriously slow seasons when competitors are struggling for leads, we stay consistently booked and continue to do well entirely off organic traffic. You won't see me posting on local fb groups anymore hoping to get some work. I'm telling you this because I wish someone flat out told me being a hero isn't it. Business is about people. Yes, these decisions are hard. Bringing help will lower your profit margin temporarily. You will have more responsibility as the founder. You're scared if this big bet to pay for SEO is going to work out. # Just do it I am here to tell you and show you that it worked out in my case. That finding great people to surround myself with propelled my business forward. I reclaimed my sanity. I've seen big bets pay off with enough time and work. I know same thing can happen for you. Where are you in your business? What is something you're hesitating on? I'd love to hear about something that you were scared to do but ended up being a long term win for you and your business!