Let’s pretend I run a trade business for a minute.

I have these different kinds of hats:

• Tradie – I’m on the tools, doing work sometimes
• Salesperson – I’m doing sales
• Estimator – I’m doing the quotes, too
• Marketing person – (small hat – don’t do much)
• Project Manager
• Scheduler
• Invoicing person
• Bookkeeper
• Leader
• Manager

It’s too many hats, isn’t it?

Not very practical.

How many hats are you wearing?

Too many?

Obviously, too many are bad.

In your business, it’s a problem because you end up not doing any of the jobs well.

You don’t give them enough time or attention (because you’re busy) or you’re a bit half-arsed and don’t do a proper job.

Or you rush it.

Or you work long hours.

Or both.

Or you don’t wear the hat you should be wearing!

It’s costing you money to have these jobs not done very well.

It’s costing you money and it’s costing you opportunities.

It’s probably costing you sleep and sanity.

So what should you do?

Of course, you should find other people to wear some of these hats and hand them off.

That’s how you grow your business, isn’t it?

You build systems and engage the people who can wear the hats (supported by you and the systems, of course).

I said engage the people deliberately, too.

You can hire people, of course. 

But you can hire or engage a business too – a bookkeeper, a Virtual Assistant, an agency or a consultant. You have options here. You can give a hat or a responsibility to someone who’s already in your business or you can give one to your partner or your Mum or Dad. You get the idea. Think broader.

So here’s a process for taking some hats off and giving them to someone else to wear (i.e. offloading responsibility to someone else in or outside your business.)

1. Identify one hat to take off (do them one at a time – keep things simple).
2. Identify a sucker; someone who will look good in that hat (someone who can take the responsibility on).
3. Write the system – the instructions for how to do the job – and a checklist and teach it to your person.
4. Once they get it, hand over the responsibility and hold them accountable for following the system.

Once they’re confident and doing it well, you can step back and hold them accountable for the results.

Then, rinse and repeat.

How many hats are you wearing? Head hot?

I’ve made a worksheet. Message in the popup chat that appears on the page ‘Hat Me’ or something and I’ll send it to you.

Make a list of the hats you’re wearing and pick one to offload.

Make a list of victims to throw your hat to and pick one for the task you’re offloading.

Write the system and a checklist and off you go.