As an entrepreneur, it’s likely you wear a lot of hats. From finance to marketing, the chances are you have a lot on your plate, especially if your business is still in its infancy. You may think that you should know, understand, and doing everything yourself in every area of your business. The trouble is that trying to do everything yourself can quickly backfire.
Writers have dubbed this as “Do-Everything- Yourself syndrome” and if you’re feeling overwhelmed and even burnt out, it could be possible that you’re suffering from it yourself.
What is Do-Everything-Yourself syndrome?
Put simply, Do-Everything-Yourself syndrome is wanting or needing to do everything yourself with very little delegation or accepting the help of others.
Do-Everything-Yourself syndrome can be sparked by the fact that you have a small or non-existent team, that you have a lack of funding or funding is being directed to parts of your business that you feel are more important, an unwillingness to part with limiting beliefs, and the desire to appear that you are working flat-out at making your business a success.
Wanting to do everything yourself can also stem from perfectionism (if I don’t do it myself, it won’t be done right) or even the need to feel in control.
What are the risks?
The danger of doing everything yourself is that it can result in burnout, poor quality sleep, weight gain and other physical health issues, unhealthy levels of stress and anxiety, and strained relationships in your personal life.
You may think you can do it all yourself and completely avoid the side effects listed above. But the truth is that, while our brains are magnificent, they have limitations. There is only so much our brains can process before they start to perform poorly. An under-performing brain can lead to things like making serious errors on your tax returns that end up costing you a lot of money down the line, and even promising things to clients that you end up not being able to deliver on, which could damage your reputation in the long-term.
If you’re doing everything yourself at work, it’s likely you have very little work-life balance. This could mean you are neglecting important relationships in your personal life and spending limited time on taking care of yourself.
Asking for help is the smart move
Lightening your load by asking for help and getting the right people in to assist you is a grown-up’s game. It’s something that the world’s top entrepreneurs have mastered, because doing everything themselves would not make them the success stories that they are.
It’s perfectly normal to find asking for help difficult. But it’s the smartest move you can make. And you’re a smart entrepreneur, right? Learning to kick that Do-Everything-Yourself syndrome to the curb can make you look like the smartest person in the room, in fact.
What to do instead
Rather than taking everything on yourself, consider all the positives that delegating and asking for help could result in. Like having more time to focus on areas of your business that need to be developed and expanded, such as sourcing better-quality leads for example. You will also have time to focus on the things that matter to you on a personal level.
Here’s how to get it right.
Automate
Without realising it, so much of what you are doing can be automated. From generating invoices to sending out your weekly newsletter, there are systems that can automate these tasks for you without you having to lift a finger.
Outsource
The benefits of outsourcing are endless. From getting access to remote employees who are highly skilled in their area of expertise to hiring virtual assistants to tackle your business-related admin. Usually, outsourcing is more cost-effective than hiring in-house – this means more hands on deck for a fraction of a price. Almost every business function you can think of can be outsourced.
A team over individuals
Let’s face it, the best results are usually achieved by a team rather than an individual. Even the most successful CEOs have had people help them along the way. Having a group of people tackle one thing is far more fruitful than trying to do it all on your own. A bonus is having extra sets of eyes and expertise on your project – something that can make the outcome that much more powerful.
Cost vs time
When it comes to doing everything all on your own, you need to weigh up how much time a task will take you versus paying for help. Sometimes paying someone to handle something for you – and having them do it the right way first time around – would take a lot less time than it would if you had done it yourself. It’ll also be more accurate. It’s important to weigh up what help would cost versus how much time you would waste doing it yourself and potentially making costly mistakes.
Build on the knowledge of others
When you ask for help, you are giving others the opportunity to flex their muscles. When you bring in someone to help who is potentially better at the task than you may be, you’re empowering them in their pursuit of success. It gives their strengths a chance to shine, and it makes you a better leader.
If you’re ready to ask for help but you’re not sure where to start, reach out to us and we can provide a solution tailored to your specific needs both within your business and personally. From virtual assistants to marketing assistants – we’ve got the ultimate cure to Do-Everything-Yourself syndrome.
