You are a startup owner. Well, congratulations for being in the club of entrepreneurs.
But privileges come with pain points, isn’t it?
There are a few perks of being a startup owner. And the most common one is the lack of time.
Most of the entrepreneurs and startup heads wish for more than 24 hours in a day. However, it is also true that this ubiquitous wish can’t be granted.
Then, what? Is there any way to find more time for things that matter?
The answer is yes. What you need to do is to save time by taking unnecessary tasks off your plate.
In today’s post, I’m going to share with you 7 tasks that you should stop doing immediately. After reading this post, you will know how you can find time for the core business activities.
Without further ado, let’s discuss these tasks that you should not be doing.
1. Social Media Management.
Love it or hate it, but you cannot ignore it. Social media has become a necessary evil these days.
43% small business owners spend 6 or more hours per week on social media. Needless to say, this is a significant amount of time. You can save it if you delegate social media management tasks to others.
If you are running short of employees, you can hire a social media virtual assistant for the same. Your social media virtual assistant can do a wide range of tasks, which include but not limited to:
- Creating Facebook page and LinkedIn page for your business
- Growing and interacting with your audience on different social channels
- Updating basic information on your different social profiles
- Keeping an eye on your competitors
Outsourcing social media tasks can save you around 6 hours per week, which is a significant amount of time.
2. Influencer Marketing.
It’s powerful, it’s social, and everyone is talking about it. Well, you guessed it right. I’m talking about influencer marketing.
Why influencer marketing?
81% of marketers believe that influencer marketing is effective and 59% marketer plant to increase their influencer marketing budget.
The point here is, Influencer marketing is the latest fad among marketers. But it is also equally true that you need to spend a great deal of time on influencer marketing.
From defining ideal influencer profile to reaching out to your influencers, there are many time-consuming steps you need to follow for successful influencer marketing.
It will be better if you don’t try to indulge in influencer marketing yourself.
Delegate influencer marketing tasks to someone in your organization and spend your time on high-value tasks, such as finding new opportunities for your business.
3. Internet Research.
Whether it is for gaining competitive intelligence or searching for new markets, business owners these days are spending a boatload of time on the Internet research. If you are doing the same, you should stop doing it.
I mean, seriously, should you spend 1-2 hours daily on the Internet research, even when you can easily hire a remote Internet research assistant?
No, you shouldn’t.
Hire a remote Internet research assistant and save 1-2 hours daily.
Your Internet research assistant will search the web as per your instructions and compile the data in your desired format.
4. OnSite Blog Management.
So you understand the importance of having an onsite blog. And you manage it yourself – be it posting content on your website or replying to comments on the posts or sharing your posts on different social channels.
To tell you the truth, my friend, you shouldn’t do it yourself.
Onsite blog management is a time-consuming task. You must delegate it.
My friend Rebecca is running a popular recipe website. Her life has become beautiful ever since she hired a virtual assistant for onsite blog management.
What’s more, a virtual assistant can also search for guest blogging opportunities as per your niche.
Do you still want to do onsite blog management yourself?
Related: 5 Unexpected Business Expenses to Account For
5. Making Travel Arrangements.
As a startup head, you must be traveling a lot to make those business deals, to attend seminars, and to search for investors.
Though it appears to be simple, making travel arrangement takes time. And you should really not be keeping tabs on flights and hotels.
Your assistant should be taking care of all of your travel arrangements.
If you don’t have a personal assistant, hire a virtual assistant. But never, I mean never indulge in such a low-value task.
6. Sending eNewsletters.
Whether you have launched a new product or you want to provide your prospects and customers with any update on your existing products, eNewsletters are a great way to do so.
But you should certainly not be handling this task. Being a business leader, you should lead your team by examples.
Which examples?
Do challenging tasks, such as making strategies to outgrow your competitors, searching for new avenues for your business, etc.
Non-core tasks like sending eNewsletters must be delegated.
7. SlideShare/Powerpoint Presentation.
Believe me or not, meetings are a big time-killer. Now, you must be thinking that meetings are an integral part of every business; how come they are a time-killer?
Well, before a meeting, you need to prepare SlideShare/PowerPoint presentations. This is where you spend your precious time.
Do you really think you should spend hours on preparing presentation slides?
The answer is a big resounding No. Delegate SlideShare/Powerpoint presentation tasks to someone in your company and prepare for how to tackle your competition. Or you can hire a virtual assistant for the same.
These are the 7 tasks you should stop doing immediately.
Delegation is a new success mantra in the business world. Most successful entrepreneurs hire virtual assistants to delegate tasks these days.
The entrepreneurial journey is never easy: most of the startup owners wish they had more than 24 hours in a day: a wish that can’t be fulfilled.
However, you can save a significant amount of time if you delegate social media management, influencer marketing, Internet research, onsite blog management, travel arrangements, SlideShare/Powerpoint presentation tasks to others. Also, you shouldn’t be sending eNewsletters to your prospects.
What about you?
Do you want to suggest any task that startup owners shouldn’t be doing?
About The Author
This is a guest post by Anupam Rajey, a seasoned marketer and sales expert. He is the CEO of Acelerar Tech, a leading KPO that offers va services for email list building, social media, Internet research, ecommerce & chat support, and more.
