A Web Design Entrepreneur’s Guide to Delegating Tasks
As an entrepreneur, it’s tempting to do everything yourself. But as your business scales and your responsibilities multiply, delegating tasks becomes essential. If you limit yourself to what you alone can accomplish, you’ll inevitably hit a ceiling. Your to-do list will keep growing, even when you’re working around the clock. You may also find that you won’t be able to serve as many clients, produce as much work, or generate as much revenue as you could with a team.
Having more work than you know what to do with is a good thing: it means your business is growing. But to sustain that growth, you have to ask for help. By delegating responsibility to experts—like seasoned copywriters, SEO specialists, and fellow web designers—you can take on more work without sacrificing quality or shirking deadlines. You can also spend your time focusing on the tasks you most enjoy and the places where you add the most value to your business.
Understanding when to delegate
A growing business should keep you busy, but it shouldn’t leave you overwhelmed or burned out. If you’re struggling to meet deadlines, produce high-quality work, or get through your to-do list, you have two options: reduce your workload or expand your team. By thoughtfully delegating responsibility to others, you can build a business that grows and endures.
As you grow your business, your workload will also expand to include tasks you may not be well-suited to, and you may want to broaden the kinds of services you offer your clients. By focusing on your strengths and outsourcing your weaknesses, you can scale your business without compromising quality. You can also spend more time doing what you love.
Deciding which tasks to outsource
Delegating requires you to thoughtfully consider your bandwidth, skill set, and goals.
Start by examining your workload. Do you have time to take on new tasks? If you’re pulling all-nighters or struggling to get everything done, you need to offload some responsibility. Identify tasks that someone else could complete and outsource them. By delegating those responsibilities, you can free up time and spare yourself stress.
Then, optimize for efficiency. Is the work you’re doing the best use of your time? As an entrepreneur, your attention will be pulled in different directions. But some tasks consume excessive time, compared to the value they deliver. Try to delegate tasks that deliver a low return on investment. After all, your time is a precious and finite resource. To sustainably grow your business, you need to direct resources where they can make the biggest impact.
When it comes to delegating effectively, consider your strengths and weaknesses. Do you have the skills, background, or expertise needed to complete a given task? As an early-stage entrepreneur, dabbling makes sense, but it quickly becomes inefficient. If you encounter a task you can’t confidently complete without investing time and money into additional learning, outsource it to an expert who can accomplish it quickly.
As your business scales and your team expands, be even more selective: are you truly the best person for the job? Effective delegation isn’t about what you can do, but what you should do. So if you’re a capable copywriter and a best-in-class designer, focus on design. Delegate your writing work to a passionate expert who can save you time and ultimately strengthen your final product.
When delegating, keep your goals in mind. Are you trying to maximize revenue, offer a wider variety of services, or make your days more manageable? These priorities will give you clarity, helping you understand when to delegate, what to outsource, and who to collaborate with.
Finding the right collaborators
To become an effective delegator, you need to build a great team. So decide which tasks to delegate and determine what expertise they require. Some tasks may call for seasoned experts, while others simply require someone who’s helpful and eager to learn.
Potential team members include:
Personal assistants: Assistants can help you manage your schedule, file invoices, and interface with clients. They can also take on writing, design, or development work as needed, depending on their interests and expertise.
SEO specialists: If you’re in the business of making websites, you want those websites to be seen. By implementing SEO best practices and strengthening your content, SEO specialists can help you reach more people.
Social media experts: Social media experts can bring your work to more platforms. They can help you create engaging content, dream up social-friendly projects, and understand what performs best on each channel.
Writers and editors: Whether you’re building websites or branding businesses, you’ll need to craft great copy. Writers can draft that copy and editors can polish it off, offering guidance and oversight as needed.
Designers: Designers can make your content navigable and memorable. Graphic designers can create stunning logos, information designers can make complex data comprehensible, and UX (user experience) designers can vet your products for navigability.
Web developers: Web developers can help you build the exciting projects you’ve dreamt up. They can also help you add complex functionality to your projects by automating tasks, building interactive features, or creating personalized experiences.
There are many places to find great talent. You can turn to freelancing platforms, networking groups, agencies, and more.
Pro tip: To get the right support for your business, mix and match full-time and part-time team members.
Mastering delegation best practices
Effective delegation takes time, effort, and consistent communication. As you build your delegation skills, keep the following best practices in mind:
Set clear expectations
When delegating tasks, be clear. Team members should know what their deliverables are, when they’re expected, and how their work will be evaluated. If you expect team members to use certain file formats, meet specific word counts, or adhere to in-house guidelines, clarify those expectations ahead of time. Consider creating reference guides that spell out in-house best practices.
Streamline team communication
Quash confusion before it crops up. Establish clear channels of communication, so people know where to go with questions and everyone knows what they’re responsible for. Using Squarespace permissions, you can give team members different access to projects based on their responsibilities. You can get even more granular with Squarespace Enterprise, using roles and permissions to assign capabilities to team members and using tagging and filtering to track the progress of different tasks.
Provide constructive feedback
When team members turn in work, provide clear feedback. Let people know what they’re doing right, and when they miss the mark, tell them what went wrong and how they can fix it. Remember that training takes time, even when you’re working with experts, so resist the urge to make changes without explaining them. People can’t improve unless they know what mistakes they’re making. Investing in training now can save you hours of editing later.
Review and improve your system
Over time, your business will evolve. Your goals may change, your needs may expand, and your team members may develop new skills or interests. To keep pace with these changes, schedule periodic check-ins. Vet your delegation system for inefficiencies, and ask your team members where they see room for improvement.
Effective delegation can transform your growing business. Whether your goal is to save time, maximize profits, or serve more people, mastering the art of delegating can help you get there.
Want more?
Check out Squarespace Circle, Squarespace’s program for professional web designers, developers, digital entrepreneurs, and creatives. Along with exclusive content, discounts, and other perks, Circle brings professionals together from all across the globe to exchange advice while connecting with new clients and collaborators.
