Small Business Minute #23 – Who's Got Your Back?
As entrepreneurs we are use to doing everything because in the beginning there wasn’t anyone else. As they say, old habits are hard to break so when a staff member gets sick or overwhelmed, we’re usually the first ones to jump in and cover the situation. But who covers for you when you get sick? Who’s got your back?
We're Only Human
I know we think we’re superhuman, and sometimes we really are, but most of the time we’re just frail human beings just like everyone else and we need to seriously consider a contingency plan. How would your business operate if you we’re sidelined for a week or even worse a couple of months?
Now chances are no one employee can wear all your hats, but chances are if properly allocated across a few employees you would most likely cover 70-80% of your critical duties and would allow your company to continue to function if your absence was more than just a couple of days.
Who's Got Your Back?
So where do you begin? Ideally look for those task that can be easily transitioned like staff or project scheduling. Who does the invoicing? If you train someone else as a back up, your cash flow won’t be terribly disrupted while you’re benched. Is quality control part of your oversight? Again, train someone because you can’t afford to have completed orders sitting on the floor and missing deadlines.
The thing is,