You gotta spend money to make money…

Invest in your business…

Ummmmm…. Somethinggggg…. issss…. missingggggg…. heeeeeere….. whaaaaat…. coulddddd… iiiit…. beeeeee…. Hmmmmm

OH, YEAH – YOU GOTTA DO STUFF!

I’m talking about good ole’ implementation. Putting things into effect. Taking action. Carrying it out. Accomplishing stuff. Actualizing your ideas. Simply put: Getting sh!t done.

I’m writing about this today because I work with a lot of people who both create programs, AND invest in them. I see lots of money being spent on all the “secrets”, “systems”, and “strategies” of seriously legitimate awesome “guru people” who have had great success in one area or another. But then…there is a gap. How do you get the idea/ ebook/ sales page/ teleseminar/ webinar/ coaching program/ booklet/ system/ thingamabob/ doohicky/ whatchamacallit  to YOUR people?

“BUT LAURIEEEEEEE,” you think, “I already know what you’re going to sayyyyy – hire a Virtual Assistant. I will, I will, as soon as my idea/ ebook/ sales page/ teleseminar/ webinar/ coaching program/ booklet/ system/ thingamabob/ doohicky/ whatchamacallit makes some money. THEN, I will be ready to hire your team.”

Yeahhhhhh…that is what we call a catch-22. A dilemma. A quandary. A vicious circle. A classic chicken-and-egg problem.

Okay, so – it’s not about hiring “my” team. (well, it kinda is – in the long run, but that’s not the point) – it’s about hiring help. Any help. Maybe my help. Maybe not.

Here are the two things you need to know about delegating effectively:

1. Make a Choice: Is it going to be perfect or is it going to be finished?

You have to be able to recognize and accept “good enough.” When you are delegating work to other people you have to let go of your idea of perfection. Now, we know you might fear delegation because you worry that somebody else can’t do something like you can, and you are right. Nobody will ever do it exactly the same way you would, but it’s okay. This is not to say that you should accept sloppy work – don’t do that. Just be prepared to let go and be done when it is good enough.

My new favorite quote I found this morning by Guy Kawasaki:

Don’t worry, be crappy. Revolutionary means you ship and then test… Lots of things made the first Mac in 1984 a piece of crap – but it was a revolutionary piece of crap.

2. Learn to recognize your “stuck point”.

Your stuck point is thing that holds you back from getting something done. Say you have 80% of your e-book, teleclass, blog post, or whatever, written. If you find that no matter how often you sit down determined to finish it, for some reason you just cannot get through it, you have reached your stuck point.

Maybe your e-book is not done because it needs some formatting, graphics, or a cover. A good Virtual Assistant (or friend, business partner, sister, mom, or basically somebody other than you) can help get you past your stuck point and get your project done.

Hand the draft of your ebook/ sales page/ teleseminar/ webinar/ coaching program/ booklet/ system/ thingamabob/ doohicky/ whatchamacallit over to a great copywriter / virtual assistant / business partner / or other random person who can implement stuff, to finish it so it can be uploaded to your shopping cart already. That way it’s off your plate and in the hands of buyers, where it really belongs. It may not be your exact idea of perfect, but it will be good enough.

And more importantly, it will be: boom, done.