Embrace the idea that an operational hire is an investment that will allow you to scale.
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You can’t scale your business if you’re drowning in day-to-day, back-office tasks.
The truth is, hiring an operations person is a strategic necessity. Yes, it’s overhead. Yes, it stings financially. But trying to do it all yourself is like putting your business in a chokehold. Unless you enjoy this part of businessing, you’re not being “fiscally responsible” by handling operations yourself. You’re actually limiting your company’s growth potential and probably doing a mediocre job of both operations and strategy.
Refocus Your Energy Where It Belongs
Here’s the thing: Spending your energy on tasks that aren’t your strong suit is a lose-lose situation. Not only will you feel the stress of working against your natural talents, but you’ll probably end up cutting corners. Personally, I much prefer using my energy for strategizing new services, engaging in the sales process, and coaching my team, which is where my strengths reside.
The earlier you can afford to bring someone in to oversee your operations, the quicker they’ll be able to handle everything from compliance to cash flow while you focus on what you do best: growing your business. The better person you hire for this role, the more proactively they will look to improve operational efficiencies.
Having someone in operations early can proactively improve operational efficiencies, which ultimately helps scale your business faster and more sustainably. Like me, initially, you may not need a full-time employee, which will help offset the burden of cost. Fractional operations professionals can also bring a wealth of experience to the table because they see a variety of businesses. With that variety comes perspectives that could introduce you to different operational strategies that you can benefit from. They may have other vendors that they can recommend to save money or provide better services.
Finding an Operations Manager
To find an operations person who is custom-fit to your organization, you’ll do well to Success Stage a job description that details how you envision an operations person will help improve your operational efficiencies. (For a refresher on Success Staging and job descriptions, revisit my blog from [date!]) These initial questions will serve you well as you contemplate someone stepping into the role of providing operational support for your organization.
- What is the vision for the role?
- What impact does the role have on the company?
- Without having this role, how does it negatively impact your company?
- Who will they interact with—what people (by title) and/or departments?
- What type of person do you want to attract?
- What are the unique challenges they will be faced with?
Additionally, determine if this is a full-time role or if this could be done fractionally. Finally, make sure that your operations person documents all your processes. As you distance yourself from your back office, this will be critical should the person leave.
The Value-Add is Worth the Money
Embrace the idea that an operational hire is an investment that will allow you to scale. It may seem like a lot of money, but what you will get back in time, focus, and energy to work on your business will be worth it. Think of it this way: Every minute you spend wrestling with back-end business or figuring out compliance requirements is a minute you’re not spending on business development, refining your services, or coaching your team. Your operations person does more than handle tasks. The right one buys you back your time and mental energy so you can focus on where you really add value.