This blog post has been authored by Stand Out Online Member Kelly O’Neil, Innovate Media Services

“I DON’T JUST RUN MY BUSINESS, I AM MY BUSINESS.”
Ever find yourself saying that, or thinking it? It’s a pretty common mindset for entrepreneurs who have started gaining traction.

At first, you might say it with pride. And for good reason—you just built something awesome! But doesn’t take long before reality sets in. Yes, you got your business off the ground, and maybe even flying pretty high. But that lift-off came at a price: now you’re stuck behind the computer or on the phone all day, every day.

There are three major problems with this scenario:

It sacrifices your best interests. Being trapped in the hustle-and-grind of your business will eventually burn you out, if it hasn’t already. It brings your personal growth to a standstill and prevents you from bringing your true genius to the world. And, it can really mess with your health. (Take it from me—I’ve been there.)
It can damage your relationships. When your business sucks up so much of your time and energy, your spouse, family, and friends may start feeling neglected. You may find that your loved ones either drift away, or relationships become difficult.
It hamstrings your business. Believe it or not, you can actually grow your business without managing operations, or even worse, executing project tasks, every day. In fact, stepping back from these things is the ONLY way to scale profitably.
I wanted to share my step-away-and-still-prosper secrets with you, so you can take that me-time you have needed for so long, and which your relationships, and even your business need, too. Here are the 3 crucial steps you can — honestly, need to — take to get yourself out of the day-to-day operations of your business.

STEP 1: HAVE A STRATEGIC EXTRACTION PLAN
It seems so simple. A plan. Duh! Of course, I need a plan. But do you actually have one?

The Strategic Extraction Plan is the center-of-gravity master document around which all the operations orbit. And it’s the linchpin of your success. It charts the course to get you out of the day-to-day hustle and grind and into the CEO driver’s seat, which is where you need to be for the long-term health of both you and your business.

In your Strategic Exit Plan, you will need to get very clear on your goals for your business, your differentiating market position, and how you are going to delegate the work. Some questions to consider include:

● What are the major operations of your business (admin, sales, logistics, digital marketing, etc.)?

● How do they function?

● What systems, programs, apps, etc. do they use?

● What are the key performance indicators of success?

● Who is involved in the operations (who manages, who executes, etc.?)

● What are the auxiliary roles that support operations?

● What functions are directly generating profit, and which ones play supporting roles?

● What is your major competitive advantage?

● What do you want your business to look like in one year? In 5 years? In 10?

● What do you love to do that no one else can?

● What else do you need to be aware of in your specific business?

Your Strategic Extraction Plan gives you the big picture strategy and direction, so that you can break down each part into the tactics, systems, teams, and metrics you’ll use to execute, monitor, and measure your success.

STEP 2: BUILD YOUR DREAM TEAM
Obviously, you need an efficient, effective team in place to keep the cogs greased and the wheels turning on your lovingly-crafted business machine.

How does one do that, you may ask? Here are a few pro secrets you absolutely must begin implementing from day 1, or as soon as possible:

1. Document your processes. This can’t be stressed enough. If you want Michelle, the new freelance social and email scheduler, to give you perfect posts every time, she needs to know exactly what you like and how to do it. So next time you’re creating an email or scheduling a post, use a screen recording program and walk your way through

it verbally to create the perfect training module for her. That way, the next time you hire someone to execute this task, you can just send them the link to the video. Your time spent training the new hire on this task just got reduced to 5 seconds flat. Rinse and repeat for all your operations.

2. Train your people. Your team doesn’t just need to know how to execute tasks to get it right every time. You also need to teach them:

a. How to use the systems and apps you have in place for team work.

b. Who they’re working with, and how to work as a team.

c. Communication systems so team members can get the info they need, when they need it. This will prevent the machine screeching to a halt because Jamie who is designing the funnel needed to get approval on the copy from Linda, who thought that Erica had already communicated with Jamie that there is an updated document in the company shared drive… See? You’ve probably been there and that’s the last thing you want happening in your business.

3. KPI. KPI. KPI. In order for your team to be successful, you need to know what success looks like. So how do you know if they are successful? You need to establish what the key performance indicators for growth are for the various arms of your business. Then develop the system for monitoring and evaluation.

In short, you need a qualified team and you need to set that team up to be high performance and KPI-based, so they are building business for you.

STEP 3: HIRE A KICKASS MANAGER
Someone has to manage the team and manage the growth of your business. And how great would it be if that person wasn’t you?

Hiring a manager lets you step away from running your business and focus on building it. Once you get clear on your KPIs and the trajectory of your business, you can figure out what you can afford in terms of hiring someone to take the management load off your shoulders and let you focus on the big picture.

Often an operations manager role can mean something as simple as:

1. Breaking down projects into tasks.

2. Inputting those tasks in a project management system like Teamwork.

3. Making sure they are completed.

4. Evaluating their success and performance.

5. Reporting to you.

Any step in the operations management process listed above could be outsourced from your hands to a trusted manager. As budget growth permits, you can then groom that person to take over more and more steps of that process.

Time to Start Navigating from the Big Picture
The awesome thing about this process is that as you step away from the frantic day-to-day grind of managing and executing tasks, you can survey the terrain to be able to make the big picture moves that really let your business scale to success. This allows you the budget to hire yourself a dream team to run the machine and kick-ass managers to drive it, while you sit back, schedule yourself some me-time, and let them know where to go.

But, it all hinges on that Strategic Extraction Plan, and on positioning your business for success. If you are ready for some freedom and breathing space, and want to finally start enjoying the fruits of all your labor and hard-won success, apply here for a complimentary 45 minute strategy review of your business.

Kelly O’Neil is a multi-award winning entrepreneur, affluent marketing and brand-marketing expert for the next generation of innovative companies and thought leaders.

As a highly successful marketing consultant for service-based businesses, Kelly knows exactly what it takes to exit a recession stronger than when you entered it. Her ability to tap into and understand the affluent mindset has made Kelly America’s leading expert in selling to the millionaire market.**

She has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes, NBC, and Huffington Post among others! Kelly is a best-selling author, has shared the stage with industry legends including Tim Ferris, Jack Canfield and Brian Tracey, and was named by Seth Godin as “One of the Most Innovative Companies in America.”