Written by Samantha Royer: Founder of She Is Bold, marketing strategist, mentor,  mama X3.

“Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.” Exodus 18:17-18

Ok real talk? I can’t stand doing administrative work. Scheduling emails, blog posts, troubleshooting tech problems, paying bills, or basically anything that actually makes a business run.🙈And if I’m being honest the shift from managing a marketing team of the “doers” to diving head-first into solo-preneurship has been HARD. 

Like can’t I just do the things I’m best at and live the whole “do what you love and you’ll never have to work another day in your life thing”?? Is that selfish or “too much” to ask? Is that foolish to think that’s possible???

Naw, I don’t think so. There’s no shame in wanting to grow your business or ministry and I believe you’re supposed to do more of the things only YOU can do if you want a scaleable, sustainable business–here’s why…

Just as Moses had been working “from dusk to dawn” (Exodus 18:13 AMP), I too felt like I was busting my butt just to work IN my business and resented not having time to work ON my business and make progress towards growth.

I got to a point where I was spending more time NOT using my gifts in my business doing things others could do for me and my work lifestyle from ‘dusk to dawn’ wasn’t sustainable or good for anyone else!

“You and these people will only wear yourselves out.”

It wasn’t just wearing ME out, but also other PEOPLE around me. My quality of work was diminishing just trying to post for sake of posting or blog for sake of blogging just to keep up with the hustle. I was disappointed I had zero time left for product development or strategic planning and I was shameful of the grumpy mom I had become in the evenings.

So how am I intentionally trying to avoid wearing myself and others out now? By delegating like Moses.  🙌

How to delegate like Moses.

Exodus 18 shares how Moses begins to delegate with this help of his father-in-law, Jethro. Here’s how you too can delegate like Moses:

1. Acknowledge that your current work life isn’t sustainable. Are you working non-stop? Are stress or lack of time holding you back from growth? Have others or your family said it’s time to get help? 

Jethro calls out Moses pretty bluntly by saying:

“What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.” Exodus 18: 17-18

2. Identify things that only you can do.

Jethro acknowledges that Moses has unique gifts that only he can do and continues to instruct him to delegate the rest:

“Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave.” Exodus 18:19-20

3. Choose capable, Godly men and give them authority.

“But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves.…” Exodus 18: 21-22

Yes, trusting is hard–probably the hardest part for delegating. As a self-proclaimed (not proud) “control freak”, I struggle with this DAILY. But, people will disappoint you and mess up, it’s just part of the process you have to accept. Rather focusing on if someone will mess up, focus on delegating to someone with Godly character who is trainable.

Lastly, Don’t be a micro-manager. I think it’s important to note that Jethro not only advises him to give others authority but that only the difficult things should be brought to him. Encourage others to make decisions for themselves by not micro-managing and only bringing the truly difficult decisions to you.

Ladies, it’s not foolish or selfish to think that we can do more of what we love and are gifted at, especially if we’re called to it– but we cannot do it on our own!

When we delegate we will find that ‘it will be easier for us, and they will bear the burden with us.’

I don’t know about you, but I’m all for an easier work-life, Amen??

Our work life can be easier and we can share our burden, but we have to take the first step and be willing to share it!

“That will make your load lighter because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” Exodus 23

And no, you don’t have to have a zillion dollars to delegate here are some of the practical things I did to get started and free up more time to do the things that I was best at:

1. I delegated decision making for areas that weren’t my expertise. I can’t tell you how long I spent just THINKING about website design much less trying to attempt it on my own before I finally broke down and made the investment to outsource to a professional web designer. But before that? I actually knew a few people in my circle who I reached out to just to say “Hey, what do you think about this?” and initiate conversations to start heading in the right direction. Is marketing your weakness? Copywriting? Consider joining facebook groups and asking your burning questions. Then when you can’t get any further, start getting quotes from experts to start preparing for how much cost you can anticipate in the future to completely outsource.
2. I swapped services in exchange for things I needed to grow my brand (again that weren’t my level of expertise) . I’ve swapped everything from custom brand photography to graphic design for my one on one services and it was worth every. penny! By delegating the tasks I wasn’t good at I not only saved myself the time and headache but got the confidence I needed to charge more and attract more ideal clients QUICKER than trying to DIY it myself.
3. Lastly, though I didn’t technically “delegate” to a person per say, I did invest in a client management system like Honeybook that helped me to automate all my emails and onboarding client processes saving me some serious time and money– not to mention the built-in brochure templates allowed me to really next-level my client experience visually which meant I didn’t have to outsource that task either! Best $200 I ever spent!

 

Your turn. Experience today’s truth.

1. Are you at a place where you feel like your strategy isn’t sustainable– burnt out? Unmotivated? like you’re not using your gifts as much you’d like? Are others noticing?? Acknowledge where you’re at and bring it to God to start seeking delegation direction and next steps.
2. Start a time-log. Keep a record of your daily activities and record how long each task takes. Emails, blog posts, social media… all of it! There are tons of time tracker apps available now too to help like Due Time Tracking or Toggl. Then highlight things that only YOU CAN DO and plan to delegate the rest.
3. Take the first step. Reach out to someone who has offered to help and see if there are any tasks they can take off your plate. Or book a consult call with a virtual assistant agency like Yes Boss VA for a complimentary consult and start getting price quotes to plan for future investments for outside help.

Swipe this prayer.

God, thank you for all that you’ve done in my business. Help me to see what areas of my business may be delegated so that I can steward my gifts and calling in a more sustainable way. Guide me in your wisdom as I hold onto your truths and learn to trust others with my work. Amen.

Wanna join our conversation about getting started with delegating this week? Kristin Molenaar of Yes Boss VA, a virtual assistant agency for entrepreneurs, is speaking all about it. Join our free membership and community here to get all the details for her event and future workshops as well.