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  • Learn How to Delegate Now — or Risk Losing Your Business

    Learn How to Delegate Now — or Risk Losing Your Business


    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Successful entrepreneurs often share similar qualities — they’re driven, resourceful and ready to wear multiple hats to turn their vision into a reality. In the early stages of building a business, being a jack-of-all-trades isn’t just an advantage; it’s a necessity.

    Given the nature of the job, it can be challenging for entrepreneurs to learn how to delegate effectively as a company grows — but it’s one of the most important skills to master for scaling a business and sustaining long-term success. The ability to recognize when to seek help, which tasks to delegate and how to lean on the expertise of others is what separates thriving businesses from those stuck in survival mode.

    For me, the delegation lesson came early on in my entrepreneurial journey when I found my startup at a critical crossroads. In the beginning, I was operating as a one-man show, offering my software for free while personally handling support inquiries from our 500 users when I wasn’t at my full-time job. It quickly became clear that it wasn’t sustainable to continue managing this on my own, and I was faced with the choice of either eliminating support completely or finding a way to share the workload.

    I decided to hire my very first employee to manage the increasing volume of support requests so I could focus on further expanding our user base and building a sustainable business model. By delegating support, my business was able to scale significantly without sacrificing the high-quality customer service that continues to define our brand today.

    Related: 5 Reasons Why Delegation is a Must for Entrepreneurs

    Breaking the “it’s easier to do it myself” mindset

    If you don’t learn to delegate, your business growth will always be limited by your own capacity and capabilities. Handling everything on your own may feel efficient in the moment, but in reality, it restricts your potential as a leader and as a business. You only know what you know, and there are only so many hours in the day. Imagine what you and your business could be capable of if you had the right support from the right experts.

    A solo mentality often leads to burnout, missed opportunities and stagnation. Shifting toward a leadership mindset doesn’t necessarily mean letting go of control — it’s about maximizing your impact. By trusting and empowering others, you’ll free up valuable time to focus on strategy, innovation and the big picture, ultimately driving greater success.

    Start small and start now

    If delegating isn’t your strong suit, the most effective way to build the habit is to start small and start now. Pick a task from your list — no matter how small or important — and delegate it to someone else on your team. Then move on to the next task and the next. The more you delegate, the more you’ll lighten your workload while building confidence in your team and their abilities. Over time, delegating will come more naturally, and you will encourage those around you to step up and excel.

    Progress over perfection

    In the beginning, tasks may not be done exactly as you would do them yourself — and that’s okay. Focus on progress over perfection. Effective delegation will be a learning process for both you and your team, requiring some patience, communication and trust. Instead of micromanaging or taking tasks back at the first sign of imperfection, try to embrace these moments as teaching and growth opportunities.

    Building a stronger, more capable team

    Delegation is a powerful tool to help your team grow. By entrusting your team with meaningful tasks and encouraging problem-solving and accountability, you’re creating a culture where employees can develop new skills and build confidence in their abilities. When your team feels empowered to solve problems and make decisions, they are more likely to feel a sense of ownership and pride in their work. This sense of responsibility fuels engagement, motivation and investment in the success of the business.

    Over time, delegation will only strengthen your team to become more self-sufficient and capable. As they take on more responsibility and grow in their roles, your business becomes more resilient with a stronger foundation. This growth enables you to scale your business efficiently without sacrificing the quality that is critical for long-term success.

    Related: How to Delegate Effectively and Unlock Your Business’s Full Potential

    Practical steps to delegate effectively

    1. Choose what to delegate: Reflect on your workload and identify the tasks that truly require your direct involvement and those that don’t. Time to be honest about your strengths and weaknesses — does someone else on your team have the expertise to handle certain tasks more efficiently? Consider the time-consuming or repetitive tasks you could delegate to free up your time for higher-priority work.
    2. Pick the right person: Be intentional about assigning the right tasks to the right individuals based on their skills and experience. Think about those who are capable, eager to learn and show the most growth potential.
    3. Set clear expectations: Clearly define the scope of the task at hand, outlining key deadlines, objectives and your desired end result to set your team up for success. Provide any necessary resources or background context, and be available to answer questions or offer support along the way.
    4. Support without controlling: Trust is the key to effective delegation — which is why it can be such a tough skill to master. Resist the urge to micromanage or demand perfection. Give your employees room and autonomy to complete the task in their own way while you remain accessible for guidance and support if needed.
    5. Follow up and offer feedback: Schedule deadlines or check-ins to review progress and provide constructive feedback. Prioritize recognizing successes as highly as addressing any challenges.



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  • The One Mistake Is Putting Your Brand Reputation at Risk — and Most Startups Still Make It

    The One Mistake Is Putting Your Brand Reputation at Risk — and Most Startups Still Make It


    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Most entrepreneurs and business owners understand they need a comprehensive communications strategy to reach their target customers. However, all too many think that only means branding, marketing and advertising and forget to include public relations (PR). In particular, many small businesses and startups neglect this part of the communications equation.

    This has always been a mistake, but that’s even more true today. Here, I explain how PR impacts brand credibility and customer trust, as well as how those seemingly ineffable factors connect to your hard revenue numbers.

    The problem with investing solely in marketing

    Investing only in marketing and ignoring PR is a problem because marketing drives awareness, but PR builds trust — and without trust, awareness doesn’t convert.

    One study has put the number of consumers who believe advertisers have integrity at 4%. Customers’ trust in conventional advertising is also plummeting, especially for members of the younger generations. As Wharton Magazine reports, 84% of millennials not only dislike traditional ads but also distrust them.

    Research also shows people don’t pay attention to ads and actively avoid them. According to consumer research firm Bulbshare, 63% of Gen Zers use ad blockers, meaning they don’t even see ads online. If they do come across one, 99% say they hit “skip” when given the choice.

    In short, today’s consumers are savvy. They know how to follow the money trail and identify conflicts of interest. Indeed, the Content Marketing Institute has found that 80% of corporate decision-makers prefer to glean information from articles that are more objective rather than ads, which are recognized as biased and self-interested.

    Meanwhile, today’s consumers increasingly prioritize ethics. B2B services company BusinessDasher explains that 84% of customers weigh companies’ ethics and values when considering a purchase, and 63% say they would like companies to adopt more ethical practices.

    For companies that would like to expand their market reach, these statistics send a clear signal. Investing only in advertising and marketing is unlikely to move the needle. To develop a good reputation for your brand, you need to do PR.

    Related: How to Make the Most of Your Public Relations

    PR: Ethical strategic communications

    PR differs from other communication strategies like branding and marketing because it specifically focuses on developing your organization’s positive reputation and earning consumers’ trust. While ads and marketing campaigns may attempt to tell people about the business’s great reputation, good PR shows them. It enables the business and its spokespeople to demonstrate ethical conduct rather than just making claims to this effect.

    For instance, while a top PR team will draft and release press releases and media advisories on a company’s behalf, they will also seek out opportunities for the company’s leadership to serve as expert sources in the media. When the public needs help understanding current events and a journalist turns to a company’s spokesperson for expert analysis, the viewers understand that this person and their company are trustworthy. In addition, they come to rely on and appreciate the spokesperson’s valuable advice.

    In the course of such an interview, the company’s representative may never even mention their product or service. By demonstrating their willingness to share important information, however, they signal their care for the greater good, their own sterling character and that of their company. This forms positive connotations in viewers’ minds. People come to associate the spokesperson and company with credibility and garner their trust.

    Behaving in an ethical manner and showing goodwill tends to be more convincing than merely claiming to be good. This is how strong connections with customers can still be forged despite today’s cynical environment.

    Related: How You Can Leverage These PR Strategies to Build Your Company’s Credibility and Trust — Even When Under Attack

    How PR contributes to revenue growth

    To be clear, PR is not a direct method of boosting sales or generating leads. Instead, it works in the background, burnishing your brand’s reputation and predisposing people to think highly of your company. This can pay off in the end, however.

    Take Sears, Roebuck and Co. as an example. When the brand partnered with The Oprah Winfrey Show to provide Christmas gifts for 100 foster children, the results were staggering. After the episode aired, customer surveys showed an 11% jump in positive sentiment toward the brand — and people said they planned to spend 39% more at Sears.

    The final impact? That single PR moment helped generate $13 million in new revenue.

    In addition, father-daughter co-authors Al and Laura Ries studied 91 launches of new products in their book “The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR.” Those campaigns that incorporated PR were more successful than those that only deployed marketing approaches. Indeed, they conclude that PR is a better investment than advertising for most businesses.

    In my own experience leading a PR firm, I can attest that campaigns sometimes generate so much new business that clients can’t scale fast enough and have to pause our services while they catch up with demand.

    Enter the limelight with PR

    Hiring a PR firm, especially one that can show a track record of success in your particular industry, is indispensable to make your brand image shine. This strategic communications approach avoids the common missteps of advertising and marketing while aligning with today’s customers’ preferences for ethical business practices.

    For these reasons, more businesses should consider taking PR firms up on their offers of a free consultation call. There’s nothing to lose and the limelight to gain.



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