Replace yourself everyday:

Part of being a leader is delegation. Knowing what tasks to assign to someone else is difficult and letting go of important roles is even harder. Many new entrepreneurs have a tough time letting go period. You must let go to allow your business grow.

The best way to approach this is to get rid of any tasks that you repeat on a regular basis. This frees your time to focus on those things that make your business grow. Many people spend a lot of time writing checks and managing the day to day bookkeeping. In many cases those hours would be much more productive working with a new client or figuring out a new business strategy. Look deep into yourself and figure out how your business would do if you applied 100% of your time to what you do best.

Another benefit of this strategy is creating a business that runs itself, where no one person is its lifeblood. Everyone is replaceable including you. You may disagree but you will never get a larger company to acquire you if you can not convince them the business lives beyond your stewardship. In the book, Good to Great, one of the measure used in defining a great business is one that continues to succeed after the founder/leader has left. Thus, leaving behind a thriving business is a mark of your business acumen.

Cheers,
Mike