I hired my first employee...

My next phase of business

I was recently texting an entrepreneur with a $100M+ portfolio…

He was telling me about the difference between most entrepreneurs (busy, broke, working all the time) and truly successful ones (rich, focused, with ample time to invest in quality experiences and people).

“There are three phases of business,” he said. “Phase one is where you trade your time for money. Phase two you trade your money for time. And phase three you trade your money for more money.”

“What do you mean by ‘trade your money for time’?” I asked. “How do I do that?”

“It’s simple. You either pay for software or hire someone to do the non-creative, repetitive tasks that are bogging you down.”

That’s when it clicked for me…

For the longest time, I’ve been a one-man show.

I’ve been…

  • Jumping on sales calls

  • Onboarding new clients

  • Monitoring content performance

  • Updating KPI spreadsheets

  • Creating content for my personal brand

… In addition to going to lectures, college events, etc.

If I’m being honest, part of me enjoyed being heads down hopping from task to task.

If I stayed busy, then I wouldn’t have to worry if I was truly operating at my full potential.

But as Tim Ferriss (author of The 4-Hour Workweek) said, “Being busy is a form of laziness—lazy thinking and indiscriminate action.”

So a few days ago, I hired my first employee to help with content design, KPI tracking, and potentially more down the road.

It’s allowed me to zoom out and think big picture about the direction of the business.

It’s also enabled me to think more deeply about the strategy for some of my clients.

Obviously, hiring someone isn’t the answer to all my problems.

But it’s the first step in the right direction.

Anyway, let’s get tactical.

3 things I’ve learned about delegation:

#1: Start with a paid trial

I’m not a fan of interviews as a way to assess a potential employee’s abilities.

The truth is, talking about a thing and doing a thing are two completely different skills.

Instead, I believe the best way to assess a potential employee is to give them a paid project.

Noah Kagan, founder of AppSumo (a $100m/year software marketplace) has a phrase he repeats, which is: “Test, then invest.”

• Buying new software? Start with 1 month, not a full year.
• New marketing idea? Start with a small group of customers.
• Hiring a new teammate? Start with 1 week paid trial.

Once you validate your idea on a small scale, then invest big time.

#2: Create SOPs

An SOP is a Standard Operating Procedure—which is a fancy way of saying step-by-step instructions for performing a task.

SOPs help you train employees without needing to be there with them.

The best resource I’ve found on creating effective SOPs is this article by my friend Jasper Polak.

In it, he writes, a good SOP answers these questions:

  • Why do this?

  • Who does this?

  • What steps are taken?

  • When is this performed?

  • How do you do it in detail?

  • How does it fit in the big picture?

Jasper writes, “A good SOP sets a clear expectation, gives the reader everything they need, and takes them from A-Z through the task.”

Sweet. Fair enough. Now how do you turn a good SOP into a great SOP?

One word: Visuals.

I like to use Loom (not an affiliate, just a fan) to record videos of me performing the task live. That way people see, hear, and follow along like you’re sitting next to them.

#3: Delegate the rough draft, not the final draft

The mistake most people make when delegating is outsourcing the entire task.

But the best entrepreneurs, from Steve Jobs to Gary Vaynerchuk all follow The 10-80-10 Rule:

Put simply, they spend the first 10% of a project with their team, workshopping the idea and setting the creative vision. The next 80% is for your team to execute your vision. And the last 10% is spent polishing it and giving feedback to your team.

For example:

Instead of saying, “Go create this landing page, it’s due on Friday at 5 pm”.

Say, “This landing page is going live on Friday... Send me a rough outline by Monday so we can meet to review it”.

Then, by the time it’s Friday, it’s 90% complete.

Ok ok. I know that was a lot. Trust me, I’m still new to this as well.

Just like when your kid goes off to Kindergarten for the first time—it can be hard to give up control of parts of your work.

But I don’t know a single great entrepreneur who isn’t a master at prioritization and delegation. Evolve or get left behind.

See you next Sunday,

Jay “constantly evolving” Yang

PS — I’ve learned a ton about delegation from Alex Brogan and his course The Master Delegator. Not an affiliate, just thought I’d share!

Jay’s Finds

Some of the best content I found on the internet this week…

  • I was recently on my good friend Tyger’s podcast. We talked about the power of free work, college, and making money online. Listen here.

  • This professional public speaker analyzes people’s speeches. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. His most recent breakdown.

  • My friend Andrew has been a freelance copywriter since 2009. He compiled all his copywriting advice into a single document—It’s gold!

Top Tweets of The Week

Conflict is inevitable. How you respond speaks volumes.

The Golden Rule of Creative Work: “Would I consume my own work?”

If you’re a chef, taste your own food. If you’re a content creator, watch your own content. If you’re an entrepreneur, test your own products.

Most people spend more time procrastinating on the task than it takes to actually do the task. If you want to make progress, do the opposite.

If you brag about yourself, you’re a dick. If other people brag about you, it’s praise.

Big question on my mind recently: “What are the skills, beliefs, and character traits I need to adopt to get from where I am to where I want to go?”

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