By Alison Flangel

Being the owner of a small business is often compared to being the parent to a child … small businesses are close to the heart. This being said, an effective business owner must learn how to delegate their responsibilities to other employees in order to run a successful company.

How to Delegate Responsibilities as a Small Business Owner:

  1. Determine which parts of the business you would rather not do –
    No one loves doing every part of their job equally. Sometimes there are things that we do not enjoy, or are not one of our strong suits. If there are things you find yourself avoiding as a business owner, it could be something to consider delegating to others. For example, if you are not the best with technology, consider leaving social media posts to a colleague.
  2. Choose whom you delegate to wisely –
    Similarly to how we don’t enjoy doing every aspect of a job, each individual within a business has various strengths and weaknesses. It is important to take the time to learn about your employees skill sets before you delegate tasks. As a business owner, your priority should be setting up your employees for success. Trust is key!
  3. Define expectations clearly –
    In order to ensure a job is well done by an individual other than yourself, clear expectations and mutual understanding is necessary. Business owners are responsible for explicitly explaining to employees how they want a task to be completed, with an outline of each step in the process.
  4. Don’t forget to praise hard work –
    While this may sound elementary, acknowledging someone’s hard work, especially when it is your employee, goes a long way. Making a conscious effort to communicate with your employees and remind them they are doing a good job can make individuals feel appreciated, and gain respect for the importance of the task.