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Do you feel like you have more tasks than time ? If your to-do list is long and sometimes unruly , then listen closely . In today's episode , I'm going to share with you three powerful ways to build capacity in your small business and get more done . Welcome to the Operations Toolbox Podcast , your host , tanya D Harrison . Let's create version 2.0 of your business , and this is the version that we like to call growth without burnout . So let's get started .

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Building capacity is essential to small businesses looking to expand , increase efficiency and handle growth effectively . As a solopreneur , you already know you're balancing multiple priorities , multiple responsibilities . Balancing from managing customers to marketing , to handling finances and legal obligations , all while delivering quality products and services . In order to grow and continue meeting or exceeding the customer's needs , you will need to build capacity , and today I am going to share three ways to build capacity in your small business without burning yourself out . But first , how do you know if you need to build capacity within your business ? How do you know if it's even time ? Well , here's a couple of different ways that you can know . So these are some telltale signs that I've identified in myself and I identified in clients that I work with .

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The number one thing that I noticed and this was specifically in my business and for me is you're not taking care of yourself . That's the number one thing . This was an eye-opener for me . Self-care is a must . First , you're skipping a week right , okay , I'll do something for myself another time and before you know it , months have gone by and your self-care routine has fallen to the wayside because you are spending extra hours in your business . This is extremely dangerous for a lot of reasons . We have to make ourselves a priority . You have to be on your priority list . So this was the number one sign for me . Number two you're working long hours without seeing results , so you start to put more and more hours in your business , thinking that you're going to get more out . This is usually a sign that you are probably just tired and burnt out . Number three your missing deadlines or critical tasks aren't getting done , and this is because you just have too many things that you're trying to do . So we go back to multiple responsibilities and multiple priorities . You have all of these things and things aren't getting done , and the important things that need to get done are not getting done . Number four one more project . If you take on one more project or one more thing , you are going to burst at the scenes . That is clear , like I cannot take on another thing . If that's the case , you know it's time .

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Number five you don't have the time to market for new business . Every time you get a client , you are going , working hard , fulfilling your obligation towards a client , but you don't have time to continue marketing , and this is dangerous because it puts us in that feast famine mode . We get a client , we're working on that client , we're not doing any marketing . You finish with that client . Now where's your next client ? You haven't been marketing . This is another sign . Those are five ways that you can tell that it may be time for you to build capacity . So now , okay , you know that it's time for you to build capacity , right . So you got that . I fall in one of those categories , or another one that I know means it's time for me to build capacity . Now what ? Right , now that you know the signs , let's talk about three ways to build capacity .

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The very first thing that I recommend all leaders and I'm talking about corporate or business leaders the very first thing I recommend you do is to perform a time study . A time study is where you're going to document what you do on a daily basis and how long each task takes to complete . Usually , what happens here is leaders find that they are working on tasks that do not produce results or spending too much time on specific tasks . Once you evaluate this , and now that you're armed with this information , you can immediately start making changes to your schedule . Ensure that you are working on tasks that produce results , that are critical to your business , that are aligned with your goals , and here I really like to think about the 80-20 rule . Many times , there's 20% of the activities that we do that yield 80% of the results . If we can zone in on what those activities are , we'll be able to increase our outcomes . So that's the very first thing that you do . You need to check you . Are you working on the right things ? Where are you spending your time ? That's the first thing .

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Number two , and this is my favorite automation and process efficiency . This is a big one , so let's break it down into two sections . The first thing you want to do is take a look at your business processes and identify areas where there are inefficiencies . You really need to be objective when you're looking at it , because you don't want to think I've always done it this way . You really want to look at your processes to determine do they make sense and is there a more efficient way of doing something ? Sometimes we get stuck into doing the same thing over and over again because we've always done it that way . That doesn't mean that it's the best way to do it , and usually what happens is our processes should evolve over time . The more we learn about something , the more they should evolve , because now we're finding out either more about our client , more about our business , and you start to integrate new ways and adapt new , innovative ways of doing things . So , first things first , look at your processes , identify if there are some inefficiencies and by streamlining your workflows , you're going to eliminate bottlenecks and optimize your operations , ultimately freeing up valuable time and resources that can be reinvested into other areas of your business .

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Now the second part of that is you're going to look for ways to automate repetitive tasks . If there are things that you find that you are doing over and over again , see if you can automate it . For instance , I love this platform called Zapier because it allows me to automate certain things , certain tasks . So look across your business . Are there things , like I said , that you do over and over again . For example , let's say you host webinars every month and when someone signs up for Zoom , they register within Zoom . You could have a Zap that has them automatically added to your email marketing platform . That way , you continue the conversation and you can continue to follow up with them . Or for us , service-based providers , one of the things I have is that when someone meets with me , they schedule a meeting on my calendar , I automatically have them added to my CRM with some of the information that they have shared with me , and then that way I could do a little personalized , a little bit more personalized follow-up directly from my CRM . Just think about the things that you do on a regular basis and , if there's a possibility , to automate them . So you want to automate repetitive tasks and then improve communication and collaboration .

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For instance , I use my project management technology or software platform in order to communicate with my executive assistant . It doesn't mean that we don't use the phone or don't use email . What it means is that I assign tasks within the project management platform . She gets it , she goes in , she works it , she responds , she asks me any questions . All of this is done within the platform . So when I'm talking about automation , I'm also talking about enhancing how you use your technology within your business and enhancing the processes that you have . These are all different ways that you build capacity . Anything that allows me to focus on the right thing and save time is going to help me to build capacity within my business .

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Now , outside of automation , technology and process improvement , the third thing is delegation . This is something that I talk to solo renewers about a lot , because so many times they feel that it has to be a full time employee , somebody that's a W2 employee . But there are so many different ways to get assistance for your business and it doesn't have to be full time W2 employees . When I first started in business , I hired freelancers or contractors , and I still use contractors today , and there's different ways you could do this right .

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So , once you've done your time study , you know where you're spending your time , you know the tasks that you're doing . You know how much time you're spending . There's going to be things on there that you're doing that does not necessarily require that you do it , but the first thing we think of is I don't have a team . Well , you still can delegate it to people . You can delegate a project to somebody . You can hire a contractor . You can go on Upwork or Fiverr and hire a contractor to do a specific project . Or you actually have people that do administrative tasks and you can buy X amount of hours . So I could take all of my administrative tasks , put them together and buy five hours at a time to have somebody do it .

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These are different ways that you can maximize your time , because there are certain things , like I said before , I don't necessarily need to do . It doesn't require my skill set . It doesn't require my level of skill set or authority knowledge , anything like that . That's something that I could delegate . If I don't have a team , I could delegate to a freelancer or to a contractor . I want you to really think about those things .

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Think about how you can free up your time , how you can get more of the right things done within your business . This is going to help you to start to build capacity so that you can start to grow your business . Those are my three ways . Number one you're going to do your time study or your time audit to find out where you are spending your time . Number two you're going to take a look across your processes , see what workflows you can improve . What can you automate ? How can you better use your technology . And number three , you're going to delegate . This applies even if you don't have a team . Of course , if you have a team , it makes it a lot easier , but if you don't have a team , you can still reach out to freelancers and contractors to work on specific projects or to purchase a specific amount of hours to have them do tasks . So that is it . In conclusion , building capacity in your small business requires a strategic approach and a commitment to continuous improvement . By investing in technology and infrastructure , developing your team and streamlining processes and workflows , you can position your business for long term success and growth .

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That wraps up today's episode . I hope you found these strategies helpful in building capacity within your small business . Be sure to tune in next time for more insights and tips to help you grow and thrive . Until then , take care and keep pushing forward on your entrepreneurial journey . This has been the Operations Toolbox podcast . Thanks for listening .