How I learned to delegate

Two years ago today, I was working late on a Sunday night. My husband was home, sleeping, when our next-door neighbor honked in our driveway, then pounded on the door. She had seen flames from the second story of their house. It wasn't clear that they would reach us, but getting out seemed like a good idea. Thinking it was just a precaution, my husband gathered our birth certificates, passports, and sleepy children, and headed down the hill. On the way down he could see how close the fire was, and realized that our house would likely be lost.

I wasn't home. I had left my family after dinner that evening to work on my September invoices in our office downtown. It took me one full day to create and send the monthly invoices, and since my weekdays were busy doing other things, I always set aside one weekend day per month to send them out.

I absolutely hated taking that time away from my family, but I never felt comfortable letting someone else do it. Several years previously I had brought others in to work with me, and I had learned to delegate many things, but this was one of the remaining things I thought only I could do.

As it turns out, my husband was right. Our house was lost, along with everything in it. (You can read about what I learned from that experience here.) The next day, we wandered around Wal-Mart in a state of shock, shopping aimlessly. We returned much of what we bought, but the shopping continued for weeks later, as we replaced everything we had ever owned.

That month, I didn't have a choice but to delegate. Not only the invoices, but everything in my business. My team was incredible, moving all our projects forward with minimal oversight from me. Amazingly, that October was one of our best months ever.

And I haven't created an invoice since.

Twelve years ago, I left my corporate job to work for myself. It was one of the best decisions of my life. As a result I've been able to build a multimillion-dollar business, live where I want, travel when I want, and be a more present parent for my (five!) children. Now I want to help others who want to follow a similar path. I'm developing a series of content to share my blueprint, as well as specific tools, tips and advice to help you take a step toward more freedom, too. Join my email list to stay in touch!