It’s Time

I received a happy call today.

“Eden, from now on, we hired ____ law firm to handle all our government document processing.”

My voice literally squeaked with joy. One of the main tasks of us brokers is to protect the interest of our clients by doing due diligence on properties we sell/buy for them. The biggest downside is the inefficiency of this process, leaving us at the mercy of bureaucracy. A week prior, I searched for someone who can handle the same task from my colleagues and found a trusted friend who offers the same service. I appreciate my client’s initiative.

“You can now have much better use of your time in doing what you do best – finding and negotiating good deals for us.” continued my client… and I agree 100%

The Art of Delegation

The sooner a broker (or any entrepreneur for that matter) realizes that the growth of his business is directly correlated with one’s willingness to delegate repetitive tasks to employees, the sooner he will succeed.

Here are a few specific action steps to jumpstart your delegation mindset:

• List down all your tasks in an excel sheet. Be as detailed as possible. Write down all the steps as if you’re instructing someone else to do the task for you.
• On the corresponding column, write down the number of minutes/hours (Yes, it’s that detailed!) needed to accomplish the task.
• On another column, answer “How much income does completing this task give me?” For example, how much professional fee will you get if you do a specific task or a group of tasks? Take note of non-income generating vs income generating tasks.
• Divide the projected income to the number of hours it takes to complete it.

Guide Questions:

• Which task is most time-intensive? How can I streamline this process?
• Which task gives you the most income per hour?
• Which task makes you the happiest? It is usually the task that you’d gladly do even without pay.
• Which tasks are repetitive in nature? Can you delegate these?
• Do I know anyone who can take over these tasks for me?
• What can I do to do whatever makes me happy and get paid for it?

Bonus Question:

• How much is your hourly rate? (Believe me, this will make you question all your activities, asking “Is this worth my time?” every single time)
  • Answer: The amount equivalent to your potential highest income per hour on, ideally, an activity that you love doing should be your hourly rate.

I don’t think I still need to spell out the next steps for you.

If there’s one finite resource you should guard with your life – it’s TIME.

Can you guess where this photo was taken?