How do you know when to push through or delegate?
The Moment It All Went Wrong
My very first quote chat as a landscape designer was an absolute disaster. I had met the couple at netball and was heading to their new build in the country and we would be having a walk around their property. I was planning on impressing them with some innovative ideas, then emailing them a quote, getting a yes and landing my first paying client.
It did not go like this.
It was an overcast day, so no sun out and I wasn’t clear which way was north (in the southern hemisphere, north facing is gold).
They lived on a farm and said that any fences could be moved out or new fences put in. So there were no boundaries to work with.
I was floundering badly.
I did not get the job.
That day is seared in my memory.
But instead of quitting, I now google map for north before each new client visit. Before going in, I get an idea of the place as much as possible before going in.
I have learnt to ask questions when I am unsure of what to suggest and to just admit when I don’t know a plant instead of pretending.
This discomfort was a signal I needed to stretch and grow, not run and hide. This pushing through is how Once Upon A Garden was built.
Discomfort Is a Signal, Not a Verdict
My disaster of a day felt like the end of Once Upon A Garden. It wasn’t. It was a signal – clear, bright and loud – pointing at the two options ahead of me.
Road One: The Growth Edge
Firstly, I could use it as an amazing indication of the areas I needed to improve or grow into. How to prepare for a quote chat. That designing without boundaries is genuinely hard. To start with questions about how they want to live in the space, because this dictates the size and layout.
The day left me drained and discouraged but that was due to my inexperience and not knowing what I didn’t know. Now I knew more about what I didn’t know.
That day was uncomfortable because I had never done it before. I had thought about it and planned for it but never actually walked someone’s property with them while trying to come up with design ideas on the spot, in a muddy paddock with no fences and no sun.
And the next quote chat wasn’t nearly as bad. I didn’t make the same mistakes that’s for sure.
Sometimes we convince ourselves that avoidance is necessary or strategic – someone else can do this better than us etc., but this is just our brains trying to keep us safe and in the familiar.
Here’s a way to tell the difference between being on the edge of growth or being genuinely drained:
Ask yourself this: if money and time were no object, would I still want this off my plate? Or do I just not want to feel the fear?
Road Two: The Genuine Drain
In this instance, the drain came from my lack of preparedness, not the activity itself. That’s the tell: if something drains you because you haven’t learned it yet, that’s a growth edge, not a task to pass on.
But some activities in business you don’t need to grow into. The side ones – admin, social media posting, FB ads, accounts etc. These can take your time but they don’t actually need you.
Cleaning my bathrooms was one of these. The truth was, I wasn’t getting to them as often as I would have liked and this was stressing me. From an idea I first pinched from Lorraine Murphy’s Remarkability, I decided I would rather spend my time earning more money, so for 3 years I hired my daughters to clean the bathrooms. It was wonderful. They got some spare money and I got the job done very regularly and removed that back of the mind stress.
The gut-check is this: is this draining me when I do it, or because I don’t? A task you keep avoiding can sit there generating guilt just as surely as one that flattens you when you finish it. Either way, if it’s not where only you add value, and it’s not essential to your business growing, it’s a candidate for getting off your plate. (If the whole business drains you like that, it’s a different problem – you might be in the wrong business, and I’ve written about finding the right one for you here.)
Four Ways to Get It Off Your Plate
There are 4 moves you can make here. You may be able to eliminate it (do you need to be part of that networking team?), automate it (set up email templates or a standing online order), delegate it or add it to your wish list for your dream team.
Maybe you’re not in a financial position to have a FB ads team (alas I am not as yet) but keeping that list is pretty cool – it subconsciously keeps you on the lookout for someone who may be able to help down the line.
Knowing When to Push Through or Delegate
The skill isn’t avoiding discomfort. It’s knowing when to push through or delegate.
Starting your own business will definitely bring feelings of discomfort. But I find the challenge and learning here exciting and inspiring. I love the growth that has come along with starting my various businesses. I am choosing to learn on purpose.
If you are willing to look at your discomfort, and choose to grow within it, start with my free class. It’s a low commitment start, only 30 mins. Save your spot in the free class.
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