The Art of Delegation in Website Design
The other day, our Founder Dave was on a mission: Operation Retrieve Christmas Present. This festive assignment took him down many a winding country road and past the prehistoric Stonehenge. His road trip was underscored by the very popular podcast The Diary of a CEO hosted by Entrepreneur, Investor and Dragon Steven Bartlett. In the hot seat in this episode was British magnate Richard Branson. Dave, along with many others - according to the ‘most replayed’ feature on the YouTube vlog version - was struck by a particular anecdote that Branson shared.
For context, the pair were discussing the art of delegation. Branson is renowned for being exceptionally good at this! Bartlett went on to explain that in order to be a good delegator, you need to not only know your own strengths and weaknesses but those of your current team members or prospective hires. This prompted him to ask Branson to divulge his. When it came to weaknesses, Branson regaled an inspiring tale. At around 50 years of age, he remembers being in a board meeting and making a remark of ‘is that good news or bad news?’ A director beckoned him out of the room and kindly asked him, ‘You don’t know the difference between net and gross, do you?’ Branson admitted he did not. The director proceeded to pull out a piece of paper. Scribbling a colourful diagram involving the ocean, a net and some fish, he explained what they both meant. ‘Oh, got it,’ Branson said. Chuckling, he confessed he has been name dropping the terms ever since. But the point of his story was this - ‘it really doesn’t matter.’ It would matter that his chief accountant knew the difference, for sure. But when it came to running the business, it was his people skills along with his vision and insight of how to make a company ‘palpably better’ than its competitors that mattered.
Running your own Squarespace or web design business involves numerous disciplines. When starting out, there are many courses online you can enrol onto that cover the fundamentals of all these different areas. You can complete tech specific modules such as how to use Squarespace, how to design or how to manipulate code. Additionally, there are others that focus on the ancillary business functions such as how to market your business or how to conduct your financials. Each aims to provide you with a solid enough foundation to set you up to launch your business. However, the broad scope of content covered in these courses can be quite overwhelming!
There is this misconception that web design is a solo pursuit. If you complete one of these courses, it can be quite easy then to fall into the mindset of ‘I must have all my ducks in a row before launching or broaching potential clients.’
The thing is, you might be an absolute genius in one area! For instance, your design work is second to none or you are a natural when it comes to converting leads. However, when it comes to customising code, although the relevant module provides training on this as well as a library of code resources to draw upon, you still feel like your knowledge is somewhat lacking or not enough. Indeed drawing on the same, limited, custom code all the time can result in your work looking and feeling the same. Truth be told, it can take years to get to the standard where you can make code bend to your will. Does that mean you have to wait that long before your business can go official?
You could be forgoing making a lucrative living out of your skill just because one area - which isn’t your lane - is holding you back. But we want to challenge this. Just go back to Richard Branson’s example. At the time of the aforementioned meeting, he was the owner of Europe’s largest group of private companies, yet he didn’t know the difference between gross and net profit. That would seem like a fundamental part of business, right? Branson knew what he was good at, got a team around him, delegated and safe to say, he flourished!
At Made By Dave we want to empower those of you who are on the cusp of launching your own Squarespace or web design business, but for one reason or another are hesitant on making that final leap. Rather than feel compelled to muddle through as a one person band, we want to make you aware of another option on the table: making a hire or considering a collaboration. You may be thinking ‘ Well that’s all well and good Made By Dave, but our finances just won’t permit.’ We get it. Nevertheless, we suggest that there is more to consider than just pure monetary value. Another way to look at it is: is it time well spent? Our Founder Dave shared that, ‘One thing I realised early on was that I was an expensive administrator for our business! I was not optimising on my skill set. Bringing in a virtual assistant to help with the key day to day administrative tasks was essential to growing the business.’ Weigh up your time. Ask yourself what benefits the business more financially? If you are like the sloth running a number plate in Zootropolis when it comes to processing invoices, but are a machine when it comes to churning out keyword-rich, compelling copy that boosts you up the search engine rankings, attracting and booking more clients, then probably wise to crack on with the latter and give the invoices to someone else?
We thought we would give you a brief overview of some of the areas of a web design business that could potentially be outsourced or entrusted to freelance collaborators or new hires.
Accounts/Finances
If you are feeling bogged down with the finances, why not consider hiring an accountant? There are many apps out there - Xero & Quickbooks as some example - that can automate the bookkeeping element such as collating receipts, consolidating expenses or processing invoices. An accountant will use that information to provide analysis in the form of financial reports and statements, empowering you to make informed decisions going forward. They can also help out when it comes to filing your tax return.
Administration
If administration is not your strong suit, why not enlist the services of a super organised individual? Again there are apps that can automate administrative processes such as scheduling calendars (Calendly), note-taking meetings (Read.ai) and tallying up billable hours (Hello Bonsai). An administrator can oversee these processes whilst also bringing flair to your written correspondence, fostering relationships with your stakeholders and multitasking all the ad hoc tasks like a pro!
Branding
If you are questioning your sanity, having deliberated at length the perfect green hue, why not consider partnering with a branding designer? Brand designers eat, breathe and sleep colour theory and typography. They know how to create strong and cohesive visual identities that will attract the right clients. You can hire them to do your own branding or consider partnering with them, offering their services as part of a comprehensive web design package.
Content Writing / Copywriting
If you suffer from a permanent case of writer's block, rather than stare blankly at a screen, why not draft in a copywriter? These wordsmiths can draft copy that not only captures a reader’s attention, but retains it. Copy that is easy to read, has a clear purpose and is jam-packed with literary strategy. They will ensure your company’s tone of voice (TOV) is consistent across all platforms and they can improve your SEO with keyword-optimised content.
Custom Coding
If you are feeling limited in your ability to write custom code, why not consider hiring a developer to specialise in this within your team? They can take your beautiful designs and adapt the functionality, resulting in stunning, never-before-seen creations!
Marketing
If you are struggling to carve out time to actively promote your business, why not add a marketing professional to your team? They can conduct market research, highlighting consumer needs and behaviours as well as what sets you apart from the competition. Their findings can then determine a targeted marketing strategy. Be it through social media content, campaigns, PR opportunities or events, they will create awareness of your brand; how you meet consumer’s needs better than anyone else.
So there you go, the art of delegation. Identify your strengths and weaknesses. If you've got it, flaunt it! If you haven’t, delegate! At Made By Dave we can wholeheartedly testify to the benefits of delegation; it seems we keep good company in billionaire Richard Branson! Wherever you are in your Squarespace or web design business journey, we hope this blog has emboldened you to take that next step, bringing you ever closer to achieving your goals.