Are you ready for a Director of Operations? (An Integrator)
Your business is growing and you feel like you’re drowning under to-dos.
You’re the bottleneck of your business, with your contractors missing deadlines–because they’re waiting for something from you. You’ve shifted away from 1:1 work to a 1:many model, but you’re struggling with getting systems in place to simplify your business. Because this wasn’t supposed to be so difficult!
Does this feel like you? If so, you might be ready to hire on a director of operations (sometimes referred to as an integrator) to take you away from the day-to-day, in-the-weeds work, so you can be the visionary of your business and continue to do what you love.
So many business owners view their businesses as their babies. They’ve birthed them and nurtured them into what they are today. It’s so hard to let go of the process, much like dropping your kids off at a babysitter’s or kindergarten for the first time. There are usually tears involved, along with stress and worry.
But when you turn your baby (human or business) over to an expert, amazing things happen. Your business starts to flourish and you get back time to take care of yourself and your clients even more than you could before. Because you know that your baby is in good hands.
Who is Ready for a Director of Operations (DOO)?
Some good indicators to determine if you’re ready for a director of operations include:
- You have a team of two to three contractors, like a virtual assistant, social media manager, copywriter, video editor, etc.
- You’re in the process of moving away from 1:1 work to grow a 1:many practice, often because you’ve hit your time and revenue capacity with 1:1 work.
- You have a tested product or service and are genuinely making revenue in your business (around the $100k mark annually for quarterly consultations and around $300k for a full DOO service).
- You are able to let go of the reigns and allow an expert to walk alongside you in your business.
- You realize that systems, team management and operations aren’t necessarily part of your business ownership wheelhouse.
Who isn’t Ready for a DOO?
Not everyone is quite ready for a director of operations, and it’s important to recognize this before you dive in head-first.
(It’s important to note that a good DOO will help you determine if you’re ready.)
- You love your 1:1 services and though you’ve hit your capacity to bring on new clients, you don’t want to change your business model.
- You’ve invested your max in trainings and coaching for the year and have little cash banked for a rainy day.
- You love setting up and maintaining systems in your business and expect your team to follow suit on the systems you love.
- You’re a quick starter and fiercely independent and dislike talking over decisions and investments with anyone before hitting “go”.
- You’re making money in your business but revenue fluctuates wildly from month to month and season to season.
A director of operations is such a valuable resource in a growing business–if your business and your mindset are ready for it. She can help you:
- Make decisions in your business with your goals and visions in mind (no more shiny object syndrome!)
- Walk you through creating a new stream of revenue in your business without the frustration of having to think of all the what-ifs yourself
- Communicate and follow up with your team regularly so you can stay focused on the money-making activities in your business
- Manage projects, plan more strategically and generally feel more at ease every day.
Are you ready for a DOO? Sometimes it’s a conversation with one that will help you determine if it’s time to hire someone or not.
Many DOOs offer one-off strategy sessions so you know exactly what to work on so you can be ready to let go of all the in-the-weeds work that’s tripping you up now.
Book a call now and let’s see if you’re ready!