If you always answer, they’ll never stop asking.

THE OWNERS BRIEF / MARTIN HOLLAND & KHALIL BENALIOULHAJ

To stop being the bottleneck, know what people cost, hand off whole jobs, and make enough to afford the help.

01 - A hire costs more than the paycheck

Add wages, benefits, time off, equipment, and your time managing them. A $65,000 hire can cost $95,000. Martin says a salesperson should bring in about three times their cost in margin.

02 - Stop being the one with every answer

Answer questions with a question: “What does the manual say?” If you always answer, any mistake is on you. Khalil: step away a few days and see who steps up.

03 - Delegation is a capital investment

Like buying equipment, it costs time and training now. You may go through five assistant managers to find a good one. Once paid for, the business runs without you.

04 - Hand off responsibilities, not tasks

Khalil: keep two or three areas and make someone else point person for the rest. Give them a clear end result. Have them bring you the problem, options, and fix they recommend.

05 - Can’t afford help? Fix prices and overhead

Even 1% across the board helps. Then ask why marketing cost $75,000 instead of $55,000. Overhead is easy to add and very hard to get rid of.

“As long as you’re willing to answer the questions, they’re never gonna ever quit asking.”

MARTIN HOLLAND

“Delegation is a capital investment. It costs you now in time, effort, training.”

MARTIN HOLLAND

DO THIS WEEK

01 - Answer the next question with a question.

02 - Write the end result for one area you’ll hand off.

03 - Pick one overhead line and ask how it was set.