Designing Your CEO + Creative Director Role
Episode 655: Show Notes
What would it look like to remove yourself from the parts of the business that you should remove yourself from? And which parts should you never remove yourself from? Are there opportunities you’re ignoring because of this?
When you give up these things, we can only imagine that, in your heart of hearts, you want to lean more into the CEO role - you just don’t know yet exactly what you’re supposed to be doing with that time. But once you know more about what’s required of you within that role, you might find the motivation to let go of these other parts of the business, and by doing so, gain some very precious time back!
The number one thing that will help you and your business to take on more clients, is to have doers who can take on more client delivery. The parts of the business that you are resenting most at the moment might only be that way because you are feeling strapped for time. Ask yourself: if you had the time, where would you shine best? If you could design a CEO or creative director role for yourself, what would that look like?
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The two camps business owners find themselves in when they reach a turning point
Either, you get to a certain point in your business and you completely remove yourself from it. You have decided that you should no longer be involved, and allow other people to take the reins. Or, you make a list of everything you hate to do, and you hire someone to look after those responsibilities. Both of these can lead to a very, very toxic work environment for you, and for your team.
We want to help you to create a work environment where you can do what you do best, and continue to grow the company, and still be involved. If you eventually decide you want to train yourself out of a job, that’s fine! However, most people who are aiming for this are not ready for it. Is that actually what you want?
You don’t always need to be the worker bee in your service-based business for your position to be valid
If you need someone to give you permission and tell you that it’s okay to design a job for yourself, we’re here to tell you that! Choose your hours, and your responsibilities, and build your role. You don’t have to be grinding away in the trenches, nor do you need to be gallivanting across the country for your position as CEO to be valid.
You can absolutely scale your business on a lifestyle-driven basis. You can have it make more money, you can have it take less of your time, and all of that’s still possible within the confines of what you have done today. We want to help you to figure out how to take advantage of what’s already working, and identify opportunities for you to pour into other people. We don’t suggest completely overturning your role in service delivery, but we highly recommend hiring support so that you can focus more and more on your own zone of genius. And, you’ll get people into the position where they really shine too.
The one mistake that many business owners make when they reach this point
So often, we’ll see people finding themselves in this position, and they have an existing team, but that team has not been hired to take anything off your plate. Instead, they’re performing additional roles, like social media and lead generation. So essentially, they’re adding to your workload, rather than reducing it. You need to get people on your team that are doers! These are people who are going to take care of things that are not your secret sauce.
Can a CEO be a CEO and still be the best on their team at client delivery and sales? Or do they have to pick a lane? Initially, you’re required to do all of the above, but over time, you’re naturally going to fall into a rhythm of doing more of what you are most skilled at. Could there be a role where you’re still winning the sale, but you’re not the one handling every bit of communication? Out of all our clients, every business owner is still involved with client relationships on some level. But this looks different for everyone.
Who your first hires should be to make room for your own growth
When the time comes to make your first hires, it can be tempting to look for people who are early on in their careers. You see their potential to be like you, and you like the idea of paying less for someone who is less experienced. Truth be told, sometimes you just need to hire someone with ten years of experience behind them! There needs to be some form of admin and project management specialist, along with more doers. You’re still going to be in service delivery, but you’re just not going to be in the weeds every day.
You get to be the birds-eye view. You get to be the one to set the standards and expectations so that you can know that those are being fulfilled. You’ve got to be systematic about it. Some of this is standard operating procedure, and some of it is quality assurance. If you’re sending something out to a client, how many people are checking it? There are absolutely ways to move into more of a creative director role where you are heavily involved in sales, and heavily involved in client delivery, but you’re creating room for yourself to grow.
Quote This
If you’re more clear on what you need to be doing as the leader of your company, then you are going to see opportunities within your company to delegate, to give things up, and to hire appropriately.
Highlights
The two camps business owners find themselves in when they reach a turning point [0:13:09.1]
Why you don’t need to be the worker bee in your service-based business for your position to be valid. [0:14:58.1]
The one mistake that many business owners make when they reach this point [0:18:20.1]
Who your first hires should be to make room for your own growth [0:25:09.1]
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
KEY TOPICS
CEO, Creative direction, Management, Business mistakes, Client delivery, Growth
