Podcast

Episode 140: The Delegation Mistakes Freelancers & Agency Owners Make

By Zach Swinehart

In this episode, I talk about the big mistakes freelancers and agency owners make when they delegate work to team members — and how to fix them.

You’ll also learn the things you can (and should) delegate to other team members to free up your valuable time.

This episode will help if you’re new to delegation or making one of these mistakes and want to delegate effectively.

I also talk about:

  • The importance of delegation in scaling your freelance business and achieving greater profitability and flexibility
  • Common misconceptions about delegation and how they can hinder growth and efficiency
  • Practical examples of incorrect freelancer delegation and their implications
  • The concept of “secret sauce” and how to leverage it in your delegation process
  • Actionable steps for reducing variability and delegating recurring tasks effectively

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AI-Generated Summary:

  • 0:00 – 2:00 — Zach introduces the podcast and explains the topic: mistakes freelancers make with delegation.
  • 2:00 – 4:00 — Zach discusses the common mistake of trying to delegate the most complex tasks first instead of recurring, low-variability tasks.
  • 4:00 – 6:00 — Zach explains how tracking time can help identify tasks that are suitable for delegation, especially those done repeatedly and similarly.
  • 6:00 – 8:00 — Zach shares his experience with starting a new agency and how he realized a lot of his time was spent on standard tasks that could be delegated.
  • 8:00 – 10:00 — Zach emphasizes the importance of tracking time to identify boring, repetitive tasks that are ideal for delegation and provides examples from his own work.
  • 10:00 – 12:00 — Zach reflects on the challenges of delegating tasks and the uniqueness of his role, exploring ways to break down and delegate specific skill sets.
  • 12:00 – 14:00 — Zach discusses various A/B tests focused on different elements like 3D images and headlines to optimize conversion rates.
  • 14:00 – 16:00 — Zach emphasizes the importance of identifying and focusing on one’s unique value (secret sauce) and delegating other tasks to increase productivity and earnings.
  • 16:00 – 18:35 — Zach concludes by encouraging time tracking to identify non-essential tasks and asking for listener feedback on the podcast format to improve future episodes.