This might be the first time I’ve been late with a Substack newsletter - although I have a good reason for my tardiness.
That might be pushing it, actually. I’m travelling to Germany today for a product launch, and overslept this morning, leading to a frantic rush to the airport. A few beers last night didn’t help matters, and nor did a 1am bedtime, complete with the knowledge I needed to get up at 3:30am to get to the airport in time.
So, it’s not a good reason, is it? Hey ho, at least I managed to live by the consistency mantra and get something out to you, regardless!
Today, I want to talk about letting go.
It’s been four months since I hired a General Manager. What started as a part-time appointment has rapidly turned into pretty much a full-time role. It was inevitable, but it was also scary, completely outside of my comfort zone, and something which has demanded more from me than I ever thought it would.
I should note that I don’t have one ounce of regret about doing this. It has been the single most important thing I’ve done for my business and I’d advise anyone in a similar situation to do the same. The challenge has been letting go of the processes, procedures, and inner workings of much of Mark Ellis Media. That’s now down to Niall, and I’m simply here to say, “yes”, or, “no”, and get on with the business of creating content.
At first, it felt like this added to my workload. The dream of having more time to invest in content and business strategy still seemed to be far from reach. However, I’ve come to realise that I was getting time back, almost immediately. Handing stuff over takes time, but you only have to do it once, and, if you hire smartly, you’ll find someone who can take those procedures (‘SOPs’, whatever you want to call them) and fly. That has certainly happened with Niall.
I think I’ve struggled internally with this because the responsibilities I’ve passed over are business-critical. They relate to getting videos out on time and in good shape and dealing with sponsor and brand partnerships. If either of those elements falls apart, the business is in real trouble.
Of course, in reality, they don’t fall apart, and I now have someone focusing solely on those parts of the business and not juggling them alongside creating content and being the ‘face’ of the channel, which means they’re getting more attention. The problem I have is avoiding the perils of micromanagement - something I utterly despise, but something to which one all too easily succumbs. Checking that thumbnails are made in time for video publish dates; enquiring as to whether a sponsor lead has been followed up; feeling the need to ensure step 12 of the video production process hasn’t been missed.
I’m annoying myself even writing about it.
The truth is that all of that stuff is being done, and it’s being done to a high standard - often far better than I could muster myself. This means I can take a back seat on the things in which I shouldn’t be meddling, and I can spend more time on content and sussing out where the business should head next. It’s liberating.
This feels rambling. I hope it isn’t. And if you’re a fellow business owner who has been through similar changes, I’m sure you’ll know exactly how I feel. It’s because we love our businesses and want them to succeed - it isn't because we lack trust or because we’re control freaks. There’s also never a good time to invest in talent to help run the business. It’s always going to be too costly and time-consuming. The option to just carry on doing everything yourself is always going to be there.
I’ll tell you what, though - when you take the leap and let go (no matter how long it takes) you’ll ask yourself why you didn’t do it sooner. You’ll also become more excited about the future than you’ve ever been before.
I certainly am.