My $5 million business with NO employees: Here's how I do it
Sorry about the spammy title - but it clearly did it’s job and got your attention :)
And before we get started (so I’m not being misleading) the $5 million I’m referring to in the title is the revenue I’ve made over the past 3 and a bit years since I transitioned my business from working 1:1 with interior design clients to sharing online courses and resources with the design community via my online content platform.
Here’s why I’m writing this post…
Yesterday I asked my community of designers on Instagram what other blog post topics they would like me to cover.
And one topic idea that was submitted was this:
A guiding principle about the way I run my business (that I’ve had since the very first day I started nearly 10 years ago now) is that I don’t want any full time staff or employees.
Back in my corporate days I used to manage a large team of people and I absolutely hated it.
For me, managing a team takes me away from work I love to do - which is the creative and hands on work and instead involves work I hate, which are endless meetings and having to take on the responsibility of other people and their outcomes/progress.
Some people love managing people (my husband is one of them) - but it’s just not for me.
So I knew when I started my business that:
I didn’t want daily meetings
I didn’t want to feel responsible for other people’s careers
I didn’t want to have to go and work in an office (I like working at home)
I didn’t want to be worrying about what staff were doing and whether they had enough to keep them occupied (and be worth paying)
and I definitely didn’t want to deal with performance management issues, interviewing and all the other admin stuff that comes with managing a team of people.
So the way I scale and run my business is always dictated around not having full time employees.
BUT…I still want my business to grow and I still run a large business that I do need help with. And just because I don’t want to have full time staff doesn’t mean I don’t need help.
So I get my help in other ways - mostly via contractor roles where I outsource certain parts of my personal life or business to free up my personal time to work on my business.
The people in these 'teams' are contractors or businesses that are experts in different areas that I can outsource tasks to, without having to worry about HR and all the headaches that come along with it.
So here are the three key success teams I have in my life/business and what they do to help me.
1: BUSINESS SUPPORT TEAM
My business support team has grown slowly over time. I have never outsourced something unless it's absolutely necessary (e.g. legal work) or unless I have a good understanding of what the task involves (e.g. Facebook ads).
Why?
Because I strongly believe you need to learn how to do something yourself before you outsource it so you know whether or not you are being ripped off and so you can talk intelligently with the contractor about what is involved in the work and what you need completed.
Here's who is part of my current business support team:
a virtual assistant (who helps to support students in my SketchUp and other courses). On average she works about 5-8 hours per week.
an accountant (I do my own book keeping as it doesn’t take me long using Xero but my accountant helps with tax, budgeting and other high level strategic financial advice - a bit like having an external ‘CFO’ of sorts)
a financial planner (who works closely with my accountant to help plan budgets, investments and that sort of thing)
a lawyer
and I also used to have a paid advertising team (who did my Instagram, Facebook and Google advertising for me) but since my husband has joined me in my business he has now taken over that function
2: HOME SUPPORT TEAM
If you don't have to clean your house, plan your meals or do your ironing you save yourself a HUGE amount of time each week.
Think about the tasks around the house that you hate to do and start with outsourcing those as a first step towards clawing back some more time in your week.
This is a great way to get started with outsourcing if you’re nervous about giving away parts of your business.
Your time is still your time - so if you’re cleaning your own house then get a cleaner to do it and put those few hours towards working on your business instead.
Here is who is on my home support team:
cleaners (come once a week for a full house clean - although we don’t have anyone right now as we are looking for a new one, which is VERY annoying!)
gardener (comes one a month to maintain the garden)
pool maintenance person (comes regularly to clean pool, check chemical balances etc.)
ironing/dry cleaning - outsource ironing or just don’t do it, which tends to be my preference! :)
meal delivery service - I’m not using one of these right now as I’m currently really enjoying cooking, but I have used lots of them in the past
online grocery shopping
3: PERSONAL SUPPORT TEAM
And finally I find that staying sane and healthy are a really important part of being a successful person and business owner. And I have a personal support team to thank for this aspect of my life.
Here is who is in my personal support team:
my husband - I am very lucky to have a very hands on and supportive husband who helps a lot with the boys, the house and even with different things in my business as well. One thing that can be helpful with your spouse is to actually let them know when you need help. Sometimes they won't know if you don't tell them! :)
fitness coach/personal trainer - I do a mix of personal and group training sessions each week for my strength training. This is normally 7 sessions per week.
babysitter (we actually have rarely used a babysitter as if we go out the boys tend to come with us - but lots of people will have a babysitter or nanny on their home support team I'm sure!).
The message I'm trying to get across is that if you aren't keen on having an employee in the traditional sense then think about what other things around all parts of your life you can outsource to give you back some time each week.
Having this team of people around me cuts back on many hours a week that I can then put towards my work - or even just having some downtime.
What should you outsource or delegate?
If you’re not sure where to start with outsourcing or delegation grab my completely free checklist.
I have listed out lots of tasks, specifically related to running an interior design business, that you can use to think about where you could start outsourcing and gain back some time.
Thanks for reading and catch you in my next post :)
Clare x
Dr Clare Le Roy
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