You Hired a Team. So Why Are You Still Doing Everything?

You finally hired help. A VA. Maybe a project manager.

But somehow, you're still the one answering late night Slack messages.

Work sits half finished, waiting on your sign off.

And every “quick question” seems to boomerang back to you.

It’s not that your team isn’t trying.

They’re following your instructions.

They’re showing up.

But the reality is: you’re still the bottleneck.

If Your Business Can’t Function Without You, You Don’t Have a Team - You Have a To-Do List with Faces

Look, I get it.
You wanted help.
So you hired someone.

But if every decision still flows through you - if the business stalls every time you’re off sick or on holiday - what you’ve built isn’t a system. It’s a pressure cooker.

And you are the release valve.

The problem? 

Most small business owners think hiring is the fix. 

But hiring without systems is like building a house with no frame. Sure, the walls go up… but they won’t hold under pressure.

What you’ve done isn’t wrong. It’s just incomplete.

Why This Actually Matters (More Than You Think)

Being the bottleneck doesn’t just slow things down.

It silently sabotages your goals:

• Want to work school hours and still scale? Not if you’re the only one with the answers.
• Want a holiday without your phone glued to your hand? Not if your team’s stuck waiting.
• Want more profit, without adding more hours? You can't scale chaos. You’ll just get more people standing around waiting for you to approve things.

Delegating without systems doesn't buy back your time.

It just gives you a longer to do list - with more moving parts to manage.

Real Talk: I Learned This the Hard Way

A few years ago, I was out of the office. 

My customer service rep was handling emails when a regular customer reached out - frustrated about a damaged delivery.

Instead of fixing the issue and sending a replacement, my CSR went back and forth, trying to “do the right thing.” She was polite. Careful. Overly careful.

Why?
Because she didn’t have the power to make a decision.

She followed the SOP to the letter.

But the SOP didn’t say what to do when things went sideways. So she waited. For me.

And because I wasn’t available, that problem dragged out - until we lost the customer for good.

That was the moment I realised:
I was the problem.

I’d trained my team to rely on me.

I hadn’t handed over ownership. I’d just handed them tasks - with conditions and caveats.

They couldn’t step up… because I wouldn’t let go.

The Real Reason You’re Still the Bottleneck

Most people think delegation is about giving someone a to-do list. But delegation without systems is just abdication.

You’ve probably experienced at least one of these:

• You’ve explained the same task three times - and it’s still not done right
• Projects stall unless you chase someone up
• You’re fixing work that should’ve been “done”
• You leave the house with your phone, just in case something breaks
• You tell yourself, “It’s easier if I just do it”

None of that is about bad hires. It’s not even about skill. 

It’s about a lack of clarity, structure, and ownership.

Hiring More People Won’t Fix This. Systems Will.

Here’s the truth:
A well meaning, hardworking team can’t save you from unclear expectations.

If you’ve ever said, “They just don’t take initiative” or “They can’t think for themselves,” pause for a second.

It’s not that your team can’t think.

It’s that they don’t understand the risks, outcomes, or decision points the way you do. 

Because you haven’t shown them how.

What they need from you isn’t more tasks.

It’s these three things:

1. A Clear Outcome
   What does “done right” look like?
   What’s the actual goal - and how will they know when they’ve nailed it?
2. Access to the Knowledge
   SOPs. Tools. Logins. Brand guidelines.
   Don’t make them guess. Don’t make them ask. Build it into the workflow.
3. Decision Making Power
   If they need your approval for every small thing, they’ll either freeze - or guess wrong.

Without these, your well meaning team becomes your biggest time suck.

You Can’t Just “Let Go” - You Need a Way to Structure It

I didn’t fix this overnight. 

When I first tried to step back, I kept getting pulled in. 

I re-explained things. I second guessed decisions. 

And told myself, “It’s quicker if I just do it.”

Sound familiar?

Eventually, I realised: 

Delegation isn’t just handing over tasks. 

It’s handing over ownership - with the structure to back it up.

So I built a framework. One that helped me:

• Get out of the day-to-day
• Give my team the clarity and confidence to take the reins
• And ultimately? Sell my business in 2 weeks (the average is 10 months)

Even if you’re not looking to sell, that’s the power of systems. 

They give you freedom, stability, and options - whether you want to take Fridays off, scale without stress, or step away entirely.

And now?

This is exactly what I teach. 

How to build a business that runs without you - so you can get your time back, delegate with confidence, and actually enjoy the business you’ve worked so hard to build.

So, What Should You Do Next?

You don’t need to overhaul your entire business right now. 

You don’t need to document everything you do.

You just need to start with one process. 

One task that’s still stuck to you like glue.

That’s why I created a free Delegation Checklist - to help you figure out:

• What to hand over first
• How to do it right (so it doesn’t bounce back broken)
• And what to include so your team can run it without you

👉 Grab your free Delegation Checklist right here

P.S. Want to Stop Being the Bottleneck - for Good?

The checklist is a great start.

But if you're ready to systemise and hand over a full process - start to finish?

That’s exactly what I teach inside the Simple Business Systems course.

By the end of the course, you’ll have:

• One process fully documented and delegated
• A repeatable method to systemise anything else
• Tools and templates to make it easy (even if SOPs make your eyes glaze over)

👉 Learn more about the course here