Scheduling, planning, and tracking your shipments can be a fairly complex process. You can certainly do it all yourself for a while, but eventually you’ll need someone to help you. In fact, even the most successful entrepreneurs reach out for help every now and then. This isn’t only essential for business growth and success, but is necessary for a work-life balance. So, how do you know when it’s time for you to get help?
Let’s start by doing a simple thought experiment:
Would your life change if you hired a Drayage Specialist for a few hours a day? Would adding three more hours in the day help you do some of the work you’ve been putting off for a while? If yes, what kind of daily tasks do you feel can be handled by someone else?
Are you able to get away from your business and still have it run at maximum efficiency? If not, then there’s a good chance you’re too tied in and need to start delegating. You shouldn’t be resisting the idea of adding a team member as a risky endeavor. Consider it a natural progression that will help you in the long run.
Five key indicators that you need a Drayage Specialist
You don’t have to be overwhelmed by maintaining contact with your customers and drivers, while also trying to manage company operations. Yes, you are in this situation, but there is a solution. You can get help. You don’t have to let it lead to burnout. If you’re watching this, you probably identify with some of the key indicators I’m about to outline.
1. Spending more time on administrative tasks than the core business
It’s ok to do it all when you’re a start-up. In fact, administrative tasks can’t be left undone, otherwise, your business won’t function efficiently. However, the details of these tasks will eventually wear on you. So, if you find that making port and rail appointments, bookkeeping, scheduling pick-ups and deliveries, data entry, and team management is taking up too much of your time, it’s a surefire indicator that you need a Drayage Specialist.
2. Your business needs skills you don’t have
When you spend too much time learning skills that your business needs, you won’t have enough time to focus on the high-impact, high-value activities that you as a business leader should be tackling. And, even if you’re multi-talented, there comes a time when your business outgrows those talents. For instance, marketing strategies need to be constantly revised or changed to keep up with the changing landscape. However, when you’re doing everything yourself, you won’t have time to analyze the data that fuels business strategies. This is where a Drayage Specialist comes in. They don’t have to only perform tasks you’d rather not do, but should bring specific expertise to the tasks you’re not up to date with.
3. Your business is holding you hostage
If you keep finding yourself working 7 days a week, or getting home after 7:00 p.m. every single day, even when you can be home by 5:00 p.m., then you need to call in reinforcements. Your work-life balance is out of whack and you need another pair of hands. A Drayage Specialist can take on much of the work that’s been keeping you busy, allowing you to generate a to-do list that you don’t have to personally cross off. You also might just be able to take some off, and go on that long-awaited holiday.
4. You’re ready to scale, but holding back
You could be holding back on growing your team because you’re not uncertain of the commitment of time, effort, and money it will take to bring them on. Regrettably, the idea of hiring new people is a major hurdle for many business owners. The thought of payroll, taxes, benefits, and the recruitment process – vetting, interviewing, reviewing, training, onboarding could be restraining you. What if you don’t have to go through all of these HR hurdles?
This is where a Drayage Specialist comes in. They simply fill your need without needing the major responsibility of a new hire. For example, hiring a Virtual Drayage Specialist can help your business save in annual operating costs. This is because they work on a part-time, freelance, or hourly basis, making the hiring process very simple. Fully trained Drayage Specialist have the expertise in a wide array of business functions such as customer service, recruiting owner operators/drivers, web development, billing and paying drivers, updating dispatch boards, responding to empty return requests, and 24/7 support. This makes it easy to hire an assistant who has specific skills, without going through the daunting recruitment process.
Best of all: You can put your Drayage Specialist on a short probation and not feel bad if you decide to let them go after that. This can’t easily be done for fulltime hires.
5. Your business has transformed
As your business starts to grow beyond what you can handle, it becomes more complex and you need to delegate, whether you like it or not. You may have started with intermodal drayage services, but now offer expedited and inter-carrier drayage services. Travel increases and responsibilities are expanding.
Your business has gotten too big for you to manage alone. You don’t find time to check on your old clients like you used to. You could still be productive, but you’re not hitting targets like you used to. You’re getting more complaints than praises, and your admin is stacking up. You are not the problem! Your business has transformed.
Your business is growing, and that’s great. It’s a sign that you’re headed in the right direction. The most important thing is to remember that there are Drayage Specialists who are readily available to relieve you of some of your tasks. What’s more, they can function like permanent members of your team. This doesn’t mean business growth is directly related to hiring a Drayage Specialist. No! It means the demand on your time and energy has increased. Thus, a Drayage Specialist can step in for some of your most essential tasks.
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