I’m not just trying to flatter you. It’s true. You are a genius. And leaning into that genius can help you elevate your life and your business. Intrigued? Keep reading to discover how to unleash this superpower that will help you clarify your business' purpose and simplify tricky decisions made by every entrepreneur.

I recently took a marketing webinar to help me create and launch my first lead magnet (thanks The Design Space Co for helping me navigate the marketing world!) In that webinar she talked about something that totally hit home for me, and I think it will for a lot of small business owners.

It's called your zone of genius.

Nobody can do exactly what you do, exactly how you do it. Lean into that. If you've based your business on something that makes you feel even a teensy bit apathetic, you have to pivot.

t's not a new, or overly complex concept. A quick google search brings up articles, books and blog posts about the topic (including this great article from Forbes). In a nutshell, if your life was a comic book, your zone of genius would be your superhero strength. The perfect combination of what you're good at, what you love and what other people recognize as one of your strengths.

So why is it so important for entrepreneurs? As an entrepreneur you're going to be wearing a lot of hats. Creative director, operations manager, IT, content creator, hiring committee, janitor - the list goes on. Unless you're a magical business unicorn, a lot of these functions will probably feel a little out of your comfort zone. There's nothing wrong with that! You probably think that's part of the fun of entrepreneurship. Hey, if we liked monotony we'd all be working a 9-5, right?

Being aware of your zone of genius, and embracing its associated talents can help you level up your business in two ways:

Clarify your Mission
Stop wasting time trying to decide to contract out or do it yourself

Let's dive in, shall we?

Mission Clarity

Your business mission statement should guide what you do, who you do it for, and why you do it. If you're a solopreneur and your mission statement doesn't capitalize on your zone of genius, you probably need to go back to the drawing board. Your zone of genius IS your competitive advantage. It's the one thing that sets you apart from your competitors even if you're in the exact same market, offering the exact same product.

Nobody can do exactly what you do, exactly how you do it. Lean into that. If you've based your business on something that makes you feel even a teensy bit apathetic, you have to pivot. Even if there's an opportunity in the market. Have you ever had someone convince you to try something new by being "meh" about it? Likely not. Passion breeds sincerity, and sincerity builds trust. When people trust you, they're more likely to choose your business over another, and that's the ultimate goal isn't it?

Stop wasting time trying to decide to contract out or do it yourself

Deciding between doing a task yourself, or hiring an expert to do it for you is a quandary faced by every entrepreneur, and faced often.

Cash is often scarce in the beginning stages of business, and fear of spending too much on a contractor with lacklustre results will keep owners from looking to contract out. Conversely, trying to complete tasks that are so outside of your wheelhouse can be intimidating and time consuming (like me, an accountant, trying to figure out how to make a website - yeesh, it's not pretty guys.)

So what does this have to do with your zone of genius? You have to first reframe how you value your own time. If the task you're looking at tackling will take you 10 hours, how much is that costing your business? Well, if you're not yet paying yourself you'll probably say zero and think you're coming out ahead, right? Not exactly. When you run a business, your time is precious. The opportunity cost of doing something yourself is the other value added activities you could have been doing to advance your business, or more importantly - advance your own well-being.

What can you do in 10 hours? Is that 10 extra sales calls? A full day spent on deliverables? Packaging and shipping an entire week's worth of product sales? Take a nap? Go to the park with your kids? Business may be a game of dollars and cents, but it's also a game of hours and minutes. How you spend those hours and minutes has the power to make or break your success.

If a task is not in your zone of genius, it will probably take you longer than it should to complete, You might put it off, just to rush through it when you find you can't put it off any longer. You might lose sleep over it. If this sounds familiar, the task at hand is likely not in your zone of genius. Look at contracting out all or parts of it. It will save you your time and your sanity.

The numbers

We can't leave the above discussion without mentioning the numbers side of a contract out vs DIY decision. Every decision you make for your business should be backed up by numbers. Yes. Every. Single. One.

The numbers you should look at to back up your decision to contract out is a blog post for another day. But one key takeaway from this discussion is that if there are no numbers to back up a decision, it's going to be based on emotions rather than fact. Operating this way is a dangerous game. Outsourcing might make you feel better in the moment, but it can backfire down the road if adequate cashflow isn't available to cover additional contractor expenses.

Moral of the story? Yes - you're still a genius. But don't forget about the numbers. Contracting out a task that isn't in your zone of genius but also jeopardizes your ability to keep your operations afloat is not a wise decision. Always use your genius, AND your numbers. Not necessarily in that order ;)

Now what?

Trying to clarify your business' message? Or are you stuck trying to decide what needs to get off your plate to free up some time for bigger and better things?

Start at your zone of genius
Clarify the mission of your business
Make decisions to support that mission
Lean into tasks that get you excited
Contract out the ones that don't
Have the numbers to back up your decisions

Following these rules will help you avoid making business decisions that just don't align with you and your bra

We can help

If you've been on the fence, unsure what to do with the accounting function for your business, take this as a big, flashing sign from the universe. If you feel lost, overwhelmed or have been avoiding setting up, or getting a system in place for your bookkeeping and accounting - you need to contract out. Drop us a line here and we'd love to help you get started.

As for that lead magnet that started this whole thing? You can find our guide on How to Build a Great Accounting Function here. Writing marketing materials is not, naturally, in my zone of genius. The idea of writing a whole guide on accounting functions that wouldn't put people to sleep seemed downright daunting at first. BUT, fuelled by a couple vanilla lattes and some lo-fi beats, the whole thing flowed pretty magically in a few coffee shop sessions. That right there? That's the power of the zone of genius.