You're only one person.

When the galloping housewife was an emergency nurse, she had a favourite saying.

You’re only one person. You can only do what one person can do.

This was a philosophy that got her through many an over run shift, with multiple very sick patients, usually combined with a shortage of qualified staff to attend to them. 

You do the best you can, and that’s all you can do.

When it comes to running her own businesses, this has taken on new meaning.

In a small business, there is always something more that can be done. More marketing, more content, more customer outreach. More training, more cleaning, more bookkeeping. More stalls to clean, more courses to build, more horses to groom, more lessons to teach. More products sourced, more products launched, more campaigns analysed. More proposals written, more meetings held, more projects taken on.

It doesn’t matter what the nature of your business, there is always more to do.

The key to profit and sanity becomes not what you do, but what you don’t do.

For this, the galloping housewife has developed a new mantra.

Only do what only you can do.

For the galloping housewife, this means she holds the overall vision for her businesses and maintains their direction, philosophy and focus. And she writes, creates content, develops and delivers her courses. 

That’s it.

She doesn’t handle the logistics. She doesn’t do the admin. She doesn’t answer the phones. She doesn’t do the bookkeeping. She doesn’t deliver the marketing.

When she was running a competition yard, she didn’t feed or muck out or sweep or groom or clean gear. Not because she couldn’t, not because it was beneath her. Because it wasn’t the best use of her time, her ability, and her knowledge.

Her time was best spent with the horses. Training them on the ground. Schooling them, competing them. Or interacting with owners and prospective owners and other stakeholders. Delivering value in the relationships, maintain present partnerships and sourcing new possibilities. Planning individual journeys and adapting them as needed.

What are you doing that’s not yours to do?