Just because you own your own business does not mean that you have to perform every task and duty yourself. Today the world is so complicated that it is impossible to know everything you need to do in your business. Besides, even if you did, performing each and every task is likely to be a poor use of your time. In other words, you must prioritize and delegate.

Like most small business owners, you are definitely good at what you do. Who better than you knows your products or services? But are you a CPA? A lawyer? An advertising manager? A marketing consultant? A webmaster? A secretary? Probably not.

Even though you will probably have to handle all these tasks yourself at first, successful people realize that they cannot excel in everything. And you know what? You don’t have to.

By performing these duties yourself, at least in the beginning, you will know how to perform them and you gain an understanding of the kind of skills that are required to perform each function.

If you run a medium -size company or you decide to start a medium-size company, most likely you will hire people to fill all those positions. And maybe when your company grows, you’ll hire people too. If you have already performed some or all of these tasks, you probably know how to describe each position to a prospective employee, so it will be easier to find the right person to work with you.

But what if you are a solo entrepreneur? You will probably try to do everything by yourself at the beginning, either because you won’t have the budget to hire a staff, or because you want to control every aspect and nuance of the business. Many entrepreneurs conclude that because the business is their own and they created the enterprise, it cannot run without the leader. I have been there, so I know that exact feeling. But even if you are a “control freak” [like me], you still need assistance.

Even if you can perform all the tasks required to run and grow your business, you will limit your success if you spend every minute of your time handling tasks that are outside your core expertise and strengths. If nothing else, when you delegate tasks to people who are more qualified to handle them than you are or perhaps people who charge less than you do, you can better leverage yourself and concentrate on the priorities—the key tasks—to grow your business.

It is essential to your growth and success to create what I call a “virtual team.” Gather the best experts you can find in the areas you need to complete your skills and functions. These “partners” can help you think through and analyze different problems, issues and challenges, and add a new perspective or slant to your point of view. They can add experiences and insights you don’t have. Since this small group of trusted advisors serves as consultants to you rather than employees, they are in effect “virtual.” They can help you when you need their skills, expertise and input.

Over the last two years, I tried many different things. I joined different groups: focus groups, “Mastermind Groups,” expert panels, peer groups, and a host of other groups and associations. Some groups met once a week, some once a month. Often we discussed our issues in business, and the purpose was to brainstorm and help each other.

But with many of the groups, I noticed that the people in the group changed too often. This made it more difficult to develop close relationships and discover which members could help us and which we could help. The group also lacked a solid foundation and a consistent path of development and growth. And with the changing composition of the groups, it was always challenging to get to know people in a meaningful way and even more difficult to build trust. These limitations made the members reluctant to share their personal issues and challenges.

As a result, I created my own virtual team with people that I knew very well. I created a set of goals for my Team and a written description of the types of people and experts and the scope of knowledge that I needed.

Since I already knew many of these people and I had been in business for a period of time, I knew what I needed and already had a sense of the value my Team members could provide, even though we wouldn’t meet on a regular basis. My virtual team more or less evolved, and even though we did not create a formal agreement, we just began meeting with the general goal of helping each other. We knew that we could contact each other at any time, and the rule was that they would offer their candid opinions and provide advice and feedback on an issue or feedback on an idea to start a new program or project.

My virtual team includes a business coach, a financial advisor, a CPA, a lawyer, a graphic designer and a marketing consultant. And I even have a friend who operates a business that is similar to mine. We call each other once a month to discuss our monthly goals, and help each other focus on those goals and continue making progress and stay on track. My friend is not in the United States or France; she is in Denmark, so you can understand the sense of a virtual team.

The people on your team don’t need to be right next to you or located in the same town, state or even in the same country. They just need to be available for you and you for them when needed.The most important goal is to find a group of people that you feel very confident in and comfortable with, like to work with, and trust their judgment. During the first year I was in business, I tried to accomplish everything on my own; finally this past year I realized that to be most productive and effective, I had to enlist others to help me. My virtual team helps me accomplish a lot more of my goals and be more efficient and more productive. Collectively, they took a lot of the pressure off my shoulders and helped me become even more successful.

Who is on your team?

Build your team one person at a time; join a group, or start your own focus group. Consider my mastermind “Team-up4Succe$$ Mastermind“ that I started a year ago and Discover the Reason Why Successful People Don’t Work Alone.

Image How it Would Change YOUR Business if You Had a Board of Advisors that You Could Turn to Anytime! Meeting the same group of people every month, even virtually, makes it is easier to work together over the long run, and helps each other to stay focused.