Outsourcing and Delegating for Your Business

Thinking About Outsourcing and Delegating for Your Business? How To Determine What’s First

When you first start to consider outsourcing and delegating, it can be tough to decide what you should outsource first. There are so many different tasks, so many options, and so many people to consider for the job. Here, I’ll share my thoughts and experiences about outsourcing and delegating for your business.

Let’s take a look at some of the variables involved to help you make the best decision for yourself and your business.

Where Are You Stuck?

The first place I’d look when deciding what to outsource and/or delegate is to look at what you’re stuck on. Is it getting your website set up, or shopping cart software installed? Maybe you need graphics for your new product and you can’t quite get the right look. There are lots of tasks we get stuck on. Sometimes it’s worth figuring out how to do them ourselves. More often than not, they are worth outsourcing.

By having someone else take care of the step you’re stuck on, you can move on. You can make progress. Take the next step. Get your product to market and boost your bottom line. Yes, outsourcing is an added expense, but often you’ll find that being able to get your product or service out there more quickly (and looking more professional) quickly profits more than you spent on outsourcing.

What Sucks Up Your Time And Your Soul?

Look at your day or your week. What are some of the tasks that claim most of your time? Or what is the stuff that continually gets put on the back burner because you really don’t want to do it? Those are things that may be better outsourced. For example, if you find yourself wasting too much time on Facebook any time you log in to do some marketing or interacting with your audience, it’s probably something you should pass on to a VA.

Or how about creating pinnable images for all your content? If it doesn’t get done because you don’t enjoy it, hire someone to do it for you. Identify two or three tasks like that and start outsourcing them. Use the time you’re saving on money making tasks.

I hope the information in this article is helpful. But that’s all it is. Information, advice, ideas. At the end of the day it is your business and your circumstances are unique. Do what is best for you right now. What’s weighing heavily on you? What’s sucking most of your time? What’s keeping you from falling asleep at night? That’s probably a good place to start.

Most importantly, don’t overthink this. You can always change course down the road. It’s not the end of the world if you outsource something that you end up taking backing back to do yourself later. What is important is that you make the decision and take action.

But I Can’t Afford To Outsource Yet

So you think you can’t afford to outsource. At least not yet. It’s something you’ll consider when you make a certain amount each month. I’m here to tell you that’s likely a wrong assumption. Outsourcing doesn’t have to cost much. You don’t have to hire a full time person or sign up for a large package. You can start small and it can start to pay off for you almost immediately.

Here’s step-by-step how to do this. Look at your monthly income. Set aside a certain percentage of your profits as an outsourcing budget. You can start with as little or as much as you want. Twenty percent is a good starting place. As your business grows, your outsourcing budget will too.

Think about where you want to start. What do you need immediate help with? This could be a task you’re stuck on that keeps you from launching or improving a stream of income. Or it could be a low-level, time-consuming task that keeps you from spending your day working on things that will make you money.

For many of us, customer service and email support is one of those tasks. If it’s something you don’t enjoy and you waste a lot of time on, outsource it and then spend that time working on getting more traffic to your site or launching that next product. You’ll quickly make up what you’re spending on outsourcing and then some. Review your budget every few months and adjust as needed.

How do you make this idea work when your monthly income is still tiny? Great question. Let’s say you’re just starting out and are on a shoestring budget. Let’s also say you are making $500 in profits per month. Twenty percent is $100. That isn’t much if you spend it all each month.

But what if you save it for a couple of months and then use those two hundred dollars to pay for a chunk of time to have someone create a bunch of social media posts that you can cycle through, using automation software to make it hands-off. Or have someone install that shopping cart script you need to launch your paid coaching program. You get the idea.

Then as your income grows, your outsourcing budget will too. Before you know it, you’ll be able to afford a part-time virtual assistant or graphic designer to help you get more done. Give it a try and never ever think that you can’t afford to outsource.

I’m bestselling USA Today and Wall Street Journal author Connie Ragen Green, finally outsourcing and delegating in my business every single day, with awesome results to show for it! My complimentary Action Habits Challenge will be helpful to you.