Outsourcing Tips for Entrepreneurs
If you’re reading this, I’m assuming you have A LOT on your plate right now. Maybe you’re not getting enough sleep, maybe some of your work is falling through the cracks, or maybe you’re not getting to spend enough time with your kids as you’d like (I have felt all of those things and more!). You’re trying to determine if and what and how you can start outsourcing things in your business and life to create more space for a healthy, sustainable, and fulfilling lifestyle. I hope this blog will encourage you as you navigate your decisions and give some helpful suggestions, too!
What is Outsourcing and Why Should I Do It?
When you are first starting your business, you wear ALL the hats. Not only do you create the product or provide the service, but you also market it, and do the bookkeeping, and the emailing, and the graphic design, and the list goes on. You’re in the thick of that business start up “hustle,” and you’re staying up late and waking up early and doing all the things to keep your businesses afloat, just trying to make it happen! And hopefully, over time, you start to see your business grow and see the fruits of your labor.
But that “hustle” you started your business with is not sustainable. You DO have to sleep. And eat. And have alone time. And play with the ones you love. It may have been necessary to do everything yourself in the beginning, but if you’re starting to feel like you’re drowning, it’s time to outsource.
It can feel overwhelming to figure out how and where to outsource in your business. And the truth is, outsourcing happens in layers, bit by bit over time! If you’re just starting to head this direction with your business, I want to share a few ideas of places you can start to get your feet wet. Of course, there are a variety of things you can outsource depending on what your business does or offers, but here are a few suggestions to help get you started.
P.S. I know that letting go and delegating things to other people can be SO hard. This business is your baby - I get it! After running everything myself for the first three and a half years of my business, I realized I was tired. One thing I could do to help? Take things off my plate so I could focus on the people and things that matter to me. Starting to outsource has completely changed my business, and my life.
How do I know I’m ready to start outsourcing?
Here are 4 few main ways to know you’re ready to start outsourcing:
Significant balls in your business are being dropped. More specifically, items that actually make a difference in the growth of your business are falling through the cracks. Emails from clients aren’t being answered in a timely fashion, content you’ve created is being wasted because you aren’t sharing it, you’re unable to follow through on promised turn-around times for your product, etc.
You are spending too much time on the aspects of your business that you’re not good at. We all have weaknesses (and that is okay!), but if something is taking too much of your time with too little results, it’s time to make a change.
Your personal mental/emotional/physical/spiritual health is suffering because you are spending too much time working. We all only have 24 hours in the day, and if you are spending most or almost all of your waking time working (or staying up way too late trying to get more work in), other areas of your life are absolutely going to suffer.. Are you getting enough sleep, proper nutrition, exercise, time in solitude, meditation, prayer, etc? When your health starts to suffer, something needs to change.
You are spending more time away from your friends & family on a regular basis than you would like because you are working. This is a tough one because we can all get stuck in the idea that working more means more money to give our family what they “want”, but I can guarantee what they want and need more than anything is you!
Any of the four issues above are good indicators that you need to start outsourcing, but if you’re realizing you are experiencing all four simultaneously, it’s really time to make a change. I know it feels scary and uncomfortable, friend, but I promise your future self will thank you.
4 Questions to Ask to Yourself Before Outsourcing
1. What are the tasks that ONLY I can do in my business?
Write out every. single. task. that has to be done for your business. I’m talking ALL of them. Everything from packing the equipment, to sending an email, to depositing a check. Big or small. Write out every single one.
Now, go back and circle the ones that ONLY you can do. You may have to do a few rounds of this because usually the more thought you put into it, the more you realize how few items there are that truly ONLY you can do.
Now, you’re starting to see the list of items possible for outsourcing come together. All the items left un-circled are places to start. But we’re not done yet. Now ask yourself:
2. Which tasks do I enjoy the most in my business?
I don’t think this is the absolute most important question, but it is valuable nonetheless. If you own your own business, chances are, you chose the life of entrepreneurship in part because you wanted to do something you ENJOY! It’s important that you stay connected to that on some level. Yes, you may have to delegate some of the tasks that you enjoy personally, but I think you should stay connected to as many things in your business that you enjoy as makes sense financially and will keep you connected to the passion behind why you do what you do.
Circle the tasks that you enjoy the most in your business! Is there overlap with some of the items that ONLY you can do? I hope so! And if some didn’t overlap, that’s okay, too!
Your list of tasks for outsourcing should be coming into focus. Next, ask yourself this tough question:
3. Where are balls being dropped in my business?
Which of the items left un-circled have completely fallen through the cracks in your business because of lack of time? Which items are not being completed well because they simply aren’t your strong suit? (It’s okay to admit this, no one is good at everything!)
Now that you’ve thought about that, ask yourself one more question:
4. Which of those balls being dropped will have the biggest impact on my business?
Here’s an example. Maybe you aren’t so great at posting on Facebook and you haven’t done it in a while. But if Facebook posts aren’t really making a big difference in your business, as far as you know, don’t worry about outsourcing that. Start with the things that do impact the growth and success of your business.
Have you let emails from clients go unanswered for too long? As hard as you try, you can’t seem to keep up with them and you're finding it’s to the detriment of your business? That would be an example of a great place to start.
Okay, friend! You’ve done some hard work. Now, take a look at your list with fresh eyes.. Do you have one or two things you can start to outsource? More? You’re on your way to a better pace of life!
Now that you’ve completed the exercise, here are a few additional outsourcing ideas to help kick start you as you begin the journey of delegating and/or building a team.
Outsourcing gives you freedom to do more of what you love & more of what makes a difference in your life & business.
3 Ways to Outsource Your Personal Life
Before we even get to the real business tips, let’s talk about the everyday areas of your life where you can make changes first.
The biggest reason to outsource is to save you valuable time that you could spend with people you love or doing what you love and to make sure that essential tasks for your business growth are not falling through the cracks because your time is already completely maxed out.
If you’re having a hard time knowing where to start within your business, here are a few places you might consider outsourcing elsewhere in your life so that you can spend more time investing into your business or more time on the personal things that make you happy. For me, this looks like spending time with my family, exercising & cooking good meals, going on adventures outside, etc!
1. Grocery Shopping
The time each of us spends doing this varies for sure, but even if it saved you one hour of time that you could be working on your business or doing something you love, wouldn’t that be worth it?
There are so many options you can use for this, but my personal favorite grocery delivery service right now is Instacart. There are also many grocery stores that offer free pick up or $5 pick up. Please tell me that an hour of your time is worth more than $5. That’s less than minimum wage by the way, so if your business isn’t paying you at least that much, it might be time to re-think some things! And I’d say, another hour spent with your kids is definitely worth at least $5. :)
Want to give Instacart a try? Click this link to get $10 off your first order!
2. Cleaning Your House
Okay, I will admit. This one is tough for me! Maybe it’s my pride because it feels like too great of a privilege to pay someone else to clean my own house. But again, remember - those 4 hours that you are paying someone else to clean your house are hours you can spend investing into your business! And you know what? The person you’re paying to clean your house does it for a living! So, they are probably better and faster at it than you are. I’m sorry, but you gotta hear this. If you don’t enjoy cleaning your house as much as the other responsibilities you have in your life, this is an easy first option of something that you can delegate to someone else.
And by doing so, you’re investing into another small business. Which is awesome!
3. Using On-Demand Car Services
So many services that we used to have to go sit and wait for, can now be booked online and done wherever we are. One of these, among many, being car maintenance. Oil changes, wiper blade replacement, tire rotation - you don’t have to drive somewhere and spend hours of your time in a waiting room any more!
If you’re in the Knoxville or Nashville area, my husband works for a company called Pit Crew and they will do just that for you. This is an absolutely shameless plug because it will improve your life NO QUESTION. Literally the thought of wasting my life away in a waiting room makes me shudder. Now, I book my service online with Pit Crew and they come to MY house and change my oil while I work or play with my kids. WIN WIN WIN.
Use code NEWBIE for $10 off your first Pit Crew service.
The possibilities of ways to start outsourcing your daily tasks are endless. Are there any other routine services like this that you spend time getting done that you could have come to you?
Basically, if there is anything in your personal life that you do not enjoy doing, I want you to think about outsourcing it to someone else.
We can’t do everything. We can’t be good at everything. We don’t enjoy everything! But there will always be someone who can do that thing, who does enjoy that thing, and is better at that thing than you. This is good news! And I hope freeing news for you to hear!
If you’re at a growth point in your business where you need to get things off your plate to keep growing, consider some personal, non-business related responsibilities in your life that you do not enjoy to let go of first. I’m excited for you to experience the feeling of letting them go!
3 Ways to Outsource your Business
Now that we’ve discussed several ways to outsource your everyday life, let’s get to the good stuff: your business. Again, I know this business is your baby, your dream, and it is HARD to let go and let others help you. The truth of the matter is that if you want your business to grow, you have to let it! And that means streamlining certain aspects or investing in products/people who help take things off of your plate. Doing this myself has absolutely changed the game for me. Two brains (let alone three) are always better than one, and I’m constantly reminded how awesome it is to have others’ ideas and help so that I can dream again. Outsourcing is the easiest way to get out of survival mode, and as you begin, you’ll see that there is room to BREATHE again. And you need that more than you know! When it comes to your business, here are three ways to outsource your work to grow your brand:
1. Invest in a Client Management System
Client management systems are a great way to keep track of your client communication and take great care of the people saying yes to your business! There are so many options out there these days that are amazing for organizing your clients; creating personal profiles for each of them; sending out questionnaires, pricing, and information packets; and more. I am currently using Dubsado and have been very happy with it. To be honest, I’m not tapping into its full potential and I definitely have room for growth in this arena! Tools I have used so far and love: client inquiry forms embedded onto my site; contract sending, signing, and storage; plus client questionnaires & information packets. Tools I would like to start using in the future: automated client emails before or after a photo session; invoicing & collecting payments; as well as reports on client inquiries/bookings.
If you want to give Dubsado a try, use this link for 20% off your first month or year!
2. Hire a Virtual Assistant
The term “virtual assistant” can look like a lot of different things depending on your needs, but this can be a great way to outsource many of your administrative tasks to one person who can give them full attention and care. Emails, thank you notes, direct messages, managing your client management system, writing blogs, or even posting on social media - you can definitely find the perfect fit of someone to take these types of tasks off of your plate! Again, depending on the number of tasks, you could even hire two different people. One that is more client facing (emails, thank you notes, client management system), and one that is more focused on digital marketing (blogging, social media, SEO for your website, etc.) This is actually how my team functions currently, but there are lots of ways to do this!
3. Bookkeeping
Since starting my business in 2016, I have used QuickBooks Online to manage the finances of my business. It keeps track of all income & expenses and easily categorizes everything so that when it comes time to file my taxes, all the information I need is easy to access. I also love how it can quickly run reports for me by month, year, etc. showing profit and loss so I can know where my business stands financially.
Using this program on your own will definitely save you time, but then, you can take a step further and outsource the management of your QuickBooks account to someone else by easily sharing access & specific permissions with other users. I honestly can’t imagine what my business would be like without QuickBooks.
Click this link to save up to 50% on your first subscription and receive a $50 Visa Card! (How awesome is that?!)
Let me end by saying that you are a ROCKIN’ mama no matter what you currently have on your plate. Outsourcing is a long game, and as your business grows, you will be able to decide more and more what you want to keep doing and what you are willing to entrust someone else to do for you.
I hope you’ve been inspired to reflect on your business practices and decide how best to start outsourcing in your life and work!
Make sure to leave a comment below and tell us the first step you’re taking in your outsourcing journey!
Note: Some of these links may be affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission for sharing this without any additional cost to you. Which is great, because I was going to share it with you anyway!