Outsourcing Yourself
There are many outsourcing services you can use to free up your time. Whether you use offshore outsourcing, domestic outsourcing companies, or the kid down the block, delegating work that you should not be doing will make you more profitable.
The Onion recently did a very funny video about American workers outsourcing their own jobs overseas. Although the video is satire, it got me thinking that there are probably workers somewhere doing this. Or at least they will be now. ;o)
As entrepreneurs, we definitely should be looking for ways to outsource some of the things we spend our time on. That does not necessarily mean you should hire someone overseas (although I wouldn’t rule that out) but just that tasks should be done at the right level. If you can earn more money doing billable work, or marketing and getting new customers, than whatever else you are spending time on, you need to make changes. You will probably also find that when you take away some of the tasks that make you less productive, you will enjoy your work even more.
Here is a process you can use to free up your time for more profitable and satisfying work.
Whenever you start a task, ask yourself, “Is this something that really needs to be done?” Perhaps it was a good thing to do three years ago, but does not serve a purpose today. Break the habit of doing something just because “this is what I have always done.”
Also ask, “Should I be doing this?” Just because something needs to be done, that doesn’t mean that you have to be the one to do it. Several years ago, I outsourced order fulfillment to an outside service. That was a turning point for me. Not only because it freed up hours I had been spending every week on a routine task, but because it opened my eyes to looking for outsourcing possibilities in other areas.
Some of the tasks you may be able to outsource include: maintaining and writing content for your website, bookkeeping and accounting, filling orders, handling routine emails, responding to customer questions and support tickets, marketing, etc. Do not think that you have to do it all yourself.
If it needs to be done, who else could do it? Do you have staff members who could take it on? Having “people” is nice, but if you don’t have them, you can get them. You can hire virtual assistants and outsource just the amount of work you have, without having to keep a full-time (or even part-time) employee busy.
Start documenting procedures. You will get better results if the person taking over the task has a good understanding of what is required. Write up a procedure, create videos, draw charts, or anything that will communicate what needs to be done and how to do it.
Hire help. Contact outsourcing companies that provide the specialized services you need, such as accounting or fulfillment. Look for help with ads on CraigsList.org, eLance.com, Guru.com and other sites where jobs can be posted and workers can apply for or bid on them. Consider hiring several people for small tasks as a way to check them out and find the best workers.
Be a little hands-on at first. Check the work carefully to make sure it is correct. When you have several people working on small jobs, there will be some who are not very good and others who are good to excellent. The best worker(s) get additional assignments from you, the ones who are not as good simply are not offered more work.
Let it go. Once you have found a solution, let the people you hired take care of things. Don’t hover, and don’t check their work incessantly. If everything is running smoothly, let them do their jobs and you do yours.
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