Let’s face it. You’re not Superman. I know you want to do it all, but the truth is, you can't. Maybe you can do everything in your business by yourself right now, but there will come a time when you won’t be able to handle it all. You’ll come across something that is outside your skill level or beyond your current knowledge base. Or maybe you’ll run out of time to actually do the work.
I recently spoke with Oklahoma City native Josh Rivers about this very topic. Josh is a business owner and entrepreneur. Here is a summary of our conversation.
I know you're an advocate for outsourcing. Why?
When you get help and unload some of your workload, it allows you to have more time. You can fill that new time with rest, family time, learning something new, or growing the business more. Many business owners try to do everything and it only leads to burnout. Believe me!
What are some areas that you can outsource?
Depending on your situation, there could be a number of things you can outsource. I think some of the easiest options include bookkeeping, sales, marketing, content production, customer service, writing, website design and email. To start out, you can just get someone to help part time – maybe just an hour a week. You can then expand as you go.
You can also get a virtual assistant to help with a variety of tasks. Virtual assistants work on a contract basis for your business. You can hire them to work a set number of hours each week or month, or for the length of a specific project. You can hire a virtual assistant to help with almost any task, from setting up your office furniture to answering emails and even finding inew business opportunities. You can also people that specialize in specific tasks. There are advantages and disadvantages to each approach. A great book that can help with this aspect is Virtual Freedom by Chris Ducker, where he goes into depth on outsourcing to grow your business.
When you do start outsourcing, it will be an investment. You won’t have as much money in your pocket (at least not right away), but it will open doors to additional opportunity. And it's totally worth it!
Can you explain to me a little about your business?
For my business, Podcast Guy Media, people outsource their podcast production to me. It is something they need help with in their business, but can’t do it well or simply don’t have the time to do it. In turn, I have some people that I’ve enlisted to help with different aspects of the work. I can do all the work myself, but I would be limiting my ability to help more people. So outsourcing is definitely part of my own business model.
That's great, Josh. I really appreciate your honesty. What do you think is the best way to start outsourcing today?
Just pick one task that you do that takes a lot of time and/or energy. I'd start right there. Maybe it's something that you put off and might even lead you to procrastinate. For me, that's writing. I just hired a freelance writer to help me with the writing and it makes things much easier. It also makes the writing more professional too. Don't overlook the time and energy that it takes you to do things. Those things add up over time and make you less effective and productive.
I really like that. Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with me Josh. I really appreciate it. Have you ever considered outsourcing some of your tasks? What is something that you would outsource?