The Power of Outsourcing
Are you struggling to keep up with certain aspects of running your business?
Maybe you have a to-do list a mile-long of things you want to do to see your business grow, but just don’t have the time (or skills) to focus on them.
You’re not alone.
We live in a fast-paced world. Businesses who never needed an online presence are now required to have flashy websites, entertaining social media feeds, online stores, email marketing newsletters, and so much more.
If you are feeling overwhelmed by not only the things you NEED to do but also the things you know you SHOULD do, (and don’t forget the things you actually WANT to do), it may be time to consider outsourcing some things to a virtual assistant. Also known as a VA.
This post may contain affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. All opinions are my own.
Read my full disclosure here.
How to know WHAT to outsource
You may think you can’t outsource any of the day-to-day operating tasks that go into making your business run smoothly. But a good VA can likely eliminate at least a few things you’re struggling to accomplish.
To help you decide what you should ask for help with, I highly encourage you to take some time to give these questions some thought:
• What administrative tasks do I need to do for my business DAILY?
• What administrative tasks do I need to do for my business WEEKLY?
• What administrative tasks do I need to do for my business MONTHLY?
• Which of these tasks take the most amount of my time/focus/energy?
Basically, write down everything on your plate, and rate it based on its importance, how much you like doing it, how good you are at doing it, and how much of your valuable time it’s taking up.
Sometimes writing these things down is enough to gain some clarity into how you may not be using your time wisely.
Outsourcing tasks for a better future
Next, consider any goals or projects you want to accomplish with your business (example: launch a website, create a digital product, build a social media presence, launch an online store).
Ask yourself these questions:
• What is a goal or accomplishment I want to see happen for my business?
• What is keeping me from making it happen?
• What additional steps do I need to take on in order to make it happen?
• Would my business earn more money if this goal was met?
• Which tasks do I absolutely need to perform myself and which ones could be hired out?
• If I could free up more time through my week, would I be able to accomplish my long-term goals?
After you’ve evaluated where your time is being spent and what your goals are, you’ll be able to better assess what things make the most sense for you to outsource.
Admitting you don’t have time to do it all
Do your goals seem unattainable because you lack the skills to bring them to life? Maybe you’ve been putting those projects off so you can learn the skills needed so you can do it all yourself.
Are you spending too much time doing tasks you dislike or aren’t good at?
Let’s say you despise creating graphics and captions for social media posts. If you don’t like doing it, chances are it’s taking longer than it should, it’s being put off until the last minute (which messes with your strategy), and the results probably aren’t the best.
If you’ve been planning on buckling down and focusing on your goals for more than a few months, it may be time to admit it’s a better investment to hire those things out so you can start moving forward.
More often than not, hiring a pro to do something they specialize in will cost far less in the long run.
A perfect example
I do work for someone who makes his living selling online courses. He has a blog to promote those courses in, as well as multiple social media accounts.
He’s built an amazing, lucrative business but is now so busy operating the website, creating the courses, and maintaining the administrative end of things that he no longer has time to write new blog posts that bring in new traffic. Or make social media posts as an additional traffic source.
That’s where I come in. He now gives me an idea for a blog post and a rough description of the direction he wants it to go in, along with links to his courses for me to suggest throughout the post. From there, I do the research required and write the post for him!
I proofread it, format it into easy-to-read paragraphs, do keyword research to make it search engine friendly, and send it off, ready for him to post on his site.
He also has me design his Pinterest pins (because Pinterest is an amazing traffic source), write Pinterest descriptions, social media captions, create blog post graphics, and more.
He makes the courses that bring him the majority of his income, and I create the content that will keep bringing people to those courses. Everyone wins.
In the end, it’s well worth his money to hire me to do these tasks for him. He realizes his time is better spent on course creation, operating his site, and engaging with his audience on social media than writing posts.
In conclusion
You really would be surprised how many administrative tasks a good VA can take off your plate. I know it can seem counterproductive to pay someone when you’re trying to grow your business. But it could mean the difference between staying stagnant, dreaming of your big goals, and actually seeing those dreams come to life!
If you’re ready to outsource some of those hard to get to jobs, let’s chat! Contact me to discuss your goals and what you’re struggling with and we’ll see what we can do about it.
