How to start Outsourcing in your Business

I'm a DIYer. For as long as I can remember, I've loved figuring out how to do things. 

All manner of crafty projects, trying fancy new recipes, assembling furniture (#IkeaAddict over here!), creating a lifestyle blog, photography... You name it, I've probably tried it!

I love trying new things, and I guess it comes from my love of learning. This also makes me a huge online course addict (and no, I definitely don't complete them all either!)

My love of DIY went into overdrive when I started my business as it does for a lot of us when we're starting out on a budget. After all, it helps you learn the ins and outs of things along with what you like and don't like doing. 

Can you relate?

The list of things to DIY when starting your business is long:

• Your branding

• Your messaging

• Your website

• Your social media

• Your email marketing

• #InsertAMillionOtherThingsHere...

If you're anything like me, it can be hard to go from doing it all yourself to trusting someone enough to hand over the reins.

One thing I have learned over the last few months is that I am an expert with websites and branding, but not so much with some of the other things I need to do as a business owner (*cough* social media *cough*)

Lately I realised I've been holding myself back from growing my business by trying to do all the little things myself 🤦‍♀️

Sure, I can post on social media, send out emails to my list, edit my own videos, etc. And I can even do some of those things quite well.

But I am by no means an expert in any of them, I don't really enjoy them, and doing these things that are outside of my zone of genius often means I’m missing out on things I actually WANT to be doing instead. 

Handing over the reins can be tough.

I completely understand that! But enlisting a pro to help you with things outside your zone of genius will catapult your results. 

✨ That's where the magic happens ✨

Take my email marketing... I've been working with the AMAZING Ashley DeLuca over the last month and a half to streamline my email marketing, optimise my welcome sequences and create a solid strategy to move forward with.

It was hard to give up control and trust her to help me (even knowing just how awesome she is at what she does!), but since we started working together, I have been getting amazing results from my emails: 

• I've booked a couple of new projects

• I've paid for my next 2 date nights from affiliate income

• I actually feel more confident in what I am doing

And that last one? It's PRICELESS!

Since I’m on the topic of outsourcing, I’m diving in today to share:

• Some of the benefits I’ve found from outsourcing

• Tips to help you know when you’re ready to outsource

• Some ideas of the types of things you may want to outsource in your business

• How to find the right person to hire

Let’s dive in!

The Benefits of Outsourcing

I always knew I would eventually look at outsourcing some tasks in my business (and honestly, I was counting down the time until I felt “ready” to do it!).

But when I was ready to take the plunge, I dove in and was pleasantly surprised to see there were so many more benefits than I expected from it, and here are some of the ones I experienced firsthand:

• You can stay focused on your zone of genius while still get amazing results by outsourcing things that are outside of your zone of genius

• You can ditch the tasks that drain your time and energy, so you’re really making use of your strengths and interests and focusing on the tasks that generate revenue and grow your business

• Working with an expert is a great opportunity to streamline your processes and improve your strategies, strengthening what you already do so you get a better return on it

• You can generate new ideas and opportunities by having an expert outside of your zone of genius to bounce ideas and strategize with

• If you hire someone who is already an expert at something, you don’t have to worry about training them in a certain system

• You can save the ongoing cost of tools you might need in your business by hiring someone who already uses the programs. A great example of this is when you hire someone to design your branding or graphics, they’re already paying for Adobe Illustrator, so you don’t need to add another subscription onto your budget

I will add here that at this point, I’ve only outsourced on a project basis rather than having an ongoing virtual assistance or team member, so there may be other benefits I haven’t even thought of, but these were some my favourite benefits to getting support in my business!

How do you know you’re ready to outsource?

I wondered this when I was considering outsourcing and I 100% know I’m not the only one!

Truth be told, I don’t think that you ever really know for sure that you’re ready to outsource.

It’s kind of like having a baby…

You think it’s a good idea, you learn all you can about what to expect and do everything you can to prepare for your little ones arrival (buying and washing the cute baby clothes, setting up a nursery, making sure you have a plan to feed and bath them, and oh-so-much more!), but then the day arrives to start working with someone and there’s always something new to learn or do.

And sometimes you have an urgent need and have to get someone on hand before you have any plans in place for it.

But I’m a huge fan of diving in and learning as you go, since you’ll figure it all out in time (especially with a pro guiding you through the process!)

There are certainly some signs to look for when you’re figuring out if you’re ready to outsource though.

Here are some things you might consider:

• You’re feeling stressed, overworked or burned out, it’s likely a sign you need some extra support

• You’re spending all your time and energy on tasks you don’t enjoy, aren’t in your zone of genius or aren’t making you money

• You’re too caught up in client work to give the level of customer service you want to give

• You need help with a skill you don’t have so that you can develop new ideas and services

• You’re missing important tasks in your business (like following up with leads or marketing) because you don’t have time to do them

• You’re missing out on the important things in life, like down time, family time and time to focus on your health, and you need a bit more balance

• You’re at capacity with clients and are turning down work and other amazing opportunities because you can’t take more on (a good place to be in, but sometimes you want those opportunities!)

I’ve felt all of these in my business over the last few months, which is how I knew I needed to take the leap even though I didn’t feel “ready”.

And the results have been worth it.

Hiring out has allowed me to set up systems and strategies that save me time, helped me identify and cut out unnecessary tasks I was doing and helped me create a solid process for some of the things I’ve been doing.

Even without having ongoing support in my business, this has still meant I’ve freed up at least a couple of hours a week going forward that can allow me to focus on family time, my health and money making tasks in my business.

What tasks can you outsource?

I was talking to a friend about outsourcing a few months back because I was curious about the idea, but had no idea what I should outsource (I know, silly me for not seeing the possibilities out there!).

Outsourcing can be a way to help you streamline your processes since you can hire someone for one-off tasks like I have to help you implement systems or processes, or can be an opportunity for you to take work off your plate in a much bigger way.

Here are some of the ideas I came up with, although there are ideas are endless!

• Social media management

• General admin

• Email marketing

• Inbox management

• Systems set up

• Graphic design work

• Copywriting

• Website design (if you need help with this, let’s chat!)

• Video editing

• Photography

• SEO

• Pinterest management

• Content writing

• Your client experience

• AND SO MUCH MORE!

One of the things I am most excited to outsource on an ongoing basis is cleaning my house. I know it doesn’t necessarily seem business related, but I work from home and sometimes struggle to focus if the house is out of order (and let’s be real - with a 3-year-old, that happens a lot!), but I don’t enjoy cleaning and the time I spend on tidying up could be better spent on marketing, selling or making sure my current clients have an amazing experience.

What sort of tasks do you outsource currently or have you considered getting extra help with? Let us know in the comments!

How to find the right person to hire

Getting started with hiring someone can feel like such an overwhelming process.

How do you find someone who can do what you need them to, especially if you don’t actually know what that is yourself? How do you know they will be able to help you? And how do you make sure you even want to work with the person?

Let’s start with how to find someone who can help you.

The quickest and easiest way to find someone who can help you with a task is to ask around. You could ask your biz besties, post on your Facebook page, ask in some of your favourite Facebook groups or email your list.

There are probably more ways you could ask, but these are the ones that immediately come to mind and that I have seen to be really effective.

Even if you’re not exactly sure WHAT you need help with, just give a bit of an outline of what you think it is that you want help with, and I bet you’ll know someone who knows someone else they can refer you to!

And referrals from someone you know and trust who has had a great experience working with the person they are recommending are worth their weight in gold!

Be warned though - if you post in Facebook groups that you’re looking to hire someone for *insert task here*, you’ll likely be inundated with responses where people are promoting their services.

One of the best suggestions I have to manage this is to give a clear instruction on how someone can contact you and what to include in their response.

For example, if you ask them to email you their portfolio and the timeframe they are available, you can immediately cross out all of the people who spammed your post with their website links since they clearly didn’t care enough to read what you were after and follow the instructions with care!

Now you have a shortlist of people to hire, how do you know who is a good fit and make that final decision?

I have a few suggestions here, and at the very least, you should do the last one!

• Follow the person online and take in all of their content. Especially videos, since they will give you a great idea of what the person is like and whether you think you’d be a good fit to work together

• Check out their work. That might be through their portfolio, looking at reviews on their social media or stalking their past clients and seeing what wins they had working together

• Chat with them. Get in their DM’s and start a conversation, respond to their posts, contact them on their website or better still, book a discovery call! What better way to get to know someone and whether they can help you than by actually talking with them!

And when you do finally chat with them, don’t forget to ask plenty of questions to make sure they’re a good fit. If you’re not sure what to ask, I shared this list of questions to ask your potential website designer which can help give you some ideas!

Hiring someone to work with can be a big step, but it’s so worth it when it frees up your time and gets you out of the tasks you don’t want to do!

What has been your experience with outsourcing?

If your website is one of the things your looking to outsource, let's jump on a call to talk about how we can create a website allows you to show up confidently online and makes you all 💰💰's!