Far too often solopreneurs try to do everything themselves. There is a train of thought that if you do all the work yourself you are saving money. The fact is you may be costing yourself and your business if you try to be a “Jack/Jill of all trades”.
Granted, when we first start out, it may be necessary to do many tasks that at some point we will be able to afford to outsource.
A primary reason not to do everything yourself is there are some things you are really not qualified to do. Those of us who make our living by way of the Internet do outsource. The best part of all is the number of outsourcing resources available. Your rnchoices of who to work with are plentiful.
Are You Losing Money by Doing Your Own Work?
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the average small business owner spends up to 40% of his or her time on routine administrative tasks.
Constantly working on non revenue-producing tasks that could be more productively and cost-effectively performed by a highly skilled, knowledgeable assistant is losing your business significant income.
As you grow your business, it will be necessary to consider outside help also known as outsourcing. Outsourcing is where you hire someone, usually in a contracted position, to perform specific tasks for you, your company and/or your clients.
Steps in determining what to outsource
Step 1: Determine what tasks are taking up a considerable amount of your time or you are simply not qualified to do, such as article distribution, transcribing, bookkeeping, social marketing, etcrn.
Step 2: Determine how much time you use for each task.
Step 3: Determine what you will do with the time that has been freed up fromrnoutsourcing.
Step 4: Determine the tasks which cannot be outsourced. For example, highlyrnconfidential information may not be something you can outsource. Or things that you arernmost qualified to do, such as host a teleseminar. Not everything can be outsourced.
Step 5: Prioritize the tasks. When you first outsource, avoid giving too muchrnresponsibility the first time you outsource to someone unless they come very, very highly recommended.
Step 6: Assuming you have someone you outsource to, write either a daily or weekly task list if appropriate.
Here is a partial list of tasks an online business may want to outsource: • Transcription services • Setting up a blog • Blogging on your behalf • Tweeting • Setting up Virtual Book Tours • Submitting and tracking articles to directories • Answering support emails • Setting up autoresponders • Writing media releases • Distributing media releases • Cleaning up a mailing list • Doing keyword research • Proofing copy and providing editing services • Assisting with teleconferences and seminars • Updating web pages and building squeeze pages • Inputting sequential autoresponder messages • Organizing joint ventures and submitting bonus items and programs • Affiliate management • Blog-tour management • Bookkeeping • Sales • Social-Media Marketing • Travel arrangements • Event planning • Procedure documentation
Another great benefit of having people to outsource to is if you want to take time off for a vacation, there is a family emergency, or you just need some R&R time your trusted team can be the difference between your being able to enjoy the time off or stressing about having to be fully present to get a job done.
Less stress is one of the greatest benefits to outsourcing. Being more efficient is another. Generating more revenue is yet another. Although the titles of the people you outsource to will vary, Virtual Assistants are among the most common.