| Why Even The Smallest Business Can't Avoid Outsourcing So your business is running, you've read lots of books, you've done a bunch of courses and you have no intention of being one of the 85% that don't make it. After a while it occurs to you that your business is not going where you need it to. You may be feeling frustrated and there seems to be a never ending stream of tasks to get done. You are working harder and harder, but don’t really see the progress you would have hoped for. So what do you do? You try to work even harder, often trying to do everything yourself. Generally speaking, this results in tasks being done at below optimum levels, employees who never get the chance to develop as well as burn out for the business owner. More importantly, it is one of the biggest barriers to growth. No one can succeed on their own. Everyone who succeeds does so with the help of others. At this stage a lot of business owners are confused. They are running the business and they know that they have to be the brain, but many don’t realize that it doesn't have to be you doing all those tedious tasks. Every successful business has a hierarchy in which tasks get delegated down from one level to the next. But if you are in a small or one person business don't think for one minute you have to be doing all the work. In fact if you are smart about delegating, this should free you up to do the things that make money, while others who earn less than you, do the tasks that take you away from making money and growing the business. Don't think of paying someone else to do menial tasks or jobs you are not great at or don’t like doing as an expense, think of it as an investment in your growth. These people need not be employees. In fact I'd recommend against hiring employees in the early stage. It's often much more cost effective to outsource these tasks to skilled specialists and hire them on an as needed basis. Growing a business is not easy, but by outsourcing, you can make it a lot easier. You know you should be working on your business more than in your business and outsourcing is one of the ways you get to do this. If you do a good job of outsourcing, you’ll find that you’ll work less and make more money. I always find that when I delegate clearly defined tasks to good people, I make more money. So can you! It's really interesting, if you search on the web for almost any business activity, there are people to whom you can outsource. You probably already outsource your accounting and legal work, so it's just a matter of thinking a little differently and looking for tasks that can be outsourced. Here are some ideas:
There are literally dozens of sites that do this kind of work. Of course you have to do your homework and be clear about what you want and expect, but if you do, you'll find it a rewarding experience. You'll get things done that otherwise might have fallen through the cracks, you'll often get a far better job than if you did it yourself or in house and you'll probably pay for it out of the increases in sales you'll get because you now can focus more time and attention on these important tasks. | |
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