Do You Need To Outsource Some Help In Your Business?

This is something I’m battling with a lot now in my business since I have grown so much.  I am very type A and controlling when it comes to every aspect of my business so it’s hard to give someone else that responsibility.  

Technology has made it much easier to outsource now more than ever.  Here are a couple of common questions and tips I get on outsourcing.

When should you start to outsource?  Either you get too big and can’t do everything yourself (a good problem to have) or you want to focus on the big picture to grow and the menial tasks are slowing you down.  

What should you outsource?  I look at outsourcing as a very big picture.  I think many small business owners think of outsourcing “business stuff” when if you look at what you’re doing, a lot of your time is probably being spent on non-business stuff preventing you from working on your business which is preventing growth.  There's a lot of time spent on housework, chores, cooking, driving, etc.  Start there first.

Then, look at your entire business and what tasks you routinely do.  What are the $10 hour jobs that someone else can do?  What is your special sauce/skill that makes the biggest impact in your business that’s a $100 an hour job?  For example, if you do all the designing of your product, that’s something that you’re going to continue to do and probably don’t want to outsource.  But do you really need to package your stuff to ship?  Do you need to be the one to run or post on social media if you are only really interested in designing/creating?

How to outsource?  Like I said before technology has made this much easier.  After you figure out what you’re going to outsource or have a plan for what you want to outsource in the future.  Use the resources out there to your advantage to outsource.  Here are a few:

For chores/housework, etc.  Thumbtack is a great app to hire trustworthy people based on reviews.  I’ve used this app dozens of times with no issues.  

For one and done tasks use www.fiverr.com.   Things like creating a logo, creating photo mock-ups, etc.  Usually paid for each project.  

For more long-term tasks and projects www.upwork.com is good.  This is stuff like someone to run your social media or copywriter to do your email marketing, etc.  Usually paid by the hour or project.

Need additional help, resources, and support to grow your Etsy & handmade business?  Check out www.handmadeandbeyond.com