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Online entrepreneurs and small business owners, it’s easy to get into the frame of mind that you have to do everything. Well I’m here to share a secret with you. YOU DON’T. I know you probably started with little to no money and built everything up on your own with little help. I can identify! I also know it’s hard to let go and to know when to do so. After all, it’s your baby, right? But I’m here to tell you that there are some sure signs.
You Have a Growing Business
You’re finding that you do not have time to do everything, even if you want to. You’re running yourself ragged working 18 hours a day. Consider this, most brick and mortar business owners never once consider doing everything on their own. If someone opens a restaurant, they hire staff. Your business is no different. If you’ve outgrown your ability to keep up, it’s either sink or swim time, and if you want to swim you need to outsource and get help.
You Need a Larger Profit
You’ve worked as hard as you can on your own and now you’re maxed out. This is especially likely to happen for service businesses. You only have so many billable hours in a day. You have finite resources of time, like everyone else. But, if you bring on a contractor you can essentially duplicate yourself, thus increasing your profit.
Things Are Falling through the Cracks
You’re finding it harder and harder to meet deadlines, and you’re forgetting to do things that are important – even if they’re on your overfilled calendar (Am I striking a cord?). If you’ve missed more than one deadline in the last month, it’s time to seriously consider outsourcing some of the tasks so that you can get back on track with your business. Otherwise you’ll end up getting a bad reputation as someone who doesn’t meet their obligations. This could kill your business and it’s time to get real.
You Hate Doing Certain Tasks
Every business has tasks that aren’t enjoyable to do. However, a thing you find tedious and tend to put off through procrastination could be someone else’s money maker that they’re passionate about. If you can spend more time working in your genius then you’ll naturally increase your income. It will be worth it to you to pass on those tasks to someone else.
You Don’t Have the Right Skill-Set
I see people makes this mistake a lot. Face it, not everyone is good at everything. If you’re spending time doing tasks that you aren’t skilled at doing, you’re likely wasting a lot of billable hours. You might think it’s expensive to outsource things like web design but in truth the time you save by hiring an expert to do what you need done will pay off for you. Spend time doing what you’re an expert at, and let others do what they’re good at.
You Want to Do Other Things
You can do everything on your own but you’re wanting to spend more time with your family or devote more time to exercise or a hobby. You can essentially outsource most of your business to others by simply contracting with various people to take over each aspect of your business. You can become a manager of your business while letting others complete the needed tasks, so that you can do other things like go to the beach with family.
You Need Time Off
A family member needs you, or you’re simply tired because you’re working 18 hours a day. This is a sign that you need time off, and the only way you can have time off in your business and still bring in income is to outsource various tasks so that you have more free time. If you find that you have no free time at all, and can’t risk taking a day off to even go to the doctor, it’s time to outsource.
You Can Make More Money Doing Something Else
If your main money maker is coaching, you shouldn’t be spending time and effort on creating a new website. If your main money maker is speaking, you should not be wasting time on social media posting, sales page designs, etc… If you can pay someone 100 dollars an hour while you do something else and earn 300 dollars an hour, you’re still 200 dollars ahead, right?
Outsourcing can be a hard choice to make, but it is a necessary choice to grow your business and truly create a business that works for your needs rather than you giving up your entire life for the business. The whole point in having a business is to have more money, time and freedom. It’s time to let go and let others help you.
Wanda Baader, is the owner of Strategize Your Success, a boutique marketing agency that serves entrepreneurs, small businesses a speakers.
