Deciding What To Outsource: 3 Questions To Consider
A perk of being a successful business owner is the privilege of outsourcing tasks to outside experts. When you were starting up, you probably did everything yourself. You came up with the idea, secured the funding, designed the website, created the products, provided the service and so much more. Now that you have the benefit of extra funds, consider outsourcing certain tasks so you have time to focus on what you truly love about your business.
So, what should you outsource? Here are a few things to consider when deciding which tasks to outsource and to whom.
Which Tasks Take Up Your Time?
If there are duties that consume a lot of your time but aren’t necessarily things that need to be done by you, the CEO, consider outsourcing them. Perhaps these are tasks that you can perform well but often push to the bottom of the list because other responsibilities take precedence. For example, posting on social media is important for the visibility of your business, but compared to paying your team, payroll is going to be the priority.
Maybe some tasks were manageable at first, but now that your business has grown, the demand has outgrown your capabilities. Production, packing, and shipping often fall into this category. Human resources can end up here too, and the need to outsource to an HR firm arises. Every time you outsource an activity, you gain back valuable time to spend on the parts of your business that inspire you.
Which Tasks Don’t Match Your Skillset?
If you don’t have the most creative sense when it comes to graphic design, that’s okay! You can easily outsource your images to a graphic designer who can produce quality results in a fraction of the time. If math wasn’t your strongest subject in school, outsourcing your payroll to an outside company would be wise. Determine which tasks fall into your zone of genius, and consider outsourcing the rest.
Which Tasks Do You Enjoy?
There may be tasks in your business that you absolutely love doing and they should not be outsourced just yet. For some this may be getting their hands dirty on the production line, for others it may be sitting down at the computer to create compelling content. Whatever these activities may be, keep them close as they’re the activities that remind you why you love what you do.
Don’t let the fear of outsourcing hinder your ability to grow. Time is one of our most valuable resources, so the return on investment when we outsource is priceless.