Outsourcing – You Can’t Do Everything Yourself

“No one will care as much as the owner does…”
“If I want it done right, I have to do it myself”…
“Why would I pay someone else if I am able to do it myself?”

These are just a few examples of the mindset of the small business owner who wants control over every aspect of their business. Why blame them? This is why they went into business in the first place. No more babysitting other people and having to redo projects. Now, all they have to do is try to find the time to squeeze everything in.

Bookkeeping, payroll, web design, collecting delinquent payments, sending hand written thank you notes, creating a social media profile, the list goes on and on. The small business owner wears an infinite number of hats. Must they wear them all?

“As soon as I have more revenue, I’ll gladly pay someone else to do some of these things.”

That’s the famous mentality that can stifle the growth of one’s company. By performing every task both small and large, the small business owner can become a cog in his own business.

Never ending days of tasks that continue to pile up. You rarely leave the office, thus never growing the revenue to the point you wish to. When you decide to call ‘uncle’, you are sometimes so far behind on necessary components that you are completely overwhelmed.

How do you know what to outsource? When people ask me this question, the first thing I suggest is that they focus a majority of their time on revenue generating activities. Any administrative work should be done while the business is closed or by someone else.

The next thing I suggest is that they take a hard look at themselves and their abilities. Outsource anything that’s not in their ‘wheel house.’ If you have an accounting background, you may want to do your own bookkeeping on a daily basis. However, even with that knowledge, things pile up quickly and you realize that even if you have the skill set, these are things you don’t want to do.

If you have little or no knowledge about building and maintaining a website, how much effort do you want to put into that, when the goal is that the end result be a product that looks sharp and is compelling to the customer? You are the expert in the business you’ve created. Let other experts take on tasks where you are a novice at best or are tasks that are time consuming and non-revenue generating.

The time that you free up will allow you to work more ‘on’ your business rather than ‘in’ your business, thus creating growth. Utilize the contacts you’ve made via networking in the community to find the partners to outsource to. The true beauty is when you speak with them about your challenges and why you need them to take this piece off of your plate, they just might realize that you are the right person to do the same for them.