How to Work to Your Strengths & Know When to Outsource

I remember dreaming of the day that I could outsource some of my workload.  12-hour days were the norm, and I was still figuring out how to find time to eat my lunch in between appointments, product collections, replying to emails, case research, and tracking my finances.  My main excuse for not outsourcing at that time was the same as probably most people reading this… money.  I couldn’t see any value in parting with any of the dollars I was making, as I needed everything I was receiving to pay the rent for the office, keep products on the shelves, order in more stock… oh, and pay myself!  The juggle was real, and looking back (although I didn’t really appreciate it fully at the time), the struggle was far too real.

After investing tens of thousands of dollars into business mentoring, I started to realise my strengths and why certain areas of my business were accelerating so quickly and easily.  I also realised what things I wasn’t so good at… things that were taking me lots of time to do, and things that I really didn’t enjoy.  I was spending so much valuable time that could have been spent doing things I was awesome at and things that would expand my business instead of just maintain it... doing things I was sh*t at.  I was trying to learn how to do the things I was sh*t at as well!  I would be sending my partner’s calls to voicemail while I was completing financial reports for the week… I would be holding on to a full bladder and ignoring a hungry tummy to finish off that email or quickly answer that call.  Things were becoming so exhausting, and that’s when the fatigue hit.  Not just fatigue though – headaches and my first ever cold sore of my life too!  This was the wake-up call I needed to realise… I needed help.

Outsourcing doesn’t have to come about because of this.  In fact, the whole point of outsourcing is to avoid this sort of situation.  You see, in business, (especially when you’re fired up, fuelling forwards and making massive progress), it is inevitable that you will eventually need help.  And, we all want to get to a place where we can juggle less things but receive the same reward.  You have a choice in business: to outsource before it’s urgent or to outsource because it’s urgent.  Trying to get help urgently often leads to more stress because there’s less time to choose the right person, and less time to explain exactly what you need and how you need it done. 

Look at the time that you have available to you right now to spend enjoying your life, expanding your business, and focusing on your strengths.  How much time do you have available to you to explore these important things?  Because these are the most valuable things in your life, your business, and vibing at a frequency where you can call in abundance.  If you aren't prioritising these things in your life, then you're doing yourself an injustice.

If you’re finding yourself stretched thin, evaluate how valuable it is to do the above things, and bear that in mind when you are looking at costs of outsourcing.

Change your mindset around outsourcing being a financial loss, and view it as the investment that it is.  It’s not only an investment in your time, but an investment in your business, and an investment in a less stressful, more focused way forward.

So, when should you outsource? 

I know the short answer of "whenever you can" is not new information.  How do we determine when outsourcing will actually make our lives easier and not be a waste of precious $$$ when you could've done the job yourself? 

Here's a list of questions that I run through before I choose to outsource:

1) If I do it myself, can I achieve the same level of effectiveness as a professional?

2) Do I have to teach myself a new skill to complete the work myself?  If so, is the time and stress involved worth it, or is that time and energy better spent on something else I am good at?

3) How much time will it take me to do this task on my own compared to a professional doing it? 

4) How much value do I put on the time it would take for me to complete this task on my own?  Does that pricing fit in to the cost of outsourcing?

Long story short, if it's not in your zone of genius but it's in somebody else's, then pay that person to produce the work for you that would otherwise take you 3x longer.  If you have the money, or if you're certain that the work you're outsourcing will bring you in money, then you really have nothing to lose... and only time to gain!