Don’t Outsource Just for the Sake of Outsourcing
Remember a few days ago when I told you that I didn’t completely agree with those who say that you should outsource everything that you hate doing? Well today we’re going to talk about why that is. We’ll also cover the cases when you shouldn’t outsource.
Yes, I know that sounds a bit contradictory when I told you that you can’t afford to not outsource, but let me explain.
It seems that everyone is talking about outsourcing these days, but that doesn’t mean that you should jump on the outsourcing bandwagon just for the sake of saying that you have assistants.
When you start considering outsourcing in your business, just as with anything else you do, you can’t just wing it. You must have a plan of action and outsource for effectiveness.
For instance, if there is something in your business that isn’t making you money and you give it to an assistant to complete knowing that there are no real benefits to doing it, then maybe it’s not the right thing to be outsourcing.
Instead, evaluate your business. Maybe that particular task or project needs to be canned altogether. If so, don’t outsource it just to keep from doing it — hoping that someday it will make money for you.
On the flipside of that, if you’ve got a money-maker on your hands but don’t have the time to devote to it for it to make the money, definitely get
some help with it. There’s nothing worse than sitting idle on a money-machine that you can’t make money with due to inactivity.
Another common mistake that I see people make is to outsource a task that could be automated instead.
For instance, I mentioned outsourcing your article marketing efforts.
Did you know that there is a service that will submit your articles for you?
Or, voicemail that’s automatically transcribed and sent to your phone by SMS text message or email? (like the service I use called eVoice.com (http://www.jdoqocy.com/2s65cy63y5LRTOUSNRLNMTPPNMV) . Or automatically syncing your files & documents in one place where you and your assistant have easy access (I use Sugarsync (https://loraleehutton.com/likes/sugarsync) for this). Or better yet, keeping all of your passwords in one “locker” with LastPass (https://lastpass.com/f?1039636)
There are a lot more tips & tools that I use to automate, on my website at http://LoraleeHutton.com (but don’t rush over there now – take action on these few things below first)
So, from today’s lesson, if you remember nothing else, remember this:
Don’t Outsource Just for the Sake of Outsourcing. Have a plan.