Most of us have been there in business. We have so much work coming in or we’ve hit a plateau and we just can’t extend ourselves anymore without bringing on someone else. But it can be hard to outsource aspects of our business. There’s the trust factor. The cost factor. And of course, finding the right person for the job. When we’ve built our businesses from the ground up, deciding to outsource can be a big shift. But more often than not, in order to grow, we have to start adding people to our team that frees up time to work on those CEO activities that actually make businesses grow. If you’re not sure whether it’s time to start outsourcing work in your business, here are some things to think about.
How to Tell If It’s Time to Outsource
Timing is everything. And in most cases, you’ll know you need help before you’re ready to pull the trigger. But here are some key indicators that you need someone else on your team:
- You’re on the path to burnout! You feel overwhelemed with your to-do list and may even dread working on your business.
- Most of your day is spent on all the behind-the-scenes work (email clients, sending contracts, doing discovery calls, etc). You don’t have time to work on the actual money-making part of your business.
- Your creativity has taken a hit. You’ve stopped coming up with new or creative ideas that can lead to your business’ growth.
- Sales are plateauing. There aren’t enough hours in the day for you to take on more clients or process more order even though you want to.
- You feel a little lost with everything and aren’t sure you’re keeping up with things that help grow your brand. Do you have the best Instagram strategy? Should you focus on Pinterest? Is your email list converting? You have questions but don’t have answers.
If any of those feel like you, it’s time to hire help! And while yes, it does cost money to bring someone on your team, the returns are worth it. Adding a team member can help ramp up production, breakthrough that sales plateau, upgrade your marketing strategy, take away those tedious, energy-draining tasks, and help you feel confident that your business is organized.
What to Look for When You Outsource
So now you know you need help, but how do you find the right help? No one wants to make a bad hiring decision. So here are some questions to ask yourself:
- Where do you need help? What’s on your to-do list that always seems to get pushed to the bottom? This is probably an area where you’d benefit from hiring someone to do the tasks you don’t want to do or simply don’t have time for.
- What’s going well? Is there a part of your business that runs pretty effortlessly or that you love doing? Would hiring someone help you do more of that? Maybe you’re amazing at booking photography clients but you can’t keep up with the editing. Outsource that piece so you can keep doing what you’re good at. And what’s stopping you from doing more of it?
- Is there an area you’re not good at? You know it’s important to have some strategy in place to help your business get (and stay) on the right track. But you don’t know the first thing about creating one that works. Maybe it’s time to bring on a business strategist to help move those goal posts forward.
Hiring in our business can be hard and scary. But asking yourself the right questions upfront can make that decision easier. And you don’t have to wait until it’s time to hire before thinking through what outsourcing looks like for you. Make connections with people you might want on your team now, so that when it’s time, you’ll be able to jump right in.
Leave a Reply