There comes a time, usually very soon in your online business endeavors, when you come to realize that you alone are just not enough. There’s just too much to learn, too much work to do, and too many hats to wear if you hope to scale your business to the point where you’d like to see it.
Many people are seeking the “4 Hour Workweek” grail, popularized by Tim Ferris, and while that is a terrific goal, you’ll not get there by attempting to wear all the hats in your organization. In fact, the essence of that system is designed to get you removed from the day to day grunt work, and set yourself up as the chief decision maker and creator. This is what you’re after right? Let’s look at the role outsourcing plays in all of this.
Outsourcing is the act of delegating tasks that are necessary for your business but don’t necessarily have to be done by you. In fact, many times (almost every time) you will be able to find someone who can do these jobs better than you can and for much less cost.
Some of the jobs that are easily outsourced include things like content creation, link building, site creation, blog posting, social bookmarking, site coding, customer service, video creation and posting and much, much more. You will be very surprised at the extent of tasks that can be easily and efficiently outsourced. In short anything at all to do with your web business can likely be outsourced and allow you to scale your business with very little effort, thus vastly increasing your earning potential.
So what are some of the things to be most concerned about when assigning tasks to be outsourced? Well, first of all, it represents a major savings in time and learning for you. You suddenly aren’t on the line for having to learn how to code PHP, or do a great job with social bookmarking. You have people who do that for you. You just need to make sure they not only know how to carry out your instructions, but that you can accomplish this within your budget.
Many overseas outsourcers are very inexpensive, but don’t let that be the only criteria by which you judge whether or not to take them. Try and get references, or at the very least interview them, and see for yourself the extent of their expertise. In the case of overseas people creating written content for you, samples are crucial. Outsourcers who write code and function more on the technical side of things are exempt from this, however you should be able to communicate well with them.
Once you’ve found someone (or a whole team!) try to engage them long term, and don’t be afraid to give raises. Remember, you’re probably paying a great deal less than you would in the States, and you are growing exponentially before your very eyes. A little loyalty and a few dollars go a long way.
On the other hand, don’t be shy about cutting someone loose quickly if they aren’t working out. There is a lot of competition for these jobs. You won’t have trouble finding someone to fill it.
Outsourcing your online business is not only a smart thing to do, in today’s business environment it’s practically a necessity!
