As a business owner your to do list is never ending and it can be a constant struggle between working ‘in’ and working ‘on’ your business. Its so easy to put aside those tasks that you know will improve your business, but will take time to implement, while you focus on your customers, products or sales, all the things that fill up your calendar and ultimately pay the bills.
But when is it time to recognise, you can’t physically do all the things right now and its time to get a little (or a lot) of help? Here are five signs that its time to consider outsourcing:
1. You have a problem that you don’t have the skills to solve.
You went into business because there is something you are passionate about or are good at, doesn’t mean you are good at everything! That’s ok, there is someone who is good at thing you aren’t.
2. You have the skills, but you don’t have the time.
Also ok! Where do you add the most value to your business? What is your time worth? There is most likely, someone who can do it quicker than you, leaving you to focus on adding value.
3. Its 11pm and you are only just getting to todays (or yesterdays) emails.
Is there anything to add here … ?
4. Your business is growing fast but things are slipping through the cracks.
In a period of growth it is super important to maintain focus and protect your brand. What do you need to do behind the scenes to manage more customers, work, or a larger team?
5. You have a one-off project or task and you can’t justify an ongoing employee.
There are somethings that only need doing once, or maybe every few years, it might be documenting employment policies, setting up a CRM or implementing a risk management framework. Your employees already have a role and this is generally outside of their capacity or bandwidth, so its time to get some outside help!
But what about the cost?
I hear you, yes, outsourcing costs money, but what is it costing you to not do the thing you need to do?
Some costs you can measure such as missed opportunities and mistakes. Then there are the harder to measure costs, like inefficient processes, badly trained staff, the stress on you and your team and more time away from your family.
Consider the value, what is it worth to you to have this done? The cost should match the skills and time needed to do the work and represent value to your business.
How do I find the right person?
It can take a minute to find the right fit, but its important to work out what it is you would like help with. Is it a one-off task? is it the procurement and implementation of a new system? is it someone to sit and work out your priorities with?
When you do look for someone, talk to people that you trust, who understand running a business. Reach out to your accountant or lawyer to see if they can recommend someone. The important thing is, do not spend more time looking for someone to do the thing than the time it takes to do the thing!
The key thing to look out for when you do meet with someone, is that they take the time to understand your needs and are not shoehorning you into a one size fits all solution.
Get to it!
What are you waiting for?
If you recognise yourself or your business in this list, set aside 15 minutes today to really look at your to do list and consider if there is anything that you can outsource. If the answer is yes, dot point the task, the skills needed and the timeframe you need it done and make those calls to start the process.
Soon you will be over the hump and wondering why you waited so long!
Need some help?
If you need help with business planning, governance, risk or compliance, or just getting your business organised, Elouise from Ellevate Solutions is here to help you.