How often do you find yourself frustrated with “tech,” wishing you could just pay someone to finish that WordPress tweak, set-up your email, or magically have that landing page done for you?
Or, when was the last time you daydreamed about being able to “sit back” and delegate instead of having to do every little task yourself?
Stay with me and I’ll explain why I highly recommend that you don’t hire a VA or start outsourcing right away, even if you have the money.
Here’s why you shouldn’t start outsourcing business tasks right away
Two reasons…
First, in the beginning stages of your business, you should only be focused on one action: making money.
Connecting with potential clients, building relationships, and of course, making sales—those are all things that only you can do!
Don’t have a full roster of clients but do have a lot of tasks on your to-do list that can be outsourced (such as creating beautiful quote images or making that last tweak to your site)? It’s time to replace those to-do’s with ones that’ll actually help you connect with clients and make you money!
Here’s a quick tip I like to use when prioritizing my tasks (because I’d also much rather create images than, say, do outreach):
I ask myself, “Could this directly lead to my next sale?”
If not, I cross it out. (I’m a fan of the Delete, Delegate, Defer, Do system.)
The second reason I don’t recommend you to start outsourcing right away is because you can’t manage what you don’t know.
For example, when I switched over to Infusionsoft for my email marketing, I spent the first few days setting up a campaign myself and exploring its capabilities even though I knew I’d be outsourcing most of my Infusionsoft work.
Because I did that, I now know its basic functionalities and also know what more advanced options are available to me.
It makes me a much better manager and delegator when I can say, “Set up this type of campaign with these specifics” vs. “I want to do this…is it even possible?…can you figure out how?”
As online entrepreneurs, our marketing and sales tools are the core of our business. I never want to be in a position where I’m completely ignorant of the very things that make my business run, and if I can help it, I won’t ever let that ever happen to you either.
There’s one exception to outsourcing in the beginning of your business that I want to mention…
Your site and brand.
What industry you’re in will also largely determine how important this is, but in most service-based industries, especially if you’re branding around yourself as a coach/consultant, a premium site and brand is something I’d encourage you to invest in.
It’ll help establish your credibility from the onset and showcase you as a professional, especially if your business model is high-end private coaching/consulting.
While how much you invest depends on your budget and how quickly you expect your business to grow, you don’t have to spend five-figures for a gorgeous and functional site. You can find a great deal for around $1K – $2K, which is well worth the cost if it helps sell your first $1K-$2K package (and the ones after that).
Still itching to start outsourcing right away?
Don’t worry! You won’t be doing all of this on your own for long.
If you spend the majority of your time when you’re starting out on marketing and getting new clients, you’ll soon be raking in the green and making your first hire!
In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you—what are you MOST looking forward to outsourcing ASAP?
Leave a comment here and let me know!
Warmly,
Luisa
