Deciding to outsource your work is a giant step. It means you are growing and scaling your business. It also means there just aren’t enough hours in the day for you to do everything - and sometimes it’s hard to accept this. It’s difficult to let go of things and give the responsibility to someone else.
However, one of the biggest benefits of outsourcing is that you save time and money! You save time by NOT doing the jobs you hate, that take too long or just never get off the to-do list. You save money by using your valuable time serving your clients and customers and not working through a to-do list that leaves you feeling deflated and disinterested.
So, how can you outsource successfully? Here are some top tips to ensure you get the most out of paying others to work with you on business tasks and projects.
Communication Rocks
Make communication a priority. In the early days of outsourcing, make time every week for a 15-30 min call. During the week you can use other communication tools as well, but having a phone call or Zoom video call is an excellent way to get to know each other’s personality and working style. Make the calls as efficient as possible by keeping to an agenda. Have somewhere (a google doc or Slack channel) where your Agenda sits. This way you can both add to it.
Share Your Systems
Having access to your Drive, email and digital tools is vital if you want to outsource some of the administrative jobs. Having someone work through your inbox and reply with model responses can save you so much time and energy. Outsourcing your social media content, membership community management or your onboarding process are tasks which can be transferred easily once someone has an idea of your personal style, tone of voice and business branding.
Give Feedback
Let the people you work with know when they’ve done a good job. Giving feedback is essential for building relationships with those you outsource to. It means your team can fine tune their operating systems and ensure they are working in sync with you and each other. If you can think of ways to do things even better then share your ideas. When you outsource it takes a bit of time to learn each other's working style and expectations. Giving feedback to each other means you are constantly learning from one another.
Share your Business Goals
If you have a product you are launching, a campaign you are building or events you are planning then share this information with those you work with. All your collaborators need to know the bigger picture. Being aware of your business goals and plans will really help when it comes to workload expectations and prioritising.
Team Work
When you use a freelancer or agency to outsource it really helps to build a solid relationship with them when you make them feel part of a team. Introduce your collaborators to each other, explain what role each of them has. Include them on a communications platform (like Slack or even WhatsApp). Feeling like a team member will encourage people to share ideas, support one another and work better with each other.
One of Many
Remember when you outsource work you are likely to be one of many clients. You are very important, and so are their other clients. For example, if you are outsourcing four hours of work a week then you must remember that the chances are there will be quite a few other clients who your collaborator works with too. You are a top priority for them - but you can’t expect them to react instantly or drop what they are doing immediately for you.
What Next?
By outsourcing you find the space and freedom to be creative, grow and fall back in love with the business you’ve built.
If you would like to work with me I would love to lighten your load. I have clients who I work with each week and others who come to me for project work. Feel free to get in touch and book a call. We can discuss the jobs you hate, the ones that take you too long and the tasks that never get off your to-do list!
Email me at sarah@sarahforde.co.uk, I look forward to learning about you and your thriving business.
Sxx
Hi Sarah thanks so much for this useful information. It’s really helpful to have an understanding of outsourcing and how others can be in the team without needing to be a physical presence in the room. Reading your emails & blogs, it is clear you are extremely organised & efficient so will definitely keep your details for when the time is right for my business.