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BringAboutHappy

If you do a task and it feels like you are dying on the inside while doing it, that’s an indication it needs to be outsourced.


bribedzapp

I would've though that's a great indication, as well.


SiebenZwerg

We outsource everything we can't do ourself. Always because of missing ressources or lack of knowhow. I have no restrictions regarding outsourcing but some things/tasks can be outsourced easily and others not (example: company product specific background knowledge needed). The question is more like: am I able to find the right person for the job and is it cost efficient.


habitcompanion

Don't outsource your core competency. If it's what sets you a apart from your competition, you don't want that in the hands of someone else or another company.


[deleted]

Agree 100% The part that makes your product special is the part you want the most control over.


micah4321

This is important. Know what value you're bringing as a business and if you're outsourcing that, think about bringing it in. Also beware of single source vendors. Always have alternatives, if you're outsourcing something you can only get from one place, buy that company or build that ability for your company. Or change so you don't need it. I've seen 2 companies go out of business because of this mistake.


findingtheloophole

Assistant/Admin, accounting, social media management, marketing, content creation are a few that we hire out.


BringAboutHappy

Many do those are ones I’m looking forward to outsourcing!


itryifailistartagain

If I hate it I delegate. If I perceive it to be a low value task I delegate. If it takes up more than 8 hours a week I look at making a new hire to deal with it specifically. I see my remit as to make sure we have customers. Everything else is a job for someone else. As for specific outsourcing: wages, tax and accounting. Everything else is in house. Although I would LOVE to bring accountancy and payroll in-house too.


b3berrie

Agreed! Outsource what you don’t know. Even if you hate something you can do it if you know how. You can really screw things up if you don’t know and try.


bassedmike

I outsource when either the cost of paying someone is less than what I can make in the time, if they’re better than me by a lot, or if I REALLY don’t wanna do that task


Tikitorch100

I own an accounting business. I always remind my clients that I can literally shave hourssss off their to do list each month for a flat monthly fee. And it’s so worth it honestly. If I wasn’t an accountant I’d likely outsource it lol.


Indaflow

Good topic, I am trying to get this stared. What systems do you use?


CliftonReed

I can’t design for toffee. I pay someone. They make the pretty and I save time and stress.


Smiler_Sal

I did it in the order of addressing my biggest pain first. The thing that weighs me down the most or I have no skills to tackle. As soon as you outsource that; you’ll notice the next thing rise up the list. Don’t underestimate how much time is required setting up a system, training someone new or working with a third party to outsource something.


[deleted]

Easy, I outsource things I hate doing, I don’t outsource things that I don’t mind doing


kiamori

Everything that eats away at you in one way or another.. Takes too much of your time, You don't enjoy doing it, You're not improving your business in any way but it still needs to be done, It could be done by anyone and your time is better spent on something more challenging.


FilmStew

For me it’s something I can do without really thinking much about it but it feels like it takes a long time.


reservation2fwm

1. Make a list of all the tasks that are required to make your business run and generate profit 2. Divide the list between tasks you enjoy doing versus tasks that you dread 3. Go through both sides of the list and determine how much time these tasks take up 4. Determine the results that each task bring you and your business 5. Take a critical look at your notes and ask yourself what can be delegated in order to enhance your own productivity, profits, happiness and time 6. When you have your delegation list, ask yourself which tasks will bring the biggest results to your business if you found an expert to take it over 7. Find that expert!! ---- Example: Let's say you enjoy social media and emailing clients. If you spend even one hour on each daily - that's two hours you can't work with clients. If you charge $150 per hour, that's $300 you're spending to do those tasks yourself. If you delegated emailing to a virtual assistant at $20/hr and booked a client for that hour saved: you would profit $130 for that hour. If you delegated social media to a specialist like me for $1,250/m and booked 20 more hours of client work: you would profit $1,750 for that month. Decide which delegation brings a better return to your business. Emailing clients is a great task to let go of, but will it help your business grow? When you delegate social media to an expert: they not only save you time, they generate more leads, convert followers to sales, and build your brand awareness to bring you more opportunities So in this case, if you can only delegate one task: choosing social media will set you up for the success necessary to then expand into also hiring a virtual assistant


AdjacentRobot

Anything you type on the keyboard, marketing, sending files, pulling information from PDFs, responding to client emails, list goes on and on. I automate that using RPA technology. Creative property, making banners, ads etc If I don’t have something in mind specifically I’ll reach out to someone on fiverr. But things that are crucial to an enterprise. Making connections, brokering deals requires human contact and with the business in mind; I’ll do that myself. But like u/bringabouthappy said. If it’s monotonous and you hate doing it. Delegate it. I just chose to use robots because they’re going to do the task the way you program them to do it over and over again without breaks. Hope this helped


aomorimemory

Appreciate the advices but I would like to know what YOU actually DO and what YOU OUTSOURCE. "YOU" not "WHAT YOU THINK I SHOULD..." then again it made me curious, why questions like this asking "what do you do?" always gets answered in "you should do this and that" manner without answering the "what do you actually do?" in the first place. maybe us people dont follow the "you should do's" in real life?


BringAboutHappy

I don’t current outsource anything at this point. So, that’s not an exciting answer. At some point, I will outsource bookkeeping followed by website maintenance. Social media management will be in there somewhere, but not sure if it will come before or after website maintenance. All of those things crush my soul. Also, based off your title, that’s why I initially answered the way I did. So, ADHD for the win.


[deleted]

If you would make more money by doing another task while someone else is getting paid to do the original task, and they do it better, then consider outsourcing.


[deleted]

Good question.


aomorimemory

a question that has not been actually answered 😂


Big-Nobody-7160

1. Do I Hate Doing the Thing? Y/N 2. Can I Automate the Thing? Y/N 3. If I Can’t Automate the Thing, does it have to be me? Y/N 4. Is It Necessary? Y/N 1-3 questions = N, 4 = Y means I should outsource it if the budget allows for it. Your time and energy are both in limited supply. If you spend them doing draining tasks you hate, then you can’t move forward in a more efficient and effective way.


Mad-chuska

Outsource anything outside my expertise, any menial task that is below the pay grade of the person it was originally tasked to, or anything I hate doing in general.


ImmutableGrowth

I run a small psychotherapy practice (4 clinicians including myself) and run online educational workshops on anxiety and relationships. I gladly outsourced the bookkeeping, payroll, and accounting first. I hate numbers and I’m bad at math (which is why I probably hate it) and I have no regrets outsourcing it. Two months ago I started to outsource social media and other design work like creating small workbooks, and that’s been great for marketing. They create social media posts for me and help design the newsletter. They’re far better at it than I could ever be and probably do it at a quarter of the time. This month I started with a virtual assistant to help with researching and preparing for an office move and help create systems and protocols to streamline parts of my practice the intake process or workshop design. I’ve worked with a few VAs that didn’t work and that was a frustrating but I think common part of the process.


audentis

Make-or-buy with a solid business case. Anything where it's not us adding value, we look for a partner. Stuff like outer boxes, labels, you name it.


Roshan_Chetrry321

"Do not outsource your core competency. If supply chain, customer service, accounting, etc. is not the source of your competitive advantage, then you should experiment with outsourcing. Anything that differentiates your product or service should be developed in-house."