When should you outsource? As soon as you can. You don’t have to spend a lot of money. Hire someone to help you with a few tasks that take you forever or that you can’t do (or at least not without spending a lot of time learning something new). If you can’t afford someone outright, see if you can barter skills or hours. Scale up your outsourcing as you go along by spending a certain percentage. This will help you grow faster. 

Develop Your Outsourcing Strategy

Your outsourcing strategy should be part of your overall business plan. Each step of your plan should state who is going to do the tasks and why they’re being done, and if you know the budget, you’ll use it as your guideline when hiring people. For example, maybe you can’t hire anyone until you generate an income no matter what you want to do. Therefore, part of your business plan should be that once you generate x amount of dollars, you’ll outsource something particular.

Let Go of Excuses

Many people are not fond of the idea of outsourcing because they think they can do everything better. They have bought into the saying, “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” Here's a better saying to adopt: “work smarter, not harder.” If you observe successful business owners, they never try to do everything on their own. They always outsource everything they don’t want to do or don’t do as well as they’d like.

Trade Services with Someone

If you really cannot afford to hire anyone, you may be able to trade something with someone else who is also just getting started. For example, if you need product images, you can look at working with a student in exchange for providing a service for them too. Keep in mind that most established professionals will respond better to bartering offers if you make it very simple for them. Plus, you may have more luck working with others who are just starting out, yet have the skills you need.

 Outsource One Task at a Time

When you first start outsourcing, it doesn’t have to be an all or nothing approach. You can dip your toe in and outsource just one task at a time as a project. You can find people to outsource in your network or on sites like FIVVER that provide a platform to contractors. Just remember to always do your due diligence and research and vet anyone you outsource tasks to.

Start with Stuff You Can’t (or shouldn’t) Do

When you first outsource, it’s going to be easier for you if you outsource things you don’t even know how to do and don’t have the time to learn. In fact, learning things that aren’t really beneficial to you for the primary way you make money is probably a waste of time. Hiring someone to do the things you can’t or shouldn’t do is always going to pay off if you do your homework and hire the right person.   

Hire Multiskilled Contractors

Another way to outsource - which can sometimes be less effective because you’re not getting an expert, but it works for a lot of people - is to hire someone who has a lot of skills. Often that person will refer to themselves as a virtual assistant or an assistant of some kind. In this case, you’d likely pay an hourly fee, and they just do the work you give them by the hour.

Save Money by Buying More Hours

One way to save money outsourcing is to use a platform that enables you to buy more hours in bulk, which puts your hourly fee at a lower rate. Many virtual assistants and writers do this on their own too. For example, a VA that is hourly might offer a cheaper hourly rate for 20 hours a month. A writer might offer a cheaper by the word rate for large orders of 10 or more blog posts monthly. 

When it comes to outsourcing to build your business, you really shouldn’t wait around. The sooner you start building your team, the sooner you’re going to be successful in living your dream lifestyle. If you’re still unsure and have not internally accepted the notion that you can’t do it all yourself, it’s important that you get out of your own way and get through any excuses you are making.

Sooooo...What are you going to outsource in the next 7 days?