Outsourcing–The Answer To Small Business Owner Burnout

As a small business owner you are involved in all aspects of your business from bookkeeping and marketing to customer service. At some point you realize that it is no longer possible to do it all and still grow your business. How do you know when it’s time to stop trying to do it all yourself? How do you determine what work to outsource and what to continue to do yourself? What if you’re concerned about the financial investment?

First, have a look at the following checklist to determine if outsourcing is what you need now.

You know it’s time to outsource when:

• You’re burned out from working too many hours a day and too many days a week
• You feel like you can’t take time away from your business and you don’t (and friends and family are noticing this too)
• You are spending less time on your core revenue generating and business building tasks and it’s costing you money
• Key administrative functions that keep your business running are not getting completed

If this sounds like you then it’s time to hire someone. But first it’s important to get clear about what you need help with. Here are some general guidelines.

Do outsource:

• The work that supports and builds ongoing relationships with your clients
• The back end work that contributes to the growth of your business, generates profits and passive streams of income

Some examples of these tasks are:

• Newsletter creation i.e. the formatting, set up and distribution; you supply the content
• Setting up and managing your shopping cart i.e. putting ‘buy’ buttons on your web site
• Creating/Managing your website
• Posting to your blog
• Handling customer support
• Article submissions
• Graphic design

As the business owner, you should continue to:

• Do the things that will help grow your business and the things you enjoy
• Speak with potential clients, attend networking events
• Plan and create your next product or service

How do you know if outsourcing makes financial sense?

You can determine what your hourly rate would be by dividing your monthly profits by the number of hours worked and compare that to the rate that you would be paying to outsource. Remember that it may take you twice as long as a Virtual Assistant to complete some of the tasks that you want to outsource.

What do I do next?

Now that you know what your needs are you can start looking for a reputable Virtual Assistant. Someone who will become a partner in your success and someone you will work with long term for a mutually beneficial working relationship. You may want to check with fellow business owners you know and respect for referrals. Do any clients or colleagues know of someone who might be able to help? You can also find assistants through VA associations, forums and social media sites.

You need to be willing to let go of the control and give them your trust. After the initial learning curve your assistant will know your business well enough to work proactively with little or no direction from you. When you outsource and stop trying to do it all yourself, you’ll have the potential to become more productive, offer more services, increase revenue and grow your business to become more profitable.

The Top 7 Excuses That Are Holding Back Your Small Business Success

Do you have bad habits in your business? Are there things you repeatedly do just out of habit? You know you could be holding yourself back from success but you continue making excuses. I’m sure you’ve heard the quote by Tony Robbins, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.”

Bad habits and excuses go hand in hand. If you want to kick your business up a notch but you’re allowing excuses to keep you stuck, have a look at the following list.

 

These are the top 7 excuses business owners use to justify their inaction and how you can turn that around to achieve the success you strive for:

1. I don’t have the time. A lot of us procrastinate by getting lost in busywork because it’s easier. These are activities that take up time but are not producing results. By managing your time well and prioritizing, you can ensure that you make the time for that important project.

2. I’m too busy. Similar to the above but rather than procrastinating you are multitasking to the point of accomplishing nothing. Try single-tasking. Focus all your energy on the task at hand. You will make fewer errors and achieve better, faster results.

3. I’m afraid it won’t work. Fear of failure can be immobilizing. Make a list of ideas you’ve dreamed of putting into place in your business, but haven’t because you’re afraid. Take action in small steps and celebrate each small success along the way. If things aren’t working, do it differently knowing that you’re learning and improving with each experience.

4. I’m afraid it will work. Success can be scary because it means things will change. You will have new and probably more responsibilities but remember you have more to gain than lose. Keep doing what works to create long-term success.

5. I’m making enough. We are creatures of habit and become comfortable with the status quo. However, it is crucial to get outside your comfort zone and come up with new ideas for your business. Volunteer to speak at the next networking event. Perhaps the regulars know you socially but do they really know what you do? There are probably at least one or two fellow business owners in the group that could benefit from your product or service.

6. I’ve always used ‘X’. Loyalty may not always be a good thing. Does it take your webmaster 2 weeks to make a small change to your website? Perhaps it’s time to look for someone more efficient. Don’t let loyalty hamper your success.

7. What I’m doing is working. In this case, maybe all you need to do is keep doing what works and add to it.

So if your desire is to have something greater, what’s stopping you? Choose one of your bad habits and create a new one. It is said that it takes 21 days to change a habit. That’s not long really. So put yourself up to the challenge. Start today and a month from now your world will be better for it.

The 3 Rules Of Organization That Are Crucial To Small Business Owners

Are you unorganized and overwhelmed? Is your work area a disaster zone with papers strewn across your desk, no processes in place to complete daily tasks and excessive information coming at you both online and off?

The problem is that this state of physical and mental disorganization and overwhelm can spill over into your personal life too. This is especially true for home based business owners because our personal and business lives are so interconnected and it’s important that we are managing our time wisely.

But how did you get to this state of disorganization? It probably crept up on you as your business was growing and you started focusing more on the work at hand and less on managing your office.

How can you get from disorganized back to organized? The solution is simple if you follow these 3 rules and start streamlining your systems to manage the overwhelm:

Rule #1: Clear your desk. Before you jump into your work day, take 10 to 15 minutes to clear your desk and clear your mind saving you more than the time you invested. Make sure you have a procedure in place to keep your work area tidy and ensure paperwork is easy to access. Tools such as literature organizers to sort paperwork and containers for your writing utensils will make it easier to maintain your office space and manage your records.

Rule #2: Document your processes. Every time you do something for the first time it’s a good idea to make step by step notes. If you haven’t been doing this, start now. Again, it may take a little bit of extra time to document but you will have a reference to assist you with the task the next time and it will save you time in the long run. This is especially helpful if it is a task that you don’t repeat on a regular basis. And this information will be invaluable when your business has grown to the point that you decide to outsource or subcontract out work in the future. Make sure you document your notes within a Word document with separate headings for each topic or in a notebook or binder dedicated only to recording procedures. You don’t need more loose paper to manage.

Rule #3: Manage your information. Avoid information overload and stockpiling unneeded information. We collect so much information and it often isn’t organized in any specific way. There is so much useful information out there and some that we collect we don’t need to use right away. Start up one file to collect all this information. I have created a file I call “Tips and Tools” within my Outlook Tasks. It’s a simple table with the following headings where I can copy and paste all the info in point form that comes across my desk or inbox for easy reference when needed: “Company Name/Site Name/URL”, “Function” and “Details”. You can set up a similar system either in Word or within a notebook or binder. Now you have a handy reference and you can delete the emails or recycle the papers containing the original information. No more searching in various places as all the information is now in one place.

Initially it will take some time and energy to get from a state of disorganization to an orderly efficient system. Stick with this plan for several weeks and you will have control back. In a couple of months you will be reaping the rewards of greater productivity.

Go Ahead And Just Say No

Is business going really well? Are you so busy that you couldn’t possibly take on another client? This means sometimes having to say “no”. Do you have trouble saying “no”?

Here are 5 strategies to help you manage the overwhelm and learn ways to say “no”:

1. Set your business hours and stick with them. Once you set a precedence by replying to a client at 11:00 pm when your office closes at 5:00 pm, don’t be surprised to receive more requests after hours that you will be expected to respond to and this won’t always be possible. Most people are reasonable and won’t expect you to drop everything and respond right away but once you set a precedence it’s hard to go back.

2. Sometimes saying “no” may simply mean unsubscribing from mailing lists you signed up for. Don’t worry about offending a fellow business owner who’s a friend and puts out an awesome weekly ezine. She’s probably inundated with email too and will understand. Many of us are suffering from overwhelm and this is one way to reduce the amount of information coming at you. Pick only one or two mentors in your industry to follow and unsubscribe from the rest.

3. Start a waiting list as opposed to squeezing in ‘just one more’ client. As a business owner, you still need to address your own sales and marketing functions, attend networking events and grow your business. If you neglect these tasks and only attend to clients’ needs, your own business will fall apart.

4. Another way to say “no” is by saying “not now”. In my business I ask for 4 days turnaround time. I plan my upcoming week on Friday and my schedule for the week is set with little flexibility for last minute requests. To drop everything for an urgent request can negatively affect another client. Let your client know when you can handle their request, if not right away. You’re demonstrating that you value all your clients equally and that you wouldn’t push their work aside for another client either.

5. Have a backup plan. If a client has an urgent request and can’t wait your standard waiting period, refer the client to an associate who you trust will give your client the same expertise and high level of service as you would. Your client gets the work done and your associate is happy for the referral.

Saying “no” does not have to be considered a negative response. It is about setting realistic boundaries and expectations. Clients, family and friends can trust that you will respond honestly and will know that when you commit to something you will follow through. Saying “yes” when you should be saying “no” is setting yourself up for failure. To be successful, make it a rule to never promise what you can’t deliver.

The Top 5 Ways To Balance Your Commitments

Are you at the point of overwhelm in your business? Do you have so many clients or commitments that you’re not sure how you’re going to meet everyone’s demands? With too many commitments the quality of your work can suffer along with your good reputation and sanity. Does this overwhelm spill over into your personal life? If you work from a home office, others may not respect the fact that you have valid work to do and may put unreasonable demands on your time. Are you saying ‘yes’ to these requests too often?

If you’re at this point of frustration, it’s not too late to restructure a few things to achieve work, life and family balance. After all, as a business owner you have a highly sought after benefit that employees in the corporate world value highly – a flexible schedule. It’s time to get things back into perspective and enjoy this perk.

How? Here are the top 5 ways to balance your commitments:

1. First, start by setting boundaries: Solopreneurs working from home must have clear cut business vs. personal time. Set your business hours and stick with them. Ensure personal time is spent away from work-related activities. Don’t run errands during working hours or answer your business line when you’re about to sit down to dinner.

2. Next, start a waiting list: Too many clients may seem like a good problem to have when in reality it’s better to have fewer clients that get your full attention than more than you can handle. Never promise what you can’t deliver. There will always be an ebb and flow in your business which means that you can offer to put potential clients on a waiting list and contact them when you are available to fully accommodate their needs.

3. Or refer the work to others: Chances are that you have business relationships with others in your industry. Some potential clients may not be the right fit and you can choose to work only with those who are a good fit. Be honest and let the client know that a fellow business owner may be more suitable. Make the introduction.

4. Or build a team by subcontracting and/or outsourcing: Do you have a close knit group of colleagues that share your skill set, work ethics and standards that you would feel comfortable working with? Put together a team that you can subcontract out the overflow work to. And/or outsource to a Virtual Assistant rather than spending your own time on administrative and technical tasks. When you stop trying to do it all yourself, you’ll have the potential to offer more services, increase revenue and grow your business. Not to mention you’re helping others by employing them.

5. And last, but not least, make commitments to yourself equally as often as you do to others: What really matters to you? Make a commitment to yourself today about what you want to achieve. In my yoga classes we have been practicing making our ’sankalpa’ (a Sanskrit word meaning to set an intention using a short phrase or sentence). When you incorporate your intention into your daily routine, in time you can bring about positive change.

As a small business owner you already have many responsibilities. Setting boundaries, getting help and honouring commitments to yourself will satisfy the need for balance and boost your success.

To Do Lists Are Not For Everyone – Creative Ways To Manage Your Time, Reduce Stress and Get More Done

If you don’t follow a schedule you may start your day by sitting down at your desk wondering what you will do today. You will not be productive and likely not accomplish anything important.

Let’s say you start with checking email and get sidetracked forgetting the world outside of your inbox exists. Then you go on Facebook to get in your social networking for the day and wind up on there for more than an hour. Then, panicked, you remember something important that needs to be done for a client. In the midst of that project another client calls and you’ve become sidetracked. It’s nearing the end of your work day and you do not have time to finish the project. You have personal commitments to attend to now, not to mention you’re starving and haven’t made time to break for lunch.

You can’t figure out how it is that you’ve been busy all day but haven’t gotten anything productive completed. You feel like there’s never enough time in the day.

Well, there will never be enough time if you continue like this. There will only ever be 24 hours. If the number of hours in a day are not going to change then you’re going to have to change your approach.

You may already be following a schedule, but if it’s not working for you then it’s time to re-examine it. Everyone is different and you have to choose the method that works well for you.

These are the main rules for scheduling that should remain consistent no matter which method you choose:

1. You must clear your head of your to do’s. Get this list of things into some type of workable format.

2. Use a ‘master’ so you are not recreating your schedule every time. Assign blocks of time to related tasks and include personal time.

3. Prepare your schedule ahead of time. End your day by creating your list for the next day.

4. Be realistic about the time it takes to do things.

5. Minimize interruptions. Schedule client calls like appointments.

The 3 main scheduling methods to choose from are audio, visual and electronic. You can find a variety of tools at office supply retailers and online to help you with scheduling:

Audio – using a hand held recorder, you can record and manage your to do’s as they come up. Record what needs to be done each day. This works well if you’re not a note taker, do not use day planners and if you are mobile and can carry your recorder with you. You can create categories to organize your lists further and set alarms with more complex devices.

Visual – your schedule can be as simple as a paper based to do list or checklist. For more visual appeal try writing your list on a whiteboard using different colours for categories. If you like calendars you can purchase a desktop calendar, a day planner that is compact and easy to carry or print your own Printable Calendar Templates A stack of 4×6″ lined index cards with your to do’s and details can be filed and sorted in priority order within a recipe card box or photo binder.

Electronic – any of the visual methods can be used electronically with a hand held unit like a PDA or Blackberry with applications to manage your to do lists and synchronizing capabilities with Outlook and Google. Here you can also maintain contact information, manage your calendar and appointments and set reminders. The features and capabilities are numerous and vary with each device. Outlook is a great tool if you’re home office based with features to manage your email of course, calendar, contacts, create tasks, notes and reminders and organize items into categories. When working with others on projects BaseCamp project management software is a great collaboration tool, tracking conversations all in one place, listing to do’s, deadlines, file sharing and time tracking.

Remember to balance your time with play and pick the method that best suits you and will keep it interesting. If you have found an effective way to schedule your time, please send me the scheduling tips that work well for you. Effective time management will keep stress to a minimum.

3 Simple Ways To Add Time To Your Day

As a small business owner there is usually one activity that you find you are spending (or wasting) too much time on. This activity is probably a necessary part of your business, however, it is preventing you from getting to the really important stuff.

What is your top time waster? What is it that you always seem to get stuck on for hours at a time? This is probably an easy question to answer and with a little work can be just as easy to resolve.

Here are 3 simple ways that will help you gain control over your biggest time wasters:

1. Use templates whenever possible. For important but often repetitive tasks like replying to email inquiries or submitting proposals, create and save templates that can be used over and over and modified when needed.

For Email Management: Do you get a number of similar email inquiries often? You can save templates with generic responses to frequently asked questions and modify your reply to suit each inquiry. Templates can be saved in your email ‘Draft’ folder and copied and pasted into a new reply. Or create a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page on your website. This may prevent you from receiving alot of the same inquiries in the first place or you can direct the inquiries to this page if the answer to their specific question is contained within the list.

For Proposals: You have probably thought about doing this but perhaps you are always in a rush to get that proposal out and haven’t had time to create templates for this purpose. Take an afternoon and pull up your most recent proposals. Group similar proposals together and create a template for each main category. Next time you need to put together a proposal, grab the related template and you’re off to the races. No more sorting through old emails or Word documents. Just pull up the appropriate template and modify where needed. The time you spent putting your templates together will be gained back many times. Remember to keep your templates up to date with pricing or policy changes.

2. Set a timer for anything you find you get wrapped up in. When you work from home away from outside distractions it is easy to get so involved in an activity that you lose all sense of time. Even knowing that the timer is ticking in the background keeps you more aware.

For Social Networking: You know you need to be ‘out there’ and social networking plays a big role, but it doesn’t have to be all consuming either. Limit yourself to 30 minutes once or twice a day. As an example, when used as a business tool, your daily Facebook activity should include a quick check in of notifications, requests, your inbox, activities of friends and status updates. Add comments to showcase your expertise. Be consistent. It’s too hard to try to catch up if you haven’t signed on for days or more.

For Research: There is so much information out there and when we are conducting research on a topic one thing leads to another and another. So before you even begin, narrow down your topic and focus so you only collect the most relevant information. Have an organized way of collecting and documenting the information and sources so you don’t have to visit a website more than once. Have a goal around how many pieces of information you need and once you’ve reached it, stop.

3. Be realistic, avoid perfectionism. I’ve said this before but it’s a favourite quote of mine and a good reminder – Aim for completion, not perfection.

With projects: Yes, we want to make sure ‘i’s are dotted and ‘t’s are crossed, however, I believe perfectionism is an impossible goal and when we aim for it, then a task can never be complete.

With procrastination: Is perfectionism your excuse to delay the start of a project until the time is ‘just right’ or you have all the information you need? Don’t let unreasonably high standards prevent you from realizing a goal.

Try one or two of the above suggestions and gain back control over your time. Yes, you can have more time in a day!

The Top 7 Reasons You Don’t Have Time For What’s Important

One of the most common challenges I hear from small business owners is that they do not have enough time to focus on what’s really important in their business. In order to solve this problem you first have to determine why this is a challenge. Once this is clear, you can look at strategies to help you manage the little things better and free up more time for what’s important.

What’s important is unique to each business and is usually related directly to the core business activity and why the business owner started the business in the first place. Personal satisfaction and achievement, pride in the job and a flexible lifestyle are generally valued higher than wealth creation.

Here are the top 7 reasons you don’t have time for what’s important:

1. You are spending too much time on “X” – Replace “X” with one of your top time wasters. What is it that you always seem to get stuck on for hours at a time? For important but often repetitive tasks like replying to email inquiries or submitting proposals, create and save templates that can be used over and over and modified when needed.

2. You don’t follow a schedule – If you start your day by sitting down at your desk wondering what you will do today, you will not be productive and likely not accomplish anything important. End your day by creating a to-do list for the next day. You will have focus and know what needs to be done.

3. You have too many clients/commitments – This seems like a good problem to have, however, it’s better to have fewer clients that get your full attention than more than you can handle. With too many commitments the quality of your work can suffer along with your good reputation.

4. You have trouble saying “no” – Make it a rule to never promise what you can’t deliver. This means sometimes having to say “no”. Your clients, family and friends will respect you for your honesty and will trust your word.

5. You are unorganized – Your work area is a disaster zone. Papers strewn across your desk, no set schedule and you’ve misplaced your day timer. Before you jump into your work day, take 15 minutes to clear your desk and clear your mind saving you more than the 15 minutes you invested.

6. You have bad habits – You know what you’re doing wrong and you know how to correct it but you’re stuck in the habit. I’m sure you’ve heard the quote by Tony Robbins, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” Start by replacing one bad habit with a good habit.

7. You need help – You are doing everything ‘right’, the problem is that your business has grown to the point that you cannot continue to do it all and still maintain your high standards. You’ve heard about outsourcing and are ready to look into this further.

Identify what challenge has the highest impact on your time and then focus 100% of your effort on that one thing. To make the change successful, keep it simple and do not overwhelm yourself. A change will do you good!

Out With The Old, In With The New

Professional Organizers recommend that for every new item you bring into your home or office, you remove an old item. This makes complete sense and I recommend that you adopt this rule. You avoid collecting clutter with this process.

For those of you that have already accumulated clutter, there’s no time like the present to purge and organize and gain greater control over your workday. If you tackle a pile a day or one drawer a day during time dedicated to this task alone, you’ll be back on track in no time. Taking it on in small bites makes it a manageable task and easy to maintain. For example if you set aside an hour a day or every other day, you will be making progress and still have time for your revenue generating tasks.

This ‘Out With The Old, In With The New’ rule is also relevant to our ways of doing things in our businesses. Consider your approach this past year. Did the methods you used help you to achieve your goals? If not, it’s time to ditch your old methods and try something new.

Here are a few points to ponder as you prepare for the new year and contemplate your goals:

• If you were always trying to do too much in a flurry of activity, try doing less and doing it better. The time you spend will be more focused and count for more.
• If you had a lot of goals and didn’t achieve them all, only have one achievable but challenging goal at a time this year. One main focus increases your chances of achieving the goal.
• Are you a Jack or Jill of all trades, master of none? If you had many new skills you tried to learn but only skimmed the surface of a few of them, try picking the one most essential new skill to your business and learn it well before moving on to the next. It is not possible to be proficient at everything but it is to your advantage to have a couple of key areas of expertise. Surround yourself with those that are specialists in other areas and work with each other.

In those areas of your business that didn’t quite go as planned, try doing things a little differently this year for better results.

“Success is not for the chosen few; success is for the few that choose it.” -Gary Keller

Perception Is Everything When It Comes To Time Management

Why is it that when we have to complete something in record time we are able to, however, when we have one week to complete the same assignment, it takes us a full 7 days? I came across an article lately discussing time management with a reference to Parkinson’s Law and our perception of time. Parkinson’s Law is defined as follows: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” Interesting concept.

Time constraints are motivators that work for me both personally and professionally. Think about it and you can probably come up with a couple of instances where you were under the gun and performed brilliantly. With deeper concentration you can attain the same results or better in a shorter period of time. Try it:

• Block out some non-interrupted time to work on something. You can identify your most important tasks of the day and pick one or begin work on a long term goal.
• Make the goal achievable but challenging and schedule it into your calendar.
• You may need to set a timer to help you focus.
• Turn off distractions such as email and phone. One interruption can mean up to 20 minutes to get back to what you were doing.
• Aim for completion of the goal, not perfection.

Note: Never struggle with anything for more than 15 minutes. Take a break and come back to it with a clear mind.

By focusing all your energy on achieving the task at hand, you increase your chances of completing it. Single-tasking means you will be more focused, make fewer errors and achieve better results.

Do you have a larger goal you need to achieve? Break up your goal into smaller portions. For example, think how much closer to completion you will be if you write 5 pages of your ebook every day. As Henry Ford once said: “Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.”

Make the time you spend working as effective as possible.

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