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 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.