As a business owner, your time is your most valuable resource. Yet, too often, we find ourselves bogged down by tasks that, while essential, don't necessarily require our unique expertise or creative input. This means you become less productive, resulting in less of your precious time being dedicated to working on high-value tasks, which ultimately is detrimental for business growth.
Not to be too doom and gloom about it, inefficiencies then start to creep in as your once adequate systems and procedures start to creak under the strain.
So, think about it practically: could your time be better spent doing other tasks? For instance, I charge £30 per hour. If you’re a psychologist charging £100 per hour, and you spend an hour sorting through emails, a task I could handle, you’re essentially losing £70 for every hour you manage emails yourself. By outsourcing tasks like these, you can focus on activities that truly add value to your business.
Recognising that you’re ready to outsource is the first step but what happens when you’re not quite sure what tasks you need help with?
If this sounds familiar, keep reading to discover how to figure out which tasks to delegate and which ones to keep for yourself. That’s exactly what my free download, Identifying Tasks to Outsource, is here to help with.
First Steps
In my experience, successful outsourcing happens when the client is clear on what activities they wish to outsource. And whilst we can spend time identifying those tasks, using my task worksheet is better method and you won't be paying me! Choosing a person with the right skills and experience is also essential. To combat the fear of handing over work initially, why not start small? If you’ve never outsourced anything before it can feel like a big step. The thought of handing over parts of your business to someone else is hard and for some working out what to outsource in the first place is even harder.
Unfortunately, I can't help you if I don't know what you need doing. Yes, it can be difficult to set aside time to do this when you're already super busy, but it's time well spent. Luckily, I have a process that can make this task a little easier.
3 Lists to Freedom
Chris Ducker, who is an outsourcing genius, has an exercise for people to try when they are thinking about outsourcing but have no idea which tasks to delegate. He calls this exercise your 3 Lists to Freedom. I've tweaked it slightly and you can download my version here. I recommend printing the list and keeping it handy so that every time you start or complete a task you can note it down in one of the columns.
Column 1 is a list of the tasks that that only you as the business owner can do.
Column 2 are tasks you love doing but aren't a good use of your time and could be outsourced. Your time would be better spent working on list 1.
Column 3 is all the tasks you loath, can't or shouldn't be doing. Hand these over to a professional who will get them done more efficiently and to a higher standard leaving you to free to focus on list 1. An example could be your accounts.
Consider Everything that Must Be Done
Make sure you add everything, so you get a good overview of your business. After a couple of weeks, you should have quite a long list and be in a better place to think about what needs outsourcing and who to outsource to.
What Can You Can Outsource to a VA?
Below is a list of potential tasks you can outsource to a VA. It’s probably best to note at this stage that not all VA’s will do all the things listed below. VA’s have hugely different skills sets and experience so it’s important to select the VA that matches your requirements. You can read more about this in this blog post.
General Admin
Email management, diary management, CRM input and management, travel bookings, online file management, transcription, minute-taking, data entry, data mining, online research, designing presentations and slidedecks, task accountability, event coordination, venue finding and confirmation/collating attendees and documents/on-site support, proofreading and editing marketing materials, basic bookkeeping (money laundering regulations apply, click here for further info)
Process & Organisation
SOP’s, creating internal processes, report and online form creation, creating/editing/formatting branded templates and guides, online file setup and organisation, task management, streamlining and automating systems. Office 365 and Gmail set up, importing, and creating labels/filters/folders
Social Media
Planning, creating, and scheduling content for social media, monitoring accounts, responding to comments, analysing engagement on previous posts to see what works and what doesn’t work, design banner posts, podcast scripting, video editing, photo editing, sourcing pictures, content curation and creating and managing an editorial calendar.
Website Updates & Maintenance
Adding blog posts, updating photos, updating/adding content.
CRM Management
Setting up and maintaining CRM databases, answering support tickets, analyse customer interactions and use automations, troubleshoot customer problems and handle customer complaints.
Email/Newsletter
Set up email systems, create welcome sequence emails, source content, and write newsletters, create email campaigns, set up automations, design lead pages, landing pages, design lead magnets, updating signup and opt-in forms.
The Key to Successful Outsourcing
As I said at the beginning of the blog, in my experience, successful outsourcing happens when the client is clear on what activities they wish to outsource - so print the task sheet, complete it and then get in contact.
Ultimately, all businesses whatever their size will have their own reasons for wanting to outsource. As a small business owner outsourcing allows you to obtain a better work life balance and decrease the feelings of overwhelm that can creep up on us. You also get access to a pool of talent that is more experienced at specific tasks than you, fresh perspectives, access to new technology and ways of working that you hadn’t been aware of before.
Get In Touch
If you’re ready to finish early on Fridays, heck even take Fridays off, please get in touch. I offer a free 30-minute discovery call where I explain the process of working virtually, the various types of tasks I undertake and my availability. It’s also your chance to ask any questions you may have about outsourcing. Click here to book your call via Zoom or over the phone.
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