3 Steps to Knowing When & How to Outsource

Have you ever felt like you’re wearing all the hats, and it’s completely exhausting? Like your business has become less like your baby, and more like your whole life? Or that you’re spending so much time, effort, and energy on tasks that don’t move the needle or utilize your best skills? Whew, I hear you. (Aka, I’m waving my hand high over here shouting, “BEEN THERE!”) If this sounds at all like you, it’s time we talk about how to outsource—because I’d bet good money that it’s well past time to do so.

Listen, in the early days of running a business, it IS pretty all-consuming. You do a lot of the task management yourself, wear all the hats, and pony up to multiple roles because that’s usually what’s required to get off the ground. But once you’re profitable, it’s time to evaluate the different processes and tasks within your business to see where someone else could potentially take over and do as good of a job (or better!) than you’re currently able to do.

Here’s the truth: You might be able to handle most things in your business, but that doesn’t mean you should.

In fact, if you’re spending all this time on things that don’t excite you—or that you frankly aren’t very good at—you’re missing out on spending that time on things that you ARE good at and that do propel you and your business forward. Your gifts and skills and ability to create new offers in your business need your full attention. Full stop.

The other stuff? Like, those tasks that you always put off or hate doing or that take you forever and a day—it’s well worth your time, and money, to pay an expert in that area to handle them for you.

Here are 3 steps to knowing when it’s the right time to hire, how to outsource, and what to do next.

Step 01: Realize your own limitations.

One thing I’m very clear on is where I add value. The areas that don’t come to me easily are often where I need to outsource and partner with another expert. Our work with clients spans across their entire business, so when something falls outside of our expertise, I reach out to my network. I know when someone else’s strengths can fill in where my own limitations might be.

Partnering with outside experts and contractors has allowed us to scale quickly. If I would have tried to do it all myself, it would result in a waste of time and unsatisfied clients.

Instead, we can work with more clients and over-deliver on the results! Focusing on our unique strengths, hiring the right team members, and leveraging our network allows us to offer a valuable and wide range of support to our clients.

In your own business, make a list of the skills and tasks you excel at, and then make another list of areas or tasks that drain you or don’t excite you in the same way. Then ask yourself if you could offload 1 to 3 tasks in your business today, what would they be? You’ll likely have an idea for what kind of support to hire from there.

Step 02: Utilize your network.

Anytime we need to bring in extra support for my business or my clients, I always turn to our network first. I ask contractors, past colleagues, and entrepreneur friends who they’d recommend for a certain job or project. You may be surprised how many incredible options and recommendations can show up this way!

If you’re not having luck, you can also turn to LinkedIn, Facebook groups for your industry, and social media. I’ve even put calls out on Instagram Stories saying I needed to hire a contractor. Just make sure you list the areas you need support, as well as clear instructions for how to apply.

These options are your best initial bet for finding quality support—more so than hiring platforms—because you can go off of connections and quickly see if someone could be a fit by looking through their online presence.

Step 03: Delegate; don’t micromanage.

After finding your new team member (yay!), onboarding them is your next step. An important note: There’s a fine line between delegating and micromanaging. If you’ve hired someone who’s a professional in their area, you can (and should!) trust them to do their best work… without hand holding! But it’s also important to clarify how you like to run things in your business.

It can be helpful to create a training folder for new team members with docs or videos explaining certain processes, systems, and tasks within your business. Once you’ve onboarded and trained them in their area of support, sit back and delegate projects as needed—without overstepping or checking in on every little thing!

Trust is built when we give our teams the space to flourish, ask questions as needed, and perform to their best ability. And the best part is, you’ll finally be able to remove some of the load off of your own plate and allow someone who is skilled and trained in that area handle it for you!

When we can step back and let others handle certain pieces of our business, it’s actually a *good* thing for your profits and your personal performance. Yes, you’re paying someone for support… but you’ll have the mental clarity and bandwidth to dream up new offers and ways to grow your business and bottom line. Your team can handle the things that make less sense for you to be doing.

(And an added perk: Since those things fall within their area of expertise, they can likely do them much quicker and efficiently than you potentially could!)

Bottom line? Hiring makes sense productivity and profits-wise. It allows you, and your team, to thrive in your individual areas of skill and expertise, and frees you up to continue taking the business to the next level.

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