How to Think Outside of the Outsourcing Box

Lately, on Periscope [@amy_feierman], I’ve been talking about outsourcing tasks. Almost anything you don’t like to do, or someone else could do better, can be outsourced. One of my goals in 2016 is to outsource anything in my business and life that causes me unnecessary stress because I don’t like to do it, don’t know how to do it, or can’t find the time to do it properly.

The first step in this process was to determine which tasks were causing me stress. In Chris Ducker’s book Virtual Freedom, he discusses “creating your 3 lists to freedom”. This is the method he uses to determine what tasks to outsource. Before creating the three lists he has readers, “…take a moment to think about all of the activities your business needs just to maintain itself—these are the day-to-day tasks such as customer service. Next, consider all of the activities needed to grow your business; this might include content creation, for example. Then, go through and highlight the items that you enjoy doing personally.” Then he has you break down the tasks into three lists:

• Tasks you don’t like doing
• Tasks you don’t know how to do
• Tasks you feel you shouldn’t be doing

Going through this process was really eye-opening for me. I wrote down anything I could think of from processing daily emails to scanning receipts. One thing I realized was that while I have a VA, I have been severely underutilizing her. I also realized that I’m so stressed about because I’m doing tasks that I shouldn’t be doing, like processing daily emails.

What am I doing with this information?

1. Hiring my VA full-time. Next week I have a Skype meeting with my VA to talk about the future. I’m excited.
2. Looking into offering a paid internship to a local high school and/or college student to help me with business tasks that I can’t outsource to a VA like scanning receipts and prepping inventory. Today I reached out to the school counselors at the local high school and college to see if they will be able to help me find interested students.

Outsourcing is a process. If it is over whelming for you, sit down and make a list like I mentioned above. Then pick ONE task to outsource. You could outsource it to a family member, friend or virtual assistant.

Weekly Challenge

I challenge you to think outside of the box when outsourcing. Get creative with what tasks you can outsource and/or who you could outsource to do them. How are you being creative with your outsourcing? Leave your answer in the comments below.

If you have any comments or questions please leave them in the comments section below or connect with me on Facebook at facebook.com/amybfeierman. Don't forget to like my page while you're there!

What are you doing TODAY to move your business forward?

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