“A business owner’s time is better spent growing their business rather than doing tasks that don’t directly contribute to growth,” says Bryan Todd, founder of ClickFunnels. “Outsourcing allows you to focus on what matters most in your business − growing it!”
Take an inventory of your tasks
When you take an inventory of your tasks, try to identify any recurring or seasonal chores that could be outsourced. Write down a list of every task you do on a regular basis, then break it down into categories such as ‘household chores’, ‘career-related tasks’, and ‘finances’. Think about which tasks you enjoy doing, which ones you are good at, and which are most important for getting through the day.
Determine the most time-consuming and valuable tasks
Before you start outsourcing, it’s important to evaluate the tasks that are most important to your business. Are there certain jobs that you want to keep for yourself? Which tasks will have the biggest impact on your productivity? In knowing what needs doing and prioritizing accordingly, you’ll be able to decide how much time and money you want to spend on outsourcing tasks.
Create a system to reduce wasted time
To effectively schedule your time, you need a system that helps you organize tasks and projects, set priorities, and keep track of your work schedule. Here are some ways of accomplishing this:
Use a calendar
This can be an online calendar like Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook, or a physical planner with monthly pages. The key is to make sure that everyone in your office knows about the calendar: they must know when you have meetings and appointments scheduled.
Use a to-do list (or two)
First, create an overarching to-do list for the day or week by listing what must be done in order of priority. This should include items from all areas of your business. Next, prioritize each item on the list using numbers 1 through 6 (1 being the most important). Thereafter, create separate lists for each area of responsibility such as marketing, sales, or IT support, so you know what needs doing right now without having everything jumbled together on one giant list.
You can also use tools like Trello, Asana, or Todoist, which offer team collaboration features.
Delegate high-value, low-skill tasks to a virtual assistant
Outsource high-value, low-skill tasks to a virtual assistant.
Before you start delegating tasks, define the problem or goal that you’re trying to accomplish. You may want to set some tangible goals for yourself as well. For example, if you want to lose weight, your first goal could be losing 20 pounds in three months (or about two pounds per week).
Once you have your goals in place and have defined the problem or challenge at hand, it’s time to delegate! To find a virtual assistant who fits your needs and budget, look at sites such as Aristo Sourcing. This reliable company can help you source the best assistant for the tasks you need help with. Once you’ve found someone who seems right for the job—whether it’s writing a blog post or ordering groceries—you can begin delegating tasks. It is wise to create an account on the service they use, sharing their offer with them via email or messaging app (e.g. WhatsApp).
Make sure the job is correctly conducted
It’s also important to check for quality and consistency. A good freelancer will understand the importance of producing a quality product or service. If not, it’s time to move on.
You should know exactly what the person is doing. This means that you must have clear instructions and guidelines in place, but also regular communication with the assistant (via email or chat) throughout their workday. This way you can ensure the work is going as planned.
It’s crucial that you understand how long each task will take. While certain tasks may seem an easy task for a skilled professional, there are still variables involved: unexpected changes in direction from your end or theirs: lost files, technical glitches, etc., all of which can slow progress significantly (and even cause delays).
Maintain quality and consistency in outsourced work
Remember, your goal is to save time and money. Outsourcing tasks that were once part of your job description to freelancers means that you won’t have to do the work yourself. You will then have more time for other matters.
But what about quality? What about consistency? What about making sure the job is correctly conducted, consistently, and on time? In order to maintain high standards across all projects from different people in a variety of fields (writing, design, programming), it’s important to manage each project like an investment in future success.
Here are some tips for managing outsourced work:
Outsourcing allows you to focus on what matters most in your business − growing it!
There are numerous tasks that can be outsourced. The following is a list of the most common ones:
- Bookkeeping and financial management
- Marketing, advertising, and branding
- Research, surveys, and data analysis
- Writing and editing (including blog posts, articles, and copywriting)
You can outsource these tasks to a virtual assistant or team of virtual assistants. The best part is that you will save time while also significantly improving the quality of your work!
Conclusion
Once you’ve identified the most important tasks, delegated them to a virtual assistant, and made sure that they are correctly conducted, you can set your focus on growing your business. Outsourcing allows entrepreneurs like us to spend more time making money and less time doing everything else!