3 Signs It's Time To Consider Outsourcing
Hey everyone! Happy Tuesday. Can you believe we're a little more than halfway through 2021 already? Like where has the time gone... Anyone else been super buried in their work while simultaneously getting overwhelmed at the fact that the world is opening up and suddenly we are being thrust into having a social life again? No... Just me? Alright, well enough about time. Actually, maybe we will be talking about time in this post so I guess we'll just get right into it. The topic I'm about to dive into (which you already know by the title) is actually something I've struggled with quite a bit. If you're anything like me, you like to believe that you can do everything and you refuse to accept help even when it's glaringly obvious that you need it. Sound familiar? Well, I'm here to tell you (or remind you) that it's OK to ask for help. Now I'm sure you've heard these words in some capacity before in regards to your mental health or career but they are SO true.
Pursuing your creative career as a freelancer is an incredible thing. I'm sure that many of you got into this line of work because you are passionate about what you do. However, what most of us don't realize is that very little of our time is actually spent being creative and instead doing all of that admin work that can sometimes be soul-sucking if you don't enjoy doing it. So, how do we combat this? Outsourcing! As scary and daunting as it may seem, there are so many benefits to outsourcing parts of your business in order to live and work sustainably. So let's talk about when it may be a good idea to start outsourcing.
The Struggle Bus
I'm calling this one the struggle bus because I think we've all been here before. This can look differently for everyone so I'll share a few different scenarios. If you're constantly juggling all parts of your business to the point that you find yourself half-assing your work (or just not giving it the attention and time it deserves) then it may be time to start thinking about how you can outsource some of those tasks that you just simply don't enjoy. Or maybe you're struggling with one or two areas of your business (and so you procrastinate) because they're not your strong suit. Therefore, hiring some help will often get the job done faster and you'll also get back to doing what you're actually great at. For example, we knew how important it was to pitch our services through cold emailing but it was starting to become something we couldn't keep up with ourselves and so that's how we came to hire Kirsten of Alway Services to help us streamline that process and get us back to doing more of our creative work.
The Time Suck
Another reason you might consider outsourcing parts of your business is if a lot of the work you're doing is becoming a real time suck. As much as we all like to believe that some of those business related tasks may take us a "short amount of time" to complete, they always end up taking longer than you think. This is especially true if you really despise doing this part of your job whether that's managing your inbox, finances, etc. Or maybe you find that you're slow at writing email newsletters, engaging on social media, or photo retouching, there's a huge chance you'll find someone out there that can do those same exact tasks in a much shorter time leaving you to get back to doing what you do best. When you outsource, you end up saving both time and money. There's only so many hours in a day and if you're not careful with how you spend your time, it may make it harder to focus on what's truly important – growing your business.
The Burnout
Do I even need to explain this one? I'm sure many of us have been here before including myself. Recently, we decided to start outsourcing part of our podcast editing because I was finding myself being overworked. I wasn't able to enjoy parts of my weekends because I was finding myself editing our podcast episodes late into the night on a Sunday. Not sustainable whatsoever and I finally admitted to myself that I needed help. As much as we all want to hold onto our business, the only way to not experience burnout is by establishing boundaries and coming to terms with the fact that we can't do it all. By outsourcing, we're reducing what we've already got on our plates as business owners. Experiencing burnout can also lead to a lot of very unpleasant things including not making deadlines, making mistakes, neglecting important tasks, and a lack of focus that can really hinder your growth as a business. It's not fun you guys. Trust me, we've been there.
So there you have it folks. Three surefire signs that it might be time to consider outsourcing in your creative business. I plan on diving more into this topic with a part 2 to talk about all of the benefits but I highly recommend taking a look at your business right now and if you're struggling with any of these situations, then it may be time to see what parts you can learn to let go of.
"Do what you do best and outsource the rest."
Is it the weekend yet?
Arabela