To outsource or not to outsource? That is the question!

So you have your business but have you ever thought to outsource? You probably started as a Sole-trader, Freelancer or small company with less than a handful of employees, what many business owners struggle with, especially in the early stages, is juggling everything single handed day in day out.

While we all like to make as many savings as we can, with many starting their business on a shoestring due to lack of funds or not meeting lending criteria, are we being counter-productive in our business thinking that we can do it all? You may be an all-rounder with the tasks you are faced with on a daily basis, does that mean you should be doing them all?

As business owners, we like to think that we can do everything, is it really good use of your time? Surely the trick is to outsource so you can focus on those things that generate the income. Why do the marketing on your business when maybe that’s not your area of expertise, hand it to somebody that has that skill-set, someone who can reach your target audience effectively and be engaging. Bookkeeping…..have you really got the time to be trawling through all of last years receipts, sales invoices and bank statements? It is completely inefficient as a business owner to be stuck at your desk all day rather than you out networking, gaining new leads, building relationships and nurturing those relationships that you have already with your current client base.

So here is some food for thought, what if you could learn to outsource these types of tasks? I say learn, as it is hard to let go sometimes of these very things that drag us down. They become our new normal and sometimes, if you are anything like me, you may be a little control freak’ish of letting go of anything to do with ‘your baby’ and rightly so, after all it is something you have worked so hard to build upon.

Find below a list of tasks that you can outsource to a Virtual Assistant. Many VA’s have different skill-sets and specialist areas so you will want to make sure that you find someone that is right for you and your company.

1. Email Management/Filtering
2. General administrative tasks
3. Booking appointments with clients
4. Following up with clients/customers (sending thank you and other reminder emails)
5. Receptionist duties (answering occasional calls)
6. Calendar Management
7. File Management (organising files using Dropbox etc)
8. Database building (eg. updating email or contact lists on your CRM)
9. Research on certain topics
10. Personal errands (purchasing gifts for loved ones / family members online)
11. Hotel and Flight Booking
12. Transcription (transcribing voicemail, video or audio, podcasts etc.)
13. Taking down minutes of meetings
14. Creating basic reports (reports on weekly tasks, deliverable’s, sales)
15. Preparing Slideshows (Power Point Presentations)
16. Liaison between you and other team members
17. Recruitment (source for other team members like writers or graphic artists)
18. Set-up Social Media Accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, You Tube)
19. Manage and update Social Media Accounts
20. Manage your Blog (Basic WordPress Skills)
21. Publish posts on your Blog (content you provided)
22. Filter and reply to comments on your blog
23. Setting up Auto-responders (Aweber, Mailchimp)
24. Blog commenting (to increase links to your site)
25. Participating in discussion forums or message boards (more promotion!)