“I want to outsource, but my business isn’t big enough yet.”
As a service provider for online businesses, this is one of the most common things I hear. They don’t say it to my face, you see. But I find it, tucked way in the comments of a Facebook group post, beaten to death in a Clubhouse room, or shared openly on LinkedIn.
It’s endless.
And I totally get it. When you’re a business owner, it can feel like you need to hit a certain milestone – a certain amount of money, a certain team size, or a certain number of clients before you EARN the right to pass something off (after all, that “Jill of All Trades” title suits you).
But in reality, having a business that’s “big enough” is not a good indicator of whether you can or should outsource something in your business.
When Should You Start Outsourcing?
There are three signs that it might be time to outsource a piece of your business.
1. You’re Turning Away Clients
Telling people that you don’t have the time to work with them sucks. It feels like you’re leaving money on the table, especially if the new incoming clients are willing to pay more than your existing clients. But when you’re completely out of time in your day, what else can you do? The answer: outsource.
2. You’re Doing Tasks You Hate
No one promised when you owned your own business, you would spend 100% of the time doing tasks you love. That’s just not realistic. But if there are tasks that you absolutely hate, so much so that you put them off, only do them halfway, or spend 3x as long as you should completing them, then it’s not benefiting you to do them yourself. Time to outsource!
3. You’re Trying to Be an Expert at Everything
When you first get started as an entrepreneur, it can feel fun doing it all yourself. Look at me – I’m my own CEO, CMO, CPA, SMM, and graphic designer! But now that your business is more established and you’re raking in the dough, it’s not a good use of your time to be wasting it with tasks that aren’t in your zone of genius. If you struggle with this concept, think about how much you make per hour doing what you’re good at. Then consider how much you could hire someone for to do all that other stuff (so you can do more of the stuff you’re good at!). I bet you’ll see it’s worth it.
I build Kajabi funnels for businesses that bring in anywhere from $500-$50,000 per month. And each one of them says that hiring me to set up their Kajabi for them was totally worth it. Know that wherever you’re at in your journey, it’s never too early to start thinking about outsourcing!