Entrepreneurs typically suffer from one of two illnesses: Superhero Syndrome or Scrooge Syndrome. Those afflicted with Superhero Syndrome are often plagued with the thought: “I can do it all myself and I don’t need anybody to help me!” And the poor souls with Scrooge Syndrome? They often think: “But if I do this myself, it wouldn’t cost one red cent!”
It's not uncommon for entrepreneurs and small business owners to feel like they can do it all themselves and it’s smart to be conservative when it comes to spending your budget.
But....
Say you have a company with two employees—you pay one employee $100 an hour for high-value tasks that require planning and strategy, and you pay the other $50 an hour for administrative duties. Would you routinely ask the person getting $100 an hour to take over the administrative work or vice versa?
That’s exactly what you’re doing when you refuse to outsource.
So, what exactly can you outsource? Here are some of the things you’re might be better off letting someone else handle for you.
ADMINISTRATIVE
1. Managing your email inbox: This is one of the first tasks you should outsource. While you may still make yourself available to your most important clients, you can hire a Virtual Assistant to tackle prospect questions, vendor correspondence and customer service.
2. Travel scheduling and booking: If you don’t delegate this to a Virtual Assistant who is skilled in this area, the process could end up taking up your entire day.
3. Calendar management: Proper calendar management is one of the most important skills you can possess as a busy business owner. Outsourcing it can lift a big burden, especially for those who are organizationally-challenged.
4. Researching: The most robust CRM for course-creators? The most affordable cloud storage for lawyers? HIPAA-compliant tracking software? Your Virtual Assistant can handle all that research for you, so you can make a quicker, more-informed decision on your next purchase.
5. Proofreading: It’s downright impossible to spot the errors in your own work. Get more sleep by investing in someone else who can catch the typos you will never see.
6. Transcribing: Transcribing is a task that eats up an enormous out of time. Delegate this yawn-inducing chore to free up your time for more high value tasks.
7. Editing audio/video files: Would you rather spend two weeks learning this skill from YouTube videos or pay someone $50 to take care of it?
8. Following up with prospects: You know you should be sending your sources thank-you notes and links to relevant publications, but how many times have you simply not had the time? For things that are important but not all that urgent, a VA can be a great resource.
9. Preparing presentations: Public speaking is stressful enough without having to worry about your presentation materials. A VA could help streamline your presentation so you can put all your focus on sharing your passions.
10. Any other design or graphic work: Unless you have an eye for great design (not many people do), trying to do your graphic work is not only painful, but makes for ineffective communications. Hand all your logos and website graphics work to a professional—it will make you more money in the long run.
11. Updating your blog: Many of us have a fantasy of the perfect blog, complete with daily posts and high reader engagement. A VA could make that dream a reality!
MONEY MANAGEMENT
12. Invoicing: Some entrepreneurs are perpetually late on sending invoices because they dislike the process so much; if you have a VA handle it for you, you can take yourself out of the equation and let the money roll in.
13. Follow up on late payments: Does anybody enjoy this task? Anybody? Bueller? If you could delegate this task, why wouldn’t you?
14. Basic bookkeeping: You can lose hours trying to track every expense. A VA can take this off your plate and maybe smooth some of your worry lines in the process!
15. Expense reports: Having someone who can keep this information organized and on track is a godsend—trust us.
16. Receipt management: If you’ve got someone doing bookkeeping for you, let them track your receipts as well. Come tax time, you won’t regret it.
MARKETING
17. Web design: Want to learn coding? Keep up with the latest versions of WordPress and security concerns? Learn about the latest trends in UX design? Me neither.
18. Email marketing: Email marketing is crucial to getting the word out about your business, but it is a task that often falls to the wayside. Prioritize email marketing by giving the task to a VA. The money will follow!
19. SEO: Get someone who knows what they’re doing since Google is constantly changing its algorithm.
20. Social media: If you want to stay connected to your followers and still have time for work, it is helpful to work with a professional Virtual Assistant who specializes in social media.
21. Follow and connect with prospects: A fantastic little technique to build relationships, find editor names, and generally be on top of changes in your industry is to get someone to follow prospects on Twitter and connect with them on LinkedIn. You should initiate the conversations, but hire someone to do the initial searching and button pushing.
22. Writing content: How many hours are wasted staring at a blank page? Get an expert VA to pump out your content and avoid losing time to writer’s block.
DAY-TO-DAY
23. Keeping track of industry news: You don’t have the time to read 30 newspapers and magazines about your industry, but you can pay someone to find the important things and email them to you at the end of the day.
24. Keeping track of industry events: Still kicking yourself for not attending the major industry event that was held in your city that would have been a perfect networking opportunity? Been there, done that. Don’t miss it by having someone else flag it up, buy the tickets, and plug it into your schedule.
