To Outsource or to Not Outsource: That Is the Question
Last Summer I read ‘The Four Hour Work Week’, which if you haven’t read, has a pretty large chapter promoting outsourcing your work to third world countries. This is, of course, because outsourcing your work could help you increase your income and work less hours. But as I read this chapter, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was really okay to outsource client work.
I mean, what would my clients think if I started outsourcing the work that they are paying our team—or a specific team member— to deliver? Would having to manage other people slowly suck the fun out of having a business? Would I still feel as much love and fulfillment from my business if I let others do the work? Will my time be spent editing their work up to my high standards?
There are so many difficult questions to unpack here, and many more that may not have crossed my minds but instead are lingering in yours.
🌈🧢🚀 Fun Fact 🚀🧢🌈: At a two-day management course that I took pre-pandemic, I learnt that the thing that most leaders struggle with most is outsourcing (also known as delegating). So if you are feeling hesitant about outsourcing, this is completely normal and valid.
To help you decide if outsourcing is right for you, I thought it would be helpful to run through the pros and cons of outsourcing with you. Let’s get started, shall we?
The pros of outsourcing
You will have more time
Often the best thing you can do for yourself is buy yourself more time. But how can we do that? We cannot stall time. The answer is in fact by teaming up with someone reliable who can do the work for you to the quality you desire (this can be achieved through a little trial and error) at a price that is less than what your client is paying you. If you do end up outsourcing to someone on a different time zone to you, you may find that work is done while you sleep. This may result in clients getting their work much quicker than usual. It also brings along the possibilities of having extra space in your diary to work with even more clients than you usually would, or to focus on growing your business.
You no longer have to do the things that hold you back
I can often tell what is lighting me up and what isn’t this season by the amount of procrastination involved. If something keeps being pushed down my to-do list, I will often hire someone else who will enjoy the task to do it on my behalf. This way, the task gets done and I don’t waste time stressing over it. Sure, sometimes I will need to spend some time (task dependant) editing it but this is way less than the amount of time I would have spent procrastinating over it and then attempting to do it myself. This extra time that I have can now be spent doing the tasks I LOVE to do.
It is a wonderful option for those who can’t yet afford full-time support
If your long-term goal is to build out a team but you can’t yet afford to hire someone full-time, outsourcing is a wonderful first step towards this. Sometimes you need to test the waters before taking the big leap, and outsourcing on a project or hourly basis allows you to do this. It is also a great way to build industry connections and get access to a larger amount of talent than if you were to just hire one permenant member of staff.
The cons of outsourcing
You might encounter quality issues
While it isn’t ideal to have to edit a piece of work that you could have done yourself much quicker, this can actually be easily avoided. All you need to do is make sure you provide your freelancer/consultant/contractor with a brief that is as clear as possible. I have found a lot of success spending five minutes recording a little loom video talking through the project with my expectations or advice that they can watch when they get to the project.
Have something to say about outsourcing from your personal experience that could help someone else out? Please do take a minute to add them to the comments below this article! We would love to hear about your experience as a business owner.
More on High Flying Design:
Looking to bring more enjoyment and balance into your life? Learn about the Benefits Of Having A Hobby As A Business Owner
