Outsourcing: Is it Time to Hire Your First Contractor?

Outsourcing is one of the most important things you can do in your business even when you’re a new health coach.

Most feel resistant to outsource work in the beginning but hear me out. Your time is your most valuable asset as a new solopreneur. You will very quickly learn that it’s impossible to do all the things in your business without burning out or sacrificing your precious health.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Upwork.com
• Toggl
• Loom
• Nonviolent Communication
• 10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Health Coach
• Energy Management Tips for Better Productivity
• Weekly Biz Tips

Listen here:

Today, I’m sharing:

• When is the best time to outsource in your business
• What tasks can be outsourced
• How to prepare yourself to hire
• Where to find the best contractors
• My best tips for avoiding a hiring nightmare

It’s important to understand the inner workings of your business before you bring someone else into your business. But I also really warn against waiting until you desperately need it. Because things will start piling up and then when you’ve reach that point of desperation for help, there is going to be a long list of tasks for them to cover from the beginning. Yikes! That’s overwhelming for you and overwhelming for your contractor. Once you generally get the basics in place for your business – usually the first 6 months, that is a really great time to bring someone into your business. 

Now you might be wondering, what tasks can I outsource? Well, you can outsource a lot. The important piece is making a distinction between admin tasks and creator tasks. Creator tasks require your creative power. So this would be things like creating content, creating programs, podcast interviews, etc. Basically things that you really can’t get someone else to do, and basically required the creative side of your brain. The admin tasks would be things like customer service, social media scheduling, filing client onboarding, ordering labs, editing and scheduling video, editing and scheduling podcasts, that sort of thing. The admin tasks are all things that can be outsourced. 

The best things for you to start with outsourcing are the things that you really don’t enjoy doing, and you’re really bad at. Because not only do these tasks take up your time, but it literally crushes your energy because you just hate them. So once you have an idea of the inner workings of your business, I highly encourage you to hire someone for about two hours a week more to take on at least one of the admin tasks that you dislike. 

Because if you get trapped doing all the admin stuff in your business, you’re doing nothing to actually move the business forward. Even opening up a couple hours a week could be the difference between you not finding clients and actually finding clients. 

Some tips on outsourcing

Before you even consider hiring, the first thing you need to do is you need to do a time audit of the tasks that you want to outsource. Because if you can’t tell a person how much time it’s going to take, it’s going to be really hard to post a job. So you want to get a really good idea of how much time you are spending on each thing in your business. 

The next thing to do is to create a step-by-step instruction guide on how to do the thing that you want to outsource. This will save you so much time when it comes timing to hire. So even if you’re brand new, maybe you’re not quite ready to outsource. Start your manual so it’s ready for when you are ready to hire someone.

The next tip I can give you is to make sure you’re super clear on what you’re looking for. If you know how much time it takes you to create that task, you’re able to outline the rough time expectation, how much you’ll pay and what the actual outcome you want from the task. 

It’s so incredibly important to learn proper communication skills. The biggest problem I believe we have in this world, and this goes beyond business is a lack of proper communication. People are very reactive. You need to know how to properly communicate what your needs are to other people, and how to properly understand people and what their needs are. 

DO NOT MICROMANAGE. I put this in caps for a reason. Micro-managing is an absolute waste of your time and theirs. When you micromanage, you are giving up so much of your time. Plus you are crushing the soul of the other person. Nobody wants to be micromanaged. And people who micromanage in my opinion are the worst types of leaders out there. You really want to empower your team member to do what they do best and make the role their own. They’re the one who has to do this role every day. All you should care about is that the job gets done within the expectations and within the timeframe you need it. 

I hope this inspires you to go out and hire your first contractor!