Outsource What You Suck At
As an entrepreneur you are most likely doing 100 things at once. This is to be expected in the beginning but over the long term it can overwhelm you and burn you out. So what do you do?
Outsource most of it to someone else. Here’s how…
My outsourcing value equation
I have been a big believer in doing what you do best and outsourcing the rest. Because you may have financial constraints that might prevent doing all of this at once I suggest that you do the following:
- Make a list of what you love doing that contributes to your business
- Make a list of what you hate doing that contributes to your business
- Take the list of what you hate doing and estimate how much time it takes to do those tasks
- Take the list of what you hate and figure out how much it costs to have someone else do it
- Figure out what your hourly time is worth
- If the task can be done for cheaper than what you are worth, outsource it immediately
- If the task can not be done for cheaper than what you are worth, estimate the impact if you do it wrong (i.e. accounting, taxes, bad web site). If the impact is negative on your part, find a way to outsource it as soon as you can.
Striving for the 4-hour work week
Most people have heard of Tim Ferriss, author of the 4-Hour Work Week. His philosophy is to outsource almost everything and as he says “The goal is to spend as much time possible doing what we want by maximizing output in minimal time.”
So it is not about working only 4 hours a week. That is impossible but that what you recognize or think of as “real work” only takes up about 4 hours of your week. This means that by getting to that point you have time to grow your business and if you want, hire staff to help you expand it. This is the reason most of us start our own business. Other reasons include having more personal freedom and making loads of money but they are all tied together.
Resources for Starters
Here are a few sites that I have found invaluable in my quest for outsourcing my life:
Hire me! I am actively looking for full-time work. If you're interested in discussing opportunities, please email me at aaron@technosailor.com
About Aaron
Sage advice Aaron.
That was certainly a great article to read and keep in mind as I start looking that direction as graduation gets closer for me.
Even as a consultant these are issues worth considering.
Aaron and Steve — Great piece. The timeline suggestions i.e. 6 months payroll + 90 days of sales pipelines are critical yet concise enough I think for startups to focus on. It’s easy to get mentally swamped on next steps when aiming for growth; so the clarity in those two points appeals a lot. Hoping you’re well…
This post is excellent. I have done some of the mistakes you talk about above, and it feels like hell when you know you could’ve done something better. Thanks for sharing this.
Iaax Page
Great advice. When a startup owner takes money out of the company, the guilt of ‘what I could have done with that’ sets in. But if we as a business owner are too (literally & figuratively) hungry to think straight about our plan, we’ll miss valuable opportunities. There is a middle path where a harmony can exist in both pro and perso lives.
I wish more people would read (and take) this good advice!
I am currently that business owner with several contractors. It would be SOO nice to have employees, but I don’t feel financially comfortable yet to do so. Contract labor is always very cost effective – even if you pay more per hour – it often times costs you less in the long run. But, with the way things are going – in the next 2-3 months I will be forced to hire full time staff.