One of the most important lessons online business owners and entrepreneurs have to learn is that they can’t do it all on their own. Trust me, it’s a hard lesson to learn and something I’ve struggled with. We like to be self-reliant and do it all ourselves. While there are times when that’s a great goal (when you’re first starting out for example), you’ll get to a point where it’s no longer to your advantage to do everything yourself.

Your first step to getting started with outsourcing is pinpointing where you need help. Here are some questions you may want to ask yourself.

Is Something Holding Me Back From Future Growth?

These are the things that stop you from moving forward. If you keep putting things off because you don’t know how to do them, outsourcing could be the way to get you over that hump or through that bottleneck.

Could Someone Else Do This Better Or More Efficiently?

Some tasks are just not our favorite thing, or not something we’re good at. If writing blog posts or social media marketing aren’t your things, consider outsourcing them to someone who could do a better job than you. If you struggle to format your eBook or pretty up your website and it’s keeping you from presenting the professional image you’re looking for, hire someone to do this for you and focus on the stuff you’re good at.

Would Delegating This Free Me Up To Do More Important Work?

The most important question you can ask yourself when it comes to outsourcing is if it would be more profitable to pay someone else to do this. Yes, you could continue to take care of customer service emails or make pretty pinnable images. But what if you could spend that time finishing your first info product or crafting a new marketing funnel for your coaching program? What are your most valuable tasks? What can you outsource to give yourself more time and focus to work on those?

Now that you have a short list of things that you may want to consider outsourcing, it’s time to pick something to start with and find someone to outsource it to. Your best place to start looking is fellow online business owners. Ask for recommendations. Start with something small and work out the kinks. No outsourcing relationships are going to be perfect right out of the gate. Be patient, correct, and train this person to do stuff the way you like it done. Then start scaling it up.

Go back to your list and find something that’s holding you back or that frees you up to work on more important tasks that make you money. Always be conscious to keep your outsourcing profitable. If you can continue to increase your bottom line by outsourcing, you can continue to scale it up.

In a future post, I’ll share some of my own experiences, tips and tricks for making outsourcing something you can get really good at.

Have more questions? Schedule a Simplicity Session I’d be happy to chat. And check out my facebook group Small Biz Society – a unique support and service space where top business coaches, aspiring entrepreneurs and new small business owners “get bizy” planning, building and sustaining.

Please share your thoughts and ideas directly in the comments. You never know how your words will connect with others that visit my site. Remember, being a business owner doesn’t mean you have to do it alone:)

P.S. Don’t miss my next 5 Days To Build Credibility and Visibility FREE Challenge or enroll in my upcoming Dream Launcher’s Journey masterclass events!