When it comes to starting your own business, you likely start off wearing many hats. You are the visionary, the planner, the integrator, and the implementer all at once. It doesn’t take long before trying to juggle all of these roles begin to take a toll on you and your ability to keep growing your business. If this sounds like you at all, it is past time to consider outsourcing some of the tasks in your business.

Now I know, outsourcing your dream can be terrifying. You’ve poured your heart and soul into creating your little business baby and the thought of handing any piece of it off to someone else can send a chill down your spine. However, there are a few pros to consider when it comes to outsourcing:

1. Flexible work hours: You only have so many hours in your day. Outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant allows you to employ someone that may live in a different timezone, therefore they can knock some tasks out while you get a good night’s sleep. Even if you prefer to hire a Virtual Assistant within the same time zone, there are VAs out there who prefer to work nights and weekends, so you could connect with them during the afternoon and turn them loose to work on your needs without you having to lose your precious time.
2. Reduced overhead costs: Running your own business isn’t cheap by any means. There are tons of things that you have to pay out of pocket for, so why not cut some of the cost where you can? Outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant, who is a 1099 contractor, means that you are not responsible for paying for their insurance policy, sick days, office space, or office supplies. Not to mention that Virtual Assistants bring skills to the table with them, allowing you to cut the cost of training hours.
3. More free time: Once you establish a working relationship with your Virtual Assistant, there is little to nothing stopping you from taking a personal day, signing off early, or leaving your laptop at home on a family vacation. Depending on the tasks you have outlined for your Virtual Assistant, you could hand off what needs to be taken care of in your absence, unplug, and enjoy some free time. That in itself makes it all worth it!
4. Improved focus on your passion: You started this business because you were passionate about something. Along the way, you probably transitioned into other roles to support the growth of your business, and you may have lost a bit of that spark or gotten a little jaded from forcing yourself to do the tasks that you don’t love. It is past time to change that! By outsourcing the parts of your business that are necessary but you don’t love, you are giving yourself a chance to reignite that spark.
5. Avoiding entrepreneurial burnout: I don’t know about you, but I can only hold my breath so long. Essentially, that is what you are doing when you are forced into roles that you don’t enjoy while you wait to get around to the things you do enjoy– you’re holding your breath. This on-again-off-again deprivation of happiness is a one-way ticket to burnout. Spoiler alert: it isn’t a great place to visit.

Shortlist of Ideas.

Have I convinced you that it is time to add someone to your team and begin outsourcing yet? Good! Now the next step is knowing exactly what to outsource. While this boils down to what you need the most help with or what tasks you’d rather not have to do yourself, I’ve created a shortlist of ideas that might spark some inspiration for you:

• Customer service 
• Social media management
• Data entry
• Bookkeeping
• Web design
• Video editing
• Calendar management 
• Blog writing
• Lead generation
• Digital marketing

And so much more!

Outsourcing allows you to take a step back, realign with the reason you started your business in the first place, and jump back to the parts of your business that you’re passionate about, while all of the other details work themselves out. After all, isn’t the goal of working for yourself supposed to be enjoying the work you’re doing?