Running a business is challenging, and as a business owner it can be very hard to perform every single job role yourself.

There are many elements that make up a business, and having a to-do list can help you stay on track of everything that needs to be done.  These lists can often be the cause of a lot of headaches and stress though, constantly seeing those tasks that never get done or the way that the list grows instead of shrinks! 

This is when outsourcing tasks can be a godsend to your business. 

Imagine passing those administrative or niggling tasks to someone else, who probably does those tasks day in day out and is faster at doing them.  This has suddenly kept you on track of all the work that needs to be done to have a smooth-running business, but also frees up your time so you can concentrate on the “business” side of your business.  The side that most likely also brings you the most financial gain!

What sort of tasks could I outsource, and where to start?

Now that the seed may have been sown that you don’t need to do everything yourself, and that your business would benefit from a little help, you might now be thinking, but what can I outsource, and do I have the time to explain what I need to someone else?

Take a moment to look at how you spend each day. It’s useful to make a list of all the things you do.  I have a handy little workbook which can be downloaded using this link which helps you split out all of the tasks you do, and then starts to get you thinking about whether or not it’s YOU that should be doing these task, or even if it’s a task you actually enjoy doing – quite often the tasks that you don’t enjoy doing are also the ones that stay on that to-do list the longest.

Email and diary management

Is it emails that are causing you a big headache? Filtering through numerous messages many of which will not be top priority. How about if you had someone to sort these for you? To have your emails categorised to enable you to action those of importance and come back to the others such as newsletters or subscription content at a time that suits you. This means that the time you spend in your inbox is productive, and can help to keep you focused on the messages that do need a personal response from you.

Diary management is another pain point for many.  If you have a meeting request, could this be arranged on your behalf? If you have had something unexpected come up and need a meeting rescheduled, would it be handy to have this done for you?  If you have a meeting cancellation, could your diary be updated for you?

A good VA will take the time to onboard with you, and can cover off all of the things like who your important clients are, who needs to take priority, and what needs to be flagged up with you.  This creates a very seamless way of working with you, understanding your business and being able to start managing your inbox and diary.

Website updates and SEO

Has it been in your marketing plan to work on your website and SEO, but you just haven’t gotten around to it?  Updating it and keeping all of the content fresh to help with your SEO? Let’s not forget SEO is a massive part of your online presence and is something that needs to be worked on daily due to the ever-changing content that appears on Google. Would it not be helpful to pass all of this over to someone that deals with this day in day out and can help you to remain on the first page of Google? Or if you haven’t yet managed to get onto the first page of Google, having someone working on this behind the scenes for you to get you on this holy grail of pages, helping to increase your businesses profile, and then, hopefully, those all-important leads to your business. This is where companies like Bee Spotted can help too as they do this day in day out and can ensure your website remains error free with any changes that are made.

Seek assistance with social media

Leading on from SEO is your social media.  In this day and age, your social media is such an important tool for your business, and it’s important that your social media presence is active and personable. But this is another aspect which takes time, and it’s very easy to get sucked into the social media black hole – clicking on one comment, which leads to another comment and before you know it you’ve lost an hour or more. Could a little help in managing and or scheduling content, free up more time for you to perform income earning tasks? This may take a little time to start off with, working with you to ensure your business values and tone of voice are being conveyed, but once this is up and running, then this is another feature that you can then tick off of your to do list, and your social media presence remains very present and active.

Invoicing

Your invoicing is obviously important. Not only creating your invoices and sending them out, but also ensuring that they are paid. Do you find that you are also acting as credit controller within your business and chasing for payment of outsourcing invoices? Is this another task that you could outsource? Some people struggle to chase for invoice payments, and as it’s your business, it can feel very personal when someone doesn’t pay or is a late payer. Having someone who can take this on for you will not only help with your cashflow, but also help to free up your head space to stay focused on being productive, instead of worrying about that invoice that hasn’t yet been paid.

There are so many more things that could be outsourced, or systems that could be implemented to help streamline your business, it feels like this is just scratching the surface of outsourcing, but hopefully it has given you food for thought and is getting you thinking about ways that you could better improve your business by getting a little bit of outside help!

For more information, or if you would like to book in for a FREE consultation call to see how outsourcing can help you and your business, please do get in touch. 

Amy

AL Virtual Assistance
Right by your side. Virtually.