Secrets To Outsourcing For Online Beginners

Would you like to know how to make more money in your online business with less time and effort? Hiring people to help you is a great step to expand your online business and free up some time.

I had the opportunity to speak with Adam Casey from The Virtual Hub at the 2019 DMDU conference around how you can prepare for taking on an outsourcer. We discuss what you can expect and how to manage yourself and your outsourcing team.

So if you’re ready to free up some time and headspace, then read on!

CLICK ON THE VIDEO BELOW to hear from Adam

Liz:                  I’m here at DMDU with Adam Casey. And he did an amazing talk about outsourcing. It covered a lot of the things that a lot of us find when we first get online and start outsourcing.

Preparing yourself to hire an outsourcer

So, you had some really good tips, you had your five things that you covered. But I think probably one of the most important things that you actually touched on was preparing yourself as an online business owner to take on an outsourcer.

I think a lot of us go out there and say, “I just want this outsourcer to do it all for me”. But how should we be approaching taking on someone to get things done?

Good communication with outsourcers is the key!

Adam:             So, the way I would structure it is you’ve got to understand right from the start that you’re the CEO. And being the CEO means that for starters the communication, and the responsibility for that.

That means that if I’m talking to staff, or if I’m talking to new clients, or I’m bringing in anybody, then the responsibility is on me as the CEO for them to understand. And if they don’t understand me, I have to change it. And I have to keep changing it until they understand. And that’s really on me.

“Make sure your outsourcer understand you!”

Liz:                  And one of the little tips that you gave was to make sure that your outsourcer understands. To make sure you get that understanding is to actually have them repeat it back to you.

Adam:             Correct, so if you get someone to repeat it back to you in their own words, that’s a specific piece to show they understand. If they repeat it back to you in your words, they don’t necessarily get it. It might sound like they get it. But they don’t get it. If they can put it in their own words that means they can conceptualize, and they get the whole concept.

But it also allows you to see whether there’s any holes in what you’ve asked. For example, they might say three things and you know I actually meant five. Oh, let me just add to that. And so that parroting is okay, we both get it, we’re both on the same page and you go do you agree? Yes, bang, you get buy-in, off you go.

How do you know when to hire an outsourcer?

Liz:                  Yes, so that makes a massive difference. And one of the other things that you touched on was how do you know when to hire an outsourcer? How do you know when you’re ready, and when your business needs someone?

Adam:             My belief is that you should hire before you REALLY need it. A lot of people would do it after they need it, which means you’re stressed and then when I talk to them, they say “You know what, I don’t have time to train them”. That’s a big problem.

“Most people make the mistake of hiring an outsourcer when they are totally overwhelmed…”

Liz:                  So, most people go for an outsourcer when they’re just totally overwhelmed, it’s all too much and then actually the thought of training someone and taking them on. It stresses them out.

Adam:             It’s just like saying “Oh my gosh! You know what – I’m working at night, I’m working at weekends, my partner doesn’t like me anymore, I don’t know what my kids look like anymore, my dog thinks that I’m the neighbour!” At this stage it’s too late. Now we can still work with that, but the VA will get stressed. And when you’re stressed, everything’s stressed.

But if you plan beforehand, they will be able to learn your brand, your skills, and what needs to be done. And they’ll do it correctly, and you’ll be able to leverage off that to grow quicker.

You don’t have to wait. Rather than trying to grow when you’re stretched, you can grow earlier. Because your time’s worth more and you can prospect more. And it’s better you are getting out there and bringing money in, than doing some of the mundane stuff, or even doing the tech stuff etc.

Liz:                  And that was some really great advice you gave there too – if you are in that really stressed moment and you do bring on a VA, what’s the first thing you do? You don’t just dump it all on them.

Adam:             It’s going to stress them out, they’re going to overwhelm, they’re in another country going “Oh my gosh, I don’t know”, and then they might shut down.

Liz:                  So, what do you do in that case?

Big Tip For Online Beginners: Outsourcing one task at a time!

Adam:             So again, you’ve got to draw it back and you’ve got to say, “Okay, what’s the ONE THING that’s going to free up my time from day one?”, and train them in that.

And be sure to hold back – rather than giving them 10 things to do, just give them one. And then once they get that right then give them two, give them three, give them four etc. But you will feel good straightaway because, “Ah, I’m freeing up an hour of my day”. This is a return on investment. Because your time is more valuable than money. That’s the biggest thing for entrepreneurs.

Liz:                  That’s really important. Thank you Adam Casey for your fantastic tips on hiring outsourcers for beginners!