Critical Element #4: Outsource Everything
I'm a huge believer in outsourcing everything I possibly can. And it kills me that the majority
of online entrepreneurs still don't take advantage of outsourcing. The problem most entrepreneurs and marketers have is this...
They don't want to give up control.
That's fair. And I relate. I used to be like th at and still am in some respects.
But, here's the truth... the more tasks you outsource, the faster you can grow your business and income.
I'm going to repeat that because it's so important...
"The more tasks you outsource, the faster you can grow your business and income."
You need to outsource every task you can that will free up your time that you can then devote to the important pieces of building your
business...
• marketing and promoting your business
• finding and courting joint venture partners
• coming up with ideas that you can implement to drive more traffic and/or create additional revenue
• creating new products for your customers and fans
Here's an example of something I outsourced...
One of my dedicated servers is a Rackspace server. It uses Plesk. My other servers use Cpanel and that is what I'm most familiar with. I'm not
familiar with Plesk and don't really want to be. In truth, I don't like learning new tasks if I can avoid it.
Recently, I needed a script installed on my Rackspace server. It required a MYSQL database install, etc.
By the way, I don't know MYSQL, either. And I don't really want to know it.
So, my choice was...
1. figure out how to install the script and learn MYSQL in the Plesk environment.
2. find someone to do it for me.
I chose option #2. And here's the kicker...
The person I found did it for $20.
Now, I don't know how much you value your time, but paying someone $20 to do something that would have taken me at least a couple hours (and
likely some pain due to violently yanking my hair out) is a no-brainer to me.
And that's not all! This freelancer gave me a 1-page tutorial that literally walks me through the steps of creating a MYSQL database and using
that database to install the script. Step-by-step. Literally, "Step 1 - click this icon, Step 2 - enter this into that form field, Step 3 - click
this link, etc."
This 1-pager is usefu l to me because I'm going to have to install this script on over 150 sites. However, you should be seeing a trend here...
Chances are HUGE that I'm simply going to ask th is freelancer to do it for me. I want to outsource as much as I can!
And here's a gigantic side benefit to outsourcing this task...
I have found another freelancer that I can add to my list of professional, fast, communicative, honest, and reliable folks that can help me (in
their respective capacities) to build my business. That's gold in my book and I plan to work with this person over and over and over.
So, ask yourself... what tasks can you and should you outsource in your business?
Here's the answer...
Anything that you don't want to do, dread doing, isn't profitable for you to do, or you're simply horrible at.
Now, think about those four things for a moment.
When you critically think about the tasks that you are involved in that build your business and consider where your money is truly made, you'll
find that you need to be personally involved in very few of those tasks.
Sobering thought, isn't it?
So, let's use our information product business as an example. Here are some of the tasks that you can have someone else do for you...
• info-product creation
• keyword research
• market research
• managing your Adwords campaigns
• editing your info-product
• creating e-mails for your sequence or mini-course
• creating bonus reports for your info-product
• creating unadvertised bonuses to "drip" to your customer list
• setting up your autoresponder for your sequence
• customer support
You need to get rid of as many of the tasks above as you can as quickly as possible.
Now, if you aren't used to working with other people who can do these things for you, you're going to feel very uncomfortable. That's fine. And
normal. But, that doesn't change the fact that you must ultimately begin to outsource these things if you want to build your business and income
to its potential.
Why limit yourself by retain ing control if retaining control doesn't PAY you?
So, here's what you need to do...
Go one step at a time. First, find someone to do your keyword research. But, don't teach that person how to do it by e-mail, phone or in person.
Get one of the screen capture applications (Camtasia is the limo of the industry) and record a video of YOU doing the keyword research.
Record every step as you do it. Record your voice explaining th e steps as you do them. That way, if the person you find to help you do the
keyword research becomes flaky and unreliable, all your time hasn't been wasted train ing that one person. You can simply find someone else, give
them access to the training video you recorded and let them complete the task.
Do this for just ONE of the tasks that suck your time away. Then, move on to the next task. By the way, recording video and outsourcing tasks has
a lot to do with Critical Element #3 - Taking Action.
It's normal to feel uncomfortable doing these things if you have never done them. But, don't quit and go home! Forge ahead! Plow through your
discomfort. Buy a screen capture application. Buy a microphone.
Learn how to use it. Record a video. Find someone to do the task. Give them the video.
It doesn't have to be a work of art. You're not Spielberg.
Bottom line... outsource as much as you possibly can.
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