What Should You Outsource as a Solopreneur?

Contributed by Courtney Rosenberg 

Just because you’re a “solopreneur” doesn’t mean that you can’t have any help. There are several jobs that can easily be outsourced to other freelancers, as well as tech that can automate and streamline the more time-draining tasks. But when budgets are tight, how do you determine what to do yourself, and what to get help with?
 
Freelance Support
 
Solo entrepreneurship means wearing every hat in a business: director, accountant, marketer, salesperson, and so on. Hiring freelancers can take off some of this load:
 

• Web Development - Even if you decide to save money and use a drag-and-drop web builder for your website, CSS developers can be useful since they can customize existing templates.
• Virtual Assistants - Hiring a VA can seem like a bit of a luxury, but it makes a lot of sense if you’re wasting precious hours on administrative tasks. How much is an hour of your work worth? If it’s significantly higher, it’s easy to see why you need an assistant. You can hire virtual assistants and many other types of qualified professionals (e.g., bookkeepers, customer service reps) through job platforms like Upwork, whether it’s for a one-time job or long-term work.
• Research - Researching markets, statistics, and other data can be a huge time drain. You can hire freelancers to do any bit of research, but you can also turn to services like Wonder to do research for you.

 
Helpful Tech
 
The world of business-boosting tech is bigger than ever, and solutions to help entrepreneurs work better and faster abound. Many are simple and affordable enough to fit into the tightest of budgets:
 

• Accounting - The main downside of hiring an accountant is that they tend to be too expensive for small businesses. Automated accounting software is usually a better fit for solopreneurs who want help with invoicing, taxes, and bookkeeping.
• Email Marketing - A solid email marketing strategy is essential, especially in the B2B space. MailChimp is the standout service in this area, with a free package that covers all your basic needs, including managing mailing lists, designing templates, and scheduling campaigns.
• Social Media Planning - Maintaining an active social media feed is hard work, but tools like Buffer can help you plan and schedule your posts in advance. Rates start at $15/month, which is affordable for most solopreneurs.

 
How to Prioritize
 
Determine which side tasks are taking up most of your time. These should be your priority to outsource. It’s also helpful to prioritize outsourcing the jobs you just really hate doing. Then, calculate how much it would cost to outsource the job, and run this through your budget. Chances are, you can trim some costs to make room for it.
 
If there are administrative jobs you actually quite like, it may be worth investing some time to get better at them. Skillshare offers thousands of online classes in everything from social media to SEO and web development and has a great two-month free trial.
 
When you’re starting out, it’s easy to feel like you can’t afford help. However, you need to learn to value your time, and that means prioritizing and delegating. These costs are an investment in your business, and one you should definitely not miss out on.