Outsourcing is hard. Trust me, I know! But the quickest way to grow your business beyond you is to stop doing things other people can do so you can focus on things only YOU can do. As business owners, we have a lot on our plate. Marketing, creating, photographing sessions, admin tasks, emails… really, the list goes on and on. And if you add on being a parent, a student, a spouse, or just a human with needs… the list gets even longer. It's just not possible – or necessary – to be the only one working on your business. Honestly, a good rule is if someone else can do it at least 80% as well as you can, it's time to delegate that task. Below, I'm sharing a few examples of things you can outsource today for your business! Remember, the goal of outsourcing is to pass off tasks someone else can do so you can focus on what you do best, and makes you money!

Gallery Delivery

This one sounds pretty simple, right? But imagine being able to have a workflow in place that tells someone else when your sessions are ready to go out to your clients. It's one less email you have to worry about. One less website you have to check daily, right? Bringing on an office admin or manager who can handle tasks like this is an easy way to start outsourcing!

Inbox Management

Does the word email scare you? Trust me, I know how overwhelming those inboxes seem. Between client emails, planning events, personal and other emails, not to mention all of the promotions we have to sift through… it's a lot. Allowing someone else to help manage your inbox can be life changing. Have them mark off the emails only YOU can address and let them handle the rest. Using prepared email responses, they'll be able to tackle more than you think. Not to mention, having someone else file your emails will make everything seem much more manageable when you DO sign in!

Editing

Editing is a GREAT way to start outsourcing. There's so many incredible editors available to photographers these days. For many editors, once they know your style, they're able to turn around your images fairly quickly since that's the ONE thing their business focuses on. Unlike us, who may still be balancing a lot of other roles and tasks. Facebook groups and the Rising Tide Society are awesome places to find editors!

Social Media

Another easy task to outsource is social media planning and management. Hiring someone who knows these platforms can make planning content a whole bunch easier. Their job is to help you create strong, curated content that is optimized for whatever platform it's going live on. I can't begin to explain how much of a relief it is to not have to come up with something to say every day on social media!

Blogging

Blogging is a SUPER resource for small business owners, if you use it regularly and do it well. But I know how hard it can be to come up with content, find time to write posts, prepare images, and optimize your blog. By hiring a content writer and choosing to outsource your blog writing, you can release some of the stress of having to come up with blogs every week. A professional will help ensure your posts all serve a purpose and help your business reach new audiences!

Facebook/Social Media Ads

Seriously, who has time to learn about all of these ad options?! Ad agencies do! Hiring an ad agency can be an easy way to utilize these powerful ads correctly the first time instead of just dumping money into them and hoping they work. Outsource running ads for your business, your next course or big launch coming up and trust me – it will be much easier than trying to learn how to run a Facebook ad in an hour.

The bottom line is: hiring someone who knows what they're doing for any of these tasks (and so many others!) will save you countless hours of work and stress. Letting a team help you run your business will ensure you can focus on what's most important and what only YOU can do. If you're considering outsourcing, write down a list of everything – seriously, EVERY thing you do in your business. Then decide what you can let someone else do and what only you can do. Then you know who to start looking for!