One of the biggest misconceptions among people starting an online business is that they can run all aspects of their business themselves.
It cannot be done.
Starting an Online Business Requires Many Skills
No one is good at everything. You have your core strength, the part of your business you absolutely know and understand and cannot wait to teach to others. But here are the other things you need to know to build a successful online business:
- Social media
- Advertising
- Video editing
- Copy writing
- Graphic design
- E-book formatting
- Web design
- Landing Pages
- Opt-in Forms
The list goes on. Honestly, there is no way you can be good at your core strength AND be good at everything else on this list. And, even if you were good at all of them, you’d never have enough time to get it all done.
[Tweet “Trying to perform tasks outside your genius zone in order to save a few dollars is one of the most common mistakes new online businesses owners make.”]
You are smarter than that. Right?
How Much Does Doing It All Yourself Cost You?
Let’s take a closer look:
Think about one of the tasks you avoid doing. Estimate how much time that task takes (or would take you if you were actually doing it) each week. Now, multiply that by the rate you could be charging a paying client booked for that same amount of time. The total is the amount each week that task is costing you in potential billable income. Now, consider you will probably pay an outsourcer much less per hour than your billable rate and that they will do it faster than you ever could.
The bottom line is when you pay someone else to do something in their genius zone, it will take them less time and will be done much better than you can do it.
In many cases (video editing, for example), the outsourcer you hire will already have the expensive software required to perform the task, saving you from having to buy and learn a new program and the skills that go along with it.
Build Your Team Based on Your Weaknesses
As your business grows, your team will grow with you. No one starts with a full blown team of five people. Instead, you’ll need to identify the area of your business where you need the most help. Perhaps you have a great idea for an opt-in offer but you don’ have the foggiest idea how to design it into something that looks appealing and easy to complete. You may want to start with a graphic designer.
Or maybe you aren’t worried about the design of your opt-in, but you don’t have any idea how to connect your opt-in offer to your email service provider to make sure the people opting in will get added to your list and receive the free opt-in gift you’ve promised. You’d likely want to start with a virtual assistant.
Your strengths and weaknesses will help you identify the person you need to hire to move your business forward. There might even be a task you know you can do, but your really dislike doing. That would also be a good thing to turn over to someone else.
Doing Everything Yourself is Expensive
Even though you are trying to keep your costs down, if you are procrastinating on a task and your business is stalled as a result, you are not saving yourself money. If you are really in a crunch for the cash you need to hire help, find something you can sell online immediately to help you bring in some money. Maybe you’ve written an e-book you can sell with just a PayPal button on your website. Perhaps you could set up a few consulting calls and use the proceeds start a fund for hiring outsourcers.
When it comes to outsourcing, there’s a good chance you’ll have to do something that can be difficult for entrepreneurs: swallow your pride. For some reason, entrepreneurs seem to think they should be good at everything. It’s not true and it’s not the mature way to grow your small business into the one you’re hoping will someday fulfill all of your dreams. No one can do it all alone.
Let me know in the comments below: What’s the first thing you should hire someone else to do in your business?
Copyright: andreypopov / 123RF Stock Photo
