No matter what we do in life -- buy a new home or car, take the family on holiday, or splurge at Jimmy Choo's -- we're best served when we establish a budget. (Unless of course you're a Trust Fund Baby, but that's a topic for another article!) The same thought process and adherence to a budget must come into play when you're ready to outsource.
Don't look at your outsourcing budget as something to keep up with The Joneses. Remember, your outsourcing budget doesn't come close to what would you spend on a full-time employee for salary and benefits. Your budget is just that: YOURS! Keep your eyes on your own paper, and don't worry about what the other business owners are spending.
The next, and inevitable, question is always, "But Lori, how do I start to determine my budget?" Good question, my Killer Sharks. The first place to start is not in terms of a monetary amount, but instead to determine what you can realistically outsource. Your mission, which you will accept, is to make a list of:
* Those things which consistently fall through the cracks.
* Those things which you despise doing.
* Those things which are best left to an assistant.
* And most important of all -- those things which you're handling right now which are preventing you from keeping your business in business.
Here's a brief list of some of the tasks and projects many small business owners need to outsource:
* Appointment Setting and Confirmations (always more professional when your Assistant calls on your behalf!)
* Calendar and E-mail Management
* Shopping Cart Management
* Article Marketing
* Website Updates (Adobe Contribute, Dreamweaver, FrontPage, HTML)
* Blog Administration
* Craig's List & Backpage Campaigns
* Proofreading
* Data Entry Projects and Word Processing
* e-Newsletter Management
These are the same things which you're doing (and not very well, I might add!) that are sucking up your precious mental energy. You're the Big Kahuna in your business and your goal is to keep your eye on the big picture and not the administrative details. Think of all the things which comprise your back office administration; chances are nearly 100% that most of that stuff can be outsourced. With this list in hand, we can then begin to determine your approximate budget each month.
The Formula
Here's the formula I use with prospects who are interested in outsourcing:
HBR X NFTQ X 30 Working Days = $X,XXX.XX
HBR = Hourly Billable Rate
NFTQ = Non-Face-Time-Quotient (guestimate of the number of hours each day you spend on your backoffice administration)
Whatever the $X,XXX.XX total is, it's too much! That's money that's not in your pocket, and that's an indication of how much of your sanity you're leaving on the floor at the close of business each day.
Take the total number from above and either use it as a baseline, or divide it by 1/2, 1/3 or 1/4, depending upon how much you want to spend each month.
Take the total number from above and realize, once and for all, that you are throwing away a significant amount of money each month.
If your budget is on the lean side, that's just fine. That means you'll outsource a combination of big stuff and little stuff and then as you begin to bring in more money and acquire more clients, you can offload additional tasks and projects to your Virtual Assistant.
Outsourcing can make a profound and positive impact on your business, your life and your sanity! However, don't feel that you've got to spend Fort Knox each month to make it happen. Crunch your own numbers, let loose of the fears you're holding onto, and do something good for your business.
