Getting your internet home business up and running takes time. Since you're working out of an office in your home, there are many distractions that can lure you away from work. If you're falling behind or are unable to reach the goals you've set in your business plan, it may be time to outsource some of the work.

How to Outsource

There are various free and paid options for outsourcing work. First, tell family and friends that you're looking for qualified and reliable workers. They can spread the word for you among their circles, and you may even hire some of them. Post your needs on Craigslist and ask for resumes and samples of their work where appropriate. Check the wanted ads in the newspapers. You can also seek bids for your work on sites like Elance, Rent-a-Coder or ODesk.

Webpage Development

Running a business is a full time job, and so is keeping a website updated. Outsourcing your web development can be a way to free up a large block of your time in order to focus on other aspects of the business. A graphic design expert can create custom logos, headers and more for your website. These are one-time expenses, but once their creation is out of the way, you have the graphics available for your site from that day on.

You can also outsource the daily, weekly and monthly upkeep of your website. This can be done through a part time or full time web developer. They can handle the upkeep of your web content. If your main page needs to be updated often, they can take care of that too. If you have periodic sales or other special deals for customers, outsource it to a web developer if you don't have the time to do it yourself. If you're constantly adding more products and product pages to an online store, consider keeping a web developer on a monthly retainer basis.

Marketing

Marketing is another area of your internet home business that can be outsourced. A public relations specialist can write content for your press releases and email newsletters. If online article marketing is part of your strategy to drive traffic to your website, this person can write the articles for you. They can maintain social networking sites for your business, such as a Facebook page or a Twitter account. If you operate a blog as part of your home based business, you can hire a blogger to keep it updated for you.

Data Entry

If you don't have your internet business fully automated, you might have to outsource data entry. Someone who does data entry can input clients' names, email addresses and mailing addresses into software such as Microsoft Outlook. They can also enter data (in the various forms) you use for customers, such as client histories or order forms.

Bookkeeping

Hiring someone to handle your bookkeeping can also free up more of your time for your business. A person with accounting or bookkeeping skills could handle invoices and receipts, keep track of expenses and handle your business taxes.

Phone Calls

You can outsource the majority of your business phone calls to a call center. Call centers can answer the phones, take customers' orders and process them for you. They can also handle customer complaints and comments and take messages for you.

There are many different aspects of an internet home business that can be outsourced. You don't have to do it all yourself. If you have an area that you're unable to keep up with, it may be time to outsource some of the work in order to jump start your business.

Daphne Mallory, Esq. is the co-owner of Mallory Writing Services and has written more than 100 articles helping home based business owners and entrepreneurs start and market their business. You can learn more about her here.