Home business owners are the epitome of do-it-yourselfers. Not only do they provide a product or service, but they’re also the marketing, accounting and administration departments. However, the busyness of running a business limits owners’ time and therefore profits. As soon as possible, home business owners should focus on what they do best -- making money -- and delegate other business management tasks. Here are 9 tasks home business owners can delegate.
Technical Duties: Even if your home business is in web programming or design, you should delegate the management and maintenance of your business site.
Administrative Tasks: Email, phone calls, appointment setting, calendar management, research, transcription and customer support can be handled by a virtual assistant.
Marketing Tasks: Social media, publicity, copywriting and advertising all require specialized skills in persuasion, so it makes sense to hire a professional to create results-oriented marketing messages.
Money Management: Invoicing, billing, payroll, bookkeeping and taxes are busy tasks that are better delegated to someone who understands money.
Audio/Visual Materials: Audio, graphics and video are popular ways to market or distribute information, but unless you’re an expert in these areas, your materials can look unprofessional and fail to get results.
Writing: Writing is one of the most time-consuming tasks in a home business. While your marketing person can write your marketing materials, if you write blog posts, articles or reports you can outsource them to a freelance writer. If you want to maintain your “voice” in the writing, you can still hire a writer to create a draft and then you can edit it adding your own flair.
Outsourcing Manager: As you delegate business tasks, you’ll end up with a team of freelancers who need managing. This task can be included in the administrative duties or you can hire a manager.
Tasks You Aren’t Good At: Some of the tasks you’re not good may be included in the options above, but if there are other duties not listed here that you’re not good at, hire someone to do them. A professional can perform the task better and in less time than you, making it a cost-effective option.
Tasks You Don’t Like to Do: Even if you know how to do something and are good at it, there is no rule that says you have to do it if you don’t want to. If it’s tedious or boring, hire someone to do it for you.
It’s freeing to outsource duties to others. You can get rid of tedious duties and no longer have to toil over tasks that are personally challenging. More importantly, outsourcing frees your time to focus on the tasks that generate money. However, delegating business tasks doesn’t mean you completely let go of the reins. You need to trust the people you hire but you should still keep an eye on what they’re doing, especially if they’re doing customer service, creating marketing materials or managing your money. One wrong outsourcer and your brand could be ruined or your money stolen. The trick to delegating is to hire quality people, give them clear instructions, screen their work without micromanaging and ask for periodic updates.
