You’re not Outsourcing Enough

Only do what only you can do. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? The general idea is this: There’s only one you, so you must be doing what only you can do. Put another way, the things that you are supremely capable of are the only things you should do. When we do this, we bring something into this world that doesn’t exist — in the form of art, entrepreneurship, or any creative endeavor. There’s only one Jobs. Or Musk. Kahlo, Beyonce, etc.

Easier said than done. There’s always so much to do and finding the right conditions to create your own work is difficult. You still need to cook, clean, brush your teeth, put on clothes, and shower. There are still hundreds of things you do in your business or your life that aren’t things that only you can do. Replying to e-mails, dropping off packages, or helping your dad figure out how to find Wordle on his phone.

If you’re any good – doing what only you can do can be a recipe for success. Staying out of the day-to-day minutiae and focusing on your craft will improve your performance and output. That being said, I don’t believe there are many people who can accomplish it completely. That’s because most people suffer from an insane lack of time-saving creativity. And consequently, don’t truly value their time. They not only aren’t outsourcing mundane things in their business but also their day-to-day life. It’s the small tasks that are the most insidious time-destroyers. If you’re really committed to saving time in your work and in life, it’s time to dream a little bigger.

If we assume even a modest $50/h while building your creative work (you’re probably worth more or will be, soon), it becomes clear quickly how much money we can save by outsourcing.

Here’s a few common things to outsource first:

• Meal Prep $280/month (no cooking 3 days per week)
• Grocery Delivery $5/delivery (no driving to the store, picking out groceries, and driving back)
• House Cleaning $120/month
• Laundry $100/month
• Prescription Delivery $5/delivery
• Lawn, shoveling, and yard maintenance $75/month
• TaskRabbit $20/hour (have someone run errands for you)

Some numbers.

Per Month:

Total Cost: Approx ~$650.
Hours Spent doing the tasks yourself: 50 Hours. (x$50 = $2500)
Difference: +$1850.

• Grocery Shopping & Driving 4h
• House Cleaning 5h
• Laundry 5h
• Picking up Medications 1h
• Lawn, Shoveling & Yard Maintenance 5h
• Errands 5h

The breakeven cost for doing these tasks yourself is $13. (50 hours x $13/h = $650). You’re paying companies and freelancers $650/month to do these tasks for you at an approximate rate of around $13 per hour. Thirteen dollars per hour. Are you worth more than $13 per hour? Yup. In many places in North America, that’s slightly above or at minimum wage. “But I like cooking!” That’s fine. Keep cooking and outsource the rest. But know that you will have less time to do what only you can do.

Further, most companies and freelancers specializing in one area (i.e., laundry) can complete the task quicker, cheaper, and better than you can. Why not let them do what only they can do and you do what only you can do?

Keep in mind, outsourcing in this way only makes sense if the time that you save from not doing these day-to-day tasks is used completely as time spent doing what only you can do. If you outsource and then have nothing to fill that void, this is all wasted money. Put another way, once you give away or hire out the things that were taking up your time, make sure you have a creative project or mission to fill that time with.

There are infinitely more timesaving things that I’m missing as well – the savings are probably a lot larger than you even think. Some more ideas:

• Deposit Cheques on your mobile app (don’t drive to the bank)
• Don’t use cash
• Go Paperless with all of your bank/utilities/etc. statements
• Utilize auto bill payments and automatic credit card payments
• Use a pomodoro work cycle
• Read while eating
• Ride your bike to your must-attend appointments (exercise is necessary)
• Stretch while watching TV
• Delete Reddit, TikTok, Facebook, etc. From your phone. Don’t bring your phone into the bedroom
• Get appliances that start/end automatically (coffee maker)
• Automate your thermostat
• Don’t drive to your must-attend appointments and events, hire an uber instead and read or write in the back seat
• Move in person meetings to Zoom, Zoom to phone calls, phone calls to email, and email to text. Ask for an agenda, or have an agreed upon topic beforehand.

The idea is this: Outsource tasks that can be done more cheaply IF you have both higher ROI and creatively unique work to complete.

Let’s explore this a little farther.

a) Do not do tasks that others can do cheaper, and b) do not hire someone to do a task that can be done cheaper by code.

Some simple math:

Again, assume and hourly wage for yourself. $50/hour. The average Virtual Assistant (VA) Costs from $5-10/hour. An average code costs $30/month. Assuming the task takes 40 hours per week, the spend works out like this:

You: $2000/month

VA: $200-$400/month

Code: $30/month

Doing the task yourself saves $0 per month. If we outsource it to a VA, we save $1600-1800 per month. If we code it, we save $1970 per month.

Examples:

1) I check my email every day and respond to everyone and everything that needs responding to. I receive a lot of emails and I’m stuck in my email for a good chunk of the day.

I hired a VA to manage the day-to-day emails that I receive. The VA categorizes important emails for me to look at, unsubscribes from unimportant ones, and responds to the day-to-day or regular emails I receive to the best of their ability. There is a decent amount of frontloaded training, but the time I save is significant. In a few months, I’m in my email a lot less and am doing more creative work.

I install a browser addon that auto-responds to certain messages, sends suppliers and colleagues monthly reminders, and hides and archives unimportant emails. My email categorizes incoming messages automatically so I can view them, and reminds me of emails I need to respond to. I may still continue to work with my email management VA, but the majority of the regular email maintenance is done automatically by code, freeing up not only my time, but the VA’s to work on other projects.

If the task can be done by code, don’t hire a VA to do it.

2) I need to pull data for my Amazon business every day to track conversions, click through rate, PPC spend, etc. I download the files and enter in the data manually. It’s tedious but someone has to do it and having it done gives me a better picture of how my business is running.

I hire a VA to do the same things I’m doing. Like the email management there is a decent amount of frontloading, but eventually the VA is entering the data with minimal input from me. Freeing me up to complete things that only I can do.

I use browser automation software and have the data automatically pulled from my Amazon account. Next, I hire a contractor to build me out an excel formula to enter the data where it needs to go. As needed, I have them make adjustments to the code. The data is entered automatically every day and I have the information I need to make smart decisions.

Upfront costs of coding may be higher, but they are often much cheaper in the long run than even a low-cost VA.

How to get started:

1) Write down tasks that takes up your time that is not something only you can do (examples: email, graphic design, inventory management, pricing, etc.) If you’re having a hard time with this, write down everything you do for a week in a journal, and the time you begin and end each thing. Yes, everything.

2) Search for <task that takes up time> “Automation” or “Spend less time” <task that takes up time>.

3) Hire someone to do the task or write the code for it.

4) Save time and money doing only what you can do.

All this being said the hardest part often is finding something that means something to you and is only something you can do. Art is easiest to see it – anything you create becomes something only you could have made. Entrepreneurship and other creative works are more difficult to see. Almost anyone can start a landscaping business, but not everyone can start one that’s unique and authentic. As lame as it sounds, it’s essential to find yourself and then explore it. Authenticity is attractive and interesting. Once you know what it is for you, cut out all the other bullshit and give the world your unique work.