The rule?
Well, it’s simple, really.
BEFORE you outsource any business task, you first need to:
a) Know how to do the task yourself.
or…
b) Have a good understanding of it.
Why?
Because if you don’t know how to do something yourself, it’s going to be really hard for you to know how to ask your assistant for what you want done, right?
Know how to do the task yourself.
When I made the switch to Infusionsoft in January 2015, I hired an expert to help me with the initial set up of the new system, but that was just the least of it.
My team does a lot of work in my shopping cart, but because I didn’t know anything about the Infusionsoft + CustomerHub systems, I knew that the only way that I would be able to ask them for help, was if I figured it out for myself first – and then created training that would teach them how I wanted things done.
So I approached the challenge in the same way that I always have (I mean I had to figure out how to build html websites using FrontPage way back in the day – oh the horror!)…
I rolled up my sleeves and dove in. I played with it, made mistakes, asked questions, read tutorials, made more mistakes – but eventually, I learned enough about it and how it worked to do what I needed to do.
From there, I created training videos and taught my team how to set up products and campaigns, use tags, and work with download pages and files in CustomerHub – in the way I wanted them to do it.
You see, if I hadn’t of taken the time to figure out the system for myself, I would have set my team up for failure because I wouldn’t have known what the heck to ask them to do.
I couldn’t have just said, “please set up my new product” without getting a million questions in return asking for more details, and then proceeding to spend hours and hours going back and forth about it because I didn’t know how to answer their questions.
You can easily avoid the struggles and hair-pulling frustration by learning how to personally use the tools you invest in BEFORE you outsource.
But what if the task is way over your head?
Of course there are going to be some things that you just can’t teach yourself to do – but you CAN learn about them.
For instance, maybe you’re a terrible copywriter so you want to outsource it. But if you don’t know what good copy is, then you’re going to waste time + outsourcing it.
So you learn about it. You do your research. Read articles, watch videos, look at other people’s awesome copy, invest in a copywriting course to learn the ins and outs of how it’s done, what works, what doesn’t…
And then after you do all that, you take the goldmine of knowledge that you’ve gained and you hire someone amazing. Because now that you know all about copywriting – you’ll know exactly what to ask for AND you’ll know whether or not their work is complete crap or freaking fabulous.
When I hired a developer to create my Company Organization Chart Builder – I didn’t go into it knowing how to code and program myself. But I did my research, I asked questions, and so I knew exactly what I wanted and what the results should be.
And because I also had years of outsourcing knowledge under my belt – I knew exactly when it was time to pull the plug on the first person I hired, and move on.
But I didn’t give up. Heck no!
Because of that first failed attempt, I walked away with even more knowledge of the process, and I hired a real whiz who delivered exactly what I wanted.
So how does this “rule” change everything?
Here’s the thing…
Outsourcing should be flexible and fun, and give you space to be yourself and try new things – but you also have to create a structure that fully supports that.
I’m able to do things on a whim and be creative in my business because I follow this simple outsourcing rule: I know how to do it myself or I have a good understanding of it.
This “rule” (if you can even call it that) has not only paved the way to a more successful outsourcing experience for me, but it has also cultivated a more supportive and loyal team.
It doesn’t matter how experienced the person you hire is, because if you don’t know what you’re doing before you hire them, you’re more likely to have a negative outsourcing experience that may or may not consist of frustration, hair-pulling, anger, name calling, and an overall destroying of what could have potentially been an amazing, long-term business partnership.
And if that happens, you’ll start to believe that the whole concept of outsourcing is complete crap, instead of something that will help you achieve your dream lifestyle + income goals.
So do yourself (and your team member) a favor and do NOT outsource any task or project until you can say without a doubt that you either:
a) Know how to do the task yourself.
or…
b) Have a good understanding of it.
You’ll be glad you did 😉
