Are you overwhelmed by work? Here are 6 things that you can offload
If you're overwhelmed by the long list of projects, it's most likely time to get reinforcements. These are the 6 jobs you can delegate to a virtual or freelance assistance.
If you are an entrepreneur, you cannot ever have enough food to consume.
The tasks you have to complete are increasing in number. Your inbox is flooded with messages, there are 17,17 Excel spreadsheets open . You've not looked at your social media alerts in a week, and you're constantly spotting typos following the timeyou write blog entries.
Your list of things to complete is more than one person is able to manage. It's impossible to do everything by yourself and that's okay.
The time has come to bring in reinforcements. In particular Virtual assistants (VAs) and freelancers.
Outsourcing repetitive tasks can give the time you need to focus on growing the scope of your business. From data entry to managing social media, there's plenty you have to do that can be outsourced to third-party.
In this piece, we'll discuss six areas you could give away to help save time (and your own sanity).
First, we must consider: does outsourcing trulyworth it?
The reason why.
Why outsource tasks or tasks to an assistant virtual or freelancer?
It's even more so considering this perplexing fact: People are more likely to spend 2.8 hours per day doing tasks that are productive.
If you're an owner of a business working full-time, this figure will be greater for you. There's a good chance that you're still working on some projects that aren't the ideal way to use your time.
When you delegate those low-growth, repetitive tasks to the freelancers, or to a virtual assistant (VA) then you'll be able to spend more time on higher-growth to-dos.
Find a professional to tackle the tasks you don't have time for (or you just don't enjoy doing).
Reduce costs and save time by not hiring one full-time employee.
These benefits are the main reason 70% of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMBs) employ an independent contractor. 81% saying they'd like to employ a freelancer again.
Employing virtual workers including VAs and freelancers is known to improve the productivity.
Research says remote workers have an average of 13.5 percent higher productivity over their office counterparts.
Overall outsourcing work to freelancers , or a VA could help you get the least-favorite task, ones that are not growing as fast, off your to-do list and allow you to concentrate on growing your company.
One more question to consider: which tasks should you assign to an external company?
Outsource 6 tasks in case you're running short of time.
#1: Organization and admin work
When someone thinks of outsourcing their jobs to a virtual assistant, they often think of offloading work that is time-consuming, like transcription or data entry. Those definitely are a part of a lot of VAs jobs.
But VAs can to help businesses in a variety of tasks, which could be the reason why they're so sought-after. The global outsourcing market including VAs -- was 92.5 billion dollars in 2019.
Most popular VA positions include:
Management of calendars and scheduling
Data entry
Management of projects
Event planning
Email marketing
Contact and follow-ups to PR
Invoicing, managing accounts payables, and expensing
Customer support including moderating the social media profiles of customers
CRM software for management
Examining competitors
Converting audio and video file
Vendor management
Webinar management
Marketing via social media
Phew. If the list looks like it could cover a broad range of abilities, it's due to the fact that VAs may be the most flexible group members.
If you're seeking the services of an VA make sure you know which tasks you want the VA to concentrate onin addition to that, make sure you have sufficient funds available to reimburse the VA fairly, according to their expertise.
The current rate of market for VAs are:
$25-40 per hour for general admin skills
For advanced capabilities
More than 50 dollars an hour for specialized skills
While we wait it is time to look into more specific jobs to outsourcefor such as bookkeeping or accounting, for example.
2. Bookkeeping and Accounting
If, as I am -you're not a numerals person. there's a reason you'rea numerals-oriented person. There are many things that you'd like to pursue instead of crunching numbers.
In the event that you're not making more than 5 figures for your company and don't have a lot of expenses to keep track of You can control the financials of your company by using an app like Quickbooks .
If you make more than this, hiring an accountant who is independent could ease the task of balancing the books as well as simplifying the administration of your money.
Accounting is among the the most commonly outsourced business functions .
There's a valid justification for this. Accounting is one of the most important tasks for smaller businesses, particularly when you consider that nearly 29% of businesses that are new are unable to succeed because they're low on funds.
Make a plan, schedule your quarterly tax bill and control
Be sure to control the flow of your money
Track and follow the
Unlike accounting software and accounting software accounting software, a bookkeeper or accountant can provide you with individualized guidance and address your concerns in greater detail since they're knowledgeable of the particular tax concerns you're facing.
Some bookkeepers even specialize in helping professionals in specific fields. In this case, Friedman, Kannenberg & Company PC is a specialist in accounting services for bands and musicians and dealers in music equipment as well as institutions for music education.
For an accountant who understands the ins and outs of your field, Google "accountant specializing in your industry".
If you're a small business owner Accounting services must be among the first areas that you should outsource (unless you are really interested in analyzing tax code -- it's not something I can do).
Apart from the more numeral tasks like data entry and bookkeeping outsourcing technical and creative tasks, too.
#3 Design and development of web pages
It takes users about 0.05 seconds to make a decision on your site.
It's the reason having a reliable web developer to help you is crucial.
Your site should be appealing visually, simple to use, and also instructive. Today, in the age where instant access is the norm, it needs to be quick.
26.9 percentage of website visitors have waited less than four seconds to wait for a page to load, while 45.4 percent of visitors said they would be less likely to purchase items if page loading speeds were slower than expected.
Furthermore, you should make certain that your website is responsive to smartphones. Mobile-friendly traffic is approximately fifty percent the traffic on websites all over the world , and visitors visiting your site via smartphones are about five times more likely to leave your site if it isn't mobile-friendly.
Furthermore, Google announced in 2018 that they're increasing websites optimized for mobile in their results for mobile-friendly searches So having a mobile-friendly or responsive websites will aid in search engine optimization too.
(You can test your website's access on mobile devices by using Google's mobile-friendly checker tool .)
The outsourcing of your website's task to a skilled web developer and designer can aid you in creating a website which is quick to load and performs flawlessly on mobile and matches the image of your brand.
Where do you locate web developers and web development designers for your site to shine?
A few of the most popular websites for finding web-based developers include:
The Website Builder allows you to build a site to sell any variety of digital items including online classes, memberships, and digital downloads -without needing to type in a single line of code, or troubleshoot the tiniest WordPress templates, or install the wrong plugin.
Just take a look at the website Mallika Malhotra brand expert and photographer. It was created with 's site editor:
Mallika has customized her site to match her branding and style without the requirement to engage a designer or developer in order to design it.
Additionally, they take charge of mobile-optimization and website speeds, and all of the technical issues, which means Mallika and you can concentrate on developing and marketing the items you offer instead.
A well-designed, simple-to-use site is essential, but without great information, it will just take you to where. Luckily, you can also contract out copywriting and content creation.
#4: Copywriting, content and writing
Making and carrying out an effective content marketing strategy takes a lot of time , especially considering that each blog post may take three hours, and 55 minutes to compose.
If you're planning to push out weekly content, that's more time each week that solopreneurs can't afford.
In addition, different types of content need different kinds of writing.
There's plenty of highly skilled and experienced freelance content marketers, copywriters and copywriters out there to assist you in creating content that engages your target audience, and boosts sales.
Outsource writing assignments for all kinds, including:
Blogging
Press releases written by journalists
SEO services, like search engine optimization and link building along with backlinks
In order to find skilled freelance content writers, Jodi Harris, director of editorial and strategy of the Content Marketing Institute, gives these tips :
Contact your professional networks and request writers they recommend.
Post the assignment in a writers' job site that focuses on services for freelancers, such as Upwork along with LinkedIn's Pro-Finder .
Utilize a creative staffing company or Content marketing platforms like Contently . (This option tends to come at a price, but it is more expensive.)
Even if you are able to write content in-house, you can make sure your blog posts and content are of highest quality with outsourcing the editing and proofreading processes.
#5 5. Editing (writing, video, and podcasts)
Your customers wish to get access to -- and hear or read -- great material from your company. Your customers can't help but be amazed by the videos and contents.
Take podcasts, for example. 64% of Americans were listening to some form of music streaming (like podcasts) during the year of 2018 with online audio users reported an average of 17 hours of listening per week.
There is an enormous amount of information viewers can get from the information you provide. There is a lot of data to use to gain the trust of your audience, and their loyalty even money. Yet, low-quality content is unlikely to convert viewers into buyers.
Editors are those to call. A talented editor is an important distinction between content that is good in addition to extraordinarycontent.
Editorial editors can help writers make their writing sound as good as they can. Editorial editors can help writers put their message across clearly and steer clear of the most common mistakes in writing .
It is also possible to use software such as Grammarly for a second opinion however it shouldn't entirely replace humans as editors, even if you're proofreading your own work. Grammarly's AI is often unable to spot errors (or finds mistakes when there's any).
The answer depends on what you're looking for -- and the cost the budget allows you to spendPodcast producers can help by removing background noise, to providing editorial input that helps your podcast create a more compelling narrative.
Not the last thing to mention is that editing videos is another task that takes a lot of time and outsourcing may relieve you of.
To locate editors on the market that can work as freelancers for any kind of content, look into marketplaces for freelance editors such as Upwork as well as Freelancer.com .
Don't forget this old saying that you only get what you spend for.
Avoid freelancers who boast of the lowest prices as well as the best quality. choose an skilled editor. You will receive best quality services -it will also help you save time (and a big headache) for the future.
Like editing audio as well as video editing, the final task of the list requires a lot of skill and patience to learn. This is why it's a great project to outsource.
#6 graphic design
Let's take this off the table: Photoshop can be hard. (And I'm not only saying this simply due to the fact that I scored an A in my graphic design course.)
If you're a less established business owner, it's likely that you're not equipped to master the technique designing graphic designs. Visual content is, however, important in branding and marketing on the internet.
Actually, as much as 90 percent of all purchases can be influenced by the visual aspect. 40 percent of marketing professionals stated that graphic design assist them in achieving the goals they set for their marketing in this year.
A graphic designer can assist in creating an image for your digital downloads, your website and social media accounts as well as other social media accounts.
Freelance graphic design deliverables might include:
Logos
Infographics
PowerPoint templates
Formatting and design of eBooks
In order to save time, You can also make a commission for ebooks and slide templates that you can use over and over thus it's not necessary to create these assets from scratch every time.
This is why, for example, turning your data-heavy blog post into an infographic will make it easier for readers to understand. infographics are shared and like through social media 3 time more than other types of media.
If you're in search of a graphic artist look into design marketplaces such as DesignCrowd as well as, naturally, UpWork's design section .
The two websites link businesses with tens of thousands of designers who are independent and have designs that range from web design to mail templates, to packaging designs and t-shirts.
Let's get to the point As with all the tasks we face today, visual content is a vital aspect in growing your businessand one you shouldn't need to handle alone.
The six tasks listed above can be outsourced to reduce your to-do list
"There isn't enough time in the working day" is a standard phrase that's got a reason: This is especially true when you're an entrepreneur who's trying to start a business by yourself.
The use of a freelancer or virtual assistant could help you gain back the time you spent. In case you're wonderingwhat to do, there are six things you should think about outsourcing
Organization and administrative work, such as data entry, scheduling management as well as transcription
The bookkeeping and accounting services ensure you are informed about your tax flow and your cash flow requirements
Web design and development to create a user-friendly interface the audience will appreciate
Content writing and copywriting, to ensure that your content is marketing-related and stands out the crowd (and the Google results for searches)
Audio, video and podcast and editing your written material, which means you won't have to worry about choppy or misspelled audio
The design and the content must be visually attractive to showcase your company's identity and catch potential customers' attention
It's not always easy and frequently there's a huge demand on business owners to handle everything on their own. There's absolutely no reason to not consider outsourcing your duties to be able to focus on building your business and developing your business.
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