What Is Outsourcing?

If you spend much time researching successful home business strategies, you will come across the term “outsourcing”. This term refers to the act of paying a service provider to complete a task.

Outsourcing some of your tasks allows you to spend more time on tasks that earn you money. Chances are you do not earn money by answering your emails or updating your website. You more than likely earn money by marketing your website and promoting your product.

If you currently spend 10 hours per week answering emails and another 10 hours per week writing and distributing articles and press releases, imagine what you could do with those 20 hours if you hired someone else to complete those tasks.

Many types of tasks can be outsourced. Some of them include:

• Answering emails
• Returning phone calls
• Research
• Writing and distributing articles
• Writing and distributing press releases
• Bookkeeping
• Recruiting and managing affiliates
• Finding people to be interviewed for your podcast
• Finding joint venture partners
• Editing audio
• Transcription

Not only can outsourcing allow you to earn more money, it can also allow you to save your sanity. You are one person. You cannot handle every aspect of your business and have a personal life at the same time. If you try to control everything, you will end up being over stressed. Your business will no longer be something you enjoy. And you may end up losing interest in it all together.

By outsourcing some of your tasks, you will be able to have more leisure time and will be able to take a break from your business. If you and your family decide to go on vacation, you can leave your business behind for a few days without worrying. Your assistant will still be attending to your emails, your marketing efforts will not suffer, and you won’t need to carry your laptop with you at all times.

Start outsourcing one or two tasks at a time. As you have more money to use toward hiring others, you can increase the number of tasks you outsource.

You may also find that outsourcing will help you with your motivation. Some people procrastinate when they have tasks to do that they do not enjoy. By having someone else do these tasks, you will find that you will be making more money, you will have less stress, and you will have more passion for your business.

If you’d like to learn more about outsourcing, try my friend Alice Seba’s new guide, Outsourcing Sweetie.

Are you ready to outsource? My assistant, Stephanie, is trained on the Shop Kit Plus, answering helpdesk tickets and updating a Wordpress weblog. You can contact her at www.buckeyeva.com.

How Product Sellers Can Benefit From A VA

Welcome to Episode #4!

Yes, we’re late this week. Technical and scheduling difficulties resulting in this week’s interview being recording Thursday afternoon, instead of earlier in the week. Thank you very much, Stephanie, for saving our hide!

So, I’m going to assume that if you’re reading this, you’re a product seller. Whether you’re just starting out, hitting your stride, or buried under an avalanche of work, it’s never too early, or too late, to learn better ways to manage your time and resources.

And one good way to help you concentrate your efforts on growing your business is outsourcing some of the work. My assistant, Stephanie Fish of www.buckeyeva.com, will talk to us about what a virtual assistant is and what she can do to help you.

–Michelle Waters, The Physical Product Seller’s Coach
-Learn how the Shop Kit Plus can help you save time and money

Twelve Days Of Christmas: Nothing Like A Virtual Assistant!

If you’ve never heard of a virtual assistant, you’re in for a treat!

A virtual assistant, also known as a VA, takes some of the load off you, so you can work on the important things in your business, your family and your life. She works on a contract basis, so you don’t have to worry about employing someone. And best of all, she works with you via phone and internet, so you don’t have to worry that you won’t find a VA in your area.

Have you wished someone else could deal with all the email you receive? Or maybe you need someone to do some product updates to your website that you’ve been putting off. You may need to have some letters written, website pages updated or articles submitted to directories.

A VA will be able to handle some or all of these tasks. You can hire her for as long as you need to, or on a project-only basis.

Best of all, my friend and VA, Arika Liddiard, is offering a Christmas special for my clients: If you have a Shop Kit Plus site with Watersweb, just contact Arika at her virtual assistance site for five hours of service at the incredibly low rate of $50.

Make sure you contact Arika before Dec. 31, as this deal is for a limited time only. (Just contact Arika by Dec. 31. Actual work on the project can start after the holidays, if you wish).