What do you outsource?

[Lynn Terry]

For those of you that delegate tasks to an assistant or VA, or outsource projects/tasks ocassionally, what exactly works best for you?

I would be interested in hearing what you delegate, how you choose the person you pass tasks on to, etc.

[Alan Petersen]

[Lynn Terry]

[Alan Petersen]

[Lynn Terry]

That's certainly an idea worth considering...

Thank you!

[heather2]

Lynn, there are a lot of struggles in working with a VA, but a lot of benefits too. I have a couple that I use for different things (not including graphic-type tasks). I know the strengths of each of them and assign tasks accordingly. It's not always smooth sailing but it definitely is more efficient than me doing the work myself.

The learning curve varies with each VA but my siggestion would be to start with something easy. See how they follow direction and follow-thru. Maybe like article submissions, or something like that.

Once you're pleased with that, then move on to something more complicated. Yes, you'll have to ask them to correct things the first time around but then they get the hang of it.

One thing that has worked for me is to get referrals from people you know. Ask how easy they are to work with and all. It's probably not the best thing to just pick a complete stranger whom who have no knowledge of at all.

I used to work as a VA myself and now I'm their Affiliate Manager, along with running my own businesses. VA money is well-spent.

I think that once you get over the hurdle of getting them to do things your way, then it would run much more smoothly. Trust is a major factor - that's where referrals come into play.

Just my 2 cents. Hope it helps!

Heather

[americanwahm]

I have outsourced adding content to websites, distributing articles, transcribing, misc research projects and other odd ball tasks.

I've outsourced the management of a directory. I love how it runs on it's own.

[Sandra]

I've outsourced the customer service for ebooks. My VA also filters the emails that come in from the contact form on my sites. This has freed up so much of my time and mental energy!

As far as sensitive info, well I choose someone I knew already and trusted. She only has access to that one side of the business too so that helps.

[DBeavers]

[womaninbiz]

Hello Lynn,

I myself have outsourced logo designing, website building and meeting minutes (small administrative tasks) but what I would also like to get off my plate is:

* E-mail retrieval and response
* Site Updates
* Newsletter
* Share program coordination responsibilities

again it is up to me to have the faith in someone else to complete these projects and stick with it, but it would be a definite stress reliever as there are not enough hours in a day to complete everything.

[americanwahm]

I am right now in the process of delegeting email to my VA - it's going well but I still have the knee jerk urge to check my email... it feels like quiting smoking again LOL!

[LuckyMommy]

Email
Forum management
Website design
Logos, buttons, banners, graphics
Some writing/editing
Internet Research

[sugarrae]

>>>those of you that delegate tasks

Anything that

a: doesn't require skills at my level
b: that I save money paying someone to do something during a timeframe that I used to make more money than I paid
c: anything I don't like to do