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There is a concept in economics known as comparative advantage. The idea is that we are better off by specializing in the things that we are good at, and trading with others for the things that they are good at. We’re all better off as a result.
It doesn’t even matter if one person is better than another person at everything. There is only so much time in a day, and even the smartest or most productive person on the planet has only 24 hours in a day, just like everyone else. It pays to outsource some tasks so you can focus your time and energy on what brings back the most return (See the Wikipedia article or Mises article for more information).
We all benefit from cooperation and exchange.
I have personally started to outsource some of my blogging duties to others, as I have full-time work, school, and blogging, and there’s only so much that I can do with that 24 hours!
Crystal (Budgeting in the Fun Stuff)
Crystal is the owner of several sites, including Budgeting in the Fun Stuff, and she has been doing a great job of helping me out with running advertising at Invest It Wisely. Here’s what she can help you out with:
- Handle your advertising.
- Staff writing and ghost writing.
- Help with Excel sheets.
When outsourcing, it’s important to not become too dependent on the other party. We want to have a place to start off from in case things change for some reason. I’m very happy with Crystal because she is also very transparent — you always know what’s going on, and her focus is on customer satisfaction. Aside from our business relations, she has also been a good Yakezie buddy and has always been willing to help out with advice and comments when needed.
You can contact Crystal for more information at her “Crystal For Hire” page.
Melissa (Mom’s Plans)
Melissa is the owner of Mom’s Plans and has been saving me a great deal of time with my carnival submissions. I heard good things from My Journey to Millions, and I have been happy with her services since then. She can also help you out with many other tasks; here’s what she is currently mentioning:
- Carnival submissions.
- Staff writing.
- Weekly roundups.
- Giveaway management.
- Proofreading.
Like Crystal, Melissa has also been transparent and customer-focused, and I am happy to give her a good reference.
You can contact Melissa for more information at her “Hire Me” page.
Doing some of it yourself… but not everything!
Fellow Yakezie Geoff has recently launched “Don’t Do It Yourself“, which is dedicated to helping you find the right freelancer for your project and needs. I like the site title, because it comes back to how we all benefit from cooperation and exchange! 🙂
So, reader, do you also outsource some of your activities? Maybe you hired a nanny at home? Maybe you pay somebody to mow the lawn? I’d love to hear your own take on DIY, and Don’t DIY. 🙂
Crystal put me in touch with Ashley at MoneyTalks for some blog re-work. Ashley did a great job of sprucing up the site, setting up Twitter, and other things I kept putting off. Outsourcing and leveraging your time are key to getting things done. We simply don’t have the time to do it all.
Congrats on the expansion. I have decided to outsource some stuff too. Melissa manages my carnival submissions for me which has been a huge time saver. She does a great job. I think if I didn’t outsource some stuff I would have burnt out a while ago.
Thanks for the mention! I am a big fan of outsourcing too. I outsource my carnival submissions to Melissa, so this post really made me smile. I also outsource my social media and all techie stuff to Jesse Michelsen at PF Firewall. Overall, I make money doing what I love, negotiating direct ad deals, and outsource all the stuff that other people are better at than me. 🙂
This is a great idea Kevin. Jesse is in the process of switching my site over to Thesis, and it is totally worth the money. I would much rather have more time for writing and responding to comments and such than banging my head against a wall trying to perfect a new theme.
I outsource a few ways. I also get much needed help with my HTML and web design. I have a trusted guy for that. Outsourcing is definitely a life-saver.
We outsource so much we don’t even realize it. Every time we go out to eat we are outsourcing. Hell, going to the supermarket is outsourcing.
And what does outsourcing do? Like you say, it allows us to free up time to do what we do best, this we way are more productive as an economy. Think about it, this is a huge reason why our country has prospered so much.
I’ve had Melissa writing for me for some time now and she has been great! And I hear about Crystal everywhere.
The hardest thing about outsourcing is trust – knowing when to let go and trust that someone can do something for you.
Kevin, I so want to do everything myself…. but you are absolutely correct, there is not enough time in the day! I love the economics reference. This article is inspiring!
Great post. Crystal has been helping me with advertising and has been great. I agree, there are just so many things blog related to work on. I may need to take some time to focus on my strengths.
Good job focusing on what you are good at…writing awesome posts! I use Melissa but handle my own advertising. She rocks.
Cool, I’m a huge proponent of the theory of comparative advantage – I’m just not the best at putting it into practice! I’ll finally get around to outsourcing more of my stuff soon – I’m simply running out of time!
I do some outsourcing such as my yard work. I don’t even own a lawnmower. I am wanting to do a little more outsourcing of some of my blogging activities, but I want it to pay for itself so I need to generate a little more income first.
Thanks for all of the great comments, guys. I need to put together another post with a list of everyone and the services they offer.
Just wanted to report that I also hired Melissa of Mom’s Plans for my carnival submissions and have gotten accepted to more carnivals in the last 2 weeks than ever before. This is mainly because I didn’t take the time to do so, but it has been worth every penny to me to have it done. I am sure that I will benefit in the long run.
Hey Kevin, Thanks for the shout out! I of course love outsourcing, but sometimes it’s hard to loosen up the reigns and release control. Even though I blog about it and use plenty of freelancers I still occasionally forget to ask for help and do too much myself that I should be delegating. You just reminded me of a couple more things I need to enlist help with!
@cashflowmantra I’m glad that things are working out! I wonder if I should have negotiated an affiliate commission beforehand, haha. 😉
@Geoff No problem. Thanks for all of the great advice and insights. 🙂