Outsourcing. What a bittersweet term for the small business owner. I’m sure you’ve considered it before, but undoubtedly the concept comes with a certain amount of baggage.

It’s hard to think about outsourcing as a small business owner. Your business is like your baby, and the thought of giving any part of it away seems borderline irresponsible. But the truth is, if you want to grow, there will absolutely be a point where outsourcing isn’t only the smart, responsible thing to do, but it becomes completely necessary.

When should I outsource?

Outsourcing is not a matter of how long you’ve been in business, it’s a matter of analyzing your workload. If you can easily handle all of your clients, hit your business goals, and maintain a work/life balance you’re comfortable with, you probably don’t need to outsource.

But if you find yourself constantly putting the same goals on your list and never quite getting to them, or if there is some sort of barrier to get you started on something, that may be a sign that outsourcing is a good idea.

Here are some good questions to ask yourself when it comes to outsourcing:

1. How do you feel about your workload?

Are you stressed or overwhelmed about how much work you have to do? Do you feel like you can’t take on any more clients or customers because you already have too much on your plate? I admit it usually feels good to have a heavy workload as a small business owner. A lot of us had months, sometimes years where we were BEGGING for work, so the idea of complaining about having too much is riddled with guilt.

But if you want your business to grow, you can, should, and will have a point where the work is too much, and you need to hire help. If you feel like your business will remain stagnant if you don’t start doing something different, outsourcing may be your answer.

2. How are you spending your time?

What is taking up most of your time during your day-to-day business activities? As the owner, you should be focusing your time on 3 areas: the tasks that make money, the tasks in your strength zone, and the tasks that align with your business values. If the majority of your time is spent outside of those areas, it might be smart to outsource what’s taking up most of your time.

Sometimes the reason you feel overwhelmed isn’t because of how much time certain tasks are taking, it’s because you feel like you’re wasting your time and energy on things that are necessary, but not growth oriented. Organizing inventory may be a necessary part of your business, but it technically doesn’t make you any money. And if you don’t naturally like to organize, that task ends up eating up all of your energy – so you end up with no fuel left in the tank for the part of your business you’re most excited about.

Business values are also something to consider. If one of your main pride points in your business is that you have excellent, personalized customer service, you might want to keep handling that yourself. If you see customer service as a “necessary evil”, outsourcing may save you the headache. At the end of the day, if you spend so much time on tasks that are not growth oriented that you can’t focus on the tasks that are, outsource what you can.

3. What would you do if something was taken off your plate?

Without thinking about the potential headache that could come with outsourcing a part of your business, imagine what it would be like to have certain tasks taken off of your plate. If you didn’t have to deal with social media, what would you do? If you could know that all orders would ship out on time without you, what would you do? If the books could keep themselves, what would you do?

If “giving something away” wouldn’t cause you to do anything new or exciting, it might not be the economical choice to outsource. If you don’t use that time to focus on growth activities, your business will continue to stagnate, and now you’re spending money to outsource. However, if something taken off of your plate gives you more freedom to be creative in your business, to focus more on your clients, and to spend more time on your priorities, your business will grow, making outsourcing far and away worth the investment.

What should I outsource?

What should you outsource? That, my friend, is up to you! Let me give you some tips about how to think through what is worth outsourcing.

As I’ve mentioned, I would recommend starting in areas that don’t fit in with your strengths. If there are necessary business functions that you are not good at, give it to someone who is good at it! The weight taken off of your shoulders when you do that is unmatched.

Another recommendation would be to outsource the goals that you haven’t started on. If you’re this far through the year and haven’t gotten to some of your goals yet, there’s a reason. Whether it’s lacking the expertise or direction to start making reels, not being confident about how to spend your advertising budget, or spending so much time writing your client content that you forget your own, an outside expert can help.

Whether it’s IT, website development & maintenance, SEO, accounting, marketing, social media, advertising, HR, customer service, logistics, or administrative work, there is no shame in outsourcing in areas that will help you grow. Different size businesses need different things, as do different industries. Figure out what’s best for you and your business – and if outsourcing is the answer, do it with confidence!