18 Aug 2009, Posted by christie in Blogging Bytes, 42 Comments
When is it worth outsourcing something?
Some of us think we are doing everything ourselves and not outsourcing anything. After all, I mop my own kitchen floor! I mow my own yard! I built my own computer! But really we are not doing everything without paying anyone else to take care of something for us. Unless you are grinding grain into flour then baking your own bread, growing and processing all your own food, making your own shoes and clothes, you are outsourcing something. The trick is to know when you benefit more by doing something yourself vs. outsourcing. There are two reasons for outsourcing that I can think of immediately:
One thing is, how much is your time worth? If you are a freelancer who gets $xx per hour, then why on earth are you pulling your own weeds or scrubbing your own floors, unless you love it?! Instead, hire a kid in your neighborhood (or maybe a stay-at-home mom who could use some cash) to do that while you either drum up some more business or at least go relax and recharge somewhere. In my case, I have a full time job and of course this blog and a couple of niches in the works. So in some ways I could make an excuse to hire someone to clean the house, but on the other hand for now anyway I am dreaming up blog posts and thinking of other blog to-do items while I mop and dust. My mind isn’t on idle just because my hands are doing something that’s not earning any money!
The second and most convincing reason for me to outsource something is when it’s something that would affect my image or safety if done incorrectly. I am not going to try to do something complicated to my own car (safety) and I am not going to cut my own hair (image). Those things are best left to someone who knows what he is doing! Likewise, the amateurish header or logo I could probably come up with might look good to me, but… well really they wouldn’t look good to me. 
I want my blog to have a good professional look, so I hired a professional designer, Wong Ching Ya, to create the header and logo for MiscBytes. I certainly want and need to learn how to do all sorts of customizations for my own blog eventually, and I will probably do that slowly for the niche sites, but there’s no way I could have created the original design in that header if I’d had all the time in the world.
Is there something you’ve started outsourcing? Is it because you hate doing it, or because your time is better spent elsewhere, or because you believe a professional can do a better job for you?
Photo credit: gadl
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42 Comments
August 19, 2009 3:24 am
Ricky
The main point is how much your time is worth. If time permits do your own work. Hey I am running the contest on header image. I know you have already fulfilled all the steps. I wish you win the contest.
August 19 2009 06:25 am
Christie
When does the contest end? Please keep me in it Ricky! :) I have a brand new niche blog that has no header at all, just a black title on the white page. I'm hoping to win your contest!
September 08 2009 00:48 am
Chetan
Is that contest date over ?
Can I participate for that contest ?
:)
.-= Chetan´s last blog ..Aiptek PenCam HD Trio : Small marker sized camcorder records video in HD. =-.
August 19, 2009 6:54 am
Ching Ya
Thank you Christie for your kind mention.
It sure is a pleasure working with you. And thank you so much for all the support and confidence you have in me. I’m glad the header fits well, and most of all, you like it. ^^
@wchingya
Social/Blogging Tracker
Ching Ya´s last blog ..WCHINGYA.COM Is Now A Do Follow Blog (Free Images)!
August 19 2009 06:57 am
Christie
Thanks Ching Ya! It was definitely a pleasure working with you too. You did a fantastic job - and you even had to read my mind to know what I wanted in the header! :) I heartily recommend you to anyone who wants to hire someone to do design work on their blog.
August 19 2009 13:04 pm
Jason
Do you build headers professionally or just for fun, or either way?
Maybe we can work on something, if you have time...
Christie - thanks for mentioning Ching Ya because I have been looking for someone to create a logo for me.
.-= Jason´s last blog ..I hate being addicted to BlackBerry… =-.
August 19, 2009 9:12 am
Extreme John
It’s always tough to say, everyone requires different things in life I know for me I am a “do it myself” kind of guy but the reality is that I just have way too much on my plate, now I rely on a staff of 50 to help me get through each day. Crazy.
Extreme John´s last blog ..How Important are Your Passwords
August 20 2009 20:10 pm
christie
I had planned to do it myself, because I really want to learn everything to take care of my own blogs, but I just hated not having a great header and logo NOW, so I decided to ask Ching Ya for an estimate. It would have taken me forever to learn how to do all that.
A staff of 50! That could get almost unmanageable! :)
August 19, 2009 9:18 am
Asswass
I outsource what I don’t know how to do and if I don’t have enough time to do it.
It seems that you thought of this post when you were mopping your kitchen floor huh Christie? lol
Asswass´s last blog ..Rule #5 of Radical Marketing: Passionate Marketeers (Post 10)
August 19 2009 11:04 am
Christie
Hahaha..yes in fact I did! I think EVERY time I devote my Saturday morning to mopping or vacuuming I ask myself if this is the best use of my time. :)
August 19, 2009 2:45 pm
Klaus @ TechPatio
I outsourced the design of my techpatio logo and top header (not online yet) to a designer, it cost me $75 and came with unlimited tweaks until I liked it. To be honest, I like the logo but the top header is not the best. So I might have paid more than I actually received in value, however, I will call it “money paid to learn”
I also outsourced some article creating, I think it costed me $8 or so to have a 600 word article written on a subject I defined. I probably couldn’t have done it for $8 myself (when you look at your own hourly salary) because I had no knowledge of the subject and would have to research first, but I would probably prefer to pay a little less next time.
Klaus @ TechPatio´s last blog ..3 Article Headline Techniques That Will Bring A Flood Of Traffic To Your Site
August 19 2009 15:24 pm
Christie
"Money paid to learn" :D I have learned some lessons like that in life too, and sometimes it really will save you much more later on.
You gave great examples - sometimes it pays to outsource something so that you can move forward more quickly with your blog. A logo/header quickly, more articles, etc. Hey, someday soon I'll bet Apple will be sending you gadgets to review, and you'll have people asking to guest post for free so they can have their link on TechPatio!
August 20, 2009 4:54 am
Jacob Yap
Well, I know myself isn’t good in design, and “I believe a professional can do better”. So I hire my friend to design my header and avatar.
Jacob Yap´s last blog ..Envato Birthday Bundle – $300 Of Files For Just $20
August 20 2009 11:57 am
christie
That's me. If I had designed my header, the results would not have been good! :) It's definitely worth hiring someone who can do it well.
August 21, 2009 5:46 am
Walter
A pretty simple and practical approach you have posted here. Outsourcing is a must to maximize our output and to concentrate on this that are important to us.
August 21 2009 12:54 pm
christie
Hi Walter - That is so true. We can't do *everything*, so we need to focus on some things ourselves and make use of other resources where we can to maximize the efforts toward our goal.
August 21, 2009 9:56 am
Jean
Wow! Your new header is FANTASTIC!
Jean´s last blog ..Alice Might Be For You
August 21 2009 12:56 pm
christie
Thanks Jean! I love it. I think 20 of my page views per day lately have been ME looking at my own site. ;)
August 21, 2009 6:41 pm
Doug Dillard
I have outsourced all sorts of stuff over the years. Many times I can do something, but it might take me 5 times as long to do it myself… so I pay someone else to do it for me. Of course there are many things I have no ideas how to do… so I have to outsource it.
And yes… your header looks GREAT!
Doug Dillard´s last blog ..I Used to Be a Dotcom Millionaire, Well at Least On Paper!
August 21 2009 18:49 pm
Christie
Yes I'm still trying to learn to let go of some things which should be outsourced in life, because sometimes it really is best to let someone else do something and move on! Thanks Doug! :)
August 22, 2009 2:59 am
Surender Sharma
Most of us outsource the work.If we have not enough or extra time to do anything like car washing,sweeping at home etc, then we outsource but if we have enough time ,we can spend on these works.With this we can learn many things…
Surender Sharma´s last blog ..How to keep your blog Secure and active
August 22 2009 22:17 pm
christie
Yes, we often have to outsource something. Sometimes it's only that we buy food that is already cooked by someone else, and sometimes we go on and really hire someone to do something. But either way, we only have a limited amount of time each day to work toward our goals. Thanks for your comment!
August 22, 2009 7:08 pm
Sire
While I agree with what you’re saying I find it so hard to do and it’s all my dad’s fault who taught me that everything that you can do yourself is money in your pocket. And so I do almost all my repairs and maintenance around the house.
Cars, well that’s a different story. I used to do a lot more stuff on the older cars but these new cars have so much electronic stuff added to it I find it easier to give it to a professional.
Sire´s last blog ..Cash Burners And Their Electronic Super Cigarette
August 22 2009 22:19 pm
christie
I know - when it comes to the things around the house I still don't know where to draw the line. I realize surgeons do not do their own household repairs and stuff :) but on the other hand they have a different budget than I do too!
August 23, 2009 11:31 am
Brian D. Hawkins
I decided to outsource writing a bunch of articles to use in article marketing for some niche sites. I found a bunch of writing ads on Craigslist. I got about a 50% response rate from my replies which I thought very good. Prices varied a lot. I mean by a huge margin! I’ve been waiting a week now for my first pick to respond. I’m moving onto number two today. Both seemed very qualified and charge reasonable rates. If this works out I’ll be doing a lot more outsourcing in the future. Time is my biggest obstical at this point.
Brian D. Hawkins´s last blog ..Extreme Ezine – Social Edition | Aug09
August 23 2009 16:13 pm
Christie
Well you're right about that - if time is the problem, these outsourced articles could help you to move ahead more quickly! Let me know how it turns out.
August 23, 2009 12:30 pm
IT outsourcing solution
I have put up a site on aboutIT outsourcing solution and how to make your outsourcing be beneficial you your businesses. Outsourcing is a great strategy when done right. I hope you will find the site I put up helpful. Thanks.
IT outsourcing solution´s last blog ..
August 23, 2009 4:14 pm
Christie
Hmm.. as long as the folks who run the company I work for don’t see it, that’s fine.
September 1, 2009 3:15 pm
Ricardo Bueno
A few weeks ago, I sat down and made a list of my daily tasks and responsibilities along with approximate time spent on each task. Then I went through the list and determined which tasks *needed* to be completed by me and which ones I could afford to delegate.
I have a VA do the stuff I can delegate whilst I focus on the others stuff… It’s soooo incredibly helpful and efficient to work things this way… Just sayin’…
Ricardo Bueno´s last blog ..Social Media Addiction Rap + 6 Social Media Productivity Tips
September 2, 2009 6:13 am
Cheap Hardwood Flooring
If time permits do your own work, by all means do it yourself. If you don’t have the time or expertise, outsource it.
Cheap Hardwood Flooring´s last blog ..Cheap Hardwood Flooring Prices & Specials
August 23, 2010 4:20 pm
Melissa @Twitter Name
Outsourcing is often associated with the thoughts of saving money and time. But I do agree, when you say that we need to outsource when the situation ask for it, like on things we don’t have experience at or knowledge to do it. I work at a BPO company -TryBPO where outsourcing is our main value. We help small and new businesses to profit more and spend a little. Visit our site to gain some insights on outsourcing.
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