During a CEU at the Houston Design Center an interior designer shared her frustration that she has had to accept several jobs that she wouldn’t normally just to keep paying those external resources who are doing energy draining business tasks that she doesn’t want to do (social media, accounting, taxes, drafting, etc).  I wanted to address this issue because I hear it so often while coaching designers as well as from you in the courses I teach.

It is a wise business decision to “outsource” energy draining tasks.  However, if you are in this situation it means something is out of alignment.  As list makers, we often make a business decision and think we have “checked it off the list”.  We fail to revisit it after some time.  Your needs are constantly changing.  If the resources you hired originally are now forcing you to take work just to pay them, then it’s time for an evaluation of your businesses needs and your resources.

HERE ARE 3 SIMPLE STEPS TO GET YOU BACK ON TRACK:

STEP ONE:  

Write out all the tasks you’ve sourced out (accounting, taxes, drafting, social media…..everything). For each task ask yourself, “do I still value having this outsourced?”

STEP TWO:

For each task that you answered “yes”, ask yourself another question; “Is this still the right person to handle this task, i.e. are they competent and make my life easier or cause me more headache?”

I hear far too often that the resources cause more trouble than they are worth yet designers simply find a “work around” and put up with it.  The wise action is to find a better resource match.  What do I mean by “better match”?  There are people who are better fits for us than others.   They are in sync with the way we think, they know how we want things done, and we don’t have to tell them the instructions over and over.  Not every resource is the right match.  You might have to “trial” a few and that is a normal fact of life in owning a business.  This is a key step where you can gain more energy and time if you get honest with the resources you’ve selected and make better choices that support you.

In this step, if you value the task being outsourced, but don’t have the right person any longer, look to your existing resources to see if you can consolidate tasks.  Now that you have more experience with your resources, and understand their expertise, you might find that one person can do 2 or 3 things well and you can reassign tasks to suite your needs at this present moment.  Don’t try and force things though because that sets you both up for failure.  The world has gotten much more specialized.  For example, I have a guy who helps with my web site but another person who does the security of my web site.  They are both excellent in their respective areas.  Even though they are two resources, it is because of their competent skill and great service that removes any concern from my mind and gives me energy to work on what I do best.  Be OK if you need to start shopping for a new expert to help you.

STEP THREE:

If you answered “No”; that you don’t value having another expert handle that specific business task – maybe you decided that you miss doing that – then let that resource go. Give them a good 4-6 weeks to find other work so you are being respectful.   It is also good for them to find someone who really needs and wants their talent.

So, if you find yourself getting backed into a corner having to make decisions to “keep up” paying others, like this interior designer in class, something is out of alignment and it is time to re-evaluate your business needs and your external resources.  As a creative entrepreneur, your energy is your competitive advantage.  It is your brilliance that attracts clients so if you are not aligned with the best resources supporting your business then your creativity suffers and so does your business success.

Join Angela for a live CEU Webinar on Thursday, Nov. 17,  9:00-10:00 am (pacific time) titled “How to Attract Your Perfect Clients:  A Marketing Method for Creative Entrepreneurs”.  One hour .1 CEU.  $49  BUY