The 3 critical things to outsource when you're starting up

You might naturally think successful entrepreneurs need to spread their time and energy out across all facets of their business.

It’s the only way to ensure everything stays on the straight and narrow… right? Reality check: it’s pretty much the opposite.

If you want to grow a successful business, you need to take off a few of those hats you’re wearing. In fact, there are certain areas of your business you should really pay zero attention to. Seriously!

By delegating and outsourcing certain tasks, you can free up time for the things that will really see your business thrive. You can push the outsource button on these three things right now:

3. Planning.

A focus on planning and structure may be a boon in the corporate world, but you really need to throw it out the window if you’re going to be a successful entrepreneur.

(Our research actually shows that successful entrepreneurs have a 42% lower interest in structure and planning than the general working population.)

Keeping your hands off those spreadsheets and your head out of those in-depth logistics meetings allows you to remain agile, which is absolutely crucial in the early days of your business.

Delegate the planning side of things to a member of your team with a natural knack for structure and organization, and focus your energies on the bigger picture. Dreaming and envisaging is, after all, its own form of planning!

2. Attention to detail.

Fact: attention to detail relates directly to new business failure. Our research shows that the most successful entrepreneurs have an 8% or less focus on the finer points. Yep, 8% or less!

Find yourself sweating the small stuff more often than you should? You might want to consider a virtual assistant to pay attention for you.

From email and appointment management to research and database building, to managing your website and social media, a VA can help buy you more time in your workday (you’ve only got 24 hours, remember?).

Sites like The Virtual Assistant Australia, Wish-up Virtual Assistant and Worldwide101 can help you find and manage the perfect VA for your needs, allowing you to work on your business rather than getting bogged down in it.

(An important thing to remember here is that a VA will need a bit of basic training. But, the time investment is well worth it in the long run.)

1. Accounting.

While a high focus on money is crucial for business success, a focus on accounting for that money is a big fat waste of time for a successful entrepreneur.

Too many CEOs think that it’s cheaper for them to pick up the seemingly easy task of accounting. In reality, there are simply too many chances for things to go wrong. It’s all effort and very little return.

Luckily, outsourcing financial stuff is dead easy. Try using sites like My Cloud Crew or Upwork to help you find talented financial staff across the world. That way, you can focus on making the money, not watching it!