Life is full of responsibilities like cooking, cleaning, house maintenance, shopping, children and pets. The day-to-day stuff if overwhelming on its own, but all of this plus running your own business?!
It’s enough to make you want to throw in the towel and have a full-on Netflix day.
But don’t break out the roll of cookie dough just yet! I have a solution:
Outsource it.
You’ve probably already heard that outsourcing work to a Virtual Assistant will free up time in your business so you can focus on what makes you more money, but what about your personal life?
This month’s theme at One Woman Shop is Solopreneur Sanity (a topic so important, the ladies continued it from last month). One big way to gain some sanity? By not doing everything yourself.
What would you outsource?
If you could outsource anything in your personal life, what would it be? Are there any tasks you hate doing that you would rather outsource to someone else so you can focus more on your business?
Take some time to think about your day-to-day activities. I’m sure you probably have a few things in mind, but here are some suggestions to get your creative juices flowing:
Cooking
Hate cooking? Consider hiring a chef or finding a local restaurant that will deliver meals to your doorstep each week. Not only will this reduce the time you cook each week, but it will also reduce the time you take to look through cookbooks for new recipes and shopping for ingredients.
Hiring a chef was a dream of mine for years. I put it off because I figured it was too expensive and I wouldn’t find a local chef that would prepare healthy meals. I finally decided to look into how much it would cost and I was pleasantly surprised.
For $110 I have a chef who cooks and delivers three homemade meals a week that my husband and I share. We’re talking vegetable coconut curry over basmati rice, mahi tacos with Asian slaw, and kale salad with cranberries, pine nuts and lemon honey dressing. Yum!
Her cooking is so much better than mine -- and she’s saved me tons of time! Plus, we don’t spend as much money going out to dinner or buying groceries that go to waste because I don’t have the motivation to cook. #keepingitreal
Not sure where to start? Here are a few resources:
- Thumbtack is a great place to find professionals in your area to help with all sorts of projects. It’s where I found my chef and lawn service company (and both are amaz-ing!)
- HelloFresh, BlueApron, Plated are great options to check out if you enjoy cooking but want to save a little time. These companies deliver fresh ingredients for a yummy, chef-inspired meal that you prepare. Genius!
Lawn maintenance
Not the outdoorsy, working-out-in-the-yard type of gal? Consider hiring someone to mow the lawn, rake leaves, trim bushes and pull weeds. They can even plant shrubs and flowers and do some landscaping to make your yard pretty.
Not sure where to start? Here are a few resources:
- Thumbtack is the perfect place to find someone for your lawn.
- A place like Sweeps (located in North Carolina) is a great place to find college students looking to help with your lawn and other projects, like errands, dog walking and moving. You can Google to see if there’s a similar company in your area that employs college students looking to make some extra cash.
- Angie’s List is another place to find help, where reviews are plentiful.
Grocery shopping
Would you rather shop online or on your phone than schlepping your way through a store? Perfect! You can hire people to do your shopping for you.
I recently started using a service called Shipt that allows me to create a shopping list using an app on my phone. Once they receive my order, they send a shopper out to purchase my groceries and deliver them to my house! Easy.
They charge a small upcharge per item, but I end up saving money because I stick to my list instead of roaming around the store saying, “Hmmm, that looks good” and throwing it in the cart.
Not sure where to start? Here are a few resources:
- If you don’t have Shipt in your area, you could try Google Express or AmazonFresh.
Pet grooming
Do you have a pet that hates baths as much as they hate getting their nails trimmed? Yeah, me too. I used to just deal with it, but not anymore.
I found a mobile groomer who comes to the house! Not only does she save me time and sanity, but my dogs have never looked better.
Not sure where to start? Here are a few resources:
- Google pet groomers or mobile pet groomers to find one in your area.
Organizing
Do you like a clean, organized house, but don’t have the time or the patience to do it yourself? There are organizers out there who will de-clutter your house and help you with systems to keep your house looking nice and pretty. An added bonus: a de-cluttered environment can make us more productive and happy.
Not sure where to start? Here are a few resources:
- You can Google professional organizers in your area or search on National Association of Professional Organizers.
Cleaning
Does dusting, vacuuming, laundry, or mopping suck up too much of your time and energy? Consider hiring a housekeeper for weekly maintenance or quarterly deep cleans.
Some cleaners specialize in certain types of chores, but you can ask around and find someone for any of the tasks you’re looking to outsource. Just try not to fall into the trap of cleaning before the housekeeper arrives because you’re embarrassed about the mess!
Not sure where to start? Here are a few resources:
- Thumbtack and Angie’s List are great places to find professional cleaning services.
- You can also look into the Association of Residential Cleaning Services International or other cleaning associations.
Can you afford it?
The cost of outsourcing can be a huge sticking point for a lot of women, but outsourcing jobs doesn’t have to be expensive.
First, think about your budget. What can you afford? What can you cut back on in order to have the money to outsource your house work? It’s easy to assume we can’t afford something until we look at how much we bring in and how much we spend. Sometimes just making small tweaks to our budget will save us quite a bit of money.
Also consider hiring someone as needed, like during crazy times (holidays, launches, etc.), instead of on-going. You can build a Rolodex of people who can help you out when you really need it. How exciting is that?!
Secondly, figure out what your time is worth. What would you do if you had a little extra time? Write a book? Take on another client? Having that extra time could be very profitable!
Thirdly, think creatively. You don’t necessarily have to hire a pro. What about the stay-at-home mom down the street who loves to cook? Or a teen or college student that wants so make some extra cash and could mow the lawn?
Ready...set...outsource!
What would you like to outsource and what can you do today to get the ball rolling to hire the help you need?
Want more tips + tactics for maintaining your solopreneur sanity? We've got you covered. Just released: The Solopreneur Sanity Handbook, inspiration and action for finding the intersection of productive and sane to maximize your time working so you can maximize your time living. Ready, set, sanity!
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