How to Save Money and Time When Delegating in Your Business

If you have a small business, keeping an organized calendar may not be enough to help you stay productive during the week. With so much going on this year between most kids being home for e-learning and more companies working remotely, it can be difficult to squeeze in everything into your daily schedule.

The workload that was once easy to handle may seem nearly impossible right now. While adopting better habits to boost your productivity can help, these things can only go so far.

One thing you may want to look into doing is delegating and outsourcing tasks to others. Yes, this may cost money if you hire someone, but it could also save you money as well. Here’s how to save money and time when delegating in your business.

Develop Your Own Specific Processes

This year I started doing more delegating after realizing I couldn’t handle some tasks on my own. When schools closed back in the spring it came as a shock to everyone and I wasn’t prepared. Now that I’m actually homeschooling and running my online writing business and blog, I decided to start delegating and hiring help.

Getting a good return on my investment is always a top priority for me. I don’t mind hiring help when it’s within my budget. Still, I want to get my money’s worth and I know onboarding can be a pain.

If you want to save money and time when delegating in your business, you need to start working smarter and developing processes to free up your time. Before I hired another person to help in my business, I had to think of the exact processes I wanted them to follow.

I sat down one weekend and it took me 8 to 10 hours (easily) writing out processes, filming videos for visual instructions, and planning out their task calendar for the next few months. Yes, it was time-consuming upfront, but doing this saved me so much time and back-and-forth during the onboarding stage.

Now, I can enjoy the benefit of all that upfront work and have more time for other areas of my business.

Choose One Thing

One easy way to save money when you start delegating is to start with just one task that you need help with. This could be the hardest thing on your task list or just something you really don’t enjoy doing.

Odds are, if you don’t enjoy doing it you procrastinate and drag your feet on the task – thus, wasting more time. Instead, start with this task and. It won’t solve all your problems, but it’s a start.

Determine how much time you’ll get back and then fill your calendar with a replacement task that will generate results and more income.

Start With a Trial Assignment

There’s no need to rush into delegating tasks to someone when you’re not sure what type of work they can do. It’s best to start with a trial assignment. That way, you both can see if the task is a good fit and you’re not committed to working together regularly just yet.

This method is one of the safest options and more people should take advantage of it. If you have a child and you’re wondering if they are responsible enough to walk themselves home yet, you’d do a trial run. Or, say you’re thinking about preparing a new recipe for dinner guests but you prepare it a few nights before to test it out and see how things will go.

Completing a trial period first is one of the best ways yo save money, energy, and time in the future. It can also solidify your decision to delegate a task so you’re not still on the fence. If you outsource some work and the person you’re thinking of hiring does an excellent job, this will make you much more confident in your decision.

Be Honest About Your Budget

The great thing about being self-employed or having your own small business is that you get to determine your budget. Any time you spend money, it’s because you want to. That said, there’s no rule that says you need to spend thousands of dollars per month on an assistant so you can delegate work.

Be honest about your budget and what you can afford right now. Start working with someone who’s a beginner in the field if your budget is lower. Just have realistic expectations to match each person’s experience.

Offer an Internship Program

Finally, consider offering an internship program if you want to be more formal. Interns are cheap but you can offer them valuable experience and possibly college credit so it’s a win-win situation. Given today’s job climate, it’s important for students and entry-level workers to get as much hands-on experience as they can and make solid connections.

You may want to offer an internship position that could lead to part-time employment for the right person. Either way, make sure you’re offering up some type of value to make it worthwhile for an intern. That way, you’re getting much-needed help but they are also getting experience and resources.

Summary

Overwhelm and procrastination will only slow you down during the day and prevent you from reaching goals. Save money and time when delegating with these tips if you feel like you’re ready for that next step. Remember, you can always start slow with one task or do a trial run to make sure you’ll get a great ROI in terms of both your time and money.