Welcome back!
Throughout these lessons I’ve repeatedly mentioned time-saving tips like delegating responsibilities to capable others (either at home or at work) as well as outsourcing some of your work to a capable freelancer. And that’s exactly what you’re going to learn how to do in this lesson and the next couple lessons.
In just a moment you’ll discover how to find, screen and hire a competent freelancer. But first, let’s talk about why you need one, especially if you’re starting a business…
Some people look at freelancers as an expense. However, a good freelancer is more of an investment. That’s because a good freelancer can actually save you both time and money (and he or she will likely to a better job than you, too).
It’s pretty easy to see that a freelancer will save you time. But some people are surprised to hear that a freelancer can also save you money. Let me explain…
Let’s suppose your goal is to make $100,000 this year. If you intend to work 20 hours per week for 50 weeks this year, then you’ll work a total of 1000 hours. That means that your time is worth $100 an hour to you (1000 hours X $100/hour = $100,000).
So take a look at your to do list. Let’s suppose one of your tasks is to create a short report. This report will likely take you two hours to create. If we value your time at $100 per hour, then writing this report costs you $200. It’s a pretty simple formula.
Suddenly, deciding whether to outsource or not becomes an easy task. All you have to do is shop around to see if you can find a good ghostwriter who can do this task for less than $200. If so, this person saves you both time and money. And that means you now have two hours free to do a high-revenue activity in your business, such as setting up a pay per click campaign!
Of course aspiring business owners aren’t the only ones who should outsource low-revenue tasks. For example, you might hire someone to come in and clean once per week, which will free up several hours. You can use this time to work on your goals.
Where to Find Outsourcers
Obviously, if you’re looking to outsource a task like cleaning, then you’ll look locally. That means checking your phone book (especially the yellow pages), look at classified ads or even asking your friends for recommendations. However, if you’re outsourcing tasks that your freelancer can perform offsite (like writing), then you’re not restricted to the local area.
Here are places to look for a freelancer:
- On business and marketing forums like the WarriorForum.com (check the “Warrior for Hire” section).
- On freelancing sites like elance.com, getafreelancer.com, guru.com, and rentacoder.com.
- By placing ad and browsing classified sites like craigslist.org.
- By placing ads and browsing offline classified ads in your local newspaper. Don’t forget to look at any college newspapers.
- By approaching a local university and asking department professors for recommendations.
- By asking colleagues for recommendations.
- By running a Google search (e.g., “freelancer ghostwriter” or “web designer).
Go ahead and start compiling a list of freelancers you’d consider hiring. But don’t hire anyone yet, because next time you’ll find out how to screen these candidates and do your due diligence!