Please note: if you like this article, stay tuned: Kristen Fischer will be interviewing Ed tomorrow! — Skellie
I remember it like it was yesterday.
We were new parents and our newborn baby boy had a severe case of reflux. He was constantly crying and was waking up 6 to 8 times every night.
My wife had very little time for herself. She was exhausted. I was working long hours but did everything I could to help in the evenings and on weekends.
Around that time, my wife called one of her good friends to vent her frustrations.
She told her about how tired she was—and how she didn’t even have time to clean the house. She was on the verge of tears.
Then my wife’s friend said something I’ll never forget: “Why don’t you just hire a house cleaner? You’ll have one less thing to worry about.”
It was such a simple idea. But (I hate to admit this) we’d never thought of it!
That very day we found a house cleaning company. I still remember how great it felt to have someone take that chore away from us.
Shortly after that, I started taking a home-study copywriting course. But I only had weekends to work on the course assignments.
With all my other personal responsibilities, something had to give. So I hired a lawn-care service. That alone saved me 2 to 3 hours every weekend.
Make it easier on yourself
Launching a freelance business is no easy feat—regardless of whether you’re looking to go full-time or part-time. And if you’re trying to build the business while holding down a regular job or taking care of the kids, you have it harder than most.
There are only so many hours in a day! You can’t expect to do it all. And if you try, you’ll burn out sooner or later.
The secret lies in outsourcing tasks you’re not fond of, especially if someone else can do them for less. Here are some ideas:
- Personal stuff. We outsource our house cleaning and lawn care. My wife goes to school and I work long hours. Plus, we don’t enjoy doing that stuff anyway. We’d rather spend our free time on other activities.
- Tax preparation. The U.S. tax code is 67,000 pages long. I wouldn’t even think of filling out my own tax returns. If you don’t have one already, hire a good accountant today. It’ll be money well spent. I’m even looking into outsourcing my bookkeeping (yet another activity I can’t stand!).
- Local errands. Standing in line at the post office is about the most counter-productive activity I can think of. So I order postage stamps over the Internet. And I pay my sister $12 an hour to take my packages and important letters to the post office. (Check out Craigslist.com for people who are willing to run your errands for $10 to $12 an hour.)
- Shopping. Office Depot will deliver orders over $50. But even if I have to pay, say, $7 for shipping, it’s a bargain when compared with driving to the store, standing in line and driving back home.
- Get creative. A local car wash will pick up my car, wash and detail it, and bring it back. A dry cleaner will pick up our clothes, launder them and deliver them the next day. In some cities, local supermarkets will even deliver your groceries to you!
I realize that outsourcing costs money. But don’t just focus on the costs. Think about the benefits.
If you’re pressed for time and you’re earning (or soon will be earning) $50 or more an hour, isn’t it worth outsourcing tasks that someone else can do for much less?
It’s about balance
I’m not saying that the goal is to squeeze every possible billable hour out of your week. It’s about keeping your sanity by letting others help you. That way, you can get more work done AND have more free time.
Regardless of where you are in your freelance journey, give yourself a break. Spend some time this week thinking about tasks you could outsource.
Start small. Pick one or two activities you detest… and start with those.
Ed Gandia is a successful freelance copywriter and the publisher of the biweekly newsletter “The Profitable Freelancer.” To get a free copy of his report “7 Steps to Landing More Lucrative Freelance Projects,” visit www.TheProfitableFreelancer.com.
