I’m a firm believer in outsourcing to experts – whether that’s selling my house, getting rid of household items, or something more prosaic like car cleaning.
Some people call it the “gig economy”, outsourcing or being time-savvy and all three fit.
When I want to market my property for sale (and I’ve had quite a few homes), I don’t go foraging for a post and some laminated signage to knock up a For Sale board, I contact a professional – an estate agent.
Stuff that may have some value to others is sold on eBay or given away on Gumtree; I don’t nip along to One Stop with a blank postcard or set up a garage sale (though my daughter did recently, to my amusement).
I certainly don’t clean my cars either. I used to. But then realised that one of those hand wash car cleaning companies dotted every half a mile in a town, or propped in some supermarket, can do it quicker, better and more cheaply than I could.
The BMW (or whip, which I use to pretend I’m in some LA suburb) was valeted yesterday by three men and a woman in 25 minutes for £15. Inside and out. Sparkling clean. It would have taken me 2 hours to achieve a poorer result and left me not concentrating on what I need to focus on – walking the new border collie, having banter on social media, drinking coffee and tackling the list of household chores nailed to the door daily by my demon wife.
I believe if someone can do something much better than you in a fraction of the time – pay them to do it: whether that’s car valeters, removal companies (don’t ever move yourself to save money – trust me, it’s soul-destroying) or a landscape gardener.
I can do very little very well in fact.
I’m rubbish at:
- DIY
- Decorating
- Science
- Saving for a rainy day
- Taking things seriously
But I can write, I can ghostwrite, I have a knack with copywriting, social media and digital marketing.
That blog post may take you 2 and half hours to get right – 150 minutes that could be spent more productively on your business. I choose to pay £15 to get the car cleaned, £11 a month to get windows washed and more with an accountant to manage my finances.
I choose not to though so I can concentrate on writing, doing something I love, for clients who choose to outsource.
I will do it faster and betterer than you too.
You have my word on that.
Connect with me on LinkedIn and see how I can help you.
