Boss Talk: If you could outsource three things in your life or business right now what would they be?
Episode 257: Show Notes
Welcome back to another special episode of The Strategy Hour! We are doing a new round of our favorite thing, Boss Talk! We are lucky enough to have Steph Crowder back with us, and you know how much we love it when she is around. This week we are asking each other: what are the top three things we wish we could outsource? That’s right, strategists, what are those jobs that you want someone else to do because it’s not your thing, you’re bored of it or you just have better ways to spend your time now that you are a boss?
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As our business has grown we have found we need and want more and more of the day to day stuff handled by other professionals, so we can have space for the most important jobs and all the rest of the good things that life has to offer. This is one of the blessings of growing a business, you get to choose how it transforms and shape its future according to your instincts and needs. This conversation covers the most fantastical desires we have as well as the most mundane, don’t worry we didn’t skimp on the things we wish we could have just a little different! Come with us on this journey of wishes and wonderment and think about what you may like to outsource in your biz!
Meal Planning and Personal Chef
Abagail would really like to hire a personal chef to handle all her cooking, because as much as she likes to eat, the cooking part is less exciting. Meal planning ahead of time has helped to make this a bit less of a strain, but with all the other things she is thinking about, wouldn’t it be nice to just have food put in front of you? Steph says that she used to love cooking a whole lot more before she had her child, and now it just feels like one extra thing she needs to think about. It is especially the deciding part that seems to sap a lot of energy. Emylee on the other hand has found cooking to be stress relieving and loves spending time in the kitchen, although she also imagines it would be quite nice to have someone else decide what was for supper because making up a menu can be kind of exhausting at the end of the day! Emylee thinks what she needs goes beyond a personal chef into more a home manager role. Someone to do the laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, house organizing and her meal planning too. That may sound like quite a lot but let a girl dream!
Social Media Management
Steph’s first choice is someone to handle her social media accounts and take it off of her hands. Although she has meaningful and enjoyable times interacting with people she would like to see if it is possible for someone to curate and handle her accounts while still making it authentic and true to her brand. Steph feels like she has not really seen this done well before and so maybe it is a bit of shot in the dark. We agree, it is quite hard to outsource these accounts and for it to remain feeling personal and real. In some ways maybe it has to be the real person for this. Emylee would like a person to take care of her social strategy, point things out that she could be doing differently and plan posts with appropriate content. At times social media can feel quite challenging and like a game you are trying to win and having someone dedicated to playing this well might feel like a relief. Steph also says that she would like some help with the steady growth of her followings on these platforms, so if she could outsource the job of growing her numbers she would. We get you girl!
Virtual CFO
Another idea from Abagail and one that is new to her is getting in a virtual CFO. It was our friend Tyler McCall who suggested it to her and at first it seemed unnecessary but it slowly started to make sense and now sounds quite attractive. The idea of having clear reports and projections all presented neatly and cleanly for your review does sound quite nice! And getting two or three points each month of things on which you need to focus too. Sign us up! Abagail says that after growing the business as much as we have you can sometimes hit a wall with your skillset and having that outside person giving you some direction would be a great help to keep things moving. Steph agrees with this, having her own virtual assistant who does these sorts of tasks with her, providing her with useful and insightful information would be great.
Fitness Boot Camp
Steph shares how joining a fitness boot camp has really changed her relationship to exercise and how she sees this as really outsourcing her fitness regime. Before she used to have to make a lot of decisions around exercise, but since signing up for this daily boot camp, all she has to do is leave her home and walk through the doors of the facility and it is now a habit. Very little thought has to go into the process and after a few months it has just become part of her day to day routine. She gets a really great workout, they provide free child care and it only takes up 45 minutes of her day. Before this class, it was an extra mental load but after outsourcing it in this way she does not have think about it all anymore. So exercise can just be this positive thing that she does not have to worry about. Way to go, Steph!
Sales Team
Abagail has started toying with the idea of hiring a sales team to help increase those numbers and capitalize on interest. Plus a lot of people in the game who we respect have sales teams, and we all know there are customers out there that need that little extra push before making a commitment and a purchase! This isn’t cold calling, but rather following up on interest and reminding potential clients of why they might like to be involved. Neither of us are really sales people by nature, so in some ways it would really make sense to have someone come in and handle this for us. Steph agrees that this can really be all the difference between making a sale and not and has seen this in her own work, although she has done most of the following up herself, and this personal touch seems to have gone quite a long way. One extra idea from Abagail is to get in someone to help with a proper marketing plan. We have always done this ourselves but really like the thought of having someone tell us what to do for the next 90 days and what the effects will be. When a business has grown as much as our’s you can sometimes feel lost at sea with too many choices to make and end up not really doing anything. This could really help with Abagail’s second business and sometimes it is just that outside perspective that can jumpstart a new phase of growth and reward!
Quote This
I would love to be done with work at five and then dinner is basically ready.
—Steph Crowder
Highlights
Meal Planning and Personal Chef. [0:02:48.2]
Home and Cleaning Management. [0:05:35.9]
Social Media Management. [0:07:35.7]
Virtual CFO. [0:15:20.5]
Editor, Publisher and Writing Assistant. [0:22:30.1]
Fitness and Boot Camp. [0:24:54.8]
Sales Team. [0:28:18.7]
Marketing Plan [0:32:08.6]
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
KEY TOPICS
Outsourcing, Home Management, Social Media, Virtual Assistants, Marketing Plans, Exercise
