New year, new things! I recently sent an email about the 5 things I did to drastically change my business. The outsourcing portion caught the eye of many people and I received several emails and messages asking if I could share a list of all the things I’ve outsourced. I GOTCHOO my friends.

First and foremost, remember that it takes a little time to figure out what makes sense for you personally and professionally to outsource. My list may not be your list, but I hope these give you some perspective.

Before I move onto the list, I would love to share a few bits about what I’ve learned about outsourcing over my almost 17 year career that has helped make outsourcing such an effective (and essential) part of my business:

• It’s ok to spend money to make money. In fact, if you want to be successful, efficient, and HAPPY, you’ll need to spend some money to make money. 
• You are only ONE PERSON running a business. Think of any other business in the world and all of the positions/roles that are involved to make it successful. In a photography business, those roles/positions are photographer, editor, marketing, social media, receptionist (emails and phone calls), accountant (taxes), bookkeeper, ordering and shipping, housekeeper, etc. Can we all agree it is impossible for one person to do ALL of those things and do them well?
• Getting rid of the things in your business that you aren’t good at or suck your joy will make you a much happier entrepreneur and give you time to do parts of your business that you do enjoy. 

So with that said, the things I currently outsource are:

• Album design
• Editing – Partial…I edit most photos in Lightroom and editor does heavier editing in Photoshop
• Culling – Partial…I do final cull on all sessions and weddings
• House cleaning – Yes, this sucks my joy and I would rather use that time to make more money
• Bookkeeping
• Taxes
• Shipping

Things I’ve outsourced in the past but doesn’t apply to me currently:

• Child care – A nanny came to my home two days a week so that I could crank on work for two full days (while still being available to talk and hug my kids during the day). This allowed me to be a guilt free and present-in-the-moment mama the other days of the week.

Things I’ll be adding to my outsourcing list this year:

• Social media – Let’s be honest, this could easily be a full time job if you want it to be done well and make a real difference in your business. I don’t have the hours to invest, I don’t enjoy it, and I’m not good at it…soooo OUTSOURCE TIME!

Wanna know the companies that help me with all of this outsourcing and are essential for my business success? Check out my blog post “Eight companies my business can’t live without.”