TT #008: Outsource to Grow Your Side Hustle?

It can feel like an almost impossible balancing act, working a 9–5 and trying to launch your own business, could you outsource things?

Are you like me, do you think that you have to do everything yourself?

My day consists of waking up early to work for an hour or two on a side project. Then I start work on my 9–5, breaking an hour for lunch and doing some reading. After dinner I spend some time with my wife then it’s back to hustling at night.

Working 18 Hours A Day

Unfortunately, this isn’t sustainable, I’ve had times where I’m completely worn out.

I’ve felt like jacking it all in, giving up to try something else, even stopping altogether.

To counter this I say to myself “you only fail if you quit”. But how do you get around the issue of not having enough time in the day? You forget to live your life, it can become all-consuming, I’ve found it hard to “switch off”.

We need to learn, to know what we don’t currently know, but it’s a long hard process.

Depending on your background you will have to pick up skills that you aren’t familiar with. It could be marketing and sales if like me and you’re from a technical background. Whatever it is, there is a learning curve that takes up even more of your time.

Outsource 101: The Who, Not The How

One thing I’ve started doing is looking through my to-do list and seeing what tasks I can outsource.

I’ve even started looking at outsourcing tasks that I’m very strong at to speed things up.

To give you a few examples, I’ve been outsourcing different things that I’m both strong and weak at. I managed to find someone to build a sales funnel for me, including writing the copy and sourcing images. Now I’m finding a developer (my background) to work on improving the product that the sales funnel is promoting.

The E-Myth Revisited: The Outsource Bible

It comes back to “work on your business not in your business“.

One huge bonus of you still working your 9–5 and hustling on the side is that you have a regular income.

Why not set aside a budget every month and instead of putting it in savings, “invest” it and build assets that you own.

It’s easier said than done, it’s a difficult mindset switch that I struggle with.

I’m lucky that I have very little debt, a mortgage, a small loan, and almost zero credit card debt. I’ve got a good salary that gives me a lot of disposable income. Instead of saving it, which is pointless because interest rates are so low. I’m trying to use that money to grow my side projects to make more money.

There’s no guarantee that outsourcing to get things done will make you money.

But that money spent isn’t wasted, you will have built or created something that you can use over and over again.

“Inbox Zero” For Your To-Do List

I thinking like this to get my to-do list down to zero and get things I’ve been putting off done. Can I use my credit cards to get it all completed in record time, test out what I’ve built, and go from there? What would life be like if you had all your tasks done in 6 weeks, without having to spend hours doing it all yourself?

This is going to be one big experiment, no doubt things won’t go as I’ve hoped.

If I get 80% of things done to a high standard, that is far better than dealing with the frustration of a huge to-do list.

What are 3 things you could outsource to help with your side project or business?

Are there things you could outsource to make your life easier?

Drop me a message I’d love to know your thought process.