If you had asked me two years ago to outsource an area of my business…I would have laughed at you. The idea of giving someone ELSE responsibility within MY business was a terrifying concept to me. My business is my baby! Why in the world would I let a random person come in and do work that I am fully capable of doing?! (*said while I was drowning and in over my head and never sleeping and had no social life. Anyone relate?)

I was a total control freak and didn’t understand the value of outsourcing. I wanted to run EVERYTHING and be super woman and do #allthethings with zero help…but I quickly realized that just wasn’t possible when I would reach seasons of burnout that exhausted me in every way. I slowly started to give up tiny little tasks in my business…like my mom helping me with packaging and shipping client gifts. Then I finally decided to take the leap and contact an editor. Once I started to realize how much of a BLESSING it was to my business and the STRATEGY that went into it…I was HOOKED. I now have a team of FIVE amazing ladies that help me in my business and I don’t know where I would be without them!

Now, some of you may not understand the concept of outsourcing. And I’m here to break it down for you! To some, this concept may make zero sense…just like it didn’t make sense to me in the beginning of my business. But I want to break down the 3 biggest reasons I believe in outsourcing (and why I decided to start bringing people on my team!):

1. SOMEONE CAN DO IT BETTER THAN YOU

Say whaaattt?! This was so hard for me to grasp. How in the world can a random stranger come into my business and do MY job better than I can? Well, lemme tell ya…I didn’t sign up to be a photographer to spend all day behind my computer as a full-time editor. I didn’t become a photographer to be a writer. I didn’t become a photographer to package client gifts. And I sure as heck didn’t become a photographer to do taxes and accounting. But guess who was BORN to do taxes and accounting and kicks total BUTT at it? My CPA 😉

2. AIN’T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT

In the beginning of my business, I felt like I had time for #allthethings. And I did! I had fewer clients and a smaller workload. But, as my business grew…spending 10-12 hours editing each week became more and more impossible. I was constantly working IN my business instead of ON my business…meaning I was so overwhelmed and swamped with daily tasks (emails, social media, marketing, editing, accounting, etc.) that I didn’t get to do any NEW projects that would actually create GROWTH in my business (email marketing, launching products, creating passive income, etc.) I knew that SOMETHING had to give…or I was going to drown in overwhelm and never get to do the things that I BEGAN this business to do!

3. “HI, YES, I’D LIKE TO HAVE A LIFE AGAIN, PLEASE”.

That was me two years ago. I was working 8am-9pm every single day and had absolutely no social life. I was hiding in my parent’s basement to get work done in the peace and quiet…so I wasn’t even socializing with them. I literally was JUST a business owner. No life. No friends. No time for anything except work, work, work. And I was MISERABLE. Does this sound like you? I knew that if something didn’t change…I was going to have to close my business. That sounds dramatic…but that’s how miserable I was! I couldn’t do ANYTHING that I wanted to do because I was just so overwhelmed with my daily business tasks. They were DRAINING me!

So, fast forward to 2 years later…and I now have 5 ladies that help me run my business and keep my LIFE together. And let me just say this: I may get some backlash for this. Some people may not understand why I would outsource editing or have help with copy in my emails. Some people will believe this makes me “less” of a business owner. And that’s exactly what I used to think! “I must not be a good enough business owner if I need this much help”. Can I just shut that down right now before you even think it? Because it is SO far from the truth. If that is the lie you are telling yourself that is keeping you from outsourcing…then we’re going to cut that out right this second. Because outsourcing is actually a SMART, STRATEGIC business move…not a weakness. It means you are creating time for things that MATTER…and creating margin for GROWTH and MORE INCOME. Yes, I’m serious! But more on that in the free download at the end of this post.

A few weeks ago, I emailed each of the ladies on my team and asked them if I could include them in this post. And we are all so excited about it!!! I WISH that there was a blog post like this when I was searching for answers about outsourcing 3 years ago. So, I’m not leaving anything off the table! I’m going to introduce you to the ladies on my team and tell you exactly what they do for me so you have a better idea of how this structure works within my business!

***DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, only one of the ladies on my team is currently taking on new clients. The rest are not available for new clients at this time. But, they have each provided me with a resource to share with you to help you in each area! Pretty please don’t contact them if I mention that they are not taking clients, because I don’t want to overwhelm any of these ladies with emails!!!! 🙂

Now to introduce the amazing ladies:

MARISSA LYNN: EDITOR

Ohhhh, ya’ll. This woman changed my life. She is the FIRST person I ever outsourced ANYTHING to. It took me weeks and weeks to find an editor based on trusted referrals and scouring the internet. But, I didn’t even email anyone until I found her. I just knew she was the perfect fit!

When you think of outsourcing editing, you may think that means that you never edit or touch your images…and that isn’t true at all! I still cull and edit ALL of the images that you see on social media or my blog posts. After I edit images from the blog, I send them over to Marissa in a Lightroom Catalog. Her job is essentially to sync the full gallery with my edits for the blog…or the “anchor” images. And she ROCKS at it. This allows me to have a crazy fast turnaround time, frees up so much time during the week and allows me to blow my clients away with fast, consistent galleries every time.

Marissa is NOT taking on new clients…but DOES have an amazing resource for you!!! She has created an incredible website called Edit Source. It helps you to find a private editor that matches your style and your needs! And, if you are interested in BECOMING a private editor, you can find her education options HERE!

EMILY IN LOVE: VIRTUAL ASSISTANT

Don’t even know where to start here. Goodness gracious. Emily came onto my team starting late last year…and she has changed the game for me. I was SO hesitant to bring on a virtual assistant because I had absolutely no idea what I would have her do and what tasks I would be willing to hand over. But, I started with tiny things and she handled them with excellence…so I started to give her more and more. Now she handles DOZENS of random tasks for me that free up HOURS of my time and so much mental space for me. I don’t even think I could list them all if I tried…but here are a few of the tasks that Emily handles:

-Collecting vendor information before each wedding and sending me a list of Instagrams & blog links

-Scheduling client gifts to be sent out

-Creating workflows and checklists for my clients as I book them

-Sending final questionnaire and payment reminders for brides through Honeybook 

-Managing my Pinterest

-Managing Facebook albums when a new blog post goes live

and so much more!

Emily is also not accepting new clients (so sad!!!) but my recommendation for finding a virtual assistant is to ask in your local online communities! Professional recommendations are my FAVORITE way to find people to outsource to. Especially if the person referring them has a similar business, brand or style!

AMY NORTHARD: CPA

I keep saying that these ladies change my life…and ALL of them have!!! Amy is my full-time CPA that handles all of my bookkeeping, taxes and anything money-related. She is a complete and total rockstar! All I do each month is send her my monthly reports, and she does the rest. I never have to worry about anything related to my finances because I know she’s got it covered. This was the thing I dreaded MOST about being a business owner (anyone else!?)…and she has made it so easy on me!

Amy is not taking on new clients at the moment, but you can view her online course HERE called “Be Your Own CFO” to help walk you through this area of your business if you aren’t ready to outsource just yet. Get 20% off using code “HOPE”!

RACHEL WORD: COPYWRITER

Rachel is the newest member of my team…and she is incredible! Her business is called Creatives Write and she is an amazing copywriter. She helps me create emails to send out to my email list and helps to create copy for projects I’m working on. She can also help with regular client emails, blog posts, free downloads, e-books and anything that requires writing! She helps me to master my brand voice and create consistency in all of the content that I put out. She is truly amazing and has been so, so helpful to me!

You can get 25% off any of her services by mentioning that you found her on my blog!!! And you should be running to contact her RIGHT NOW!!!

MOMMA TAYLOR: THE BOMB.COM

This blog post just didn’t feel right without including my sweet momma!!! She was technically the first person I outsourced to besides Marissa…because she’s the first person I let help me with ANYTHING. I have been crazy independent since I was a little bitty baby…but she also knew when I needed help and stepped up every single time (even when I fought her on it). My sweet mom still helps me with so many areas of my business, including packaging and shipping client gifts, helping me manage my to-do lists, helping with food and drinks for my events/workshops, etc. And just overall keeping me sane by being my best friend 🙂

If you don’t feel like you are ready for the expense of outsourcing just yet…find a friend or family member who can help and ACCEPT HELP. Even if you don’t want it. If there is someone in your life offering to help you because they can see that you need it…say YES!!! It will help you to be a BETTER business owner 🙂

WHEW. If you’ve made it to the end of this post, you are a rockstar. And I have a free gift for you!!! Maybe you’ve read this post and you’re trying to decide if outsourcing is the right next step for you. “How in the world do I know if it’s time for me to start outsourcing!?” – this is the question I got the most on Instagram this week. Well, don’t fret! I’ve created a FREE guide to help walk you through the 3 QUESTIONS you should ask yourself to know if it’s time to start outsourcing in your business. Click HERE or below!

 

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