I Know What’s Holding You Back

I often try to remember how I felt when I was just starting my business. It’s hard to get into the mind of someone who knew so much less than they do now. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t oblivious to how challenging it was going to be. That is why it’s essential to know your “why” before starting out, right? This way when the inevitable shit hits the fan, that you’re prepared and keep going regardless.

In saying all that, there are so many things in every stage of entrepreneurship that surprise you and that you learn through trial and error. It is also inevitable that you will make tough to downright bad decisions. One big aspect of running a biz that I wasn’t ready for was the inevitability of outsourcing if I wanted to scale my business and get to the places that I dreamed to go. Even though I began to realise how important it was going to be to get right out of my comfort zone in order to grow, I was reluctant. I couldn’t figure out what it was that was holding me back. I wanted success. Why couldn’t I push myself to do something that was going to help me to get there? 

I started to realise from having a few talks with myself (not in a weird way), chatting with business friends and also talks with clients, that I knew the reasons all along. To help you make these realisations quicker than I did and get you moving in the right direction, I have come up with three main reasons I think you are holding yourself back from outsourcing.

MONEY

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This just had to be the first one I talked about as I think it may have been the first to pop into your head. Making investment decisions, no matter the size is scary AF. We often miss a very important word in the previous sentence: investment. A lot of us will see this word and associate it with spending money. We need to change our mindset that to spend money means that it is never coming back to you. Can the same be said about making important investments in our businesses? No! I’m not saying that these decisions are easy. They can leave us feeling overwhelmed and confused about whether we are making the correct decisions.

It goes without saying that you want to make the right choice. Have you ever convinced yourself that you could just save the money and do it yourself? It’s great to have such ambition but it’s going to lead to even more confusion and overwhelm! We need to make that mindset shift that investing is facilitating growth and is essential for that growth to take place. 

By outsourcing, you’re freeing up time that can be put into things that are going to help you scale your business and therefore generate more income. Those precious hours that you are spending to save money are actually COSTING you money in the long run.

LOSING CONTROL

I want you to remember when you were just starting your business and perhaps even now. How many different hats did/do you wear every day? In the beginning, we are doing EVERYTHING ourselves. It’s what puts the solo in solopreneur. We are copywriters, accountants, marketers, social media managers, salespeople, administrators and even shrinks. I know in my own business I was SO proud of the fact that I could do it all. Proud of my ability to learn new skills when required and just the feeling of creating something completely on my own.

I have seen a fear of letting go among the reasons why business owners don’t outsource. It can be really difficult to step away and trust someone with something that we hold so dear. I often see a false sense of security among entrepreneurs. They feel really busy and therefore feel that they are being productive. Are the tasks that you are doing getting you to where you want to be? Or are you holding yourself back by making excuses as to why you haven’t outsourced yet? Common excuses I have seen are “a content creator will never be able to capture my voice so I have to do it myself” or “I am a perfectionist, if I want it done right, I have to do it”. This mentality is not going to help you progress and grow your business. It is only a matter of time that you will have to face the inevitability of outsourcing. Don’t be scared! It’s a good thing!

OVERWHELM

The final reason that you are holding yourself back from outsourcing is the feeling of overwhelm. Have you heard of fight or flight before? When I started a business, I never would have expected the emotional strength it would require. Fight or flight is how our body goes into survival mode. It has been said that the same reaction happens to us when we are faced with other challenges that actually have no threat to our lives. For example, the nervous sweating and feelings of being sick before important or high ticket discovery calls. Our bodies will react as if we are in danger. So dramatic (haha). Feelings of overwhelm are GUARANTEED when running a business. However, to succeed we need to channel those feelings and put them into things that are going to help us grow and scale our businesses. 

Have you ever had these feelings and then looked at another business owner who has both a team and seemingly their shit together? Did it make you a teeny bit jealous? Me too. However, these feelings are unlikely jealousy but rather frustration. You see where you want to be but cannot figure out how to get there. You’ve too many tasks and not the slightest idea how to even begin to outsource or look for help. 

I challenge you to write down every single task that you complete daily. Split them up into tasks that ONLY you can do (CEO tasks) and then put everything else on another list. Now that you can visualise what is making you feel stressed and overwhelmed, you can do something about it. 

So, to summarise. Here’s what’s holding you back: 

1. You believe that by doing everything yourself you’ll save money. When in actual fact you are costing your business money.
2. You are afraid of losing control over a business which you worked so hard to create.
3. You feel very overwhelmed, are doing too many tasks and can’t seem to find the headspace required to get to the next level. 

All of these reasons are VALID. However, some mindset shifts need to take place to get rid of these doubts, fears and limiting beliefs in order to get you to where you want to be. 

I will leave you with a quote….

“Do what you do best, then outsource the rest” Peter Drucker