1. Learn To Do It Yourself
Delegating is what separates entrepreneurs from freelancers. Good entrepreneurs figure out how to do something, then delegate it while they initiate something else. Learning to do it yourself doesn’t mean that you’ll always be doing it. It means that you know how to if need be. This lets you be a much better quality judge of the work coming back.
2. Know Enough About How To Do It or How It Works To Be a Critical Judge of Work
You don’t always need the ability to know good work. I know many of the basic elements of design. That doesn’t mean I can design, though. I just know who is worth hiring. Reading just a few basic books about a subject can save you huge amounts of time and money.
3. Have Someone On Your Team Who Falls Into Option 1 or 2
I could weep at the money I’ve seen wasted from companies I’ve worked for hiring agencies when they didn’t have basic knowledge of the work they were paying for. If me or one of several other people had joined the discussion earlier, it would have saved a lot of stress and money.
If can’t claim any of the three categories, it’s likely you’ll become either frustrated or ripped off in the process.
Outsourcing can be a great thing, if executed well. It frees you up to work on what you’re best at. But you need to approach it carefully.
Connect with me on Twitter: @BenNesvig
