 Many of us have dreams. If you are reading this website you are likely actively pursuing them or on the brink of doing so. To build a dream you have to be scrappy, Lean Start Up style (must read), but if you aren't careful you begin to think you should do everything yourself, even if you aren't that good at the task, or don't have the time, and so you save money but your business suffers. Which begs the question, if you aren't willing to invest in yourself, why should anyone else? Here's 4 ways to leverage outsourcing to your advantage. Remember Time is Money The biggest mistakes small businesses make is trying to cut costs at all costs. In doing so, you are likely wasting a much more valuable asset, time. There are a million things to do to build your business, and if you spend a whole week teaching yourself copyright law instead of perfecting your pattern and streamlining production, you are actively losing money (and I'd guess shooting yourself in the foot legally). If you'd like to have a successful fashion brand, you could estimate making the average Chief Creative Officer salary of $183,418 annually. If you evaluate your time based on this benchmark, an hour of your time is about $88. This means a week of "DIY teaching" yourself a new skill costs you $3,527! When you look at time as a commodity you start to understand why outsourcing actually saves you money in the long run. You outsource a professional, who will do it better than you, for less than your time is worth. What Can you Outsource? You're not great at everything. That's just a fact. But, you are great at a couple key things that if you double down on can make you the most money for your Big Idea. But if you're taking that valuable time and brain power to do the things you are NOT good at, you are losing money and time to build your business. Do not make this mistake. Here's a few things you can outsource to give you back your time and work more effectively: Social Media When was the last time you got on Instagram (for business) and realized 30 minutes (or an hour) had passed?! We are all guilty of this, but you are smarter and so you outsource that ish. There is a method to a beautiful, professional Instagram feed that looks cohesive and tells your brand story. There is a filter strategy, a certain amount of photos with negative space, the type of content you post and even when to post. Here are 3 options you should consider. You will still need to run the account yourself, but they will give you a great foundation, and take some of the time intensive work off your hands.
 Imagery This is the other biggest area people will DIY when they should outsource. Content is king in 2018 and if your content is uninspiring, no one will care. So if you have been posting dim photos of your product taken inside your living room with yellow lighting, you will serve yourself well to bring in a professional. *See again, the example above. Her photos before were all very busy. Own their own they may look fine, but in the feed as a whole you have no idea what she is saying. The feed on the right, it's very clear she loves reading and books, which will immediately grab any other bookworm's attention. The feed is also light and inviting. You want to stay awhile. Outsource imagery to a local photographer. You can shoot all your images (product, lifestyle, team photos) in one day and use them for the whole season usually. (Email us if you would like a recommendation in NYC or LA) We hope this helps you feel better about your To-Do list and empowers you to build your business in a way that is life-giving to you. If you need help with social media or production consultation, for a limited time only, we are offering strategy and consulting opportunities during our iFundWomen crowdfunding campaign. Please check it out and get your plan in place today. 
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