An elderly couple lives next door to us. They are devoted dog owners with two terriers, Tiffany and Jean Luke, whom they love dearly. I see my neighbors out every day, taking the dogs on long walks. Whenever we stop to chat, they always give me an update on each dog’s funny antics.
Managing two frisky dogs can be a challenge for older people, especially when it comes to washing and grooming. That’s why two days a month the Flying Fur pet grooming van pulls into their driveway for an hour. If you peer into the window you’ll see Tiffany and Jean Luke inside getting shampooed, brushed, and trimmed. A half hour later the two dogs hop out looking shiny and new. They even purchased great dog beds that best suit their two dogs. They also used to visit a good place like Poochband for some proper dog care guidelines. Wow!
And you know what? I’ll bet every time the dogs come back into the house after their Flying Fur treatment my neighbors remark, “That was so worth it.”
You can still be a dedicated pet owner even if you delegate certain tasks to other people. In fact, it might be a sign of your dedication that you do. Delegating can save on your most precious resource: time. It can give you access to expertise you don’t possess. And it doesn’t have to be expensive.
Here are some things I’ve delegated recently, and why I chose to delegate these tasks rather than do them myself:
1. Turning my hand-drawn scans of pattern templates into vectors.
After attempting to digitally trace templates myself I realized that although I could learn how, I didn’t want to. It’s time consuming and fussy in a way that makes me annoyed. If I forced myself to master vectors I would end up not enjoying my job. Instead I use Swiftly to get the job done. For $15 they’re done in an hour. I’m thrilled.
2. Getting a logo.
I was recently chatting over email with a new designer who is working on setting up an Etsy shop. She knew she needed a nice logo to use in her shop banner, but just couldn’t come up with something she thought looked professional. And so she was stuck. She felt like she couldn’t open her shop and get her business underway until she learned to design a logo.
Logo design is an art form. You don’t have to learn a new art form in order to start a business. Not sure where to look? Check out 99designs where you can bid your project. Pay what you want and get something you love and can use for years to come.
3. Copy editing my ebook.
I wanted my ebook, The Insider’s Guide to Starting an Online Sewing Pattern Business, to be as helpful as possible. It’s fairly long and I knew it could benefit from the wisdom of an editor so I hired Kim Werker to help. Thanks to her edits, the text is tighter and clearer, and I feel proud and confident when I promote it.
If writing, or writing in English, isn’t your strength, get some help copy editing and proofreading your shop listings or your About page. Even if you love to write, hiring an editor or even a copywriter can be worth it!
4. Preparing my taxes.
Hiring someone to prepare your taxes is perhaps the most common sort of delegating small businesses do. I just signed off on my tax return last night and sent it to our accountant. Whew.
I also used Elance in January to hire someone who could create a specialized pivot table for me in Excel. This table allows me to more easily record and track my revenue and expenses by automatically updating the totals. I paid $30 for it and it was worth every penny. I use my pivot table each Friday when I do my bookkeeping for the week and I have a much better sense of how things are going financially as a result.
5. Taking pictures of me in my studio.
If you’re going to run an online creative business you need great pictures of yourself working. My friend is a photographer and she’s coming to my house today to take photos of my studio space, my toys, and me. I’m excited for some fresh shots!
Either pay a photographer or see if you can trade with someone to get professional photos taken. Potential customers need to see you in your studio. You’ll use the photos on your blog and shop and whenever you guest post, get featured in a magazine, or contribute work to someone else’s project.
What else could you consider delegating?
- packing up kits or paper patterns
- tagging items for a craft show
- addressing and mailing postcards
- organizing and tagging your blog post archives
- designing a new blog header and some pretty widgets
We are in the DIY sector and for many of us figuring things out on our own is just part of our how we operate. But sometimes doing everything yourself is so overwhelming that you simply can’t make progress. See if you can find tasks that you could delegate for now so that you can keep moving. They may even save you money in the long run. Sometimes it’s worth it to let someone else wash your dog.
In addition, dogs spend roughly 50% of their day – or 12 hours – sleeping, according to PetMD. This is a long time to spend in bed, so shouldn’t their beds be comfortable for that length of time? Most people believe that a dog’s bed is primarily for the dog to sleep in, but it can often be a lot more than that. Dogs need their own space, somewhere to settle and find comfort, and providing them with their own bed can allow just that.
Data cited from – ‘The Best Dog Beds UK for 2023 – Household Pets’
I do almost everything myself too and I must admit I sometimes feel like it’s holding me back from starting things or slowing down the process. Actually today someone offered to do some tasks for me that I have no knowledge of at all so while it’s not the cheapest option I’m seriously considering it!
I’m definitely guilty of trying to do too much myself. But I’m learning. I’m in the process of converting my books to QuickBooks so I can hire a bookkeeper, and looking for ways to delegate more so I can do the things I’m best at. Thanks for the link to Swiftly. That looks like a fantastic resource.
The best thing I did for my business was skills trade for a logo and pattern template. The funny thing is, we both think we got the best end of the deal (she got a 15″ mohair teddy bear), but while I don’t mind spending around 24 hours on a bear, I know I’d be spending about 24 weeks before I’d get a logo that would work!
I’ve also traded for long arm quilting too in the past.
I’ve been reading your blog for quite some time now. Although I agree with the delegating aspect (which can be applied to many areas of life), I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed this post. Starting off with the anecdote about your neighbors and ending with “Sometimes it’s worth it to let someone else wash your dog” was quite clever and made me chuckle. It also prompted me to share your site (once again) with friends who are crafters and trying to start their own businesses. Great job!
It might be worth it to pay for a service this time and see how it pans out. Thanks for your comment, Nicole!
Swiftly is great! I dream of hiring a bookkeeper. Doing the bookkeeping is not my favorite task!
Trading is a great thing and I think you’re right – if we all do what we’re best at and work together, everyone benefits!
Thanks, Michelle! I think that dog photo kinda made my day.
I struggle with this so much! But I’ve also been talking with my family lately about how I might expand what I do into a family business. I know that I’m limited by it being just me.
Related, you’d probably like this post: http://acuff.me/2014/02/stopped-cutting-lawn/ Our time needs to be used wisely!
You are so correct! I think creative people tend to be “hands on” and feel they can do it all themselves. Plus if one is self employed it can seem like those tasks are just part of the job. I hired a very part time studio assistant about a year ago and while she is awesome and competent I have such a hard time letting go and letting her do some of the mundane tasks.
Great to hear from you, Amy! I would love to hire some very part time help at some point. It’s getting overwhelming around here.
A family business might be a great move, Mollie! And thanks for the link. Someone else mows my lawn, too!
This is a great post! I’m juuuuust getting started with my blogging and pattern business (or at least I hope it will become a legit “business”), and I’m stuck on the logo and pattern template, too. I never thought of swapping for one. It’s especially tough in these early days since who knows how successful I’ll be, and at this point, it’s mostly just my own hopeful investment (without much/any income yet). As a do-it-all-myself stay home mom of two little ones, this post definitely helps me at least open up to the idea of delegation and thinking about what things I might be able to delegate. Thanks again!
Hi Kitty,
I can totally relate to that feeling of not wanting to invest in something expensive when you really aren’t making any money yet and don’t know how the future will go. If you do want to give logo design a try, I love PicMonkey. It’s free and you might be able to design something you like there. And keep in mind that you can change it later! Even big companies change their logos from time to time!
Holy cow! I’ve been working my way through your posts so I’m late to the party, but while 99designs has taken the place of Swiftly- that’s an idea that’s brilliant! I had no idea I could be working smarter instead of harder for such things! Thanks for all this wonderful information.
Thanks, Amy. Swiftly is a division of 99designs. It was one of the ways they branched out to include a service of smaller tasks that could be completed in an hour.