You likely enjoy your work very much. You’ve had success in certain areas, but you want to grow more. And even though you know you’re providing for your clients, if something happened to you, they’d be hung out to dry. So is it worth subcontracting?
You need to examine your own skills, time, and resources to decide whether you’re giving clients the full scope of what they need. Additionally, do you want to expand your business? Likely the answer is yes. By contracting with other experts, you can utilize their specialized skills and put them to work. The burden will not be on your shoulders alone. They benefit by being able to do work they love, and you reap benefits like knowing your clients will always be taken care of.
Expand Your Niche
Have you fleshed out who your ideal client would be? Knowing this will enable you to know what services they will need. Look at your current clients: are they your ideal client? If so, what needs do they have that you aren’t fulfilling? Perhaps you ghostwrite for their blog but they also need help managing their website. If you don’t have the skills for that, you can’t offer them this additional service. But if you have a web designer whom you subcontract with, you give clients the ease of adding this service, rather than the hassle they’d have going out to look for someone separately.
Your business was founded on a particular niche that you excel in. But can you expand your niche? By adding to your team you offer your clients a skill that you either can’t do, or don’t offer at the moment. Pass the work off to a subcontractor so you can focus on big picture things!
Rescue Small Businesses
No matter the size of a business they all need various types of services, ranging from web design, customer service, administrative tasks, and general day-to-day operations. You could be the go-to person for each of these, or a “one-stop shop” which will draw busy professionals to you. No one wants to spend unnecessary time and effort looking for a large group of separate people who can perform each of these tasks. If they can see you as someone they trust, who presents them with quality work, then they will turn to you for these additional services.
Virtual Assistants Using the Concept
On my podcast, I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to interview a number of virtual assistants who are using subcontracting to further their businesses. One such professional was Bobbi-Jo, founder of Canadian Virtual Gurus. Once she discovered the benefit of utilizing just one or two subcontractors, she decided to expand into a full multi-VA company. She’s now able to offer many services, including web design, bookkeeping, social media marketing, transcription, and more.
Another podcast guest was Lisa Kolb, founder of Augusta Virtual Assistants. She began her business in 2011 with just her and her daughter. Over time she’s acquired an entire team who each specialize in a particular field. In this way, she’s able to work with many different types of business owners.
These are just two examples of the many people I’ve interviewed. These subcontracting success stories are very common! It could be you who, in time, is an example for others to look to.
Seek More Clients
When you have subcontractors to back you up and help you out, you’ll have the ability to seek out more clients. Don’t limit yourself! When you speak with prospective clients, or even casually with other professionals on various forums, etc., educate them on how the subcontracting concept benefits them.
Take a Break & Keep Your Biz Running
Now that you’ve assembled a team and have a sure and steady stream of work coming in, you can relax and enjoy things. Get back to the basics of why you started your business and reference the big picture, bringing fresh eyes to your overall plan. Take a week off and spend time with your family, or even take just a couple days off to pamper yourself, without worrying that your business will fall apart. The revenue will continue to come in.
As a final point, remember that you should continue to promote yourself. Put yourself out there, network, join forums, and find opportunities to share why your business concept is beneficial. Only by being persistent, as well as honest, will you achieve the level of success you desire.
About Me
Collette Schultz
The dream of being an online business owner began while I was on maternity leave with my daughter. After hours of research and lots of phone calls, nothing worked out. However, I eventually found a business mentor who took the skills I already had, and what I’d learned from my experience as a bookkeeper, and helped me find my own path. This is when my niche, subcontracting, was born. I’ve become the go-to person providing subcontracting resources for service providers and virtual assistants. After regularly listening to relevant podcasts, I was inspired to create my own Savvy Subcontracting podcast. Over the years it has connected me with some of the best businesses in the virtual service industry. They’ve complimented and expanded my services. Some of their resources are books, podcasts, coaching, mentoring and tools. Services I’ve learned to love continue to be online bookkeeping, creating and maintaining Excel spreadsheets, web research, and my podcast. Now I’m able to supplement income and continue to work on becoming a full-time virtual business owner. This will enable me to raise my kids and show them that a passion can become reality.
I’m very excited to share this post with you this month. Let me explain why. As virtual service providers, we are often starved for resources that’ll help us expand our business. We want to learn how to avoid making big mistakes, the best tips for our particular niche, and much more. Unfortunately, sometimes it’s hard to find those resources.
What does the New Year mean to you? For me, it’s time to look over the previous year and see what I can improve on for the future. It’s common for people to set resolutions, whether big or small, or to think of ways to challenge themselves. If you think you really did a great job, you might not have significant changes to make.