Stop Feeling Guilty for Outsourcing

When I work with clients on hiring I find that there are some common problems that hold us back. One of the biggest struggles is feeling guilty.

Most of the time we feel guilty because

• I don’t want to be a “boss”
• I should be doing it myself
• This task isn’t fun, it’s not fair to ask them to do it
• My coach/friend/aunt can run her business without help, what’s wrong with me?

The truth is, hiring and outsourcing your tasks (whether they’re fun or not), gives your team member income, a skill to learn, a productive task, and enables them to contribute to your business.

I won’t waste space telling how how unproductive guilt is as an emotion, so let’s dive right into the solution. Addressing your guilt for outsourcing and moving forward.

Truth #1: As a business grows, more support is needed
No founder can run all the pieces of the company on his or her own indefinitely. You need to transition and become the coach, not all the players on the field. And if your business is going to help more people then you need depth of support.

Take time to consider: Do I want my business to grow beyond where it is right now? Will additional team members help me get there?

Truth #2: Wanting to “do it all myself” is a trick of the ego
Why do we want to do everything independently? Because then we can take all the credit, show up to that class reunion with pride, finally show our ex that we became something!

Question to ponder: Why does it mean less to me that I had support along the way to building my dream business? Is it okay to share credit?

Truth #3: Ask before you assume a task is unsavory or unwanted
Often I would apologetically hand over a job to my assistant, almost taking it back because I felt bad only to learn that she loved that kind of stuff! And even if the task wasn’t the most fun ever, she loved learning, understanding how the business ran, and making money. So my guilt was unfounded and counter productive.

Question to ask: “I’d like you to do this task and return to me by Friday. Will you let me know if this is something you’d like to do more often?”

It’s time to stop feeling guilty for outsourcing when you are building a business to serve others because you will necessarily need some support yourself.