How outsourcing helps you make MORE money in your business
photo by Erin Lindsey
Who wants to make more money in their business?
Dumb question, right? Who DOESN'T want to increase their profit?
Hey guys -- Melissa Jill here! I'm a pro wedding photographer myself who also started Align Album Design years ago to help photographers do just this! We all want to make more money without having to necessarily work more hours. But how do you do that when you are just trying to keep up with delivering on the promises you've made to the clients you already have?
Who wants to make more money in their business?
Dumb question, right? Who DOESN'T want to increase their profit?
Hey guys -- Melissa Jill here! I'm a pro wedding photographer myself who also started Align Album Design years ago to help photographers do just this! We all want to make more money without having to necessarily work more hours. But how do you do that when you are just trying to keep up with delivering on the promises you've made to the clients you already have?
So many small business owners I know have a saving-on-costs mentality. They figure if they can do it themselves, they should, because then they increase their profit-margin by not having additional overhead costs. And while there is some merit to being conscious of your costs, I believe this mind-set is not an optimal perspective for a successful entrepreneur who wants to grow their business and make more money.
Let me share a story from outside the business world by way of example. I have a friend named Kathleen. She is single and owns a home in a beautiful neighborhood with grass and big trees (these are few and far between in Arizona!). She is an elementary teacher, so she works long hours for little pay. She wanted to take on some additional after-hours tutoring jobs to try to make more money, but she struggled to find the time to do so with everything that is on her plate. She works all week long and on the weekend, she has to take care of the house and yard and do all the grocery shopping. She also loves to run, stay in shape, and go out with friends. It seems that there is little wiggle-room and give in her schedule and responsibilities. She doesn't mind doing the yard work -- it's nice to be outside -- but it's hard to keep up with, and she occasionally gets nasty notes from her HOA about how she needs to keep her grass trimmed better. One day she saw a neighbor boy who is in high school mowing a lawn down the street. She knew she didn't really have the additional money to outsource her yard work -- she's an underpaid teacher for goodness sakes -- but she got an idea. She walked down to chat with the boy and offered to pay him minimum wage to do yard work for her every-other-week. With the time she saved on doing the work herself, she picked up some tutoring jobs that pay $50/hour. No more nasty HOA notes AND she has increased her income. Win-win!
This is a great example of the fundamental concept of how outsourcing can help businesses grow and make more money. So often business owners get stuck thinking that outsourcing is only a good option for people who are rolling in money. But that's not the case. It makes perfect sense for people who are tight on money and time, but who have ideas for how they can increase their profit by spending time working on tasks that will GROW their business. In addition, businesses that outsource to experts with fast turn-around times do a better job keeping their clients happy because they are able to offer a better SERVICE. Kathleen stopped getting nasty HOA letters; you can cut down on disgruntled clients who are waiting much longer than they'd like for their products.
Outsourcing portions of your workflow that bog down your TO DO list and your time is just a smart business decision, regardless of how much money you have. If you want to grow your business and your bottom line, free yourself up to be an entrepreneur. Use your time to grow your business and implement your ideas, rather than to merely serve your current clients. It's the only way to grow.
----------> If you have never tried outsourcing your album design, why not give it a try today and see if it does free you up to make more money in your business? Click here to sign up for an account with Align, and when you do so, we'll send you a free welcome gift -- our "Top 10 Most Popular Album Companies" Resource List. That way you can find out which album printing & binding companies are the most popular among photographers who use Align, and more importantly, WHY.
Let me share a story from outside the business world by way of example. I have a friend named Kathleen. She is single and owns a home in a beautiful neighborhood with grass and big trees (these are few and far between in Arizona!). She is an elementary teacher, so she works long hours for little pay. She wanted to take on some additional after-hours tutoring jobs to try to make more money, but she struggled to find the time to do so with everything that is on her plate. She works all week long and on the weekend, she has to take care of the house and yard and do all the grocery shopping. She also loves to run, stay in shape, and go out with friends. It seems that there is little wiggle-room and give in her schedule and responsibilities. She doesn't mind doing the yard work -- it's nice to be outside -- but it's hard to keep up with, and she occasionally gets nasty notes from her HOA about how she needs to keep her grass trimmed better. One day she saw a neighbor boy who is in high school mowing a lawn down the street. She knew she didn't really have the additional money to outsource her yard work -- she's an underpaid teacher for goodness sakes -- but she got an idea. She walked down to chat with the boy and offered to pay him minimum wage to do yard work for her every-other-week. With the time she saved on doing the work herself, she picked up some tutoring jobs that pay $50/hour. No more nasty HOA notes AND she has increased her income. Win-win!
This is a great example of the fundamental concept of how outsourcing can help businesses grow and make more money. So often business owners get stuck thinking that outsourcing is only a good option for people who are rolling in money. But that's not the case. It makes perfect sense for people who are tight on money and time, but who have ideas for how they can increase their profit by spending time working on tasks that will GROW their business. In addition, businesses that outsource to experts with fast turn-around times do a better job keeping their clients happy because they are able to offer a better SERVICE. Kathleen stopped getting nasty HOA letters; you can cut down on disgruntled clients who are waiting much longer than they'd like for their products.
Outsourcing portions of your workflow that bog down your TO DO list and your time is just a smart business decision, regardless of how much money you have. If you want to grow your business and your bottom line, free yourself up to be an entrepreneur. Use your time to grow your business and implement your ideas, rather than to merely serve your current clients. It's the only way to grow.
----------> If you have never tried outsourcing your album design, why not give it a try today and see if it does free you up to make more money in your business? Click here to sign up for an account with Align, and when you do so, we'll send you a free welcome gift -- our "Top 10 Most Popular Album Companies" Resource List. That way you can find out which album printing & binding companies are the most popular among photographers who use Align, and more importantly, WHY.
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Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
