Hello hirers and helpers!
Often we want to get someone to do a small job for us but we end up doing it ourselves because it just seems too hard. You might say “by the time I explain it to someone I might as well do it myself”.
Well on the one hand I agree but on the other, I feel that this is just a poor excuse. As an example, I recently outsourced some of my thinking to someone in the US. Huh?? you might think… Well the story is that I was working on a tagline for another business and I couldn’t come up with one. So to make my life easier I asked someone on the web to come up with some ideas. Well that worked really well actually. For under $10 I got help with something which was bending my brain too much. I ended up with 19 taglines of which 50% are useable. Cool!!
Anyhow, the point is that we shouldn’t be deterred to give away the most unlikely jobs just becasue they don’t fit the norm (whatever that is) or it feels too difficult.
Here are my top 5 ways on how you can get help with some of your small jobs…
1. Try it out on something really small!
Don’t go for the big difficult thing as a first. Remember when you made your first online purchase? You might have bought something from Amazon or ebay like a book or a CD. It is just like it. See if you can find someone to help your kids with Maths or Music or some help online for a couple of hours first before committing to more.
2. State your requirements well!
When you ask for help, state your requirement well. Where, When, What you expect. Don’t be too fluffy! This avoids any misunderstanding down the track and allows the helper to get a better sense of how they might be able to help you.
3. Be careful with sharing too many details online!
Use common sense I say. Don’t hand over sensitive details unless you are sure of who you are dealing with. Use the web based messaging system as there is a better record and it keeps it all above board. If you use your personal email you might open yourself up to SPAM and other nasties.
4. Ask for help in small chunks!
Whenever we outsource a small job to another country or to a person we don’t know, and we pay by the hour, we always say things like, “do this job for 3 hours then stop and report back on progress”. This ensures much better outcomes and a lot less risk.
5. Be creative!
You would not believe what you can get help with… Researching the web on your behalf; moving furniture around in your house for an hour; helping you with a Powerpoint presentation; solving a complex maths problem; Skype language lessons; answering your phone for an afternoon; cleaning your house; cooking meals (you can have your own Chinese chef in the house), gardening, shopping… and so on.
Anyhow, drop me a note if you need help or inspiration!
Lea
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