Successful small business owners understand all facets of their business, and they have often had to take a very hands-on approach to building the business. But what happens once the business is up and running — and the owner is ready to grow it?

“The first two years of a start-up business require the owner’s constant attention, with the owner doing everything associated with the business,” said Lance McNeill, director of entrepreneurship for the Business and Community Lenders of Texas. “After the initial year or two, however, an owner must be open to the idea of getting help to free time to grow the business.”

WHAT’S YOUR TIME WORTH?

McNeill regularly advises clients to consider outsourcing time-consuming tasks that require specialized expertise. “It is important for a business owner to identify the most important activities to the success of the business as well as the owner’s strengths,” he suggested. “Business owners should focus on their strengths and outsource other activities.”

Payroll was the first task outsourced by Emily LaRusch, founder of Back Office Betties, a virtual receptionist company. Because her company provides a service that is used by small businesses to outsource the telephone receptionist activity in the United States and Canada, she sees the value of outsourcing. “For example, a car wash owner can use our service to make sure the business phone is always answered so callers can get up-to-date information about hours, special services and directions,” she said. “We also take messages and make sure the owner or employees get the messages.”

However, like many business owners, LaRusch handled all tasks herself as she built her business to save money. “Payroll took a lot of my time when all of my employees were located in Arizona, but when I hired an employee who lives in Florida, and then another in California, I knew I could not keep track of employment and tax laws in multiple states,” she explained. “I met a payroll specialist at a networking event and decided to outsource my business.” Before outsourcing the function, LaRusch spent at least five hours each month on payroll, now she spends 30 minutes approving timecards and sending the information to her payroll specialist.

Another way to determine what tasks can be outsourced is to take a look at what repetitive processes occur in the business, suggested Melinda F. Emerson, “SmallBizLady” and publisher of SucceedAsYourOwnBoss.com. “There are many monthly, weekly and daily tasks that keep small business owners busy and unable to focus on tasks that will grow the business,” she explained. “A business owner should focus on $100 per hour tasks not $10 per hour tasks.”

LaRusch agreed and admitted that until a business coach suggested that she write every task she performed during the day for a one-week period, she did not realize how many hours she spent on administrative tasks that can be delegated. “I am outsourcing payroll, but I now have a list of other tasks that can be easily outsourced,” she said. “Listing each task is a great way to see exactly how you are spending your time, and how you can find time to focus on building your business.”

LETTING GO

“One of the biggest barriers to outsourcing is the owner’s belief that no one else can handle the task as well,” Emerson said. While the reaction is understandable, it is important to keep the focus on what is most important for the business.

Callers to Intrinsyc Technologies in Vancouver are pleased to talk to a “real” person rather than an automated system that requires pushing multiple buttons to get to a voicemail message. What callers don’t know is that they are talking to a “Back Office Betty” rather than a receptionist at the company. “We received very negative feedback from customers when we used an automated system,” said George W. Reznick, chief financial officer of the 50-person technology company.

Because Intrinsyc’s business strategy focuses on hiring engineers to produce their products and sales people to manage customer relationship, Reznick opted to outsource the receptionist. “We provided messaging, and then trusted the training and professionalism of the other company,” he said. “Feedback has been positive and people never know they are talking to someone that is not sitting in our office.”

OUTSOURCING IN THE DIGITAL ERA

There are a number of tasks that can be easily outsourced, said Emerson. “Bookkeeping, payroll and accounting are the most-often outsourced tasks, but social media is a growing area of outsourcing,” she said. To keep social media pages such as Facebook or Twitter up-to-date and relevant, frequent posts are needed. If a business owner is not social media savvy, does not enjoy posting frequently or wants to spend time doing other things, it makes sense to hire someone to focus on the business’ social media sites.

Technology-related services such as website design and video marketing such as customer testimonials for social media sites, are best handled by experts, pointed out McNeill. Freelancers who focus on website design, search engine optimization (SEO), interactive marketing and video marketing can ensure the final product achieves the business owner’s goal in far less time than a business owner without technical expertise.

Multi-business owner, Lewis Harrison turns to outside experts for SEO services for his various business websites. “I want to make sure my businesses are high on the list in every Google search, so I outsource that service,” he explained. For his bed and breakfast and spa, Harrison relies on reservation sites such as TripAdvisor and Booking.com to market and manage reservations, which enables him to greet customers and serve breakfast each day. “Depending on the site that takes the reservation, I may have to enter a credit card to confirm the reservation, but alerts from the sites keep me up-to-date on reservations.”

If he needs flyers to promote special events or proofreaders for books he is writing, Harrison turns to Fiverr (Fiverr.com), an online marketplace for people offering services from proofreading to graphic design and more. Prices all begin at $5, then can increase based on what additional services you want to add. “Of course, you don’t always get the quality work you might get at more expensive online marketplaces such as eLance (elance.com), but I can try a lot of different people at $5 to get a final product I like compared to paying higher rates to start a project,” Harrison said.

Other virtual marketplaces for contractors and business owners to connect include oDesk (odesk.com) and BidModo (bidmodo.com), or business owners can use the International Virtual Assistants Association (ivaa.org) to find individuals who can handle everything from management of customer databases for loyalty programs and email campaigns for service promotions to other types of marketing support.

Don’t forget other business networks you may already have in place, Emerson suggested. “Use LinkedIn to post a job description that is shared throughout your network, and don’t forget that Craigslist is another good place to post a job description.”

While many freelancers and independent contractors will work remotely, there are opportunities to specify locations of service, pointed out McNeill. Some of his clients were more comfortable meeting face to face with people, so they specified “Austin, Texas, area only” in their posting on eLance.com.

The key to successful outsourcing is the business owner’s leadership, Emerson said. “Be specific about the job description, the expected results-oriented outcome and the timeframe,” she recommended.

McNeill added, “Outsourcing a task doesn’t mean an owner can stop monitoring accounts or reviewing performance. The owner must still understand and oversee that aspect of the business even if another person is handling the day-to-day work.”